Huawei unveiled 5G prototype during the MWC Shanghai 2015 event
SHANGHAI – Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer Huawei estimates that each country will need to allocate between 300 megahertz and 500 megahertz of spectrum for the future provisioning of “5G” services, according to the company’s deputy chairman and rotating CEO Ken Hu
According to Hu, each operator will need approximately 100 megahertz of sub-6 GHz spectrum to be in a position to launch 5G, compared with the 20 megahertz needed by each operator to launch “4G.”
The executive said that development has entered a critical phase, and that accelerating development requires technological innovation, cross-industry collaboration and additional spectrum resources.
“We hope that key stakeholders can reach a consensus on 5G spectrum as soon as possible and identify at least 500 megahertz of sub-6 GHz spectrum for 5G, thus creating the right conditions for 5G’s development globally,” Hu said during a keynote address at this week’s Mobile World Congress event in Shanghai.
The Chinese firm began research in the technology in 2009, and said its total investment will reach $600 million by 2018. Huawei currently employs a team of more than 500 employees dedicated to research, and has established partnerships with more than 20 universities on joint research, including Harvard University, Stanford University, the Technical University of Munich and Tsinghua University.
Huawei also said it’s committed to developing standards before 2018. Towards that end, it plans to launch its first pilot network with partners in 2018, work to improve the industry chain, complete interoperability testing in 2019, and commercially launch networks in 2020.
Huawei and Japanese telecoms operator NTT DoCoMo recently launched a multi-user testing site in Chengdu, China. Huawei also showcased a 5G prototype network operating on sub-6 GHz spectrum showing peak download speeds of 10 gigabits per second.
