Real world 5G field test produces data speed of 3.6Gbps

As fast as 4G LTE data is, 5G speeds are much faster. Huawei's networking division teamed up with Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo, to conduct a field test for 5G wireless service in Japan. Using a band below 6GHz, the partners were able to hit peak data speeds of 3.6Gbps. What made this test so important is that the band used for it can be employed in the real world. Other 5G tests conducted by Nokia and Samsung used bands that would require a completely new infrastructure to be built.

The Huawei-NTT DoCoMo 5G field test was also done in the wild, outside of the antiseptic conditions of the lab. The wireless industry would like to get 5G off and running by 2020, although Verizon made some noise last month by saying that it would have "some level of commercial deployment" by 2017. That comment was made by Roger Gurnani, Big Red's chief information and technology architect.


According to the ITU, 5G speeds should hit 20Gbps. For comparison purposes, a Speedtest on Verizon's 4G LTE network just showed that our Motorola DROID Turbo was supporting download data speed of 33Mbps. Movies that take minutes to download will be installed on your phone in a blink of an eye with 5G.

Verizon also noted last month that it would be conducting 5G field trials next year, and has started working with Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung toward that end.

source: BGR