Movistar, Ericsson bring first 5G trial to Argentina

NEW DELHI: Telefónica-owned operator Movistar and Ericsson have brought the first 5G test system to Argentina, allowing telecom operators and ecosystem partners such as academic institutions and industry representatives, to test 5G capabilities in a live network.

The trial, which took place in Buenos Aires, used Ericsson’s mmWave 28GHz 5G Test Bed solution, reaching a record speed of 20Gbps.

Base stations and device prototypes were used to show advanced 5G technologies, including Massive MIMO, massive beamforming, Distributed MIMO, Multi-user MIMO, and beam tracking, which together offered multi-gigabit data rates and ultra-low latency that are key requirements for future consumer mobile broadband and industrial use cases.

Federico Rava, Executive President of Telefónica in Argentina, says: “Ericsson and Movistar are already working in a coordinated way to test the design of this 5G network and training the teams so that when it is deployed, that process is already complete. It should be noted that the city of Buenos Aires was chosen as the venue for this trial because it has the geographical, building, population density, and high radio electric characteristics that enable an efficient test of this technology for the future, which will allow customers and society to live up to connectivity experiences that will open doors to countless possibilities.”

Nicolás Brancoli, President of Ericsson in South America, says: “With 5G consumers can enjoy applications such as augmented reality and 4K video streaming, while industries will benefit from innovative Internet of Things applications such as smart transport and remote healthcare, creating significant business opportunities. We expect 5G to be introduced around 2020 globally, and this trial is the first step in Argentina to prepare for the next-generation mobile technology.”

Telefónica, through its Movistar brand, is the leading company in integrated communications that provides fixed and mobile services to more than 26 million users in Argentina.

Ericsson is leading 5G innovations globally and was first to market with combined core and radio for 5G use cases, accelerating the journey to 5G with today’s networks.