AT&T is kicking it into high gear.
In addition to conducting 5G trials in Austin, Texas, the carrier on Monday announced it has begun system and software architecture lab work in Middletown, N.J., Atlanta, Ga. and San Ramon, Calif.
AT&T said it is also expanding its 5G trials through a new partnership with Nokia to test millimeter wave technologies. The carrier said Nokia will supply test equipment for a number of 5G “building blocks and features,” and said it is working with Nokia to define the necessary features, capabilities and cases for future tests.
AT&T is already working with Intel and Ericsson on 5G technology.
According to AT&T, its 5G trials with Ericsson have already yielded speeds above 10 gbps. AT&T said the tests were conducting using real-world environmental simulations, including increased amounts of data transmission at one time. The carrier said early latency tests have also shown “positive signs.”
For comparison, millimeter wave 5G tests conducted by Sprint last week at Levis stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., achieved speeds of 2.3 gbps and one way air interface latency of about one millisecond.
“We’ve seen great results in our 5G lab trials,” AT&T senior vice president of wireless network architecture Tom Keathley said. “The work coming out of AT&T Labs will pave the way toward future international 5G standards and allow us to deliver these fast 5G speeds and network performance across the U.S.”
AT&T said it is testing several different 5G technologies in its trials, including sub-6 Hz and millimeter wave spectrum, low latency, advanced beamforming and very high throughput.
The carrier said it expects to run additional outdoor 5G wireless connectivity trials to fixed locations in both Austin and Middletown by the end of this summer.
AT&T said the goal is to structure its trials so the carrier can contribute to the formation of the 3GPP 5G standards and then “pivot to compliant commercial deployments once standards are set.”
Filed Under: 5G
