Samsung, Qualcomm, Huawei, and Nokia, who are the world's top players in 5G technology?

Who are the top players in 5G? A report from research firm GreyB systematically sorted out the R&D and M&A activities of Huawei, Samsung, Nokia and AT&T in the field of 5G technology, presenting us with a relatively panoramic portrait of the top players in 5G technology.

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The report does not include the R&D activities of Chinese operators, such as China Mobile, in the 5G field, which is slightly biased. It also does not include what we consider to be 5G manufacturers, such as ZTE and Datang. This may be related to the researcher's research methods.

In any case, this report is a very high-quality article that provides key information such as what the top 5G technology players are doing and what advantages they have.

The companies scanned in this report include: Samsung, Huawei, Nokia Networks, NEC Corporation, Ericsson, Qualcomm, Verizon, Orange, Mobile TeleSystems, AT&T, Cisco Systems, a total of 11 companies in the field of 5G technology key activities.

Samsung

Samsung began researching 5G technology in 2011. Since then, the company has achieved a lot in the next-generation technology and can now be considered one of the leaders in the 5G field.

Here is a journey of Samsung’s achievements in 5G technology and its collaborations as a top 5G player.

In May 2013, Samsung successfully developed the world's first adaptive array transceiver technology operating in the millimeter wave Ka band for cellular communications. This new technology is the core of the 5G mobile communication system, and its data transmission speed is hundreds of times faster than the current 4G network.

In June 2015, Samsung announced a partnership with South Korean telecom operator LG U+ to jointly develop 5G technology to strengthen both companies. The agreement also enhances South Korea's global leadership in 5G research and helps set standards for the next major stage of innovation in mobile communications.

In November 2015, Samsung signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japanese telecom operator KDDI to jointly develop a common vision for next-generation 5G technology.

In February 2016, Samsung Electronics and Deutsche Telekom presented the world's first end-to-end 5G demonstration at the 2016 Mobile World Congress. During the live demonstration, Samsung, one of Deutsche Telekom's 5G partners, launched its 60GHz mmWave small cell solution and a handheld smartphone. 4K UHD video content was transmitted without any delay via the Ultra-High Mobile Broadband (U-MBB) service using Samsung's 60 GHz radio access technology.

In March 2016, Samsung demonstrated the world's first mmWave multi-cell handover. A vehicle traveling at 25 kilometers per hour was able to move between three transmitters, maintaining gigabit data transmission. Samsung's 5G approach uses adaptive beamforming technology to tightly focus radio waves into beams targeted at each user device.

In June 2016, Samsung announced the development of breakthrough 5G-ready antenna and power amplifier technologies to enable smaller, more energy-efficient 5G devices and equipment. These new technologies are designed to be applied to 5G base stations and end-user devices using the 28 GHz mmWave spectrum.

In July 2016, Samsung Electronics America (SEA) announced its participation as a board member of the Advanced Wireless Research Initiative (AWRI), a public-private partnership led by the White House to accelerate the development of 5G wireless technology for next-generation networks in the United States.

In September 2016, Samsung Electronics America announced a new collaboration with T-Mobile US to conduct demonstrations and lab tests aimed at bringing the power of 5G mobile networks to the masses. Through this collaboration, the two companies evaluated next-generation network development in real-world mobile use cases and applications, and conducted lab and field trials to demonstrate a range of innovative 5G-driven capabilities.

In September 2016, Samsung Electronics successfully conducted 5G trials in China and received certification from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) after successfully completing the first phase of 5G technology research and development trials executed by the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group at PT/EXPO CHINA 2016.

In November 2016, Samsung Electronics and China Mobile Research Institute (CMRI) jointly conducted a successful 5G prototype trial, marking a milestone in the cooperation between the two companies since Samsung became a member of China Mobile's 5G Innovation Center in June 2016.

Samsung announced the new RFIC at a 5G mobile technology seminar held by the Korea Institute of Communications and Information Science. The company detailed the development and advantages of the chip and outlined its role in the commercial 5G product roadmap. The RFIC itself is designed to greatly enhance the overall performance of 5G access units (5G 'base stations'), and Samsung has placed great emphasis on low cost, high efficiency and compact form factor design.

In February 2017, Samsung and Verizon completed the deployment of 5G systems in five cities in the United States and were ready to start customer trials of 5G technology.

Japanese telecommunications company KDDI and Samsung Electronics successfully completed a 5G handover trial in February 2017. This was Japan’s first-ever 5G multi-cell handover test using 28 GHz spectrum, conducted in a real outdoor environment, on a metropolitan expressway in Tokyo, between tall skyscrapers.

In February 2017, Samsung Electronics and Arqiva, the UK’s leading communications infrastructure company, announced an agreement to conduct the UK’s first 5G trial focused on fixed wireless access. The trial deployment aims to demonstrate that 5G can be a compelling alternative to fiber deployments for delivering fast broadband services as a lead-in for future 5G enhanced mobile broadband services.

In February 2017, at a press conference held at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya, Samsung Electronics unveiled its end-to-end portfolio of 5G mobile network products and solutions for 2017. Products on display included consumer devices for fixed wireless access connectivity, 5G radio base stations (5G access units), next-generation core network infrastructure, and more.

In February 2017, Samsung and Keysight Technologies announced their technology partnership for 5G development and testing. Samsung and Keysight have entered into a technical collaboration to enable the design and deployment of 5G equipment to support early operator trials. The initial focus of the partnership is on the 5GTF specification (www.5gtf.org).

On February 27, 2017, Samsung and Deutsche Telekom successfully demonstrated 5G Guaranteed Latency (GLA) as an end-to-end network slice at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017. GLA is one of the key differentiators that clearly distinguishes 5G technology from the previous 4G. It is considered highly critical in the 5G era because it achieves latency control, low and stable, according to the requirements of specific use cases.

On March 1, 2017, wireless industry trade associations 5G Americas and the Voice of 5G and LTE in the Americas announced that Samsung Electronics America, Inc. was selected to its board of directors.

In May 2017, Samsung Electronics America, Cisco, and Verizon successfully deployed the first multi-vendor end-to-end 5G trial network in the field, located in Ann Arbor, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.

In June 2017, SK Telecom and Samsung successfully completed a trial to provide 5G end-to-end connectivity based on 5G New Radio (NR) technology. The trial represented a successful case for 5G end-to-end connectivity, using 3.5GHz spectrum, through virtualized core, radio and devices based on 5G NR technology, and was conducted at Samsung’s Suwon R&D Center, consisting of Samsung’s 5G virtualized core.

