5G trial to take place in Tokyo using the 28 GHz band
Ericsson reached an agreement with Japanese telecommunications operator NTT DoCoMo and U.S. chipmaker Intel to build a “5G” trial network in various areas of Tokyo beginning in 2017.
Ericsson said the main goal of the 5G trial is to test use case applications and radio performance.
Under the terms of the agreement, Ericsson will provide end-to-end systems including 5G radio, baseband, virtualized radio access network and core networks. Intel will contribute its chipset in user devices. The 5G trial will be conducted using the 28 GHz band, which the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is considering designating for use by commercial 5G networks in Japan.
“DoCoMo and Ericsson have been working together on joint 5G projects including outdoor trials, and this is a further development of our joint efforts. Adding Intel’s expertise, we will be on track to evaluate the feasibility of services that leverage 5G technologies together with ecosystem partner companies,” said Seizo Onoe, EVP and CTO at NTT.
“This trial will represent an important milestone in 2017, paving the way for commercial 5G networks. It represents a unique opportunity to test real-life 5G performance in commercial conditions in the center of Tokyo, enabling evaluation of consumer use cases and industry applications,” added Arun Bansal, head of business unit network products at Ericsson.
Ericsson signs five-year deal with SmarTone in Hong Kong
Ericsson and Hong Kong telco SmarTone announced a new five-year partnership geared toward the future implementation of 5G technologies.
Under the partnership, Ericsson will be the sole supplier for its core and RAN for the next five years. The Asian telco said early trials and pilot deployments of key pre-5G technologies are scheduled to take place during the last quarter of this year.
The technology is set to allow SmarTone to upgrade and expand its network infrastructure for the refarming of more spectrum to support LTE. The two companies have been working together on the introduction of advanced pre-5G technologies, including LTE-Advanced and LTE-Advanced Pro.
“SmarTone will continue to invest in spectrum and pre-5G technologies within the next few years to provide a superior customer experience and to evolve our network into an advanced, dynamic and cloud-based network architecture,” said SmarTone CTO Stephen Chau.
