Testing and validation challenges for enabling LTE/5G and Wi-Fi networks Coexistence

Due to overwhelming demand for radio spectrum resources, the licensed frequency spectrum used by the cellular operators is becoming very scarce and expensive day to day, which is pushing the mobile operators towards the use of unlicensed wireless spectrum. As a result, several techniques have been proposed targeting to provide coexistence between LTE/5G and other well-established technologies in unlicensed spectrum, such as Wi-Fi. Recently, various solutions are proposed for enabling coexistence features using spectrum sharing and multiplexing schemes. These will require special tests to verify the proper coexistence operating environment, which were not previously performed in cellular or Wi-Fi device testing. This paper analyzes different coexistence solutions incorporated in the user devices and then suggests different testing and validation methods to satisfy these new requirements for enabling the coexistence.