In September 2017, Samsung Electronics America and Charter Communications announced a collaboration to conduct 5G and 4G LTE wireless network lab and field trials in various locations in the United States. The 5G trials evaluated fixed use cases using Samsung's commercial 28 GHz (mmWave) systems and devices. The 4G trials were conducted at 3.5 GHz (CBRS) and utilized Samsung's combined 4G LTE small cell technology in an outdoor environment to evaluate mobile use cases.

In October 2017, Samsung hosted the Silicon Valley 5G Summit at Samsung Electronics America Campus on October 19. The summit brought together global telecommunications industry leaders across the value chain to lay the foundation for an open end-to-end ecosystem for the fifth-generation (5G) network. More than 100 industry leaders gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges of commercializing 5G technology.

In December 2017, KDDI and Samsung successfully completed the first 5G demonstration, traveling at speeds exceeding 100 km/h (over 60 mph). This was achieved along a section of track with a distance of approximately 1.5 km (nearly 1 mile) between two sections. During the demonstration, the companies achieved successful downlink and uplink handovers and peak speeds of 1.7 Gbps.

On January 3, 2018, Verizon announced that they are selecting Samsung Electronics America to provide the telecommunications company with commercial 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) network solutions. The two companies plan to launch commercial 5G services in Sacramento, California in the second half of 2018.

In February 2018, KT, Verizon and Samsung jointly demonstrated Samsung 5G solutions and use cases, including a prototype 5G tablet device and a successful live video call over 5G between Minneapolis and Seoul during a sponsored sporting event.

In February 2018, Orange, Samsung and Cisco announced a 5G millimeter wave trial in multiple homes in Romania. The trial marked Orange as the first operator to conduct a multi-vendor 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) customer trial in Europe.

In February 2018, Samsung developed the world’s first complete commercial 5G FWA solution, which includes: a commercial form factor 5G home router (CPE) for indoor and outdoor use, a 5G radio access network (RAN) including radio access unit and virtualized RAN, a next-generation core, and AI-powered 3D radio frequency planning tools and services.

February 26, 2018 - Samsung Electronics America, Inc. announced at Mobile World Congress that Sprint has purchased a 5G-ready Massive MIMO solution from them, which includes the deployment of Samsung’s latest MIMO technology solution on Sprint’s 2.5GHz TDD-LTE network.

On February 27, 2018, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. joined the xRAN Forum, an alliance formed to develop, standardize and promote open alternatives to traditional closed, hardware-based RAN architectures. As a member, Samsung helps expand a strong end-to-end ecosystem for operators, allowing the use of open standards to advance the adoption of next-generation technologies such as LTE-Advanced and 5G systems.

In March 2018, KDDI and Samsung announced the successful completion of a 5G field trial at Okinawa Cellular Stadium, a 30,000-person baseball stadium in Japan. Using Samsung’s 5G end-to-end solution covering virtualized core, virtualized RAN, one of the smallest 5G access units, and multiple prototype 5G tablet devices, the trial demonstrated a live feed of 4K video content being simultaneously downloaded and streamed on a 5G tablet supporting mmWave spectrum. This was the first time in Japan that 5G performance was tested using multiple 5G devices.

In June 2018, KDDI and Samsung announced that they had successfully completed a live free-viewing video streaming test using 5G-enabled devices. The test was conducted during a professional baseball game at the Okinawa Cellular Stadium in Naha and used Samsung's 5G end-to-end solution, including a virtual core, virtualized RAN, one of the smallest 5G access units, and 10 sets of 5G tablet devices.

Samsung and Cisco successfully completed a friendly user trial and a series of 5G demonstrations in Floresti, Cluj, Romania in July 2018. The trial used Samsung’s 5G solutions, including virtualized RAN, one of the smallest 5G access units, multiple indoor and outdoor 5G routers (CPE), and Cisco’s Meraki Z3 WiFi router and super gateway platform.

In July 2018, Samsung and Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), Russia’s largest telecommunications operator and digital services provider, successfully demonstrated a range of 5G scenarios using Samsung’s 5G network and equipment, including high-definition video calls, ultra-low latency video games, and high-definition video streaming. The demonstration area was set up in the exhibition hall of the Central Museum of Radio Communications in Bodov, one of the oldest science and technology museums in the world, located in St. Petersburg.

In July 2018, Samsung and SK Telecom successfully demonstrated a 5G Next Generation Core (5G NC) based on the 3GPP Release-15 standard, which was completed in June 2018. The 5G NC developed by the two companies operates independently of the LTE network, enabling previously unavailable features.

In September 2018, AT&T announced that it had selected Samsung Electronics America and CommScope to provide the company with its first 5G-ready Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) network solution. Samsung will provide CBRS-compliant radio and base station equipment, while CommScope has been selected as the spectrum access system (SAS) provider.

In September 2018, Samsung Electronics America announced that its 5G-ready Massive MIMO solution on Sprint’s 2.5 GHz TDD-LTE network is now commercially available. As part of Sprint’s network, Samsung’s Massive MIMO solution provides Sprint’s subscribers with increased 4G LTE throughput and capacity.

On September 12, 2018, Verizon and Samsung announced the world's first successful data transmission using 800 MHz bandwidth at a frequency of 28 GHz, with a maximum throughput of nearly 4Gbps. The test was conducted at Samsung's Dallas, Texas laboratory.

In September 2018, Samsung Electronics America announced its support for Verizon's 5G Home service, which will provide 5G broadband Internet services to consumers in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Houston and Indianapolis. Verizon's 5G broadband Internet service is the world's first 5G commercial network. The service is supported by Samsung's FCC-certified 5G solution.

On September 17, 2018, Samsung Electronics announced that it had been selected by SK Telecom to provide the company with 5G solutions, including core and RAN, in line with the 5G New Radio (NR) standard based on 3GPP Release 15.

In September 2018, Telefónica Deutschland and Samsung Electronics have agreed to conduct 20 fixed wireless access (FWA) trials in Germany. Samsung will support the setup of the trials with a complete end-to-end millimeter wave (26 GHz) solution. Newly developed hardware technology combined with special software enables fast transmission rates of several gigabits per second in the so-called "last mile".

AT&T is working with Samsung Electronics America (SEA) and Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC (SAS) to create the nation’s first manufacturing-focused 5G “Innovation Zone” in Austin, Texas. The goal of the testbed is to provide a real-world understanding of how 5G will impact manufacturing and offer insights into the future of smart factories.

