Deutsche Telekom announced that it has installed a first group of 5G antennas in the city of Darmstadt.
The new systems follow 5G-antenna test fields in Berlin and the Port of Hamburg. The aims in connection with the Darmstadt 5G test field include gathering experience with installation and operation of systems for the new technology. In addition, a range of 5G applications and devices will be tested. For the project, Deutsche Telekom is cooperating closely with the City of Darmstadt and with Ericsson, its technology partner.
Plans call for Darmstadts's 5G test network to comprise a total of 18 antennas, at a total of six different sites, and to be fully in place this spring. The first antennas for the test field are now in operation at a site along the city's Mina-Rees-Straße (Mina-Rees Road). The test field array will conform to the 5G New Radio (5G NR) standard, the radio air interface standard for the future 5G mobile communications component. The antennas will operate on the basis of a test license for field tests in the 3.7-GHz spectrum. Commercial systems provided by Ericsson will be used.
The test field antennas employ the state-of-the-art antenna technology that is central to 5G NR: Massive MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output), a technology that greatly increases the number of transmitting and receiving antennas in place.
Walter Goldenits, CTO, Telekom Deutschland
We are happy to see that Darmstadt, the Digital City, has joined Berlin and Hamburg in pioneering this new communications standard. We plan to carry out additional tests this year. After all, there will be no avoiding 5G in 2019.
Stefan Koetz, CEO, Ericsson GmbH
Over the past few months, our experts have upgraded numerous Deutsche Telekom mobile base stations with our Single RAN solution, and now we're delighted to be able to implement this 5G use case in cooperation with our partners.
