TELUS and Huawei Complete Successful 5G Wireless Pilot

TELUS has announced today along with its partner Huawei, they have successful completed their 5G wireless pilot using the global 3GPP technology standards platform.

The wireless carrier calls this “one of the most advanced connections yet made using technologies that will form the standard for global 5G.”

With the future advent of 5G wireless technology, consumers will see speeds up to 200 times faster than LTE networks, explains Telus. But this new technology also offers up the opportunity to deliver Wireless-to-the-Premise (WTTx) connectivity, allowing smart homes and businesses get 5G access.

As for how the 5G pilot was setup? It was a “real-world point-to-multi-point connection over commercial central office equipment and transport networks,” with equipment used based on 3GPP 5G over a 28Ghz connection; worldwide 5G standards are yet to be finalized, slated for early 2018. The tests were completed in Vancouver at the TELUS and Huawei 5G Living Lab.

Eros Spadotto, Executive Vice-president of Technology Strategy, TELUS, said in an issued statement to iPhone in Canada, “We are extremely proud that Canadian-led talent and expertise is at the forefront of global 5G research and technology deployment. This is an incredibly rewarding accomplishment for our joint TELUS and Huawei teams who have worked hard to bring truly state-of-the-art technologies to life.”

Last October, TELUS 5G trials achieved speeds up to 29.3 Gbps. The 5G Living Lab also deployed a heterogeneous network (HetNet) in Vancouver—which offers better coverage in crowded areas thanks to combining various technolgoies—along with a Centralized Radio Access Network (C-RAN), which allows companies to manage multiple cell cites from a centralized location.

Next Wednesday, TELUS will demonstrate the impact that 5G will have on businesses and homes around the world, explains a company spokesperson. The media event at the company’s headquarters in Burnaby, will showcase a live public trial of 5G, plus also detail connected home devices and an interactive VR demo.

The timeline for 5G wireless networks to become available commercially is in early 2020, but TELUS says its customers in Vancouver will have early access to these technologies thanks to the home base of the 5G Living Lab.