Japanese telecom operator KDDI and Samsung Electronics announced the completion of a comprehensive set of 5G tests which demonstrate the viability and performance of 5G millimeter wave mobility solutions at speeds over 190km per hour which is the fastest record in the world. The successful results highlight the potential and capability of 5G to support a wide variety of future service scenarios.
The demonstration, which took place at 'Everland SPEEDWAY' in South Korea, involved a battery of individual tests to examine the performance of Samsung's end-to-end 5G mmWave technology. Specifically, as a vehicle accelerated from 0 to 205km per hour on the race track between multiple 5G base stations, the test measured and evaluated a variety of metrics, including handover interruption time, uplink and downlink throughput stability, and latency stability (or "jitter").
"The trial successfully showcased stable performance under high-speed mobility conditions which will dramatically increase the service experience of users in vehicles," said Akira Matsunaga, Senior Director, Mobile Network Technical Development at KDDI. "We will continue our joint efforts with Samsung to test next generation technology to unprecedented levels and discover new service cases."
KDDI and Samsung also demonstrated a successful handover scenario, with Samsung's 5G device attaching to the 5G base station as it approached the service area, and successfully being handed over to the target cell at a speed of 192km per hour (GPS speed).
"It is becoming increasingly important that we accelerate our focus on 5G's ability to meet a growing number of performance metrics,” said Woojune Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Next Generation Strategy in Network Business at Samsung Electronics. “Until now, peak bandwidth has been the common refrain, and certainly a big component of the future of 5G. However, the test we conducted with KDDI will help us build a more diverse portfolio of future 5G use cases."
The test achievements build upon a string of mobility-related successes over the past several years. In February of this year, Samsung and KDDI successfully demonstrated 5G handover capability in an urban city environment at speeds of up to 60km/h on public roads. Both companies are in discussion with 5G trials for multiple 5G service cases.
One of the most exciting prospects of 5G technology is the potential for new and highly specialized service scenarios that go beyond traditional smart device connectivity. 5G's ability to deliver on this promise is directly tied to its ability to meet the unique performance needs of a wide number of increasingly-connected industries, from Smart City IoT to Connected Cars and more. Samsung also continues to actively explore the potential for 5G-driven services under common high-speed scenarios.