Ericsson and Etisalat, Nokia and KT test mobile 5G
While major operators are devoting significant time and resources to testing fixed wireless 5G systems, T-Mobile made waves this week by announcing its intention to launch a nationwide mobile 5G network in 2020. Many industry watcher expect fixed 5G to dominate early commercial deployments largely as a way to solve for the last-mile problem associated with fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-premises.
Network vendors Ericsson and Nokia both spoke out in support of T-Mobile’s plan, so let’s use the opportunity to look at some of the trial activity specifically related to mobile 5G.
This week Ericsson and Etisalat, a United Arab Emirates TV, phone and internet provider, circulated results of recent testing focused on proving mobile 5G in an outdoor environment in Abu Dhabi, UAE. According to the companies, the test took place on a live network and used spectrum in the 800 MHz and 15 GHz bands. “Aggregate site throughput” exceeding 24 Gbps.
Etisalat Mobile Network SVP Saeed Al Zarouni said the demo “provides a glimpse into the future and what mobile services will be like in the next few years.”
Korean operator KT, which is racing to deliver 5G services during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, is working with Nokia to deliver mobile 5G using the 28 GHz band. Nokia Bell Labs worked with the Nokia Korea Advanced Technology Center on network planning that used “3D maps, accurate ray-tracing based simulations and radio channel modeling in varying line-of-sight conditions, according to a Nokia blog.
Jani Moilanen, a Nokia Bell Labs research project manager, wrote: “Our study also showed that the traditional three-sector deployment is not necessarily ideal when building the coverage at 28GHz on existing sites. Instead, we found that four sectors (or more) is a better option to ensure good coverage, particularly in the sector border areas. These Nokia findings, among many other network planning insights obtained from the study, are seen by KT as an important step towards the common goal – a successful deployment of world’s first mobile 5G network in 2017.”