On October 17, 2018, Samsung Electronics announced the acquisition of Zhilabs, known for its artificial intelligence (AI)-based network and service analytics, to further enhance its 5G capabilities. The acquisition lays the foundation for Samsung to launch its 5G automation and network analytics products to fine-tune customer experience in the 5G era.

On October 24, 2018, NEC Corporation and Samsung announced a collaboration to work together to strengthen their next-generation business portfolio, including 5G. The partnership brings together the best technologies and expertise in 5G, fusing NEC and Samsung's leadership in 5G and IT solutions.

In December 2018, Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Qualcomm Incorporated, and Verizon announced a successful 5G New Radio (NR) data connection using 400 MHz of bandwidth in the 28 GHz spectrum with a maximum throughput of more than 1.7 Gbps. The data connection demonstrated the delivery of multi-gigabit 5G speeds to a smartphone form factor mobile test device, focusing on how users can experience virtually seamless, uninterrupted data transfer using the 3GPP 5G NR specification and dual connectivity (known as EN-DC).

On December 6, 2018, Samsung Electronics announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (KOTSA) to collaborate on the development of next-generation telecommunications technologies to enable nationwide autonomous driving innovation. Through the collaboration, the two companies will establish 4G LTE, 5G and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) telecommunications networks and related IT infrastructure in K-City, a testbed for autonomous driving technology in Korea.

In January 2019, Samsung and KDDI announced that they had successfully completed a 5G test to transmit 4K ultra-high-definition (UHD) surveillance video in real time on a train platform, a first in Japan.

On February 19, 2019, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Samsung Electronics announced a collaboration to jointly provide solutions to help communications service providers (CSPs) accelerate 5G deployment. Through this collaboration, HPE and Samsung will combine their respective strengths in edge-to-core infrastructure, data management and wireless networks to provide end-to-end solutions for a fast and smooth 5G transition.

On February 22, 2019, Samsung successfully completed the development of cutting-edge mmWave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFIC) and digital/analog front-end (DAFE) ASICs supporting 28 GHz and 39 GHz frequency bands. Using the new RF chipset, Samsung is reducing the size, weight and power consumption of its 5G base stations by approximately 25% while continuing to lead the industry. As of February 2019, Samsung has shipped more than 36,000 5G base stations.

On February 22, 2019, Samsung and Fastweb announced an agreement to conduct Italy’s first 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) trial on commercial spectrum. The companies are trying to show how 5G FWA networks can be a compelling alternative to FTTH (Fiber to the Home), providing ultra-broadband connectivity and a Gigabit experience to end users.

February 24, 2019 - Samsung unveiled its first new Galaxy S10 5G phone, designed with the best hardware and software to take full advantage of the full 5G experience, along with a full range of devices to help enable large-scale 5G deployment.

On February 25, 2019, Samsung, Cisco, and Orange unveiled two promising industrial 5G applications – drones and industrial robots – at MWC 19 in Barcelona. This was the first time the three companies demonstrated 5G-equipped devices at the show. The companies have stepped up their 5G efforts with pilots of drones and industrial robots, taking advantage of the low latency and high speeds that 5G offers.

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Huawei has been working on researching 5G wireless networks and applying for patents for key technologies. Listed below are some of Huawei's main activities in the 5G field.

As of early 2017, 10% of the 1,450 patents critical to 5G networks were in Chinese hands, most of them belonging to Huawei and ZTE.

In 2017, Huawei spent about $12 billion on R&D, three times the $4.1 billion Ericsson spent. In 2018, it plans to spend just $800 million on 5G R&D.

The company wants to incorporate AI into 5G, which, according to them, is an indispensable element in Huawei's 5G strategy. The company also plans to launch a full range of Huawei commercial equipment, including radio access networks, core networks, and devices.

Huawei has also said it hopes to launch smartphones that support 5G networks by 2019, with sales starting in mid-2019. The company is said to be working on a new chipset for 5G services.

In February 2018, Huawei and Vodafone conducted the world's first 5G call using the non-standalone 3GPP 5G-NR standard and sub-6 GHz spectrum. The two companies built a 5G NR end-to-end test network for the trial and used 3.7 GHz spectrum. They also used Huawei radio access network and core network equipment, microservice-centric architecture, control plane/user plane separation, unified access and network slicing technology to support the test.

Huawei has also begun producing products that provide 5G services. At the 2018 Mobile World Congress, Huawei launched 5G customer premises equipment (CPE), the world's first commercial terminal device that supports 5G 3GPP standards. Huawei uses its self-developed chipset Balong 5G01, the world's first commercial chipset that supports 5G 3GPP standards, with a downlink rate of up to 2.3 Gbps.

In January 2019, Huawei completed the 5G NR (New Radio) test in the 2.6GHz spectrum in the 5G trial organized by the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group. To date, Huawei has officially completed the third phase of China's 5G technology research and development (R&D) trials, including laboratory and field tests for NSA (non-standalone) and SA (standalone) scenarios.

Bell and Huawei have partnered to provide fiber-like mobile home broadband services across Canada. They are trying to connect dozens of communities and polar tribes in the north, covering an area of ​​1.9 million square kilometers, through wireless fiber 5G technology.

In January 2019, Huawei launched the Tiangang chip designed specifically for 5G base stations. The Tiangang chip supports all network standards and all 5G frequency bands, including 3.2 and 3.5GHz, as well as the C-band used by commercial satellites. The chip also supports the integration of active power amplifiers and passive antenna arrays into very small antennas, which is one of the key building blocks of 5G base stations.

In February 2019, Thailand joined hands with Huawei to launch a 5G testbed. Despite continued pressure from the United States for not using Huawei equipment, Thailand has done the exact opposite. This will be the first test by the Chinese company in Southeast Asia.

At Mobile World Congress 2019, Huawei unveiled the company's first 5G-enabled foldable smartphone, the Mate X, and new Matebooks.

The company also showcased the Huawei 5G CPE Pro, or CPE (customer premises equipment), which is said to offer ultra-high-speed broadband and intelligent dual-link capabilities. The Huawei 5G CPE Pro supports the HUAWEI HiLink protocol - a smart home interconnection platform that provides interconnection solutions between various smart devices.

Rain had previously called off its 5G ambitions in late 2018, but the company's CEO William Roos formally announced its intentions at Huawei's MWC 2019 booth on Tuesday. Initially, only people in selected areas of Johannesburg will benefit from the network. But Rain and Huawei promise that as more base stations are built, the network will be rolled out to more metropolitan areas in South Africa. It will utilize the 3.6GHz spectrum.

