Test-and-Measurement » WiFi 7 (802.11be) RF PHY Test System Providers

WiFi 7 (802.11be) RF PHY Test System Providers

wifi 7 802.11be test equipment wireless testing rf measurements

This page outlines RF and PHY test system providers for WiFi 7 devices, developed in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be standard.

Popular vendors of 11be test equipment useful for WiFi 7 testing include LitePoint, Rohde & Schwarz, and Keysight Technologies.

Introduction

The IEEE 802.11 series of standards has been developed for diverse applications such as Wireless LAN, VoIP, video streaming, cloud computing, telemedicine, voice/video conferencing, gaming, VR, AR, and IoT. All IEEE 802.11 standards define Physical (PHY) and MAC layer specifications.

What is WiFi 7?

WiFi 7 is the latest in the series of WLAN standards (Wireless Fidelity). The specifications for WiFi 7 are currently under development and are expected to be published under IEEE 802.11be by the EHT working group by 2024.

Here are the key technical specifications of WiFi 7:

  • Frequency Bands: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz
  • Bandwidth: 20, 40, 80, 80+80, 160, and 320 MHz
  • Technology: Uplink and downlink OFDMA along with MU-MIMO
  • Modulation: Up to 4096 QAM
  • Security: WPA3
  • Spatial Streams: Up to 16 spatial streams
  • Enhanced OFDMA: Preamble puncturing, Multi-RU
  • Other features: Multi-Link Operation (MLO)

Benefits or advantages of WiFi 7

The figure above illustrates the benefits of the WiFi 7 standard, including a high data rate (~40 Gbps), lower latency, high spectrum efficiency, better interference mitigation, higher power efficiency, and high capacity density.

802.11be WiFi 7 Test System from LitePoint

LitePoint, a Teradyne company, has developed a test system for WiFi device testing. This test system includes functionalities of a VSG (Vector Signal Generator) and a VSA (Vector Signal Analyzer). It is highly useful for testing various parameters of RF and PHY layers as per the IEEE 802.11be standard, as well as WiFi 7 conformance specifications. It is a great test system for 4096QAM measurements due to its low residual EVM floor.

Features of the WiFi 7 test system from LitePoint Model IQxel-MX TM include:

  • Frequency Range: 400 MHz to 7300 MHz
  • Signal Generation: Supports OFDMA RA, multi-RU and MLO features.
  • Signal Analysis: Supports bandwidth up to 320 MHz.
  • PHY Measurements: Transmitter and receiver PHY measurements such as spectral mask, frequency error, spectral flatness, constellation error, receiver sensitivity, ACR (Adjacent Channel Ratio) are supported.
  • MIMO Testing: Supports MIMO testing with up to 4 x 4 configurations.

In addition to WiFi-7, this test platform also addresses WiFi test requirements as per IEEE 802.11ax (i.e. WiFi 6/6E) and legacy IEEE 802.11 standards such as 11a/11b/11g/11n/11p/11ac/11ah/11af/11j.

802.11be Test System Providers or Vendors

The following table lists providers or vendors of WiFi 7 test systems developed according to IEEE 802.11be specifications.

VendorsDescription
LitePointThis company develops test and measurement equipment for testing devices using WLAN, Bluetooth 5.x, Zigbee, Z-wave, DECT, LoRa, WiSUN and Sigfox standards. Visit litepoint.com for more information.
Rohde & SchwarzThe model R&S ® FSW signal analyzer can be used for 802.11be signal analysis up to 320 MHz bandwidth. It can analyze EHT-MU PPU packet format. It can be used to test 802.11be compliant devices. Both transmitter and receiver parameters such as transmit power, EVM, spectrum emissions, sensitivity, etc. can be tested. R&S develops VSG (Vector Signal Generator) and VSA (Vector Signal Analyzer). The company also develops wireless test systems for cellular standards as per GSM/4G LTE/5G specifications. Visit rohde-schwarz.com for more information.
Keysight TechnologiesThe company develops test and measurement equipment according to various standards including RFID, Zigbee, UWB, Bluetooth, WiFi, WiMAX, DVB, 4G LTE, 5G and more. Visit keysight.com for more information.