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Telcos apply to FCC for experimental licences to investigate performance of extremely high-frequency spectrum.
Verizon and T-Mobile US have applied for experimental licences that will permit them to test millimetre-wave (mmWave) spectrum, which has the potential to support future 5G services.
Verizon has applied for a six-month, special temporary authorisation (STA) to test prototype equipment that uses the 28 GHz band.
"The proposed STA operations will advance an understanding of the characteristics of millimetre-wave spectrum, channel bandwidths, and uplink/downlink ratios for residential and commercial deployments," the company said, in an application filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) late last week.
Verizon said experiments will be carried out within 1 kilometre of its offices in Euless, Texas and South Plainfield, New Jersey.
"The devices to be tested will employ directional, beamforming antennas, and their orientation in the horizontal and vertical planes will vary," Verizon said.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile has sought permission to conduct tests at four locations, including indoor experiments at its Bellevue laboratory and outdoor experiments at two nearby locations, using 28-GHz spectrum and 39-GHz spectrum.
Tests at each location will use fixed transmitters and mobile end-user equipment operating within a maximum radius of 2 kilometres.
"In each case, T-Mobile will test signal strength, transmission and reception characteristics and other parameters that will be useful as it contemplates how it may incorporate millimetre-wave spectrum in its network to support 5G operations," T-Mobile said, in its application, also filed last week with the FCC.
T-Mobile put an estimated timeframe of 24 months for its experiments.