At the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC), Huawei finally launched the world's first 5G foldable smartphone - Huawei Mate X. The flexible display Android smartphone adopts a "falcon wing mechanical hinge" and an outward folding screen design to reveal an 8-inch tablet.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd said on February 25, 2019 that Saudi Arabia will fully adopt its next-generation 5G infrastructure technology, giving some rare good news after months of self-defense to prevent its equipment from posing a national security risk.

Huawei has reported that India has the potential to become the world's second-largest 5G market in the next 10 years, reports ET Technology. Huawei and other partner telecom companies are waiting for the Indian government to approve spectrum allocation. This spectrum (3.5 GHz spectrum) is expected to be the first frequency band in the world to receive 5G deployment.

Chinese telecommunications technology giant Huawei, which is fighting a wave of opposition to its 5G trials in the United States and other countries, installed three 5G stations in Tibet on March 3, 2019. 5G stations are being installed in different parts of China as part of Huawei's plan to lead 5G trials despite opposition.

In this journey of 5G, Huawei has collaborated with many companies and universities to make 5G a reality. A few of these collaborations are listed below:

Huawei partnered with Carleton University in December 2017 to develop a program for the Huawei Canada Research Center to expand a successful research collaboration program for 5G advanced communications research.

Huawei also plans to research 5G cloud applications for mobile root systems. To achieve this goal, the company has partnered with Festo Didactic Research to eliminate challenges in the field of mobile robotics.

In February 2018, Huawei and Qualcomm worked together to successfully complete the 5G NR Interoperability and Development Test (IODT) based on the 3GPP global standard.

French telecom company Bouygues Telecom and Dutch telecom company Altice signed 5G path agreements with Huawei in February 2018.

In February 2018, Huawei also teamed up with Bell to test 5G in Ontario.

In April 2018, Huawei and China Unicom jointly developed 5G network slicing technology.

In May 2018, Huawei and MTN launched the first 5G trial in South Africa, using Huawei's commercial 5G terminals and existing towers.

VEON, formerly known as VimpelCom, has also agreed to work with Huawei on pilot testing and integration of 4.5G and 5G solutions, as well as the Internet of Things.

Huawei also signed an agreement with the University of Madrid (UPM) in May 2018 to establish the HUAWEI-UPM5G Chair, which aims to promote close ties between the university and the Chinese telecommunications giant.

In December 2018, MiGu, together with Shanghai Mobile and Huawei, completed the world's first true 4K UHD live broadcast through 5G network slicing. Shanghai Mobile and Huawei established the 5G network infrastructure and provided slicing services to build a dedicated channel with ultra-high bandwidth and ultra-low latency: ensuring a 4K UHD video playback experience.

Huawei and China Unicom have carried out the world's first remote surgery using 5G at the Southeast Research Institute of China Unicom in Fujian. The operation was completed at the Southeast Research Institute of China, and the surgical signal was transmitted in real time through 5G technology to perform a remote liver lobectomy on an experimental animal 50 kilometers away.

In February 2019, Huawei worked with China Mobile Shanghai Branch to launch a 5G digital indoor system at the city's Hongqiao Railway Station. The digital indoor system is expected to be deployed by the end of this year and will provide fast 5G network services to all passengers.

Maxis and Huawei signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona to accelerate the deployment of 5G networks in Malaysia. The MoU establishes the beginning of Maxis’ collaboration with Huawei to begin comprehensive 5G trials using end-to-end systems and services.

On February 28, 2019, Huawei announced two 5G agreements with VIVA Bahrain and Nova Iceland at the Mobile World Congress (MWC 2019) in Barcelona. The telecom network maker revealed that VIVA Bahrain will upgrade its existing infrastructure based on non-standalone 5G core and 4/5G dual-mode radio and backhaul technology to provide 5G services in Bahrain by June 2019. Huawei signed an agreement with Nova to conduct 5G trials in Iceland.

On the eve of the 2019 Mobile World Congress, South Korean operator LG Uplus and Huawei jointly announced the establishment of a Gbps 5G commercial network. The two parties have completed the deployment of more than 10,000 sites. LG Uplus and Huawei also cooperated to demonstrate ultra-high-definition video and VR services based on 5G networks and realized new 5G commercial applications.

Huawei and Vodafone conducted a connected vehicle demonstration during the 2019 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ​​Spain. German automaker Audi provided support for the demonstration using cellular car-to-X technology.

On March 4, 2019, Huawei and Deutsche Telekom announced that they were conducting a cloud-based demonstration of end-to-end network slicing for 5G, which included radio access, transport, and core network elements. The demonstration took place at DT's 5G lab in Bonn, Germany.

All of these collaborations and activities hint at the company's eagerness to bring 5G technology to the mainstream as quickly as possible.

Nokia

Nokia is also a major player in 5G, and the company is developing, researching and working with other entities to provide 5G communications as quickly as possible.

Nokia, Deutsche Telekom and the Hamburg Port Authority are using the 8,000-hectare site for critical 5G testing as part of their 5G MoNArch project. The main goal of the project is to gain knowledge and experience with 5G networks in a real-world environment. Industrial uses could be traffic light management, data processing from mobile sensors and VR applications.

Nokia has implemented the Future X network architecture for 5G to provide strong network coverage and reduce costs.

Future X includes high-capacity 5G New Radio, core and SDN-controlled “Anyhaul” transport, providing a complete set of network functions for commercial 5G networks.

Nokia unveiled its ReefShark chipset and outlined the scope of its 5G Future X-Architecture, the foundation of its new reference chip design, the foundation of its 5G technology and services portfolio.

Their portfolio includes a complete end-to-end network that triples data capacity per cell site and reduces total operating costs by 30% through AI-based automation.

Nokia ASO launched a range of services designed to help operators move to 5G at 5G World 2018. The main offering is Nokia 5G Digital Design, which uses AI to simulate 5G use cases to help realistically design and stress-test their business cases.

Nokia also completed a 5G New Radio data call over a 4G/5G connection in a demonstration in China.

In August 2018, Nokia outlined its expectations for licensing rates for 5G mobile phones. Nokia is a long-term innovator in the development of foundational technologies for wireless communications and has made significant contributions to the development of relevant standards for more than two decades. This R&D investment has resulted in a large number of standard essential patents (SEPs) that Nokia is committed to licensing on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms in accordance with the applicable intellectual property policies of relevant standard-based organizations (SSOs).

On October 25, 2018, Nokia's state-of-the-art manufacturing unit in Chennai, southern India, began production of 5G New Radio equipment based on the 3GPP 5G New Radio Release 15 standard. The Chennai facility is one of the country's largest telecom equipment manufacturing facilities and has surpassed the annual production milestone of 4 million 2G, 3G and 4G units. It serves domestic and global customers, shipping to more than 100 countries.

