T-Mobile US, Qualcomm Technologies, and Ericsson have achieved what they call the world’s first low-band 5G data session on a commercial 5G modem. The data session was conducted in T-Mobile’s lab in Bellevue, Washington, on 600 MHz, marking a major milestone in delivering 5G beyond urban areas.
The data session was completed on a mobile test device powered by the second-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G modem, RF transceiver and RF Front-End (RFFE) platform, as well as commercial 5G radios from Ericsson's Radio System portfolio. The demonstration is an important step toward the launch of the first commercial 5G network using low-band spectrum, T-Mobile said.
T-Mobile’s 600 MHz low-band spectrum will offer several advantages as the foundation for its 5G network, including wider coverage area and deeper signal penetration in buildings than millimeter wave spectrum. Its low-band deployment strategy will enable the rapid expansion of its 5G network by allowing the T-Mobile to easily leverage existing 4G assets and infrastructure.
