Telstra, Elisa, Ooredoo among operators using 3.5 GHz for 5G
While in the U.S. the 3.5 GHz band is set aside for shared usage, in many other countries the prime mid-band spectrum is being allocated for use as service providers deploy 5G services. In Australia, Telstra, working with Ericsson and Intel, is claiming the “first end-to-end 5G non-standalone (NSA) 3GPP data call on a commercial mobile network.”
In December the global standards body 3GPP finalized the NSA variant of the 5G New Radio standard, which uses an LTE RAN and core with the addition of a 5G component carrier. In June 3GPP finalized the standalone 5G NR spec, which brings a new core architecture.
Ericsson provided a baseband and packet core and Intel provided its Mobile Trial Platform user equipment. The work builds on previous 5G-focused collaboration between the three companies.
In May Ooredoo said it launched the world’s first 5G network, covering an area from The Pearl Qatar to Hamad International Airport, using 3.5 GHz spectrum. Customers will need a compatible device available from the operator to access the new network. “We are the first company in the world to offer access to 5G technology and services, and the people of Qatar are the first to have access to the incredible benefits this technological upgrade will bring,” said Waleed Al Sayed, CEO, Ooredoo Qatar. “The 5G Supernet will be the infrastructural backbone of Qatar as our nation pushes to offer the latest smart applications in-line with Qatar National Vision 2030. This network will provide the necessary foundation to introduce a wave of new innovations, including driverless cars and smart roads, virtual and augmented reality, a national fleet of service drones, and much more.”
In June Finland’s Elisa also claimed the world’s first commercial 5G network launch and even came out with pricing plans. The telco said that the 5G network was launched in the cities of Tampere, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia. Elisa, which operates in Finland and Estonia, said that the first person to use the 5G network was Anne Berner, Finland’s minister of transport and communications. She made a video call to Kadri Simson, minister of Economic Affairs and infrastructure, in Estonia. Elisa said the 5G “terminal device” used in the video call was provided by Chinese vendor Huawei. Similar to Ooredoo, Elisa is using 3.5 GHz spectrum for the project. “We aim to make Finland the leading nation as a developer of 5G mobile services. The Ministry of Communications is ready to allocate the first 5G licenses in the 3,400–3,800 megahertz frequency band in autumn, which will make Finland among the first countries in the world to start building 5G networks,” Berner said.
