Huawei attains 20Gbps in 5G dual-connectivity test
Huawei has announced the completion of dual-connectivity technology verification during a 5G trial with Korean telco LG U+ in Seoul, providing 20Gbps downlink speeds by simultaneously linking two 5G base stations.
The trial took place using a 3.5GHz base station and a 28GHz base station at an LG U+ test base in the Korean capital, with Huawei saying that the dual-connectivity solution can also be used to link 4G and 5G base stations.
"Dual-connectivity is a technique that allows multiple base stations to transmit data simultaneously or alternately to a user so that they can seamlessly communicate with other users when moving between base stations," Huawei explained.
LG U+ had previously tested the technology in a lab environment between two 4G base stations.
"This time, LG U+ and Huawei successfully completed the verification between 5G base stations, and also set up a foundation for future 4G-5G 'dual-connectivity' in a 4G-5G heterogeneous network," Huawei added.
LG U+ 5G Strategy managing director Kim Dae Hee said the telco would now develop technologies based on dual-connectivity, with the carrier to continue working with Huawei on "5G technical cooperation and verification".
Huawei has also been collaborating with Intel on 5G research, last month announcing that they would be partnering on 5G New Radio (5G NR) for interoperability development testing based on 3GPP standards.
For the interoperability trials, the companies will use Huawei's 5G base station prototype and Intel's third-generation 5G mobile trial platform to test 5G NR across the sub-6GHz spectrum band -- including the C-band between 4GHz and 8GHz -- and the higher-range millimetre-wave (mmWave) spectrum bands.
President of Huawei's 5G Product Line Yang Chaobin said the networking company has already tested C-Band, mmWave, and downlink-and-uplink decoupling 5G technologies in Beijing.
Huawei has also previously worked with Intel on delivering cloud and network function virtualisation (NFV) solutions to enable telcos to upgrade while laying the foundations for 5G.
It has also been trialling 5G with carriers worldwide, in January attaining speeds of around 35Gbps with Singaporean telcos StarHub and M1.
The StarHub trial was conducted using 2GHz at the e-band -- which sits between the 60GHz and 90GHz frequencies -- using three layers of e-band, as well as 64 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM).
The M1 lab trial was conducted at M1's main operating centre in Jurong, and made use of mmWave spectrum in the 73GHz e-band as well as 4x4 MIMO; two-component carrier (2CC) uplink carrier aggregation; 3CC tri-band downlink carrier aggregation; and Higher Order Modulation 256 QAM.
Huawei, which plans to help implement 5G networks by 2020, similarly achieved speeds of 35Gbps during a 5G trial with Australian telecommunications provider Optus in November last year, which was likewise conducted over the 73GHz mmWave spectrum band using the Polar Code coding mechanism.
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