They say the 5G SA Lab’s results confirm the Belgian operator’s readiness for accelerated 5G roll-out
The international communications firm BICS said it has concluded of the first 5G Standalone (SA) roaming trials in the world within the BICS 5G Lab with Belgian operator Proximus.
Earlier this year Proximus bought out other shareholders to own BICS outright.
The innovation platform enabled data sessions and outbound roaming of test subscribers from Proximus to BICS’ test network environment.
Test environment
The BICS 5G Lab was announced earlier this year, and provides a test environment for operators and enterprises to test their readiness for next-gen services deployment of 5G Standalone, independently of the 4G core network.
It follows BICS’ previous initiatives in the promotion of 5G adoption, including the recent addition of borderless 5G connectivity to its SIM for Things solution earlier this year.
The trial enabled a 5G data session for outbound roamers and demonstrated roaming interoperability between two 5G network providers – a critical element for the communications ecosystem to be able to meet the international needs of roaming devices and end users.
It also established connectivity between the visited and home network via secured gateways (SEPP), hosted on BICS’ IPX network.
The IoT wagon will roll
Mikaël Schachne, VP Mobility and IoT, BICS, says, “BICS is perfectly positioned at the heart of the communications system to facilitate 5G Standalone readiness, ensuring operators and enterprises are fully prepared for roll-out.
The insights BICS provides, harnessed from our unparalleled expertise in carrying over half the world’s data roaming traffic, can help businesses to accelerate their 5G strategies and provide first-class offerings to their customers.”
Geert Standaert, Chief Technology Officer, Proximus. added, “5G represents a revolution of mobile communications and will accelerate the advent of the Internet of Things.
“The conclusion of this trial marks a major advancement in Proximus’ 5G Standalone roll-out, which will bring unprecedented advantages to both end users and businesses.”