The new 5G lab will focus on IoT, cloud-based services and advanced radio technologies
Taiwanese mobile telephony operator (FET) has established Taiwan’s first 5G lab in cooperation with Swedish vendor Ericsson.
During the launch of the lab, which is located at T-park, New Taipei City in Taiwan, FET and Ericsson demonstrated a wireless data transfer speed of 1Gbps using a Qualcomm Snapdragon SDX16 LTE modem via carrier aggregation and 4×4 MIMO technology.
The lab will focus on technologies such as enhanced network performance, IoT core platform, cloud-based technologies and advanced radio technology, with intention to advance technology evolution towards 5G.
The European vendor also said that it will provide its Ericsson will also provide its new software-driven 5G Plug-Ins, including Massive MIMO Plug-In, Multi-User MIMO Plug-In, RAN Virtualization Plug-In and Intelligent Connectivity Plug-In and Latency Reduction Plug-In, in order to carry out 5G trials.
FET’s Executive Vice President of network and technology Herman Rao said that both companies aim to carry out several 5G tests following the successful demo of 1Gbps speed.
The Taiwanese telco aims to launch pre-commercial 5G technology in 2018 and targets the commercial launch for 2020.
FET also said that it aims its future 5G networks and related applications to cover IoT, smart traffic, Internet of Vehicles (IoV), basic infrastructure and other key service areas.
Both FET and Ericsson will also collaborate and promote the evolution of 4G to 5G technology in Taiwan to academic institutions, public offices, industry bodies and enterprises.
In June this year, Ericsson and FET had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly accelerate 5G development in Taiwan.
Telenor India reportedly exploring merger with Tikona
In other APAC news, the Indian subsidiary of Norwegian operator Telenor, is reportedly exploring a merger with wireless broadband provider Tikona Digital Networks, according to local press reports.
Tikona holds 2300-MHz 4G spectrum and has operations in five of the country’s 22 telecom circles, including three in which Telenor is also present. Telenor provides mobile services in six circles through spectrum in the 1800MHz band.
Telenor is not currently taking part in the tender process through which the Indian government aims to award spectrum across the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2.1 GHz, 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz bands. In July this year, the European company said that proposed spectrum prices do not offer an acceptable level of return. At that time, the Nordic firm said it is evaluating its options regarding its presence in the Indian telecommunications market
