SoftBank 5G tests ongoing in 4 GHz and 4.5 GHz bands
Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank recently acquired a license to expand tests of 5G communications in the 28 GHz band. The company already has already begun testing 5G in the 4 GHz and 4.5 GHz bands.
Specifically, SoftBank is using 100 megahertz in the 4 GHz band, 200 megahertz in the 4.5 GHz band and, now, 732 MHz in the 28 GHz band. Initial testing began in the 4.5 GHz band in August 2016, and has expanded with access to additional spectrum.
Centered on the Tokyo Waterfront District, testing is being conducted in both indoor and outdoor scenarios. The long-term plan is to launch commercial 5G services in 2020, according to the company.
Company reps said the goal of the trial is “verification of ultra-speed broadband communications and ultra-low latency communications, etc. on 5G frequency band candidates.” The company is targeting 10 Gbps throughput and latency of less than one millisecond. Massive multiple-input/multiple-output is one of the primary technological elements being verified.
Hidebumi Kitahara, senior director of mobile netowrk planning at SoftBank, said during a media briefing in Tokyo in December, that a total of 100 cell sites, mostly in Tokyo, had already been upgraded with the technology. Kitahara also said the technology would be deployed in “a few thousand sites” across Japan next year, with equipment provided by ZTE and Huawei.
“We are currently commercially offering this technology in Tokyo, Osaka and another four cities,” Kitahara said, adding sites were deployed in stadiums, domes and stations.
“So far this technology is running very well,” the executive said, noting massive MIMO is a key tool for the carrier in solving capacity problems. SoftBank said it has seen a tenfold boost in capacity since it began rolling the technology out in September.
Ericsson is SoftBank’s vendor for these tests and is supplying base station, UE and it’s mm wave 28 GHz Test Bed, which supports massive MIMO, massive beamforming, distributed MIMO, multi-user MIMO and beam tracking, according to the Swedish company.
Mikael Eriksson, Head of Ericsson Japan, says: “Since we announced that we would start the joint 5G trial with SoftBank in Tokyo in 2015, we have together achieved several significant milestones to date. I am confident that we will be the first to deliver 5G services and that we will deliver the best performing end to end network in Japan.”
