Qualcomm has expanded its 5G NR testing facilities in Europe with the addition of a new lab dedicated to end-to-end over-the-air (OTA) configurations for 5G NR millimeter wave (mmWave). Located at Qualcomm Technologies’ research and development (R&D) center in Farnborough, UK, the new 5G mmWave lab and test facility will demonstrate and facilitate commercialization of 5G NR mmWave capabilities by allowing OEMs and European operators to test and fine-tune mmWave devices and network configurations.
On the heels of the new 5G R&D facility launching, Qualcomm Technologies and Sony have announced that Sony will be the first OEM to take advantage of the lab. Sony will provide pre-commercial mmWave mobile form factor devices to the facility to test the capacity, throughput, latency, and reliability of mmWave in multiple deployment scenarios.
For dense urban environments, indoor venues and enterprises, mm-Wave brings massive capacity, multi-Gigabit peak throughput, and low-latency connectivity to smartphones, laptops and more. In addition, the ability to carry higher data rates for users makes 5G perfect for deployment in high-density indoor environments such as stadia and shopping centers, often as a complementary technology for sub-6 5G deployments.
Sony demonstrated a 5G NR mmWave technical evaluation mobile device, based on the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform and Snapdragon X50 5G modem and antenna modules with integrated RF transceiver, RF front-end and antenna elements at MWC in Barcelona this year.
The lab is the latest development in Qualcomm Technologies’ commitment to making 5G a commercial reality within Europe. The end-to-end testing is based on implementations of the 3GPP 5G NR Release 15 standards. The mobile test devices are based on the Snapdragon X50 5G and X55 5G modem family and antenna modules with an integrated transceiver and Qualcomm Technologies RFFE solutions. The network will later enable concepts that are expected to be supported from Release 16 and beyond based on flexible gNodeB base stations and the 5G Next-Gen Core network. With the recent launch of the Snapdragon X50 5G modem, Qualcomm Technologies has taken another leap forward to supercharge the rollout of 5G globally. Both the Snapdragon X50 and X55 5G modem are designed to provide support for mmWave and sub-6 GHz spectrum – meaning fewer hurdles for OEMs to deliver benefits of 5G – multi-gigabit speeds and low latency.
Additionally, the lab will enable Qualcomm Technologies to demonstrate 5G mmWave based low-latency and high throughput data communication, in support of OEM and Carrier customers, as a part of validation and test of 3GPP standards.
Qualcomm’s development of 5G technologies includes foundational research, groundbreaking inventions, leadership in the design of the 3GPP 5G NR standard and the early prototypes and trials. Two generations of 5G modems have since been announced, along with a comprehensive modem-to-antenna and RFFE solution. These, coupled with the development of test networks such as this, have paved the way for the commercial launches of 5G NR standard-compliant infrastructure, smartphones and other mobile devices happening now in 2019. Building on its mobile technology leadership, Qualcomm Technologies continues to push the boundaries of 5G, including key contributions to industry standards and working across a roadmap of new technologies that can expand the 5G ecosystem to new industries.
