China Mobile has achieved the world’s first 5G NR Interoperability Data Testing (IoDT) system demonstrating a data connection based on 3GPP R15 standard.
China Mobile, the world’s largest telecom operator, conducted the IoDT connection demonstration at China Mobile’s 5G Joint Innovation Center, and utilized ZTE’s 5G NR pre-commercial base station and Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G NR sub-6 GHz UE prototype.
“The achievement of 5G NR interoperable connection testing, compliant with the 3GPP 5G NR standard, is an important milestone of 5G standard to productization and pre-commercialization from standard,” said Li Zhengmao, vice president, China Mobile Communications.
The 5G NR system operates in 3.5GHz and supports 100MHz bandwidth, compliant with the 3GPP Release-15 5G New Radio layer 1 framework — including scalable OFDM numerology, advanced channel coding and modulation schemes, and the low-latency self-contained slot structure.
The 5G NR IoDT system is designed to achieve multi-gigabit per second peak data rates at lower air interface latency than 4G networks.
5G NR technologies will support requirements of emerging mobile broadband experiences such as streaming high-definition video and immersive virtual/augmented reality in the future, as well as enabling new high-reliability, low-latency services for autonomous vehicles, drones and industrial control, etc.
The interoperable connection of the 5G NR IoDT system serves as a significant industry milestone towards pre-commercialization of 5G NR technologies at scale, driving rapid development of 3GPP standards-compliant networks and devices.
“Achieving the world’s first 5G NR interoperable data connection is testament to our 5G leadership, driving toward the timely launch of standard-compliant commercial networks,” said Cristiano Amon, executive vice president, Qualcomm Technologies.
“ZTE is aiming to become one of the first suppliers of commercial 5G equipment and solutions,” said Xu Huijun, chief technology officer of ZTE.
In February 2017, Qualcomm announced 5G NR trials with AT&T, China Mobile, NTT DOCOMO, SK Telecom, Telstra and Vodafone in partnership with Ericsson and ZTE. The trials operate in mid-band spectrum from 3.3 GHz to 5.0 GHz, as well as millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum at 28 GHz and 39 GHz, showcasing the unified 5G NR design across diverse spectrum bands.
Qualcomm is conducting 5G NR trials to meet demand for the enhanced mobile broadband benefits of 5G NR in 2019, while continuing to address the larger vision for 5G NR in 2020 and beyond.
Baburajan K
