Elisa has tested VR, AR and gaming applications in 3.5GHz 5G network trials with Huawei and plead for the swift distribution of spectrum to power new tech deployments.
The Finland-based operator achieved speeds of 1.4GBps between a base station and handset during the trial, which took place in the Helsinki suburb of Pasila.
The tests, which Elisa claimed were the first time gaming had taken place in a 5G context, marked the debut of Huawei’s pre-commercial 5G handsets.Â
The devices are expected to launch later this year and into 2019.
Kalle Lehtinen, CTO at Elisa, said: “5G is just around the corner, and we believe that we will start to see applications that utilize the 5G network already in 2018. We are focusing on 5G, and we are engaged in a great deal of cooperation with our partners to test and develop new technologies.”
VR, AR and gaming companies Directive Games, Fake Production, Lyfta, Reaktor and Umbra were also involved in the trials.
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Elisa said that if Finland is to host a 5G network next year, it is essential that the 3.5GHz band is licensed for use by telcos during 2018. To date, Finish regulator FINCORA has only freed up the band for testing rather than for full deployment.
Lehtinen added: “5G makes the development of totally new type of applications possible, with ten times faster mobile broadband speeds.
“These future high-speed connections enable larger amounts of data to be transferred in the current download times, which in turn enables VR experiences, like we have seen today, which require great amounts of data to be transferred.”