According to the two companies, CBRS, which is being referred to by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the “innovation band”, is set to open new opportunities and use cases in the consumer electronics industry. This innovation band, a shared spectrum from 3.55GHz to 3.7GHz in the US, could offer further potential if paired with 5G New Radio (NR), notes Ericsson.
Until now, CBRS has been operating primarily on 4G/LTE. Upgrading CBRS to 5G lifts the ceiling on what can be accomplished. 5G offers higher capacity and throughput, low-latency, enhanced reliability and security and greater connection density. The combination of 5G NR over CBRS will enable a wide range of new applications for enterprises and industry verticals, from mobile robotics and connected manufacturing facilities to augmented reality (AR). In turn, 5G over CBRS will support the proliferation of private networks, further propelling the Industry 4.0 evolution.
The 5G NR call on the OnGo CBRS spectrum trial was an over-the-air field trial using Ericsson’s NR radios and a smartphone form-factor test device. The field trial took place at Ericssonʼs North America headquarters in Plano, Texas, utilizing the Ericsson 5G Distributed Innovation Network together with the smartphone form-factor test device powered by the Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform with the Snapdragon X60 5G Modem-RF System.
Furthermore, the standalone 5G network configuration with rooftop radios allowed for a variety of real-life test scenarios. By using intra- and inter-band mobility and carrier aggregation, the Ericsson-Qualcomm Technologies’ team combined CBRS and C-Band for even higher capacity and throughput. The team did extensive testing of different combinations of spectrum and technologies to expand capacity.
According to Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies, this field trial brings us one step closer to the commercial availability of 5G services on the CBRS. The promise of 5G NR in the OnGo CBRS band opens up nearly unlimited potential for enterprise applications and industries, ushering in a new era of innovation with this transformative shared spectrum.