US-based chipset major Qualcomm Technologies today announced the company’s 5G connection based upon the New Radio (NR) work in 3GPP.

Qualcomm Technologies will be demonstrating the prototype system at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from February 27 through March 2 in the Qualcomm booth (Hall 3, Booth 3E10).

Technology giant Intel, which has strong 5G chipset plans, is yet to announce any breakthrough in its 5G works.

Intel and Ericsson today said they are launching the 5G Innovators Initiative (5GI2) to create transformative experiences.

The 5GI2 will join major equipment manufacturers, technology companies and universities to explore, test and innovate with 5G network and distributed edge technologies to accelerate the adoption of 5G wireless and infrastructure innovation in the United States. Honeywell, GE and the University of California – Berkeley are the first participants to join the initiative.

Qualcomm and 5G

Qualcomm said that the completed connection utilized Qualcomm Technologies’ sub-6 GHz 5G NR prototype system capable of operating at mid-band spectrum from 3.3 GHz to 5.0 GHz.

Telecom operators can use 5G NR technologies to achieve multi-gigabit-per-second data rates at significantly lower latency than today’s 4G LTE networks.

5G NR will utilize spectrum bands below 6 GHz for achieving ubiquitous coverage and capacity to address 5G use cases.

Qualcomm Technologies said its sub-6 GHz 5G NR prototype, which was showcased in June 2016, consists of both base stations and user equipment (UE) and serves as a testbed for verifying 5G NR capabilities in bands below 6 GHz.

The live prototype demonstration showcased 3GPP 5G NR technologies including self-contained TDD subframes, scalable OFDM-based waveforms to support wider bandwidths, advanced LDPC channel coding, and a new low-latency slot structure based design.

“In addition to serving as a significant milestone in 5G development, this first 5G NR connection is a testament to Qualcomm Technologies’ leadership in developing next generation wireless technologies that drive and track 3GPP standardization,” said Matt Grob, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Qualcomm Technologies.

Qualcomm Technologies said the 5G NR sub-6 GHz prototype will be utilized in its over-the-air 5G NR trials and interoperability testing starting in the second half of 2017.