Qualcomm announced it has a 5G New Radio prototype for mmWave spectrum ready to start tests in the second half of this year. Based on the Release-15 specifications being developed by 3GPP, the prototype system uses spectrum bands above 24 GHz, an area many operators are exploring for the first 5G services.
Qualcomm already introduced a prototype for testing 5G NR in mid-band spectrum from 3.3 GHz to 5.0 GHz, which was used to demonstrate its first 5G NR connection in February. The company is testing the chips, including over-the-air trials, with infrastructure and device vendors and network operators, in order to prove the commercial viability of the technology.
Pending finalisation of the 3GPP standards, the first 5G mobile services are expected to launch in 2019. The chips will ultimately be used in Qualcomm's Snapdragon X50 5G family of modems. Both the mmWave and sub-6 GHz prototypes are on display MWC Americas in San Francisco.
The new prototype system employs MIMO antenna technology with adaptive analog beamforming and beam tracking/steering techniques, which is required for robust and sustained mobile broadband communications in non-line-of-sight environments and device mobility. With support for 800 MHz bandwidth and advanced 5G NR technologies including LDPC channel coding for data channels, the prototype system is designed to support peak download speeds of up to 5 Gbps.
