Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies say they have achieved a non-standalone (NSA) 5G New Radio (NR) data call on 2.6GHz.
The partners say the successful trial brings a new sub-6 frequency band one step closer to commercial roll-out. The bi-directional downlink and uplink data call was made at the Ericsson Lab in Kista, Sweden in December.
3GPP-compliant
This latest interoperability development testing data call was compliant with the 3GPP Release-15 ‘early drop’ specification, Ericsson says. The specification was frozen in March 2018 and further stabilised in September. It is the basis for commercial 5G launches expected in the first half of 2019.
The lab demonstration used Ericsson’s commercially available 5G hardware – including its 5G NR radio AIR 6488 and RAN Compute products – together with Qualcomm Technologies’ mobile smartphone form-factor test device powered by the Snapdragon X50 5G modem and antenna modules with integrated RF transceiver, RF front-end and antenna elements.
Continuous testing for 2019 launch
Per Narvinger, Head of Product Area Networks, Ericsson commented, “Together with Qualcomm Technologies, Ericsson continues to make strides on commercial 5G readiness by continuously performing interoperability tests on 5G NR networks on different spectrum bands. We’re offering our customers flexible deployment options as they gear up for commercial 5G services.”
Durga Malladi, Senior Vice President and General Manager, 4G/5G at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., added, “Qualcomm Technologies is excited to continue working with Ericsson on 5G technology adoption and drive worldwide 5G launches this year. We are committed to helping ensure consumers get 5G devices and experiences in their hands starting in the first half of 2019.”
Qualcomm Technologies and Ericsson have completed similar tests on 28 GHz and 39 GHz millimetre wave bands, as well as on the 3.5 GHz band, based on the September 3GPP specifications. Ericsson says it is now working with key partners for network and device interoperability tests based on 3GPP-compliant solutions on millimetre wave (mmWave), 3.5GHz and now 2.6GHz bands.