Vodafone and Huawei have joined the week’s flurry of 5G demonstrations with a trial of the tech using high and low frequency bands.
The two companies demonstrated 1.5 kilometres cell coverage in the lower C-band and peak throughput of 5GBps for a single user by using high frequency spectrum.
The trials used a combination of filtered-OFDM, sparse code multiple access and polar code with Multi-User MIMO. Peak throughputs of 18GBps were hit by using 200MHz of spectrum in the sub-6GHz band, with air interface latencies of 0.5ms.
Huawei claimed it was the world’s first large scale test of 5G for macro coverage in dense urban areas.
Both companies said the test helped show the potential for 5G to power the likes of augmented and virtual reality, which would require data rates of at least 100MBps and gigabit speeds for multiple users in dense areas.
Luke Ibbetson, Head of Vodafone Group Research and Development, said: “The results of these tests are an important development and help further our understanding of how 5G mobile connectivity performs in high and low frequency bands. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Huawei to test and evaluate emerging 5G technologies.”
Yang Chaobin, President of Huawei 5G Product Line, said: “Huawei and Vodafone are strategic partners and we are now expanding our collaboration. As a leading operator in Europe and many other regions of the world, Vodafone has played a leading role in driving innovation. I am confident that the breakthrough we achieved today is just the beginning, and we expect more exciting results in the future.”
The two companies have been collaborating since signing a memorandum of understanding last year. Most recently their trials involved MIMO in Manchester, as well as mmwave at Vodafone’s Newbury campus.