Samsung and Cisco have held the “first multi-vendor” end-to-end trial of 5G with Verizon.
The US operator is readying trials of what it claims is a 5G-based fixed wireless access service to be launched by the end of next month, followed by pilots in 11 markets.
This demonstration, aimed at demonstrating the broadband services that will be introduced, involved Cisco’s Ultra Service Platform and Advanced Services, along with Samsung’s virtual RAN solution and 5G Radio base stations.
Verizon said the demonstrations, held in Michigan, achieved interworking between the core network, radio edge and user devices.
It also said the trial showed how ready technologies deemed as central to 5G are, and how operators can pick a range of infrastructure components from multiple vendors.
[Read more: 5G bands could be shared in future, claims university researchers]
Adam Koeppe, Vice President of Network Planning at Verizon, said: “We are excited about the rapid progression of 5G technology with our 5G Technology Forum partners. Interoperability, a key milestone towards 5G commercialisation, allows for highly flexible network design to meet emerging 5G use cases.”
Sathya Atreyam, Research Manager, 5G and IoT Infrastructure, IDC, said: “5G success depends on developing a framework that is not only comprehensive but also ensures a frictionless end-to-end convergence of radio access and packet core 5G architecture. Equally important is to ensure the 5G architecture natively supports programmability and real time resource partitioning for tomorrow’s massive connectivity and extensive coverage requirements.”
Cisco has been pushing hard on network functions virtualisation technology, recently buying Viptel to bolster its SD-WAN offering.