SK Telecom has launched its latest 5G project, teaming up with Ericsson and Qualcomm to hold over the air field trials of 5G New Radio technology.
The telcos said the project would dovetail with 3GPP’s specifications for Release 15, the 5G New Radio standards that are currently being worked upon by the body.
The trials will involve high frequency spectrum, and massive MIMO technology with adaptive beamforming and beamtracking. The telcos said this technology would allow it to deliver non-line of sight connectivity, use scalable OFDM-based waveforms and flexible framework designs.
3GPP’s RAN Working Group is preparing to start the specification work on 5G New Radio in March next year.
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Alex Jinsung Choi, EVP, Chief Technology Officer, SK Telecom, said: “As 5G rapidly gains momentum, a globally agreed and unified standard becomes imperative to achieve early commercialisation of 5G and build an efficient ecosystem around it.
“As 3GPP NR is a global 5G standard, we are delighted to announce early 3GPP NR trials with leading 5G players, Ericsson and Qualcomm, with which we have made remarkable world’s first footprints in the past with previous generations of groundbreaking mobile technologies.”
Ulf Ewaldsson, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Ericsson, added: “5G is the greatest opportunity our industry has ever experienced. It will enable operators to move into new markets and build new revenue streams with radically new business models and use cases.
“This important 5G standard-based trial collaboration will demonstrate compliance to 3GPP and support the accelerated commercialisation of the global 3GPP 5G standard. On the road to 5G, Ericsson is working with leading operators and ecosystem players to enable innovative use cases on a global scale.”