Ericsson and Australia's Telstra announced they have completed the world's first 5G data call using 26-GHz millimeter wave spectrum.
During a trial at a 5G testing center Telstra has established at the Gold Coast in Queensland, the companies validated the use of mmWave spectrum for 5G data calls.
The 26-GHz band is expected to feature in 5G deployments across Australia, China and Europe.
Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright said the trial shows that the mobile industry is ready to utilize mmWave spectrum in mobile networks.
“5G will mean we can use more and different spectrum bands to deliver faster speeds, more capacity and lower latency to our customers,” Wright said.
“This will support a range of different applications, everything from data heavy applications like ultra high definition video and virtual reality, to highly reliable, low-latency communications for smart cities and autonomous cars.”
Telstra and Ericsson also plan to trial 5G candidate technologies including massive multiple input multiple output (massive MIMO) antenans with adaptive beamforming and beam tracking.
“We will conduct further tests with Ericsson to gain further insights into how mmWave 5G can be scaled and integrated into commercial mobile networks, as well as work with Australian industries to help them unlock future benefits and use cases based on 5G technology,” Wright said.