Nokia and U.S. Cellular have entered a collaboration for 5G testing and demonstration in North America, for both indoor and outdoor environments.

The companies have claimed to demo a next-generation network offering faster speeds and lower latency for U.S. Cellular, which is the the fifth largest wireless carrier in the United States.

The telecom network major said the 5G test will use 28GHz spectrum via an experimental license from the FCC and Nokia, which is a commercially-available, 5G-ready AirScale radio platform to stream six simultaneous 4K ultra HD videos.

For the outdoor testing conducted at U.S. Cellular technology center in Schaumburg, a point-to-point, clear line of sight scenario between a base station and user equipment was used to create a real world environment impact, said the release.

To make it effective, impairments such as dry wall, windows and metal panels were introduced, and testing was repeated by moving the base station and user equipment behind trees and foliage.

“We’re excited with this successful 5G testing with Nokia conducted at 28GHz and have seen very promising results, including 5Gbps speed, ultra-low latency under 2 ms and multiple 4k video streams,” said Michael S. Irizarry, executive vice president and chief technology officer, U.S. Cellular.

The indoor testing was done in U.S. Cellular lab, and in both environments, speeds of 5 Gbps and ultra-low latency under 2 milliseconds (ms) over the 5G wireless link were obtained.

Nokia and U.S. Cellular will also work together further for network testing and collaboration of 5G standard development.

“Our tests show how 5G technology not only will enhance U.S. Cellular’s ongoing efforts to stay ahead of the needs of their data-hungry customers and businesses, but also create opportunities for new services requiring high bandwidth and low latency,” conveyed Ricky Corker, executive vice president and head, Nokia-North America.

US Cellular, with a net income of $27 million and revenue of $980 million for its June quarter, invested $93 million on capital expenditures (Capex) in the second quarter, which was $79 million more than the first quarter and $134 million down year on year.

Vina Krishnan
[email protected]