Samsung and KDDI have been working closely to showcase the potential and performance of 5G in real-life scenarios since 2015. In December last year, the companies ventured out to demonstrate 5G connectivity on a moving train for the first time. Continuing their collaboration, Samsung and KDDI have now announced the successful completion of a 5G field trial at the Okinawa Cellular Stadium in Japan.
Samsung's end-to-end 5G solutions were deployed
As is the case with many 5G trials involving Samsung, the company’s end-to-end 5G solutions were been deployed to conduct the trial. The trial, which involved streaming and downloading the live 4K feed simultaneously on the prototype 5G tablets, used Samsung’s virtualized core, virtualized RAN, 5G access units, and prototype 5G tablet devices. Samsung says this is the first time 5G performance has been tested in Japan using 5G tablets.
To create 5G coverage area in the direction of home plate and first and third bases, Samsung’s 5G access units were installed on a light tower outside the left field fence. The tablets placed on seats in the coverage area where then able to stream and download 4K live feed via 5G. Samsung and KDDI used the 28GHz band for this trial.
“5G holds the powerful potential to create new user experiences and business models that are more immersive and dynamic than ever before,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics.
The results of this 5G stadium trial demonstrate the suitability and performance of 5G in a wide variety of crowded environments such as sporting events, live music concerts, exhibitions, conferences, etc. The successful completion of this trial brings the commercial launch of 5G networks one step closer.