The Italian telco expects to carry out a trial 5G system in Turin in 2018.
Working towards a “5G” network deployment, Italian mobile operator TIM said it carried out live test of the virtual radio access network technology.
The architecture had been initially tested at the innovation laboratories in Turin, Italy, and now in the field in the town of Saluzzo. The technology is said to make it possible to fully exploit LTE-Advanced functionalities by coordinating signals from various radio base station (carrier aggregation intersite and comp intersite) using a centralized and virtualized infrastructure.
The test included the installation of a virtual server in Turin that was more than 60 kilometers away from the Saluzzo antennas, which demonstrated its ability to coordinate radio base stations without affecting connection and performance using techniques based on Ethernet fronthaul.
TIM also said Turin will be the first city in Italy to experience the telco’s next-generation network, and that it expects to have 3,000 customers connected to a trial 5G system in the city by the end of 2018.
Far EasTone completes 5G trials with Ericsson
Taiwanese operator Far EasTone Telecommunications said it completed the country’s first 5G tests with Ericsson, Taiwanese press reported.
According to reports, both indoor and outdoor tests were carried out in the 15 GHz frequency bands, with Ericsson providing prototype equipment for the trials. The Asian telco said the tests achieved a download speed of more than five gigabits per second.
In June 2016, FET and Ericsson inked a memorandum of understanding to jointly accelerate 5G development.
