Samsung and Ericsson this week touted separate vehicle trials using 5G technology.
In a Tuesday press release, Ericsson said it teamed up with SK Telecom to successfully conduct an outdoor mobility trial at BMW’s car test track in Yeongjong Island, Incheon, South Korea.
According to Ericsson and SK Telecom, the trial utilized 28 GHz spectrum to create a test network – including a 5G radio and core network infrastructure as well as network slicing – that covered the 240,000 square meter area of the track. The trial network was capable of supporting peak data rates of more than 20 gbps and sub-millisecond latency, SK Telecom said.
The companies said two connected BMW vehicles equipped with 5G terminals – dubbed T5 – were deployed on the track to demonstrate their ability to observe road conditions via video recognition and provide driver assistance notifications. Ericsson said uninterrupted connectivity, using beam tracking and beam transfer across the different transmission points at speeds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour was also achieved.
The companies said the test demonstrated 5G technology will be able to support vehicular connectivity, or vehicle to everything (V2X), services that require super low latency and consistent high bi-directional throughput. SK Telecom said connected 5G vehicles like T5 provide “innovative features that dramatically improve road safety and driving experience by supporting ultra-low latency communication between vehicles or the vehicle and its environment.”
“5G will offer much more than just faster data speeds. It will serve as a true enabler for a whole new variety of powerful services that deliver unprecedented value to customers,” Alex Jinsung Choi, CTO and Head of Corporate R&D Center for SK Telecom, said. “Today’s demonstration of 5G-based connected car technologies marks the very first step towards achieving fully autonomous driving in the upcoming era of 5G.”
Separately, on Wednesday, Samsung and NTT DOCOMO announced their own 5G trial involving vehicles.
According to a press release from NTT DOCOMO, the trial took place on November 7 at the Fuji Speedway in Japan. Like the Ericsson trial, the Samsung test utilized 28 GHz spectrum as well as massive MIMO with beamforming and beam tracking to deliver data speeds of more than 2.5 gbps to a mobile device in a car traveling at speeds of up to 150 km per hour.
Samsung and NTT DOCOMO said the trial validated the feasibility of stable connectivity for 5G mobile devices in fast-moving trains.
