Successful 5G Connection Points to H1 2019 Deployment

“This is the first 5G NR OTA connection worldwide between devices and a live operator network using 3.5 GHz spectrum, marking an important milestone for the mobile industry in Europe to help enable OEMs and operators to deliver 5G networks and devices in the first half of 2019.” – Cristiano Amon, President, Qualcomm

Another technical milestone has been reached in the push toward 5G network technology.

The latest comes by way of a trial involving Qualcomm Technologies, Ericsson, Swisscom, and Wistron NeWeb Corporation (or “WNC”). The companies are staking claim to the first successful trial of a 5G device on a 5G NR (“New Radio”) network in Europe.

Conducted at Swisscom’s Dialog Arena, the trial involved the company’s 3GPP Rel-15 5G NR network running on hardware and software provided by Ericsson, and featured a WNC device using a Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem and RF subsystem. A small “5G” icon appeared on the device’s display when it successfully connected to the network.

In an announcement of the trial, Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon explained its significance, asserting, “This is the first 5G NR OTA connection worldwide between devices and a live operator network using 3.5 GHz spectrum, marking an important milestone for the mobile industry in Europe to help enable OEMs and operators to deliver 5G networks and devices in the first half of 2019.”

On that note, the companies say that the WNC device used in the trial is likely to be one of the first commercially available 5G devices on Swisscom’s network, and will become available to consumers in the first half of next year.