3GPP introduced RedCap devices, also known as Broadband IoT or NR-Light, in 5G NR Release 17. These mid-range IoT devices have medium speed and latency requirements, falling between high-end use cases such as ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) and low-power wide-area applications (LPWA). In doing so, 3GPP formalized support for devices deployed at the network edge for IoT and Industry 4.0 applications.
With initial validation efforts focused on compliance and network emulation, VIAVI has filled a significant gap with the availability of RedCap device emulation. Building on the widely accepted user equipment (UE) emulation capabilities of the TM500, RedCap device emulation allows equipment manufacturers to create realistic scenarios of thousands of such devices carrying traffic.
With the updated TM500, RedCap device testing can be seamlessly integrated into the existing test environment. The platform offers the ability to simulate RedCap-like traffic patterns, generate RedCap-specific signaling, and evaluate network performance for RedCap use cases.
One of the main advantages of using existing integrated solutions like the TM500 for RedCap testing is the ability to reuse the well-established, built-in fading channel models per device. Fading channels emulate real-world wireless propagation conditions, including multipath propagation and signal fading, which are crucial for testing the performance and reliability of a live network environment. The TM500, combined with fading channel models, allows for the accurate simulation of different scenarios and helps evaluate the performance of RedCap devices under challenging propagation conditions.
"The rollout of 5G may be stabilizing globally, but industrial and private networks are only just getting started," says Ian Langley, senior vice president of VIAVI's wireless business unit. "The RedCap specifications provide the missing link for the class of devices used in such applications, so equipment manufacturers and operators can pursue development and deployment with confidence. The TM500 adds essential validation capabilities with device emulation, further accelerating RedCap adoption."
