AT&T launches first 5G business customer trial with Intel, Ericsson

NEW DELHI: US telecoms giant AT&T said that it has launched the first U.S. 5G business customer trial with Ericsson and Intel.

"To our knowledge, this is the first of its kind. We’re using millimeter wave (mmWave) technology to power a 5G network experience in one of Intel’s Austin offices," said AT&T in its statement.

"We have worked with Ericsson to conduct our first public 5G demo featuring streaming 4K HD video, real-time camera feeds and reaching speeds of nearly 14 gigabits per second. Now, we’re taking the 5G technology we’ve worked on with Ericsson and Intel into the field to explore what benefits it can provide a real-world business customer," it said.

“This trial is a significant step forward. We’re leaving the lab and heading into the field with a real-world business customer,” said Rick Hubbard, senior vice president – Networking Product Management, AT&T.

“We expect mmWave technology to be an important part of 5G. The trial will help accelerate our 5G work by shedding new light on how the technology acts in a business environment," said Hubbard.

During the trial, more than a gigabit per second bandwidth will let us test multiple enterprise proof of concept use cases. That includes internet access, VPN, Unified Communications applications and 4K video streams. The trial will showcase the potential of 5G VoIP over the 15GHz and 28GHz spectrum bands.

“The future of video is mobile. And the future of mobile is video,” said Tom Keathley, senior vice president, wireless network architecture and design, AT&T.

“Mobile video streaming continues to be a vital aspect of our 5G work, and this trial gives us an opportunity to test 4K HD video streaming across further physical distances between pieces of equipment. With our 5G and 4G LTE advancements, we expect speeds rivaling what we see from cable providers. Our path to 5G will help make this vision a reality faster," Keathley.

“Intel is committed to collaborating with industry leaders to develop leading technologies and solutions that expedite network readiness for the successful early roll out of 5G," said Aicha Evans, corporate vice president and general manager of the Communications and Devices Group of Intel.

"We are excited to work with AT&T on this initial trial as we work to deliver the products and investments that will bring 5G to life," said Evans.

“Ericsson is working with AT&T and other leading operators and ecosystem players to drive the realization of 5G – both with today’s pre-standard field trials and through standardization activities with global standards bodies and industry groups,” said Thomas Noren, Head of Product Area Network Products, Ericsson.

“This trial takes us a step closer to 5G commercialization, validating the feasibility of outdoor-to-indoor mmWave coverage for business customers," said Noren.

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