Tech companies join for 5G NR tests

Ericsson, Qualcomm Technologies and AT&T have announced plans to conduct interoperability testing and over-the-air field trials based on the expected 5G New Radio (NR) specifications being developed by 3GPP.

The trials will support operation in millimetre wave (mmW) spectrum, aiming to accelerate commercial deployments in the 28 GHz and 39 GHz bands.

“5G is the greatest opportunity our industry has ever experienced. It will provide a platform for operators to address new markets, such as media, transportation and manufacturing,” said Ulf Ewaldsson, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Ericsson.

The companies plan to demonstrate new technologies that use the wide bandwidths available in these higher frequency bands to increase network capacity, and expect to achieve multigigabit per second data rates.

The trials will use device and base station prototype solutions from Qualcomm and Ericsson respectively, along with spectrum from AT&T, to simulate real-world scenarios.

The trials will employ 3GPP 5G NR MIMO antenna technology with adaptive beamforming and beam tracking techniques to deliver mobile broadband communications at the higher frequency bands, including in non-line-of-sight environments.

They will also make use of scalable OFDM-based waveforms and a new flexible framework design that are also expected to be part of the 5G NR specifications.

“The roadmap of 5G technologies is complex, and collaborations such as this are critical to ensuring timely deployment of 5G networks,” said Matt Grob, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Qualcomm Technologies.

“5G technology comes with new challenges, but more importantly, it offers tremendous opportunity to revolutionise the way we use mobile networks across industries,” added Tom Keathley, senior vice president, wireless network architecture and design, AT&T.

The trials will begin in the United States in the second half of 2017.

Image courtesy Ericsson.