Deutsche Telekom has activated a set of six commercial 5G antennas in downtown Berlin as it continues to prepare for the roll-out of 5G in 2020. The antennas, contained in three cells, are based on the 5G New Radio (5G NR) standard and are the first in Europe to operate and transmit a 5G data connection over a live network in real-world conditions, said Telekom.
Telekom’s 5G cluster in downtown Berlin covers up to 5 kilometres, and the company said it plans to install an additional 70 cells across more than 20 sites by the summer of 2018, creating a 5G testbed in the centre of the city that will serve as the basis for the eventual commercial roll-out of 5G in Germany. The antennas are using frequencies in the 3.7 GHz spectrum band under a testing license, said Telekom. Telekom said it is using commercial 5G equipment from Huawei, including software and terminals, based on the 3GPP standard as part of the implementation.
