Leading UK communications infrastructure company Arqiva which recently acquired an additional 28GHz millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum licence from Luminet, has partnered with Samsung to field trial the 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technology.
Arqiva claims that the field trial is the first of its kind in Europe, let alone the UK. The trial is powered by Samsung’s 5G network solution (intelligent beam-forming technology and virtualized core network) and its customer premises equipment (CPE).
Arqiva said the primary aim of the trial is to demonstrate the stability of the FWA service, and its potential as a fast-to-market and cost-effective alternative to fibre for connectivity to homes and businesses.
Despite a link distance of several hundred meters, the system has established a stable two-way mmWave link with downlink speeds of around 1GB per second at the CPE. Allowing for simultaneous streaming of more than 25 UHD 4K TV channels as an illustration, this more than meets the needs of today’s typical household with considerable room for future growth.
The showcase consists of a series of six stations. These include an overview of FWA technology and how it works, examples of 5G use cases, demonstrations of 4K UHD and Virtual Reality (VR) content streaming, and a look at possible applications of 5G in the future.
There are also plans to extend the trial’s coverage to additional nearby buildings over its duration, said Arqiva.
Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, EVP and Head of Next Gen Communications Business Team, Samsung
One of the most exciting prospects that 5G is expected to bring to the table is the exploration of powerful new use cases outside of traditional smart device mobile connectivity.
Simon Beresford-Wylie, CEO, Arqiva
Though only a proof of concept at this stage, we are confident that this trial with Samsung will showcase not only 5G FWA’s potential for delivering ultrafast broadband but also the value of the 28GHz band in helping achieve this.
