R&S and Broadcom showcase first Wi-Fi 8 RF signalling tests, paving way for next-gen connectivity
Rohde & Schwarz, in collaboration with Broadcom, will display its CMX500 multi-technology multi-channel signalling tester at MWC Barcelona 2026 with newly added Wi-Fi 8 (IEEE 802.11bn) testing capabilities. The setup at the Rohde & Schwarz booth (5A80) will validate a prototype Wi-Fi 8 device from Broadcom, showcasing physical layer features unique to Wi-Fi 8.
As Wi-Fi transitions beyond increasing throughput, the IEEE 802.11bn amendment introduces crucial advancements focused on delivering consistent, high-quality connectivity across a diverse range of dense environments. It is designed to handle the growing number of connected devices and the increasing demands of applications like VR/AR, 8K streaming, and industrial IoT.
Wi-Fi 8 builds upon the foundation of Wi-Fi 7, retaining core physical layer parameters like supported frequencies up to 7.125 GHz, channel bandwidths up to 320 MHz and 4096QAM modulation, as well as Multi-Link-Operation (MLO). However, to achieve its UHR goals, IEEE 802.11bn introduces a suite of innovative PHY and MAC layer technologies that present new testing hurdles.
For example, Wi-Fi 8 uses distributed resource units (dRU) to overcome power spectral density (PSD) limits. With dRU measurements users can validate their device’s effectiveness in boosting uplink transmit power and improving connection reliability. Another technology is unequal modulation (UEQM), where throughput is improved in difficult reception scenarios by allowing each MIMO link to use a different modulation scheme. With UEQM analysis, users can assess the ability of the test device to adapt the modulation in the correct way, using the specified modulation of coding scheme (MCS) combinations. With comprehensive signalling mode tests, covering a broad range of Wi-Fi 8 features, users can perform in-depth analysis of performance
The CMX500 is a modular, powerful one-box signalling tester enabling comprehensive multi-technology testing. It covers LTE and NR in SA/NSA modes, NR-NTN, NB-NTN, Direct-to-Cell (D2C/DTC) testing and WLAN including Wi‐Fi 7 and Wi‐Fi 8. Consequently, the CMX500 allows R&D engineers of wireless devices to test their design’s operation in both cellular and non-cellular standards of the latest generation in a single instrument setup.
