OREANDA-NEWS. June 13, 2018. Verizon and Nokia passed a major milestone on the road to commercial 5G deployment with two industry firsts: the successful completion of a series of data sessions over the 3GPP New Radio 5G standard outdoors – rather than in a lab; and successful multi-carrier aggregation to boost those signals into Gbps range. In February, the two companies, along with Qualcomm, completed the first-ever 3GPP NR data connection in a lab. The latest tests took place on Verizon’s campus in Basking Ridge, NJ.

The two companies worked together to transmit multiple live interactive virtual reality (VR) sessions and simultaneous 4k streaming video on Verizon’s 28 GHz millimeter wave spectrum with latencies of 1.5 milliseconds. That’s 150 times faster than you can blink your eye.

On top of that, Verizon and Nokia successfully used 4CC (component carrier aggregation) to achieve throughput speeds up to 1.8 Gbps. Combining Verizon’s mmWave spectrum assets and the ability to transmit on multiple carriers in an outdoor setting mirrors how 5G will ultimately be deployed and used by consumers and businesses.

“By continuing to push the technological envelope and make advancements like these, we’re driving the ongoing development of 5G technology and bringing it to life for our customers,” said Sanyogita Shamsunder, vice president, 5G Ecosystems & Innovation for Verizon. “Verizon continues to lead the way toward the realization of true 5G technology.”

“Nokia is committed to supporting Verizon's advanced effort to bring 5G to commercial reality,” said Marc Rouanne, president of Mobile Networks, Nokia. “Our successful trial pushes the testing distance and because it has been conducted outside, tests the interference variables in an outdoor environment. This is a major milestone for preparing Verizon for widespread 5G implementation.”

Transmitting interactive VR and 4k video streams outdoors required a consistent, stable, reliable 3GPP NR 15 network connection. Adding in carrier aggregation over four carriers increases the bandwidth and speeds of the transmissions to the levels promised by true 5G technology. When customers begin to use 5G NR technology, they will look to leverage that type of reliable connectivity to stream high-definition video without buffering, experience improved AR/VR capabilities, and use other mobile 5G solutions in ways we haven’t yet imagined.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) (Nasdaq:VZ), headquartered in New York City, generated $126 billion in 2017 revenues. The company operates America’s most reliable wireless network and the nation’s premier all-fiber network, and delivers integrated solutions to businesses worldwide.