Sri Lanka network operator Dialog Axiata announced the successful completion of what it calls South Asia’s first fully functional 5G pilot transmission over commercial grade base stations and end-user devices.  The pre-commercial 5G trial was conducted in collaboration with the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), using spectrum in the 3.5-GHz band that has been assigned by the regulator for 5G trials.

During the trial, Dialog achieved pilot speeds of over 2 Gbps in a real-world setting using commercial-grade 5G home gateway routers.

Dialog Axiata enables South Asia’s First Fully functional 5G Pilot transmission.

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The Director General, TRCSL, Mr. P.R.S.P. Jayatilake in congratulating Dialog on embarking on the bold initiative of setting up a pre-commercial 5G transmission said, “Sri Lanka has consistently led the South Asia region in technology introduction. The TRCSL is very proud to note the achievements of the mobile sector in delivering broadband services to Sri Lankan consumers on a very affordable basis – this along with wider availability has driven broadband penetration in Sri Lanka”.

Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC said, “Reaching the milestone of enabling a fully functional pre-commercial 5G transmission as well as our investments in making a major part of our expansive island-wide 4G network fully 5G compliant, demonstrate our commitment to deliver to our customers, network capability and digital enablement on par with the most developed markets in the world. The progressive policies of the TRCSL have enabled Sri Lanka to lead the region in this respect and we greatly appreciate the foresight of the TRCSL to allocate spectrum for pre-commercial transmission of 5G services. Dialog will build on the learning from the pilot transmission and will work in partnership with the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Digital Infrastructure in leveraging the unique capabilities of 5G technology towards empowering Sri Lanka’s socio-economic transformation, enhancing productivity, efficiency and advancement of the country as a regional technology hub.”

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In August 2017, Dialog Axiata conducted South Asia’s first 5G demonstration in a laboratory environment, in conjunction with Huawei and Ericsson. The company said 20% of its base stations are now 5G ready due to the deployment of Massive MIMO technology.  Since then Dialog has upgraded over 20% of its expansive base station network to ‘5G Ready Status’ by deploying Massive MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology. Dialog’s Massive MIMO network today transmits speeds in excess of 720 MBps enabling superlative upload and download speeds on the company’s widely available 4G services. The same infrastructure will transmit 5G speeds upon the licensing of commercial 5G services in Sri Lanka.

References:

https://www.dialog.lk/south-asia-first-5g-pilot-transmission-goes-live/

https://www.dialog.lk/dialog-axiata-trials-5g-for-the-first-time-in-south-asia?utm_source=dialoglk&utm_medium=homepage-banner&utm_campaign=dialoglk-Home&utm_content=5G

https://www.facebook.com/dialog.lk/videos/10153877048811203/?permPage=1