AT&T says it’s begun its first 5G business customer trial, which may be the first of its kind. The carrier is using millimeter wave technology to deliver a 5G network experience in one of Intel’s Austin offices.
This trial builds on a previous public 5G demo with Ericsson featuring 4K streaming video, real-time camera feeds and reaching nearly 14 gigabits-per-second speeds. The new trial is significant. “We’re leaving the lab and heading into the field with a real-world business customer,” said Rick Hubbard, senior vice president – Networking Product Management, AT&T. “The trial will help accelerate our 5G work by shedding new light on how the technology acts in a business environment.”
“The future of video is mobile. And the future of mobile is video,” said Tom Keathley, senior vice president, wireless network architecture and design, AT&T. “Mobile video streaming continues to be a vital aspect of our 5G work, and this trial gives us an opportunity to test 4K HD video streaming across further physical distances between pieces of equipment. With our 5G and 4G LTE advancements, we expect speeds rivaling what we see from cable providers.”
During the trial, more than a gigabit-per-second bandwidth will let AT&T test multiple enterprise proof of concept use cases. That includes internet access, VPN, Unified Communications applications and 4K video streams. The trial will showcase the potential of 5G VoIP over the 15GHz and 28GHz spectrum bands, according to the carrier.
Indeed, during the UBS business conference on Tuesday, AT&T Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson said 5G “will be pulled forward” into the marketplace by demand.
December 8, 2016
Menu