At Mobile World Congress 2019, Nokia unveiled a new FastMile 5G Gateway that allows operators to upgrade their LTE networks to capture new fixed wireless access (FWA) revenues and accelerate 5G deployments. Nokia's FastMile 5G Gateway uses the same sub-6GHz 5G that operators use to upgrade their LTE grids, providing wider FWA coverage and enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services.

Below we list some of Nokia's collaboration and research activities around the world.

Nokia is providing the technology to enable China Unicom to improve the quality of its voice services and prepare its network for the evolution to 5G technology.

Nokia also appears to be strengthening its position in Saudi Arabia as US telecom providers ask it to help them upgrade their networks. As a result, Nokia has signed several network improvement contracts with Saudi Telecom Co. in recent months.

The company also conducted joint research with the University of Bristol on 5G mobile networks in Bristol in November 2017. The test network was spread across Bristol City Council’s dedicated fibre infrastructure around Bristol Millennium Square.

Nokia has also expressed its interest in expanding 5G mobile networks in India as the company opened a new R&D facility in Bangalore in December 2017 and announced that they will increase their human resources by the end of 2018. According to records, the R&D lab in India is Nokia’s fourth, with the other three being in Europe (2) and China (1).

Nokia also partnered with Telia in November 2017 to launch a network called 5G Finland, which is said to revolutionize 5G in Finland. Telia has been opening 5G Finland to all Finnish companies and organizations.

SK Telecom has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Nokia to jointly develop 5G mobile network technology. Their joint goal is to demonstrate 5G in 2018 and commercialize the service in 2020. A particular focus is on developing cmWave/mmWave 5G technology, which uses broadband spectrum resources at 6 GHz or higher.

Nokia is also working with other telecom companies such as T-Mobile and Intel on 5G networks, launching a 28 GHz outdoor 5G commercial radio system in Bellevue, Washington.

In May 2018, Nokia and SFR successfully completed a 5G call using the 5G New Radio System in the 3.5 GHz band.

Nokia, in partnership with Canadian operator Shaw Communications, completed its first technology trial in Calgary in May 2018. The 5G trial used 28 GHz millimeter wave spectrum and 3.5 GHz spectrum.

In June 2018, Nokia and T-Mobile celebrated the successful completion of the first two-way 5G transmission in the United States based on a 3GPP-compliant 5G New Radio System.

On July 6, 2018, Nokia and China Mobile signed a memorandum of understanding to investigate the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to optimize future networks and enable new Edge Cloud and 5G services. The two companies plan to establish a laboratory in Hangzhou, China to develop demonstration systems that use Nokia's 5G Future X architecture to verify technical use cases, while China Mobile will lead the research in scenario selection, requirements confirmation, open API standardization and solution definition.

On July 30, 2018, T-Mobile and Nokia announced a landmark $3.5 billion agreement to accelerate the deployment of a nationwide 5G network. Under the agreement, Nokia will provide T-Mobile with a complete end-to-end 5G technology, software and services portfolio, assisting the Un-carrier in its efforts to bring its 5G network to market to customers during the critical first few years of the 5G cycle.

On August 17, 2018, Verizon and Nokia continued to advance the development and deployment of 5G technology by achieving another major 5G milestone: the first successful transmission of 3GPP New Radio (NR) 5G signals to a receiver located in a moving vehicle, seamlessly handing off the signals from one radio sector to another. The test was conducted at Nokia’s Murray Hill, New Jersey, campus. This occurred in June as the company successfully completed a series of outdoor data sessions based on the 5G NR standard, as well as successful multi-carrier aggregation boosting these signals into the Gbps range – also an industry first.

In September 2018, Nokia and France Télévisions, France's national public broadcaster, plan to demonstrate the world's first proof-of-concept for 8K ultra-high-definition (UHD) TV streaming over 5G at IBC 2018. Nokia and France Télévisions' "Innovation and Anticipation Department" conducted the test in July at Nokia's Paris-Saclay campus in France, streaming a program recorded in 8K over a 5G wireless network.

In October 2018, Nokia launched a new training facility in partnership with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) - the Nokia 5G Skills Accelerator - in the hope of increasing Australian industry knowledge and skills in next-generation telecommunications technologies such as 5G, and facilitating their integration into Australian academic courses.

Nokia and StarHub completed the first 3.5 GHz band 5G New Radio outdoor trial in Singapore on 27 November 2018. The companies demonstrated industrial and consumer applications to employees, industry partners and enterprise customers using a "live" Nokia 5G cell and core network technology at StarHub's Singapore headquarters.

In December 2018, Sandvik and Nokia partnered to deliver Industrial IoT to the mining industry via LTE and 5G networks.

On December 7, 2018, Nokia and China Mobile Research Institute signed an agreement under which the two companies will jointly optimize 5G networks using a more open architecture. Nokia will work closely with China Mobile Research Institute to simplify interoperability between multi-vendor radio access network (RAN) technologies and provide customers with a higher level of service performance.

Sprint has announced that it has reached a significant milestone on the road to launching mobile 5G service beginning in the first half of this year. Together with Nokia and Qualcomm, the companies completed the world’s first wireless 5G data transmission using 2.5 GHz and Massive MIMO over Sprint’s live commercial network in January 2019.

On December 19, 2018, Nokia and Telefónica Deutschland completed the construction of a joint "Early 5G Innovation Cluster" in Berlin. The "Early 5G Innovation Cluster" contains five sites in Berlin-Friedrichshein's Telefónica cellular network. These sites are equipped with Nokia 5G Airscale radio and Wavence microwave technology, which will be used in the next few months to test and measure the performance and coverage of the first 5G services in dense urban areas.

At MWC 19, Nokia announced the results of the Nokia 5G Maturity Index, produced in collaboration with Analysys Mason, which provides operators with best practices for planning and deploying 5G services. The industry’s first 5G carrier maturity benchmark shows that two-thirds of operators expect 5G to create new revenue streams, while more than 70% of operators focus on 5G to help improve existing consumer services.

In the same event, Nokia announced that Bharti Airtel will try out its similar prequel solution that supports 4G, 5G and enterprise services through a common platform. The trial is part of the Bharti Airtel strategy, which aims to enable its networks to meet the growing demand for high-speed data in the digital revolution in India in the future.

