24.25~33.4 GHz, 37~43.5 GHz bandwidth
Optimized for 5G NR prototype system design

National Instruments (NI) announced two radio head series for mmWave transceiver systems on October 30.

The new radio head series can transmit and receive signals in real time across bandwidths ranging from 24.25 to 33.4 GHz and 37 to 43.5 GHz, and is optimized for 5G NR (New Radio) prototype system design.
With the 3GPP defining the first standard for 5G NR communication protocols, telecommunications standards agencies in various countries have also begun working on frequency allocation for mmWave 5G mobile access. As NI has introduced two Radiohead series, it has become possible to rapidly design 5G prototype systems in other frequency bands in Korea, as well as in the United States, Japan, Europe, and China.

NI has provided a variety of equipment necessary for designing communication prototype systems. Starting with the launch of a 5G, high-performance mmWave transceiver system using modular SDR (Software Defined Radio) technology in 2016, new mmWave radio heads compatible with 3GPP frequency bands have been continuously introduced.

The newly released radio head is compatible with mmWave transceiver systems, including the baseband subsystem and software. It is also compatible with previously released mmWave radio heads, allowing for their reuse with minimal software modifications.

A modifiable, open physical layer written in LabVIEW source code is compatible with the Verizon 5G TF standard and the 3GPP 5G NR standard, Release 15. When this physical layer is applied with a mmWave transceiver system, it can be utilized as a variable solution for the role of an Over-the-Air (OTA) communication system.

Developers can reconfigure source code for specific fields under research and utilize it for a wide range of applications, including channel sound, 5G NR algorithm development and optimization, beam steering algorithm research, testing, etc.

Professor Theodor Rappaport, who founded NYU Wireless, and Professors Ernst Weber and David Lee from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the NYU College of Engineering stated, “As the commercialization of mmWave technology progresses rapidly, a consensus is forming that mmWave is a core technology for the implementation of 5G by 3GPP,” adding, “While the 28GHz band is widely used in the early stages of 5G, the 39GHz band will also be rapidly introduced and utilized as an important frequency band.” "The new radio head unveiled by NI will contribute significantly to mmWave research and commercialization," they explained.

NI's new 24.25–33.4 GHz band radiohead series includes the mmRH-3642, mmRH-3652, and mmRH-3602, and the 37–43.5 GHz series includes the mmRH-3643, mmRH-3653, and mmRH-3603.