The 5G interoperability test, carried out at China Mobile Research Institute, will be a key step towards the commercialization of 5G systems, the partners said
U.S. chipmaker Intel, together with China Mobile and Huawei announced the completion of 5G interoperability and development testing (IODT) in compliance with the latest 3GPP Release15 standard.
The partners said that this testing phase is a key step towards the commercialization of end-to-end 5G systems, and that it covered “multi-vendor 5G NR IODT with full protocol, full channel, and full procedure … which means that 5G network and 5G terminals from different vendors can not only perform functional tests, but also can further implement 5G service tests, support various enhanced mobile broadband services such as ultra-high-definition video and VR.”
The test was conducted at the China Mobile Research Institute.
“Based on the largest C-band cell bandwidth defined by the 5G NR standard incorporating the latest Massive MIMO multi-antenna technology, the test successfully verified the rationales of the 3GPP 5G NR standard, and realized the interconnection of the NR-compliant terminal and network. With the Massive MIMO configuration integrated in the base station test setup and Intel 2T4R terminal, the data transfer rate is expected to reach 1.5Gbps, which can support 8K video, and VR services,” the partners said.
“As we work to accelerate 5G commercialization after the finalization of the 3GPP 5G R15 standard, Intel has been actively partnering with leading companies in 5G NR trials in preparation for the availability of Intel’s XMM 8000 series of 5G commercial multi-mode chipsets in commercial devices in 2019,” said Asha Keddy, VP and general manager of next generation and standards at Intel. “China will be an early leader in 5G, and Intel’s collaboration with China Mobile and Huawei will help accelerate the future of 5G, with end-to-end solutions from the network, to the cloud, to the client.”
China Mobile plans to carry out 5G trials in several large cities across China during 2018.
“China Mobile will release the first version of its 5G commercial product requirements this year and launch the first pre-commercial terminals in 2019, which will play an important role in such areas as mobile broadband, industry video and smart manufacturing,” said Huang Yuhong, vice president of China Mobile Research Institute.
In March this year, China Mobile announced plans to build what it claimed to be the world’s largest 5G trial network. The operator said it will start 5G trials in five Chinese cities this year. The company will conduct outdoor field tests in Hangzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Suzhou and Wuhan.
The telco plans to deploy small-scale “apps demonstration” trials in a dozen other cities, including Beijing and Shenzhen. According to Liu Guangyi, CTO for terminal and wireless technology at China Mobile Research Institution, the trial networks will mostly run in the 3.5 GHz band.
Last year, the Chinese telco had announced plans to deploy more than 10,000 5G base stations by 2020. The carrier also said that it expects to launch a pre-commercial 5G service in 2018.
Ericsson, Intel complete end-to-end 5G data call
In related news, Ericsson and Intel, in collaboration with a number of 5G service providers, have completed an end-to-end, non-standalone, 5G NR data call on the 3.5 GHz band.
This demonstration was completed at the Ericsson Lab in Kista, Sweden, last week
Ericsson and partners used the vendor’s commercially available equipment including a 5G new radio, baseband and packet core, as well as the Intel 5G Mobile Trial Platform.
“The work carried out by Ericsson engineers together with our partners is laying the groundwork for the commercial readiness of 5G,” said Nishant Barr, Ericsson’s head of product area networks.
