Ericsson and Intel have collaborated on another 5G milestone, completing the first end-to-end 3GPP-compliant 5G new radio data call on the 39-GHz band.
The vendors, which completed the first 3.5-GHz millimeter wave (mmWave) data call in July, conducted the 39-GHz data call at the Ericsson 5G lab in Kista Sweden and a 5G lab in Intel's Santa Clara campus.
The 39-GHz band is expected to play an important role in North America's 5G rollouts, which are expected to commence in the US in 2019. All major providers are planning to use the spectrum band.
The trial used Ericsson's commercially available 5G NR radio and baseband, as well as an Intel RF mmWave chip and the vendor's 5G Mobile Trial Platform.
“Completing this end-to-end data call on 39GHz with Intel shows our commitment to realizing 5G in different spectrum bands,” Ericsson EVP of networks Fredrik Jejdling said.
“In July we did it on 3.5GHz and now on 39GHz, which will smoothen the path to 5G for our customers. Using commercial 5G radios for this multivendor interoperability milestone shows our progress towards making 5G a commercial reality.”
Intel VP of next generation and standards Asha Keddy added that the live demonstration signifies how close 5G commercial services are a reality in North America.