Cellular Telemetry Enhancements in 5G

Current implementations of Cellular Test Range Telemetry are based on the LTE technology, which includes enhancement concepts that have been introduced up to including the Release-14 of the specification standard. Currently, the same specifications standards organization that implemented LTE (3GPP) has just completed the very first release (Rel-15) of the 5G standard. The new 5G standard is intended to be a radically new radio access network and core network design, while maintaining some level of interoperability with the 4G LTE technology. The paper provides an overview of the key new features and concepts that were specified for 5G, and which can offer new capabilities to the Cellular Test Range Telemetry. Specifically, the concepts presented are: expanded channel bandwidths and new operating bands, frame structure and architecture that allows for lower latency and for integration of beamforming to the low-layer signaling operations, new concepts of enhanced handover with zero interruption, additional concepts being worked for use in unlicensed bands and for integrating access and backhaul use of radio nodes. Finally, the paper outlines how can a network evolve to allow co-existence of installed LTE equipment with new 5G equipment that may be introduced, and the migration path from a fully LTE into an exclusively 5G network.