On 28 November, the National Radio Office issued the Notice on New Technical Requirements and Test Methods for Wireless Local Area Network Equipment Using the IEEE 802.11be Technical Standard. The Notice requires that WLAN equipment using IEEE 802.11be technology, whether manufactured or imported for sale and use within China, must comply with the relevant requirements of Document No. 129 and add three test items: multi-link operation (MLO), multi-resource unit (MRU) spectrum mask and error vector magnitude (EVM). The annex to the Notice sets out the relevant technical requirements and test methods. The Notice took effect on the date of issue (28 November 2023).

Interpretation of the technical requirements

WLAN equipment using the IEEE 802.11be technical standard shall comply with the relevant requirements of the Notice on Matters Concerning Strengthening and Standardising Radio Management of the 2400 MHz, 5100 MHz and 5800 MHz Frequency Bands (MIIT Wu [2021] No. 129, hereinafter Document No. 129), and shall add three test items: multi-link operation (MLO), multi-resource unit (MRU) spectrum mask and error vector magnitude (EVM). The technical requirements and test methods are as follows.

Technical requirements and test methods for type approval of WLAN equipment using IEEE 802.11be

Technical requirements

1. Multi-link operation (MLO)

In the concurrent multi-band state, the operating frequency range and out-of-band emission power of the relevant WLAN equipment shall comply with Document No. 129.

1. Operating frequency range: 2400-2483.5 MHz, 5150-5350 MHz and 5725-5850 MHz.

2. Out-of-band emission power: the maximum equivalent isotropically radiated power at the upper and lower limits of the operating frequency shall not exceed -80 dBm/Hz.

2. Multi-resource unit (MRU) spectrum mask

3. Error vector magnitude (EVM)

4. Other technical requirements

Technical requirements for operating frequency, equivalent isotropically radiated power, equivalent isotropically radiated power spectral density, frequency tolerance, out-of-band emission power, spurious emissions and spurious emissions in special frequency bands shall be implemented in accordance with Document No. 129.

Test methods

1. Multi-link operation (MLO)

(1) Test block diagram

(2) Test steps

(1) Set up the test environment as shown in Figure 1;

(2) Configure the device under test to operate in multi-link operation mode;

(3) Establish a data link between the device under test and the paired device;

(4) Using measuring equipment with real-time spectrum analysis capability, ensure that the device under test transmits in the declared operating band;

(5) Using measuring equipment with spectrum analysis capability, measure the frequency range and out-of-band emission power of the device under test.

2. Error vector magnitude (EVM)

(1) Test block diagram

(2) Test steps

(1) Connect the device under test to measuring equipment with demodulation capability via an RF cable;

(2) Configure the device under test to transmit a 4096 QAM modulated signal;

(3) Measure the EVM Avg result with the measuring equipment;

(4) The measurement result shall meet the relevant technical requirements above.

3. Multi-resource unit (MRU) spectrum mask

(1) Test block diagram

As shown in Figure 2.

(2) Test steps

(1) Connect the device under test to measuring equipment with demodulation capability via an RF cable;

(2) Adjust the centre frequency of the measuring equipment to the operating centre frequency of the device under test, set the resolution bandwidth (RBW) to 100 kHz and the video bandwidth (VBW) to 7.5 kHz, and set the detector to RMS;

(3) The spectrum envelope of the signal transmitted by the device under test shall meet the relevant spectrum mask requirements above.

4. Other technical requirements

The test methods for operating frequency, equivalent isotropically radiated power, equivalent isotropically radiated power spectral density, frequency tolerance, out-of-band emission power, spurious emissions and spurious emissions in special frequency bands shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant industry standards.

NTEK reminder

The Notice on New Technical Requirements and Test Methods for Wireless Local Area Network Equipment Using the IEEE 802.11be Technical Standard is a further new technology following the implementation of the new SRRC Document No. 129 standard: Wi-Fi 7 is now formally implemented. Please contact us at any time for more on the new SRRC certification testing, procedures and documentation requirements.