Nokia and NTT DoCoMo have jointly announced plans to conduct interoperability testing of multi-vendor technology using the 4.5-GHz frequency band, as part of broader efforts to help develop Japan's 5G ecosystem.
The companies will be testing 5G applications using Nokia's AirScale base station and 5G radio interface using the Intel 5G mobile trial platform.
End-to-end applications will be tested over the air between the base station and the device using the 4.5-GHz spectrum, which is one of the 5G candidate frequency bands in Japan.
Nokia's AirScale active antenna with Massive MIMO technology and digital beamforming will be used to test applications including low-latency 4K video streaming.
"This is a vital first step to allow us to ensure that we have the 5G network infrastructure available for when we commercially introduce the technology, with an ecosystem of device vendors to offer our subscribers the best possible choice and highest quality," NTT DoCoMo CTO Seizo Onoe said.
"This trial is an important milestone for the development of 5G in Japan, which will be one of the first countries in the world to adopt the technology,” added Nokia Japan head Jae Won.
“Furthermore, the initiative is an important step forward in our collaboration with NTT DOCOMO, as well as other key technology partners, as we develop a technology that will meet the ever-growing demands of huge numbers of people living in megacities."