5G networks are being deployed and 5G hand-held devices are being tested – soon, it all will become commercial

In numerous areas of the world are being deployed 5G-test networks. Deployment of the 5G network does not mean that the users can use it as they do not have suitable hand-held devices. But the technology is being developed very fast and testing is ongoing, as seen from this brief story re-published here from the telecom paper [emphasis added DL]:

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Qualcomm, Ericsson make 5G NR sub-6 GHz OTA call with mobile device

Tuesday 23 October 2018 | 09:19 CET | News

Qualcomm Technologies and Ericsson announced the successful completion of what they call the first 3GPP Rel-15 spec compliant 5G NR over-the-air (OTA) call over sub-6 GHz bands on a smartphone form factor mobile test device. The OTA call was conducted in the Ericsson Lab in Stockholm, Sweden on the 3.5 GHz band. Similar to the companies’ first OTA calls performed in September using millimetre wave (mmWave) in both 28 and 39 GHz spectrum bands, today’s sub-6 GHz call used Ericsson’s commercial 5G NR radio AIR 6488 and baseband products and a mobile test device powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem and RF subsystem.

In December 2017, Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies announced interoperability development testing (IODT) to help pave the way for commercial launches of 5G NR standard-compliant infrastructure, smartphones and other mobile devices in the first half of 2019. The successful 5G OTA calls using both sub-6 GHz and mmWave bands are critical milestones in the commercialisation process as operators and OEMs around the world can now use the companies’ products to conduct their own tests in their labs and the field.

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https://betweenrockandhardplace.wordpress.com/2018/10/23/5g-networks-are-being-deployed-and-5g-hand-held-devices-are-being-tested-soon-it-all-will-become-commercial/