Nokia and leading Australian network operator Optus announced several breakthroughs in establishing its first 5G commercial service in Australia. Optus became the world's first operator to deploy Nokia FastMile 5G indoor gateway in a field network and successfully launch 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) services using the new 5G radio standard. The successful deployment highlights the clear path to commercial 5G, enabling Optus to provide greater capacity using the 3.5 GHz 60 MHz band to support multiple devices and ultra-high-definition video streaming services in the home.

At the 2019 Mobile World Congress, Nokia and Vodafone demonstrated two large-scale multi-input multi-output (mMIMO) innovations to improve 5G capacity and performance. The two companies will jointly demonstrate how to provide 5G service using low-power, compact form factor and easier deployment of RFIC-based mMIMO antennas, which reduces overall cost of ownership (TCO) compared to traditional mMIMO antennas.

At MWC 19, Nokia and Korea Telecom (KT) signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate and trial a variety of 5G technologies, including NFV and network slicing, in order to develop new applications and business models for operators’ enterprise customers.

Nokia appears to have made progress in both internal and external 5G research, as the company relies solely on 5G for its future growth.

NEC

According to SVP Toshimitsu Shimuzu, NEC plans to “combine 5G with NEC’s proprietary AI, IoT and other digital technologies by leveraging advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) to jointly create new business models and services that connect information from different industries and companies”

In 2017, NEC, along with other telecom companies, issued a statement saying that the completion of the first 5G NR standard laid the foundation for the global mobile industry to start the full development of 5G NR, and announced its commitment to promoting progress in standardization of global mobile systems and the creation of secure and intelligent technologies to enable 5G services.

Since then, the organization has made a lot of progress in 5G, as follows:

At the 2018 Mobile World Congress, the NEC announced a collaboration with NTT DOCOMO to promote 5G by testing inter-cell coordination technology. In these experiments, coordinated control between distribution units (DUs) is achieved by using a large-scale component active antenna system (AAS) base station system belonging to a central radio access network (C-RAN) configuration, thereby enabling central unit (CU) to control multiple DUs.

In February 2018, the company also collaborated with KDDI and Obayashi to announce the successful remote control of construction machinery in Japan for the first time using 5G next-generation communication systems and 4K 3D monitoring.

In the same month, NEC also released a white paper titled "Make 5G a reality."

The company also claims to have successfully transmitted digital beamforming, in which the large-scale active antenna base station system supported 5G communications in the 28 GHz band in 2018. This is the first time that the large-scale active antenna system (AAS) with four terminals simultaneously performing beamforming transmission (four multi-user MIMO) has been successful (1). In this test, the NEC achieved a cell throughput of 3.1Gbps by applying a frequency bandwidth of 300MHz.

In June 2018, NEC announced that they had achieved the world's first 5G transmission of 4.5GHz signals using beamforming and inter-base station NTT DoCoMo.

In August 2018, NEC announced the launch of an enhanced traffic management solution (TMS) for 5G, which improves the throughput of high-speed networks supporting data transmission rates over 5Gbps. TMS improves the quality of experience for end users, enabling communication service providers (CSPs) to operate the network effectively by providing networks with precision control over communication traffic.

In October 2018, NEC and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced a partnership to work together to strengthen their next-generation business portfolio, including 5G. The partnership brings together the best technology and expertise in 5G, blending NEC and Samsung’s leadership in 5G and IT solutions.

On January 11, 2019, NEC announced that it contributed to the 5G video transmission test conducted by NTT DOCOMO, INC. and TOBU RAILWAY CO., LTD. By providing 5G base stations that support the 4.5GHz and 28GHz bands.

NEC announced that it will provide a facial recognition demonstration system 9 operated by NTT DOCOMO, INC., a 5G technology verification center, established in Okinawa Prefecture in January.

On January 28, 2019, NEC, KDDI and Obayashi announced that they had successfully carried out an operation in which the next generation of mobile communications system 5G is used to remotely control two construction machinery in a cooperative manner. The field trial was conducted on December 3-14, 2018 in a part of the building area of ​​the Aigawa Dam under construction in Ibaraki Prefecture, Osaka.

On February 20, 2019, NEC announced that it would provide the "NEC 5G Vertical Service Platform" globally to Communications Service Providers (CSPs), providing network, cloud and applications for the advent of the 5G era. The "NEC 5G Vertical Service Platform" aims to provide full-stack functionality and provide innovative vertical service services.

On February 22, 2019, NEC announced the development of 5G base station radio units (RUs) that comply with the O-RAN fronthaul specifications set by the O-RAN Alliance. In the future, 5G is expected to require a large number of small coverage base station equipment. NEC's RUs are well suited for 5G conditions because they are compact, light in weight, and low in power consumption, which reduce installation and operation costs.

Ericsson

Ericsson claims to be the only supplier currently working on various continents, making 5G the global standard for next-generation wireless technology.

Their 5G radio prototypes are the first products designed to enable operators to conduct field trials in their own networks, which helps operators better understand the potential of 5G in their own networks and environments.

Given their expertise in the 5G field, many companies around the world work with Ericsson.

The company has conducted multiple trials with domestic suppliers. Some of these, as well as other research activities, are listed below.

In May 2017, the company conducted its first 5G test in Malaysia with Celcom Axiata Berhad. It is also the first 5G test in Southeast Asia’s 28 GHz band. The trial demonstrates Celcom’s commitment to providing the best service in Malaysia.

In the same month, Ericsson and Batelco conducted the first 5G trial in Bahrain to leverage next-generation mobile networking technology to drive innovation in IoT applications. The trial was conducted during the 5G forum event held at Batelco's headquarters and demonstrated 5G capabilities, including speed, latency and beam control tests, to achieve record speeds of 25 Gbps in real-world environments and on-site networks.

In February 2018, Ericsson and Korea Telecom conducted a 5G trial with Intel to connect cars to a live 5G network in downtown Seoul. In a dense urban environment, 4K video flows in and out of the car, giving people an idea of ​​how 5G will change the experience of car passengers.

Several companies join forces to provide 5G services in some cities. Tallink, Telia, Ericsson and Intel have established a 5G testing and exploration area in the port of Tallinn. The test network is providing internet services to commercial passenger cruise ships at the port. Tallink, which has millions of passengers on the Baltic route every year, is one of the largest maritime companies in Europe.

In India, Ericsson cooperates with Telecom India Bharti Airtel to launch 5G.

Ericsson demonstrated its first live 5G live demonstration in India in November 2017. The demonstration using Ericsson 5G test bench and 5G new radio (NR) provides 5.7 Gbps throughput and 3 milliseconds of ultra-low latency. According to an Ericsson study, 5G technology will bring US$27.3 billion in revenue potential to Indian telecom operators by 2026.

