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Kit maker shows off latest MU-MIMO, advanced beam-tracking tech to NTT DoCoMo, KT Corp.
Ericsson on Thursday announced it has reached a downlink speed of 25 Gbps in a live demonstration of its 5G radio prototype.
To reach the speed, the Swedish kit maker used multi-user multiple-input, multiple-output (MU-MIMO), which enables simultaneous communication between multiple transmitters and receivers. Ericsson also used massive MIMO to increase downlink throughput, and advanced beam-tracking, which maintains the connection as the device moves through the cell site.
Ericsson did not disclose which frequency band or bands it used, or how much spectrum, only that it was millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum, which is found in the EHF band, which ranges from 30 GHz-300 GHz.
"The multi-Gbps speeds delivered by the Ericsson 5G radio prototypes can not only support growing mobile broadband and video demand on smartphones and other mobile devices, they also provide a viable and cost effective alternative to residential fibre connections," Ericsson said, in a statement. "5G will also impact the Internet of Things (IoT), enabling new applications for smart vehicles and transport architecture, remote control of heavy machinery in hazardous environments, remote surgery and new levels of human-IoT interaction including immersive augmented reality and immersive gaming."
The demonstration took place at Ericsson’s lab in Sweden, and was witnessed by two of its 5G partners, Japan’s NTT DoCoMo and South Korea’s KT Corp.
"Through our work with Ericsson, KT is on track to preview the innovative new 5G services at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics. We appreciate that Ericsson is enabling us to trial 5G capabilities with the advanced features, like beam tracking, MU-MIMO and massive MIMO, that we will need as we plan for 5G commercialisation," said Dongmyun Lee, CTO of KT Corp.
"We are very pleased that Ericsson 5G radio prototypes have enabled this great achievement through the 5G technical collaboration between Ericsson and DoCoMo, which has been going on for years. Both companies are already conducting joint outdoor trials to understand how 5G will really perform in the field," added NTT DoCoMo CTO Seizo Onoe. "This will enable us to plan for the new and enhanced services that we will be able to offer with 5G. We will be in a good position to highlight our commercial 5G capabilities in 2020."
