Telstra, Ericsson, Intel claim another 5G first

Australian operator Telstra, Ericsson and Intel announced they have jointly completed the first end-to-end 3GPP non-standalone 5G data call on a commercial network in a multi-vendor setup.

The trial at Telstra’s 5G Innovation Centre on the Gold Coast used licensed 3.5-GHz spectrum, and Ericsson 5G new radio, baseband and packet core solution, a Telstra SIM and the Intel 5G Mobile Trial Platform.

The trial involved a network connection to an Ericsson virtualized 5G packet core running on Ericsson’s network functions virtualization infrastructure. The 5G slice was then connected into the existing Telstra mobile network.

Ericsson and Intel jointly completed the first lab-based end-to-end non-standalone 5G data call earlier this month, and the live demonstration builds on this milestone.

Demonstrating this 5G data call end-to-end using my own personal SIM card on Telstra’s mobile network is the closest any provider has come to making a ’true’ 5G call in the real world-environment, and marks another 5G first for Telstra,” Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright said.

Previous 5G firsts have included the first 5G data call over 26-GHz spectrum, Australia’s first 5G connected vehicle trial and its first 5G mobile gaming demonstration.

“We continue to work with global technology companies Ericsson and Intel as well as global standards bodies to advance the deployment of commercial 5G capability in Australia,” Wright concluded.