Ericsson has also established ties with the Pacific region, and they have formed alliances with Australian Telecom NBN to start 5G trials in Melbourne.

While Ericsson is building multiple alliances, it is also working to improve the speed of 5G. Through its partnership with SK Telecom and BMW Korea, Ericsson uses advanced 5G technology to track connected cars traveling up to 170 km/h to demonstrate the speed of data transmission on the 5G network. With advanced beamforming and beam tracking, high-performance network connections support point-to-point data transmission from connected cars, with transmission speeds up to 170 km and downlink speeds of 3.6 Gbps.

Ericsson has collaborated with the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology to develop what is called a blade integrated disc or blade for German jet engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines.

Ericsson recently signed a three-year agreement with Movistar Argentina to change its wireless access network to expand network coverage and improve the mobile broadband experience for its customers.

Ericsson also plans to invest in the Indian market as it is a major market for their business. The company plans to launch 5G networks in India in 2019 and start large-scale deployment in 2020.

In April 2018, Ericsson chose a virtualized core network for Italian operator Fengdai as part of its network-to-5G core development. This transformation allows Wind Tre to work in a more flexible way while serving customers and improving operations using fixed and mobile access.

In June 2018, Telia, Ericsson and KTH Royal Institute of Technology announced a partnership to jointly promote the development of 5G in Sweden. The expansion of 5G will promote the digitalization of the entire society through applications such as the Internet of Things and smart manufacturing and connected vehicles.

In June 2018, Ericsson teamed up with AT&T, Fox Sports, Fox Innovation Labs and Intel to enable FOX Sports to play 4K videos wirelessly in 5G at the 2018 U.S. Open.

In August 2018, the company presented its first live demonstration of 5G technology in the Philippines and announced a memorandum of understanding with PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications to begin deployment of 5G pilot networks in 2019.

On September 17, 2018, PJSC VimpelCom (sold under the Beeline brand) signed a two-year strategic cooperation agreement with Ericsson to develop 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.

On October 25, 2018, Ericsson announced a signing of a memorandum of understanding with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), one of India’s leading telecom operators committed to developing new 5G use cases, sharing 5G technology concepts, industry and innovation trends including progress in 3GPP standardization.

In October 2018, Telstra announced Ericsson as its main 5G partner, a deal that will allow the two companies to collaborate to provide next-generation mobile technology to Australia. The agreement was signed by Telstra and Ericsson, marking another important milestone in the development and promotion of 5G technology in the country.

In October 2018, Ericsson and Telia collaborated with Einride to demonstrate how to enable driverless truck transport through 5G-based enhanced connectivity at the DB Schenker factory in Jönköping, Sweden.

In November 2018, Ericsson signed a new agreement with Telenor Group, a Norwegian multinational telecommunications company, to transform its core network in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

On February 28, 2019, Mobily Saudi Arabia deployed Ericsson's full-stack telecom cloud solution with a focus on revamping its wireless network and delivering a 5G cloud core. Mobily will gain a flexible, flexible, programmable network to improve customer experience and support the development of new services.

On February 28, 2019, Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia agreed to initiate discussions to extend the OSSii (Interoperability Initiative for Operational Support Systems) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cover 5G network technology.

Ericsson and Saudi Telecom subsidiary STC Solutions signed a sales channel partnership agreement that allows STCS to resell Ericsson's hardware, software, post-warranty and training across network, digital services, hosting services, emerging business and technology business units. End users - including STIV subsidiaries such as VIVA Kuwait and VIVA Bahrain. The announcement was made during MWC 2019.

At the 2019 Mobile World Congress, Ericsson and Transdev announced their collaboration on the Autonomous Laboratory of Normandy* (RNAL) project in Rouen as the first on-demand sharing and automated transport service on the open roads in Europe. The RNA project can automatically operate four ZOEs Renaults and will soon be able to implement the i-Cristal Transdev-Lohr shuttle.

On February 25, 2019, Ericsson was selected by Ooredoo Qatar to make its "Supernet" fully support 5G and enhance the digital lives of people, businesses and industries across Qatar. The 5G protocol will see Ericsson radio systems, new 5G radio solutions and 10 Gbps microwave solutions digitally convert and modernize Ooredoo's existing mobile networks, and launch the latest 5G technology nationwide.

On February 25, 2019, Saudi Telecom Corporation (STC) signed an agreement with Ericsson to launch an intermediate frequency 5G network in Saudi Arabia. The deal was announced at the signing ceremony of the 2019 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

On February 26, 2019, Ericsson was selected by Etisalat to deploy 5G wireless networks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), helping the UAE to at the forefront of global 5G network deployment. The deal is part of a strategic partnership and will also see Ericsson and Etisalat jointly explore 5G opportunities.

On February 27, 2019, Ericsson and Telecommunications connected 5G with a massive 3.5GHz MIMO active antenna at the famous Camp Nou Stadium. Telefónica, Ericsson and Barcelona Football Club broadcast live images from Camp Nou Stadium to MWC 19 Barcelona, ​​as well as exclusive videos of the first team training at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper Stadium and virtual tour of the stadium. The project was developed in partnership with GSMA and Barcelona Mobile World Capital within the framework of the 5G program in Barcelona.

On February 28, 2019, US Cellular and Ericsson announced a multi-year contract with Ericsson to support the deployment of 5G networks in Cellular in the United States. Under the contract, Ericsson will provide US Cellular with new 5G radio (NR) hardware and software based on 3GPP standards.

Ericsson has obtained most of its research and inventions through intellectual property rights. For example, to ensure the development of 5G, Ericsson filed a landmark 5G patent application for WIPO and USPTO. The patent application combines the work of 130 Ericsson inventors and is the largest patent application in the field of cellular communications in terms of the number of inventors anywhere in the world. It shows the industry how Ericsson can standardize 5G through a comprehensive perspective, which connects individual inventions in a complete 5G telecom network rather than focusing on smaller personal inventions.

Qualcomm

While other companies are talking about 5G, Qualcomm is actually building these technologies. Unlike telecom companies, Qualcomm focuses more on building products.

Qualcomm and the world's leading mobile network operators, including AT&T, Verizon, China Mobile, Deutsche Telecom, announced their progress in realizing their 5G vision in February 2019. As these companies plan to begin their first trial of standard-compliant mobile 5G NR networks, the heart of mobile testing devices, they will use Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem to determine the performance of these emerging networks.

Following the 5G standard formulation of 3GPP in 2016, Qualcomm began to look at the next wave of 5G NR technologies that would pave the way for subsequent versions of 5G NR standards. At MWC 2018, Qualcomm showed off three of the 5G NR expansion areas.

