As the carriers rush to roll out 5G wireless communications, it is easy to forget that the technology is still being developed. Taking advantage of 3GPP Release 16, Keysight Technologies, Inc. demonstrated what they claim is an industry-first 10 Gbps data connection at the Mobile World Congress 2021 this week in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
The demonstration used 5G new radio dual connectivity (NR-DC) and aggregated millimeter wave (mmWave) and sub-6 GHz spectrum. NR-DC allows 5G NR devices to concurrently connect and aggregate multiple NR cells, which increases data transfer speeds. Keysight’s network emulation platform and the Snapdragon® X65 5G modem-RF system with the Qualcomm® QTM545 mmWave antenna module were used in the demonstration.
The increased speeds are the result of the second phase of 5G NR deployment, which enables advanced wireless communications built on the latest 3GPP Release 16 specification, according to Cao Peng, Vice President and General Manager for Keysight’s wireless test group.
The Keysight/Qualcomm demonstration used spectrum in both frequency range 1 (FR1) and FR2 (mmWave), which enables 5G user equipment to take advantage of wide bandwidths and high order modulation.
“Flexible spectrum use combined with higher data speed connections will allow carriers to dynamically deploy 5G services in wireless congested areas,” Keysight said.
The enhancements in 3GPP releases 16 and 17 of 5G New Radio include both extensions to existing features as well as features that address new verticals and deployment scenarios.
Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden, said, “5G New Radio has already evolved in important ways since the 3GPP standardized Release 15 in late 2018. The significant enhancements in Releases 16 and 17 are certain to play a critical role in expanding both the availability and the applicability of 5G NR in both industry and public services in the near future.”
5G NR Release 16 greatly expands the reach of 5G to realize new services, spectrum, and deployments, according to Anritsu, which is collaborating with Samsung on 5G. The enhancements to 5G further improve capacity, coverage, power efficiency, mobility, latency and reliability. Together, these enhancements will enable benefits across a broad range of 5G use cases, the company added.
In March, Samsung Electronics achieved 5G data speeds of 5.25 Gbps using E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) technology, which enables mobile operators to boost 5G speeds and coverage by leveraging a 4G network.
In a demonstration carried out in Samsung’s lab in Korea, the company successfully combined 40 megahertz of 4G and 800 megahertz of 5G in the mmWave band. For the demonstration, Samsung used its commercial end-to-end solutions, which included the Samsung Galaxy S20+ smartphone, 4G radios, 5G radios (compact macro link), and 4G/5G common Core (link).
Also in March, Qualcomm Technologies and Keysight showcased 5G low-, mid- and high-band aggregation across different global combinations on a smartphone form-factor device, using the Snapdragon X65 and Keysight’s 5G network emulation solutions.
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