Telstra, Ericsson and Intel recently completed the first end-to-end 5G non-standalone (NSA) 3GPP data call on a commercial mobile network.
The call is the of its kind over the 3.5GHz spectrum, bringing together the core components from multiple companies required for a real commercial 5G network call. It included Telstra’s 5G NSA commercial network, licenced 3.5GHz commercial spectrum, Ericsson’s commercial 5G NR radio 6488, baseband and packet core for 5G EPC, a personal Telstra SIM card and the Intel 5G Mobile Trial Platform for the 5G NR UE.
This milestone quickly follows the July 6 lab-based data call by Ericsson and Intel, together with Telstra and other early-moving 5G service providers at the Ericsson Lab in Stockholm, accelerating efforts to deploy commercial 5G networks.
The commercial data call is the latest in a series of 5G milestones by Telstra to drive network leadership in Australia and provide customers with the next-generation mobile technologies.
Ericsson, Telstra and Intel will continue to conduct 5G tests across multiple use cases ahead of the expected 5G commercial network launch by Telstra in early 2019.
Mike Wright, Group Managing Director, Telstra
Demonstrating this 5G data call end-to-end using my own personal SIM card on Telstra’s mobile network is the closest any provider has come to making a ’true’ 5G call in the real world-environment, and marks another 5G first for Telstra.
Fredrik Jejdling, EVP and Head of Networks, Ericsson
Achieving the first commercial data call with our partners Telstra and Intel shows the progress we’ve made from testing the technology in a lab to a 5G commercial network environment. 5G is open for business and Ericsson is helping customers get it done.
