Japanese company Mitsubishi Electric Corporation‘s Nagoya Works facility in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture has begun a demonstration test of a local 5G system, the company said in a release.
Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has allowed the company to test this local 5G system in a limited area and operating with a different frequency band, 28.2 GHz-28.3 GHz, than those deployed by mobile operators.
In the future, the company expects to deploy local 5G systems to deliver new services and businesses incorporating a wide range of Factory Automation (FA) and other products.
The test is designed to verify wireless transmission between local 5G base stations and Mitsubishi Electric’s FA products. It will also help to confirm various possible uses of envisioned local 5G systems, such as remote operation and maintenance support, usage of augmented and virtual reality for enhanced work efficiency, and more, the company said.
5G is poised to support advanced infrastructure using frequency bands mainly allocated to telecommunications operators. In December 2019, however, MIC began accepting applications for local 5G systems to enable local governments and companies to meet diversifying communication needs, the Japanese company said.
Mitsubishi Electric said that it expects to launch demonstration tests at other business sites as well as establish new 5G infrastructure at its business sites and laboratories. The 5G Open Innovation Laboratory, for example, which is scheduled to begin operating at the company’s Information Technology R&D Center in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture by next March, will serve as a base for joint research and demonstrations with customers and partner companies to create new businesses and services.
“To create new businesses and services, Mitsubishi Electric is collaborating with partner companies on studying 5G uses and conducting demonstration tests that incorporate basic 5G-related technologies, including communication systems, antenna technologies and both high-frequency and optical devices,” the company said.
