Ericsson said it is ready to supply the first radios designed to enable mobile operators to conduct live field trials of “5G” network technology, with Japan’s NTT DoCoMo set to trial the equipment next year.
The 5G radio prototypes represent phase two of the Ericsson 5G radio testbed, which NTT DoCoMo is already using. Ericsson said the outdoor design will incorporate 64 radio chains and 128 antenna elements in a pole or wall-mounted form factor that is smaller than the radio testbed. The prototypes also feature beamforming and multiuser multiple-input/multiple-output technology.
Beamforming refers to a technology designed to direct signals more accurately at receivers instead of random dictional transmissions. MU-MIMO refers to radios designed to send different data sets to different receivers simultaneously. MU-MIMO is expected to make its way to tower tops even before the commercial launch of 5G, which is expected to start in 2020.
“In order to be ready in such an aggressive time frame, it’s high time testing moves into real-world environments for practical application,” said Arun Bansal, SVP at Ericsson and head of the company’s radio business unit. “These new 5G radio prototypes are the size of a carry-on and weigh around 40 pounds – less than 20 kilograms. As a leader in standardization, it’s important for us to be able to contribute with hard data rather than just theoretical discussions.”
“We are pleased to take the next step toward testing in realistic network environment[s],” said Seizo Onoe, EVP and CTO at NTT DoCoMO. “[The] Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be a great opportunity to propose many different use cases of 5G, which will be launched in 2020. We expect that this would lead to even further opportunities. Ericsson’s 5G radio prototypes will help us to gain insights into the potential for 5G in our network environment and market, to open up new possibilities to enable new services for our customers and partners.”
Keith Shank, director of Ericsson’s advanced technology lab, gave RCR Wireless News a look at the 5G radio testbed this summer.
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