Ericsson, Intel and China Mobile achieve 3GPP-compliant, multi-vendor Standalone 5G NR interoperability

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC, news, filings) and Intel, together with China Mobile Research Institute and China Mobile Jiangsu Company, have successfully demonstrated the first 3GPP-compliant, multi-vendor Standalone (SA) 5G New Radio (NR) call – accelerating the commercial deployment of standard-based 5G networks.

The 3GPP Release 15 5G NR SA specifications were completed on June 13, 2018 enabling Standalone 5G NR with user and control plane on a 5G next-generation core network. The Non-Standalone and SA releases share the same physical layer specifications. The successful interoperability test marks another milestone for the commercialization of the newly finalized 5G NR SA standards.

The partners have conducted live Interoperability Development Testing (IoDT) of 3GPP-compliant SA 5G NR technology at the Ericsson Lab in Beijing, China. The live IoDT operating at 100MHz on 3.5GHz mid-band used Ericsson’s 5G NR base stations and Intel’s 5G NR UE (Intel® 5G Mobile Trial Platform) prototypes.

Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Area Networks, Ericsson, says: “Successfully completing the first 3GPP-compliant Standalone 5G NR call marks another milestone with our ecosystem partners on the path to 5G commercialization, building on our years of research and standardization. Together, we’re delivering on our commitment to realize a standard-compliant and easily deployable technology that will bring benefits to our customers and end users.”

Asha Keddy, Vice President and General Manager Next Generation Standards, Intel, says: “Intel’s ongoing collaboration with Ericsson and China Mobile and our achievement of 3GPP-compliant Standalone (SA) 5G New Radio (NR) multi-vendor interoperability will help to prepare the industry for the deployment of 5G NR SA networks. As 5G networks begin to be deployed, a new wave of 5G experiences will be possible, powered by Intel technologies across the cloud, core network, access network, and devices.”

Huang Yuhong, Deputy General Manager of China Mobile Research Institute, says: “China Mobile has worked hard with global partners in setting up a common 5G SA standard. Now we have teamed up with Ericsson and Intel to achieve successful interoperability of 5G NR among multi vendors. This is an important milestone for the commercialization of 5G standards and will lay a solid foundation for China Mobile in our large-scale 5G trial, enabling the success of the global 5G industry.”

Later this year, Ericsson and China Mobile will conduct a 5G field trial in Suzhou city of Jiangsu Province, where the demo system will also be deployed and tested. Ericsson and Intel have been collaborating on 5G and jointly conducting trials globally with communication service providers since 2017. More details about Standalone 5G NR Interoperability Development Testing can be found here.

The three companies will hold a joint SA 5G NR live call demonstration at Mobile World Congress Shanghai, from June 27 to June 29, 2018.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Intel® 5G Mobile Trial Platform is based on high performance FPGA platform and supports both Non-Standalone and SA. It also supports Sub-6 frequency band, uplink support 2 layers and 256QAM, and downlink support 4 layers and 256QAM.

Technical fact sheet:

The Standalone 5G NR IoDT test complies with following 3GPP 5G NR requirements:

Multiple numerology support: Flexible OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) waveform numerologies supporting low-band, as well as mid-band and high-band spectrum allocations for wideband operation and low latency services.

Flexible frame structure: Dynamic frame structure enables future-proof and ultra-lean design as well as self-contained data transmissions that support diverse use cases with requirements on, among others, low latency, high peak-rate, and high reliability with energy efficient transmission.

Channel codes: Channel coding schemes based on the latest technology in advanced low-density parity-check (LDPC); and Polar codes that support both extreme peak rates and high-reliability use cases.

Native MIMO support: Control and data channel support for Massive MIMO (Multiple-input, Multiple-output) features based on beam-centric design; improves spectral efficiency and achieves higher data rates while boosting performance for consumers.

Ultra-lean design: Minimize any transmission not directly related to delivery of user data. Remove the need for always-on signals; more energy efficient design and reduces interference.

Expanded spectrum support: Low-bands, mid-bands, high-bands; more spectrum bands and wider bandwidth available.

Related links:

Global mobile industry leaders achieve multi-band 5G NR interoperability (Press release December 21, 2017)

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