Innovate5G has completed a successful mid-band call on a 5G standalone (SA) network in collaboration with Nokia and Athonet.
The successful call means enterprises designing for 5G can now test their applications in an actual 5G environment to better understand performance, security, and network resource usage.
Innovate5G made the call in Frequency Range 1 (FR1) on Broadband Radio Service (BRS) n41 using Nokia’s AirScale Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) and Athonet’s 5G SA Core Network. The call solidifies the lab’s support for mid-band 5G SA, allowing Innovate5G to test and prove 5G applications, whether they be from other 5G economies using mid-band, U.S.-based enterprise applications optimized for 5G, or native 5G applications like mixed and virtual reality (XR). Existing in the 5G mid-band at 2.5 MHz, n41 is the same time division duplex (TDD) frequency used by many universities and the Department of Defense.
Earlier this summer, Innovate5G launched its In5Genius platform to provide developers cloud-based access to an environment for testing and certifying their 5G applications in 5G, allowing for a new level of access and flexibility. The platform, a cloud lab, gives assurance of capability at launch and supports the journey for developers to improve their apps.
Since Innovate5G’s slice capable lab allows developers to log in remotely, it has remained accessible as other labs have shuttered due to COVID. Most consumers think of 5G in terms of one of the carrier networks, which are still migrating, but enterprise applications on SA networks present a significant enterprise opportunity. Private enterprise networks like those for healthcare, transportation, and industry 4.0 are ideal for 5G given its high-frequency bandwidths, and stand to benefit greatly from the enhanced technology and spectrum.
Rashmi Varma, CTO of Innovate5G
To put this accomplishment into perspective, a developer designing for 5G would literally have to drive around to try to latch on to a 5G network to test their application, and even then, they’re still not going to have any meaningful/definitive information about performance.
Ed Alfonso, EVP and GM of Mobile Networks for Nokia Americas
This multiple vendor collaboration opens the ‘go to market’ journey, helping developers understand things like jitter, delays and video quality when it comes to their 5G applications. If you build it and want to know how it works, we have created the place to come test your 5G mid-band applications with this first commercially available TDD radio integration in SA 5G leveraging Nokia’s RAN infrastructure.
