Ericsson and Qualcomm have jointly conducted what they claim is “industry’s first” 3GPP-compliant 5G NR call over the millimeter wave (mmWave) band with a smartphone form factor mobile device.
The over the air (OTA) call is conducted in the Ericsson Lab in Kista, Sweden, using the 39-GHz frequency band and Ericsson’s commercial 5G NR radio AIR 5331 and baseband products as well as a mobile test device with integrated Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem and RF subsystem.
In a statement, the companies said the trial - a continuation of the interoperability development testing (IODT) announced in 2017 - will pave the way for commercial launches of 5G NR standard-compliant infrastructure, smartphones and other mobile devices.
In addition, these early trials and milestones will enable global operators and OEMs to conduct tests in the field using their own networks and devices, the companies added.
“Mobilizing mmWave for the smartphone has been seen by many as an impossible challenge, but this demonstration validates that t on track to bring groundbreaking 5G mmWave experiences to consumers,” said Qualcomm president Cristiano Amon.
“This successful lab call is a testament to our continued innovation and collaboration with Ericsson, and we look forward to further industry-leading milestones with them as we progress to 5G commercialization of networks and mobile devices in early 2019.”
Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice president and head of business area networks at Ericsson said the 5G call demo shows the importance of building the 5G ecosystem and the companies are also making headway on commercial 5G by performing interoperability tests on new mmWave bands.
Last week, Ericsson also forged partnerships with Juniper Networks and ECI Telecom in an attempt to bolster its end-to-end mobile transport portfolio for 5G.
Ericsson and Intel also recently completed the first end-to-end 3GPP-compliant 5G new radio data call on the 39-GHz band.