Telefónica and Intel have announced a joint project to research and test pre-standard 5G technologies.
The pair will also examine new features of LTE Advanced Pro that may inform the application of 5G systems, they said at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The 5G research project will split into two distinct work streams, covering radio access technology and virtualisation software respectively.
Enrique Blanco, Telefónica Global CTO, said: “5G has not been defined yet in terms of its technology, solution or architecture and this collaboration will allow us to test 5G wireless systems, virtualisation software for 5G networks as well as new features of LTE that may provide useful inputs for building the network of the future.”
The first work stream will focus on millimetre wave radio access technology, said Telefónica, and assess the viability, costs and applications of high frequency bandwidth of over 6GHz for the support of the 5G access.
Telefónica and Intel are looking to justify use cases for low latency 5G technologies, operating in these high frequencies. Under such conditions, 5G potentially makes it possible for devices to remain connected to single cell sites at all times. The pair will test solutions that could enable the kind of radio access architecture that supports such connectivity.
They will also consider MIMO technologies to increase the spectral efficiency of 5G systems, either by the use of beam-forming techniques or multi-user MIMO.
The potential extension of these technologies to frequency-division duplexing (FDD) spectrum is also on the table, as is device-to-device communications and a thorough investigation of new LTE technologies defined for IoT services in 3GPP Release 13.
The second work stream will focus on the virtualisation of network functions, software defined networking, security services, network control and cloud services, among related areas.
Telefónica said a special focus will be placed on the virtualisation of the radio access network, with cooperation with other companies such as Artesyn and ASOCS Networks to create an “expanded ecosystem”.
Sandra Rivera, Vice-President and General Manager of Intel’s Network Platforms Group, said: “Ecosystem collaboration is critical as we lay the foundation for future 5G networks that will deliver exciting new experiences to our lives. Our ongoing collaboration around NFV / SDN lays the foundation for new joint efforts with Telefónica to test 5G client devices and network technologies for mobile and IoT use cases, enabling Telefónica’s network transformation today and into the future.”