Over The Air

In Release 15, OTA (Over The Air) requirements for New Radio (NR) were formally introduced and refined, particularly for Frequency Range 2 (FR2). Key updates included the addition of NR-specific OTA out-of-band blocking requirements, corrections to the definition of OTA reference sensitivity and test procedures, and the alignment of terminology such as changing "EIRP accuracy directions set" to "OTA peak directions set." These changes, documented across TS 37.105, TS 37.145-2, and TS 38.104, established the foundational OTA conformance testing framework for 5G base stations operating with integrated antennas.

• CR to TS 37.105: Correction of the OTA blocking requirement (10.6.2.1) TS 37.105CR0097
• Addition of NR to of OTA out of band blocking requirements TS 37.105CR0100
• CR to TS 37.105: correction of the "EIRP accuracy directions set" into "OTA peak directions set" TS 37.105CR0109
• CR to TS 37.105: Text alignment for the OTA demodulation branches TS 37.105CR0112
• Cleanup to OTA requirements text TS 37.105CR0117
• CR to TS 37.105 - polarisation wording improvements for OTA s reference sensitivity TS 37.105CR0118

+ 15 more changes

In Release 16, key OTA advancements focused on refining test methodologies for NR MIMO, including specifying the number of slots and uplink power control for OTA testing. The release also introduced clarifications and corrections for OTA receiver requirements, particularly for base stations supporting polarization, and updated procedures for metrics like Adjacent Channel Leakage Ratio (ACLR), Spectrum Emission Mask (SEM), and Error Vector Magnitude (EVM). Furthermore, new OTA spurious emissions requirements were added for specific bands and for Earth Exploration Satellite Service (EESS) protection.

• Number of Slots for NR MIMO OTA testing TS 38.827CR0004
• Uplink Power Control for NR MIMO OTA test TS 38.827CR0008
• Adding clarification of number of slots for FR1 MIMO OTA test TS 38.827CR0015
• CR to TS 37.105: Clarification on application of OTA receiver requirements for BS supporting polarization TS 37.105CR0158
• CR to TS 37.145-2: Clarification on application of OTA receiver requirements for BS supporting polarization TS 37.145CR0150
• CR to 37.145-2: OTA ACLR R16 (6.7.3) TS 37.145CR0200

+ 8 more changes

In Release 17, the OTA enhancements focused on establishing new MIMO OTA performance requirements and test methodologies, including specific requirements for FR1 MIMO OTA spatial correlation validation and multi-user (MU) MIMO OTA. The release also introduced updates to OTA modulation quality measurements and refined OTA spurious emissions limits for base station co-existence. Additionally, it included modifications for OTA timing error measurements between IAB network nodes.

• Big CR to 38.151: Introduction MIMO OTA performance requirements (Rel-17, CAT B) TS 38.151CR0003
• CR on introduction of applicability rules for MIMO OTA requirements TS 38.151CR0022
• CR to TS 38.151 on FR1 MIMO OTA spatial correlation validation pass/fail limits TS 38.151CR0024
• CR to 38.151 on FR1 MIMO OTA MU TS 38.151CR0025
• CR to TS 38.176-2 with bracket removal for measurement uncertainties for OTA timing error between IAB-DU and IAB-MT TS 38.176CR0017
• CR to 37.145-2 to modify AAS BS OTA Spurious emissions limits for co-existence with systems operating in other frequency bands in R17 TS 37.145CR0302

+ 1 more changes

In Release 18, the OTA advancements were focused on enhancing MIMO Over-The-Air testing, particularly for Frequency Range 2 (FR2). Key introductions included defining new FR2 MIMO OTA performance requirements, metrics like the PC1 performance metric, and clarifying test procedures for device positioning and MU-MIMO. Additionally, the release provided clarifications for FR1 MIMO OTA channel model validation and updated references for OTA operating band unwanted emission limits.

• CR to 38.151 on FR2 MIMO OTA FoM TS 38.151CR0032
• CR to 38.151 on MIMO OTA performance requirements TS 38.151CR0033
• CR to TS 38.151 on introduction of FR2 PC1 MIMO OTA performance metric TS 38.151CR0035
• Formal CR 38151 Clarification of UE positioning for FR1 MIMO OTA TS 38.151CR0040
• On FR2 MIMO OTA requirements TS 38.551CR0024
• Device Positioning for FR2 MIMO OTA Testing TS 38.551CR0031

+ 10 more changes

In Release 19, the OTA (Over The Air) function saw specific test methodology advancements and requirement clarifications, including new OTA test methods for XR (Extended Reality) and NTN (Non-Terrestrial Networks), as well as reductions and corrections for specific test cases like out-of-band blocking and TX intermodulation. The release also introduced validation results for the MIMO OTA channel model and provided clarifications on concepts like re-positioning and CM speed for FR1/FR2 MIMO OTA testing. These updates aimed to refine testing procedures and ensure accurate performance validation for new capabilities.

• CR to TS 37.145-2 OTA test reduction for out-of-band blocking requirement TS 37.145CR0411
• CR to TS 38.141-2 OTA test reduction for out-of-band blocking requirement TS 38.141CR0682
• CR to TS 38.141-2 OTA test case reduction for TX IM requirement TS 38.141CR0700
• CR to 38.151 on FR1 MIMO OTA performance requirements TS 38.151CR0056
• CR to TS 38.161 on NTN OTA TS 38.161CR0028
• CR to TS 38.176-2 OTA test case reduction for TX IM requirement and OOBB requirement TS 38.176CR0099

+ 10 more changes