Anritsu Corporation is introducing a new option that supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be) wireless network standard for its MT8862A wireless test suite. With this new feature, the MT8862A supports Wi-Fi 7 signal quality assessment in network mode*1.
The wireless communication standard IEEE802.11be (Wi-Fi 7), developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is the successor to the wireless network standard IEEE802.11ax*2 (Wi-Fi 6/6E). The new standard is proposed to achieve data transfer speeds of 30 Gbps or more, which is much faster than Wi-Fi 6/6E. In addition to expanding traditional technologies, including 4096 QAM, 320 MHz channel bandwidth and Multi-RU, it also uses new technologies such as Multi-Link Operation*3 (MLO), allowing the device to simultaneously send and receive data in various frequency ranges and channels.
By enabling this option, Anritsu helps to improve the signal quality of Wi-Fi 7 devices.
Background of the development
The development of the Wi-Fi 7 standard is scheduled to be completed in 2024, and it is expected that it will be used for devices supporting the latest applications and services such as ultra-high definition video streaming, AR/VR, etc. Devices using chips based on the draft Wi-Fi 7 standard have already appeared, and the demand for a test tool for evaluating Wi-Fi 7 devices is growing rapidly.
A brief description of the product and its characteristics
The possibility of radio frequency evaluation of Wi-Fi 7 in network mode
Since the signal quality characteristics of a wireless network vary depending on the data transfer rate, signal estimation for each data transfer rate is very important. The MT8862A provides RF estimation at all data rates of the major wireless network standards, including Wi-Fi 7, using signal management technology at each data rate.
Flexible testing environment
Provides a test environment for evaluating RF TRX characteristics (TX power, modulation accuracy, RX sensitivity, etc.) of wireless network devices, including Wi-Fi 7.
Technical terms
*1 Network mode
Network mode simulates real-world operation to evaluate radio frequency characteristics. To establish communication, it uses a channel-level data transfer protocol implemented in both the chip and the tester. In addition to evaluating the radio frequency characteristics using the tests performed, the network mode is especially useful for testing the performance of wireless over-the-air (OTA) communications, including the characteristics of antennas, finished products.
*2 IEEE 802.11ax standards
The wireless LAN standard defined by IEEE supports a theoretical maximum speed of up to 9.61 Gbps.
*3 Multi-Channel Operations (MLO)
A technology that allows one device to simultaneously send and receive data in different frequency ranges and channels.
