Mississippi-based regional service provider C Spire is using Nokia equipment to test a fixed wireless “5G” use case; so far the tests have achieved network speeds up o 2.2 gigabits per second to deliver an ultra-high-definition video stream.
C Spire, which provides fiber transport, internet and telephony, is the sixth largest service provider in the U.S. serving customers in Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida and Alabama.
Using spectrum in the 28 GHz band, C Spire said its testing achieved the 2.2 Gbps throughput, along with latency below 1.4 milliseconds.
“This is the kind of real-world application that will help change forever how we live, work and play,” said C Spire CTO Stephen Bye in a statement.
In May, Nokia asked the Federal Communications Commission for what’s called special temporary authority to conduct the tests between July 1 and July 25.
According to the filing, which does not name check C Spire, “Nokia is a leading manufacturer of mobile broadband radio equipment, the grant of the experimental special temporary STA (Experimental STA) application will allow Nokia to test and demonstrate prototype communication Fifth Generation (5G) equipment to our customers which will allow the company to enhance its efforts to design and develop equipment to meet the communications needs of our customers.”
The test used a Nokia-made fixed basestation and mobile unit.
The four major U.S. carriers – Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, Sprint and T-Mobile U.S. – all have numerous 5G-related initiatives ongoing.
