Looks like Samsung might be headed back to Verizon’s New Jersey headquarters.
The South Korean company this week applied to the FCC for permission to conduct 28 GHz 5G tests at a number of locations, including at a station located in Verizon’s home base town of Basking Ridge, N.J. According to its application, Samsung is also looking to conduct tests in the neighboring town of Bernardsville, N.J., as well as Bridgewater, N.J., which is located about 20 minutes south of Basking Ridge.
Samsung submitted a separate application to conduct 28 GHz testing in Mountain View, Calif., as well. That location is home to tech giant Google, as well as a number of other technology companies.
Both applications seek to conduct tests in the period from October 1 of this year to April 1, 2017. Samsung said the tests would include four units of transmitting equipment from “various” manufacturers. The application said tests would be conducted over an interim time period and would be operating at “low power within a very limited area of operation.”
But this wouldn’t be the first time Samsung and Verizon have teamed up on 5G.
In February, Verizon confirmed Samsung was able to use Verizon’s Fios wired network and its own 5g Hybrid Adaptive Array antenna radio technology to deliver 5G wireless speeds over millimeter wave band spectrum in trials conducted at its Basking Ridge location. Verizon said the tests included several real-world use cases, including in-building and mobile environments. Verizon also said Samsung was able to transmit 4K UHD video content over the air while in a moving vehicle using automatic beamforming multiple-input MIMO technology.
Verizon and Samsung also recently teamed up as partners on the former’s 5G Technology Forum. Alongside companies like Apple, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Intel, Nokia and Qualcomm, Verizon and Samsung worked to develop and release the first 5G radio specifications last month.
The proposed new tests come on the heels of the FCC’s recent decision to open up nearly 11GHz of high-band spectrum for commercial wireless use. The newly freed spectrum includes 3.85 GHz of licensed spectrum from 27.5-28.35 GHz and 37-40 GHz as well as 7 GHz of unlicensed spectrum from 64-71 GHz.
Though AT&T, T-Mobile and C Spire have all also taken aim at the 28 GHz band for their 5G tests, Verizon has a leg up on the competition thanks to its recent deal with XO Communications. In addition to acquiring XO’s fiber assets, Verizon also struck a deal with the company to lease its 28GHz wireless spectrum with an option to buy by the end of 2018.