Telecommunication Testing On Relevant RF Components

The telecom industry has undergone rapid development in the past several decades. Digital communications methods have advanced, requiring increased bandwidth and frequency coverage. This advancement has complicated an RF measurement system’s capability to accurately characterize system components. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) provides modern broadband mobile communication guidance. This development is chronicled in the evolutionary steps known as 2G, 3G, 4G, and now to the 5G stage currently being launched. A review of how the air interface layer changed through this evolution will help explain how measurement systems often need to be upgraded to meet the new performance criteria.