Challenges on wireless performance testing for 5G massive MIMO

Massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO) and millimeter wave are the key features of the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, which enable the tremendous user experience upgrade, such as 10 folds user data rate, 3 folds spectrum efficiency and 10-20 folds peak data rate. However, the challenges on the performance test are brought in as well. For the massive MIMO base stations (BSs), since large amount of the radio frequency (RF) port are introduced, the complexity of traditional conductive test are largely increased. On the contrary, the millimeter wave has limited ports for test due to the highly integrated RF components. In this paper, we present the current testing methods and the challenges for massive MIMO BSs testing. Then, three potential methods are proposed for massive MIMO BSs testing, including the improved RF testing, the improved performance testing, and the over-the-air (OTA) testing. Finally, simulation results reflect the relationship between the physical dimension of massive MIMO BSs and the OTA test area.