Ericsson, SK Telecom and BMW have revealed an advanced 5G outdoor mobility trial, including the first multi-vehicular 5G trials. The trials were conducted successfully on a 5G test network installed at the advanced BMW car test track in Yeongjong-do, South Korea.
SK Telecom, together with Ericsson, deployed network slicing and 5G radio network infrastructure to cover a complete track in the BMW driving center. The trial with the connected test cars showed that 5G performance will support V2X (Vehicular Connectivity) services that require low latency and consistent high bi-directional throughput.
The test environment was realized by using an Ericsson 5G field trial network. It consists of multiple radio transmission points on 28GHz frequency band to cover the entire track and one user equipment installed in every car.
The trials showed consistent Gbps-level throughput with a few millisecond latencies. Uninterrupted connectivity, using beam tracking and beam transfer across the different transmission points at speeds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour is also achieved, said Ericsson.
The performance shown enables multiple connected car use cases such as augmented and virtual reality, obstacle control and vehicle to vehicle communication, based on a system solution including radio and core network infrastructure from Ericsson.
The trial simultaneously implements new key 5G capabilities with multi-site, multi-transmission point, MU-MIMO, and with multiple devices operating in the millimeter wave frequency band. It demonstrates beam tracking and beam mobility between different 5G access points, at high mobility.
Alex Jinsung Choi, CTO and Head of Corporate R&D Center, SK Telecom
Today's demonstration of 5G-based connected car technologies marks the very first step towards achieving fully autonomous driving in the upcoming era of 5G.
Thomas Norén, Head of Product Area Network Products, Ericsson
Ericsson is working with leading operators and ecosystem players to drive the realization of 5G - both with today's pre-standard field trials, and through standardization activities along with global standards bodies and industry groups.
