NB-IoT is a narrowband cellular radio technology designed for the Internet of Things (IoT) by 3GPP. NB-IoT, as one of the cellular-IoT standards, enables telecom operators to run IoT services on existing commercial networks to provide diverse IoT application scenarios. Many telecom operators, such as China Telecom, have announced its NB-IoT network launch plans in recent months.

NB-IoT adds additional commercialization challenges to telecom operators, such as ensuring interoperability, optimizing battery life, and achieving the highest performance under various channel scenarios.

Keysight and China Telecom are collaborating on NB-IoT test plans to ensure the highest quality NB-IoT end-user experiences. By simulating real-world conditions with Keysight’s cellular-IoT test solution, chipset, module and device makers and test labs will be able to verify critical performance, such as power consumption, RF performance and interoperability, when rolling out new NB-IoT applications.

“Keysight’s UXM is the industry’s first wireless test set to demonstrate RF measurements with NB-IoT and Cat M1 devices and to provide a solution that ensures compliance to the standards,” said Garrett Lees, senior director, Keysight’s Operator and Test Lab Business. “Working with key industry leaders and telecom operators, such as China Telecom, has allowed us to offer a complete solution that covers cellular IoT design, verification, interoperability and carrier acceptance test.”