The interoperability development testing (IoDT) took place at an Ericsson lab in Sweden
Ericsson has teamed up with chipset maker MediaTek to perform 5G Reduced Capability (RedCap) data and 5G voice calls on both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) spectrum bands, the Swedish vendor said in a release.
Ericsson noted that the interoperability development testing (IoDT) took place at an Ericsson lab in Sweden, using pre-commercial Ericsson RedCap software and MediaTek’s RedCap testing platform.
The test involved an FDD data call, which achieved a throughput speed of 220 Mbps in the downlink and 74 Mbps for uplink, and the partners also carried out a TDD data call that reached a downlink speed of 153 Mbps and uplink speed of 13.5Mbps. Ericsson explained that these speeds are deemed suitable for devices such as consumer wearables and industrial sensors enabled by RedCap technology.
Sibel Tombaz, head of product line 5G RAN at Ericsson, said: “The Ericsson Reduced Capability software will open up a whole new world of possibilities for new types of devices that do not require the full range of 5G performance, and these FDD and TDD calls are a crucial first milestone on that journey. By enabling both data and Voice over New Radio (VoNR) on the FDD and TDD spectrum bands, Ericsson RedCap is pioneering a whole new range of use cases for both consumers and industries in ways that are both cost- and energy-efficient.”
Meanwhile, HC Hwang, general manager of wireless communication systems and partnerships at MediaTek, said that the speeds observed during the tests demonstrated RedCap’s effectiveness, adding that this technology will unlock a new generation of innovative 5G products and services.
The European vendor said that Ericsson RedCap is expected to be commercially ready in November 2023 as a software addition to 5G Standalone (SA) networks powered by Ericsson.
Ericsson has recently announced a radio access network (RAN) software upgrade for standalone 5G NR (5G SA) systems which offers reduced capability 5G features to lower hardware complexity, extend battery life, and support a range of mostly-IoT based use cases, notably involving wearables, video monitoring equipment, and industrial sensors.
RedCap, sometimes referred to as NR Light, is a reduced set of 5G capabilities intended for devices like wearables and low-cost hotspots that have low battery consumption, lower costs and lower bandwidth requirements. Introduced with 3GPP Release 17, 5G RedCap is designed for devices currently served by LTE CAT-4 but provides equivalent or better in performance with up to 150 Mbps theoretical maximum downlink throughput. This technology helps reduce the complexity, cost and size of 5G devices.
U.S. carrier AT&T recently completed what it claims to be the first 5G RedCap data call in the U.S. The telco said that the RedCap data call was made in both the company’s lab and in the field on a live 5G Standalone network.
AT&T said it worked with Nokia and MediaTek on this testing. AT&T tested 5G RedCap on MediaTek’s RedCap platform connected to a 5G SA network built with Nokia AirScale.
