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​Nokia and NTT DoCoMo show off 2Gbps speeds in 5G trial

As 3GPP standards for 5G emerge, Nokia and NTT DoCoMo have demonstrated 2Gbps speeds in an indoor trial in Barcelona.
Written by Liam Tung, Contributing Writer

Nokia has shown off its 5G technologies in an indoor trial that achieved download speeds of 2Gbps using a high frequency band.

Nokia has teamed up with Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo to demonstrate technologies using millimetre wave spectrum. Millimetre wave is likely to make its way into the 5G standard, which is set to be published before carriers begin rolling out the technology in 2020.

The two companies ran the joint indoor 5G trial at the MWC trade show in the Spanish city of Barcelona, where they reached download speeds of 2Gbps in the 70GHz band.

"Utilising higher frequency bands including millimetre wave is key to deliver extremely high performance in 5G," Seizo Onoe, chief technology officer at NTT DoCoMo, said. "We believe that high-frequency spectrum shall be used not just for small cells as a means to complement the existing network, but also for building solid area coverage through coordination with existing lower frequency bands. The success of this indoor trial with Nokia Networks using the 70GHz band marks an important step forward in our 5G vision for 2020."

Nokia and NTT DoCoMo will also run an outdoor trial in the 70 GHz band later this year.

As noted by Reuters, NTT DoCoMo is aiming to have 5G networks up and running for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

The 2Gbps speeds are well above the 300Mbps maximum speeds currently possible using 4G network specifications and the 450Mbps offered by its successor LTE-A, which is beginning to be deployed by operators around the world.

The joint demonstration follows the 5G trial plans DoCoMo announced last year, when it said it would test a range of high-frequency bands with Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Fujitsu, NEC, Nokia, and Samsung. The carrier is aiming to support speeds up to 10Gbps. Each of the network equipment providers is delivering technology for NTT to test at different high frequency bands.

Nokia was demonstrating its millimetre-wave technology for frequency bands in the range of 30GHz and above. Deployed in a future 5G network, the technology can deliver peak rates greater than 10 Gbps and edge network rates of 100 Mbps.

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