The companies said they will continue performing joint network test of 5G technology
Korea mobile operator LG U+ and ICT vendor Huawei have completed the first phase of a 5G urban field test in the 28 GHz millimeter wave spectrum band. The field test was carried out in the Sangam area of Seoul.
The end-to-end trial incorporated next-generation core network technology and 5G eNodeB new radio (NR) equipment. Huawei said the field test validated the ability of millimeter wave target frequencies to provide the urban coverage and capacity required in future networks.
The test used a millimeter wave cell and achieved a downlink rate of 2.5 Gbps at a distance of 1kilometer, significantly higher than the 1 Gbps peak rate defined by the ITU. The peak single user rate under millimeter wave 28 GHz also reached 18.5 Gbps.
Both companies plan to continue performing both high and low frequency joint network tests to help prepare for the commercial debut of 5G.
SK Telecom expands LTE-A Pro coverage to 75 cities in South Korea
In related news, Korean telco SK Telecom announced it has extended the coverage of its LTE-Advanced Pro services to 75 cities and 31 counties across South Korea.
The telco’s five-band carrier aggregation LTE-A Pro service was launched in June, expanded to cover the main areas of Seoul, Chungcheong and Yeongnam regions in August and now covers major cities including Yeosu, Naju, Gwangyang, Wonju, Gangneung and Sokcho.
By combining spectrum across five bands the network is able to achieve data rates of up to 700Mbps.
SK Telecom is also expanding the coverage of its 800Mbps to 900Mbps LTE-A Pro service, which combines three or four band carrier aggregation with 4×4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technologies.
SK Telecom said that it will continue to increase the coverage of its LTE-A Pro services and expects to realize 1Gbps or faster data rates with the evolution of smartphones.
“Though the increased coverage of the LTE-A Pro services, SK Telecom is providing a differentiated network experience to more customers,” SK Telecom’s SVP Choi Seung-won, said.
