T-Mobile Claim: 1st Standalone 5G Data Session on a Multi-Vendor Radio and Core Network
T-Mobile and Ericsson have conducted the first standalone 5G data session in the United States.
“This major 5G breakthrough is another example of how the T-Mobile engineering team continues to innovate and drive the entire industry forward. I could not be more proud of them,” said Neville Ray, Chief Technology Officer at T-Mobile. “5G brings a new era in wireless, and if our merger with Sprint is approved, the New T-Mobile will bring together the resources and vision necessary to ensure America has a network that’s second to none,” he added.
Existing 5G networks are non standalone (NSA) and require a simultaneous connection to an LTE network. While a non-standalone architecture still offers better speeds and performance than just LTE, a standalone architecture makes sense for some new enterprise 5G services such as smart cities.
T-Mobile used Ericsson’s AIR 6488 radio and Baseband 6630. These products, from Ericsson’s Radio System portfolio, can become standalone with just a software update Ericsson says (we have our doubts).
According to Ericsson, Standalone New Radio (SA NR) – coupled with cloud-native 5G Core – will help to power exciting new applications such as mobile VR, cloud gaming, and connected cars. Such applications require almost real-time responses and reliable connectivity.
3GPP Release 15 “5G New Radio (NR)” is an OFDM-based global wireless spec for pre-standard 5G mobile networks.
It has two versions: Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G NR (widely deployed) and Standalone 5G NR (not deployed yet).
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Accomplishing this standalone 5G milestone on a multi-vendor 5G next generation network was no small feat. To complete the successful data session in its Bellevue, Washington lab, T-Mobile enlisted the help of industry leaders Ericsson, Nokia, Cisco and MediaTek.
Standalone New Radio (SA NR) – coupled with cloud-native 5G Core – will provide better support for all use cases and unlock the power of next-generation mobile technology. It will supercharge applications that require real-time responses and massive connectivity such as mobile augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), cloud gaming, smart factories and meters, and connected vehicles.
Ericsson has been providing T-Mobile with equipment for multi-band 5G networks since 2018.
T-Mobile has not specified what spectrum it used for the standalone 5G data session, but a spokesperson has confirmed it was sub-6GHz.
As part of concessions to win the Department of Justice’s approval for the proposed T-Mobile-Sprint merger, Sprint will divest its prepaid business to Dish. Dish will have access to T-Mobile’s network through an MVNO arrangement for seven years while Dish builds out its own 5G standalone network.
T-Mobile says it plans to introduce standalone 5G in 2020, but that will NOT be compatible with IMT 2020 which won’t be completed till the end of that year!
All of today’s 5G networks in the US are currently non standalone (NSA), based on 3GPP Release 15 5G NR in the data plane. 3GPP Release 16, together with parts of Release 15, will be 3GPP’s final IMT 2020 RIT submission to ITU-R WP5D.
3GPP has agreed revised completion dates for Release 16 – schedule shifted out by 3 months:
- Release 16 RAN-1 Freeze RAN # 86 December 2019
- Release 16 RAN Stage 3 Freeze RAN # 87 March 2020
- Release 16 ASN.1 Freeze RAN # 88 June 2020
- Release 16 RAN-4 Freeze RAN # 89 September 2020
References:
https://www.ericsson.com/en/news/2019/7/t-mobile-5g-data-session
https://www.t-mobile.com/news/t-mobile-achieves-a-worlds-first-with-standalone-5g-data-session
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T-Mobile has set December 6 as the date for its lowband 5G launch, which is intended to cover 200 million people in the US.
CEO John Legere and president and chief operating officer Mike Sievert named the launch date during the operator’s latest “uncarrier” event on Thursday. The carrier expects to cover 5,000 cities in the US by the end of the year with 5G.
The operator’s 5G service will work on the Samsung Note 10 and the OnePlus 7T 5G McLaren smartphones at launch. Download speeds will be around 100-Mbit/s at launch.
This contrasts with AT&T’s and Verizon’s early launches of 5G using millimeter-wave spectrum. These have offered 1-Gbit/s download speeds but have only launched in tiny parts of select cities rather than with a broad, near-nationwide coverage like T-Mobile.
T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray promised at the event that downloads will increase to “hundreds of megabits” per second as 2.5GHz spectrum from Sprint gets layered into the mix, if the Sprint acquisition by T-Mobile closes — as expected — early next year.
T-Mobile has said that it won’t charge more for its 5G service. “That’s in big contrast to our competitors,” Sievert says. Verizon, for instance, has said it will eventually ask for a $10 upcharge for its 5G service, although it hasn’t asked early users for that premium yet.
https://www.lightreading.com/mobile/5g/t-mobile-sets-5g-launch-date-for-dec-6/d/d-id/755481?