Before the 3GPP standard began, Qualcomm Research began designing on the new 5G wireless air interface. In a live demonstration to industry analysts, Qualcomm Research demonstrated key 5G technology enablers for these extreme mobile broadband experiences – millimeter wave (mmWave).

Qualcomm is also committed to designing and standardizing the new 5G NR unified air interface.

In February 2018, Samsung and Qualcomm announced their intention to expand their ten-year foundry relationship to EUV (extreme UV) lithography technology, including the use of Samsung's 7-nanometer (nm) LPP to manufacture the future Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 5G mobile chipset (low power Plus) EUV process technology.

Using 7 LPP EUV process technology, the Snapdragon 5G mobile chipset will provide a smaller chip footprint, providing OEMs with more available space in the upcoming products to support larger batteries or slimmer designs. Process improvements combined with more advanced chip designs are expected to significantly improve battery life.

In the same month, Qualcomm and Microsoft announced that leading retailers from around the world will launch a range of new Microsoft Always Connected Windows 10 PCs powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ mobile PC platform.

In addition, last year, Qualcomm released a 5G phone at the Qualcomm 4G/5G Summit held in Hong Kong, which is said to be one step ahead of its competitors.

Qualcomm, together with Verizon and Nokia, completed a series of data conferences on the outdoor 3GPP New Radio 5G standard and successful multi-carrier aggregation to boost these signals to the Gbps range.

Qualcomm also obtained FCC license to conduct research and development tests in New Jersey and California.

Qualcomm also claims to offer a 5G NR platform for small cells, which is also used by 3G and 4G networks in urban areas. Qualcomm's 'FSM100xx' platform is suitable for frequencies below 6 GHz and higher millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum.

Qualcomm is partnering with 18 telecom companies and 20 manufacturers, including Taiwan’s Asus, to launch 5G products that surpass mobile devices next year.

On February 19, 2019, Qualcomm announced the expansion of its 5G test network to include new end-to-end over-the-air (OTA) configurations for millimeter wave (mmWave) and under 6GHz bands.

On February 25, 2019, in order to promote the development of the next generation of connected cars, Qualcomm announced the launch of the second generation of Qualcomm's connected car reference design, which uses advanced connectivity technology, precise positioning technology and integrated processing technology.

On February 25, 2019, Qualcomm announced its first 5G Client Equipment (CPE) reference design for sub-6 GHz and millimeter-wave (mmWave) 5G fixed wireless broadband (FWB) products. The reference design features the newly launched second-generation Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X55 5G modem and next-generation Qualcomm® RF Front-end (RFFE) components and modules for sub-6 GHz and mmWave deployments.

On February 25, 2019, Qualcomm announced the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 8cx 5G computing platform, the first commercial 5G PC platform in the PC industry. The Snapdragon 8cx 5G platform uses a breakthrough second-generation Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X55 5G modem to help PC manufacturers make the most of the 5G networks launched worldwide.

At the World of Mobile Communications Conference, Qualcomm announced the integration of the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ mobile platform with 5G into a System-on-Chip (SoC). With its 5G leadership in its Snapdragon X50 and X55 5G modems and RF front-end (RFFE) solutions, the company strengthens its role in providing flexibility and scalability to the global mobile ecosystem. Broad and rapid 5G adoption is needed.

At MWC 19 Barcelona, ​​Qualcomm has launched Wi-Fi 6 to the world in two ground-breaking ways: First, it announced the launch of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 mobile platform device based on the W553998 chipset to support critical Wi-Fi 6 features, and second, it offers a unique perspective of a full-featured Wi-Fi 6 mobile SoC, ready for standard certification later this year.

Nreal light, a mixed reality (MR) headset that looks like a pair of sunglasses, announced a partnership with Qualcomm and LG Uplus, pointing to possible compatibility with the upcoming 5G phone wave. With today’s newly discovered ability to connect smartphones running Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 SoC, Nreal Light hopes to become mainstream by 2020.

On March 3, 2019, France Brevets, IMT and EURECOM announced a joint agreement with Qualcomm to promote new technology research on future 5G standards. Under the terms of the agreement, Qualcomm will provide funding and standard expertise to support wireless communications research at EURECOM and its partner organization Institut Mines-Télécom (IMT), while France Brevets will support the intellectual property strategy area.

On March 5, 2019, for each announcement, a Qualcomm subsidiary, Bosch will collaborate on the research of the IoT Industry Network (IIoT) focus on the new 5G wireless (NR) technology application.

Qualcomm also announced patent tax prices for each 5G phone, up to $16.25, three times the price of Ericsson. This is not the final price, as license agreements usually include cross-licensing transactions that can seriously affect prices.

Verizon

Verizon position itself at the forefront of 5G technology as they are building modern infrastructure across the country.

Here are some progress Verizon has made in 5G competitions.

Verizon also worked with Nokia and Qualcomm to successfully complete a call to the 5G NR network in February 2018. The trio used Verizon's spectrum - using the Nokia 5G network on Qualcomm's 5G NR prototype device. The test was conducted at Nokia's factory in Murray Hill, New Jersey.

In April 2018, Verizon completed its first pre-commercial video call using a Samsung 5G tablet. This is an international call from Minneapolis to Seoul, South Korea. The two companies have also decided to cooperate in further development in the future.

Verizon also completed another industry through its successful field trial of delivering real-time 400 Gbps Ethernet traffic between MPLS Core routers at a single wavelength. The trial demonstrated the interoperability of devices from two different vendors and the ability to quadruple the typical capacity of wavelength-bearing. The trial, conducted in December 2017 in the Dallas area, verified the feasibility of carrying 400 Gbps traffic.

Verizon has many 5G technology plans. Most importantly, they claim to be the first company ever to provide 5G services in the United States. In addition, AT&T has shown a desire to be the first contestant.

Verizon chose Sacramento, California as the first city to receive 5G fixed wireless broadband services as the company is challenging wired broadband providers.

Verizon announced that it will work with Samsung to use its customized fixed 5G home router and 5G wireless access unit (RAN) for the carrier's initial 5G commercial deployment, with plans to launch in the second half of 2018.

Verizon also holds a 31 GHz license in BTA by acquiring Nextlink Wireless's LMDS license.

In May 2018, Verizon announced the use of Ericsson devices to deploy 5G networks in Los Angeles.

In June 2018, Columbia University announced that it was experimenting with VR (virtual reality) using Verizon's commercial 5G technology to develop telemedicine solutions.

In August 2018, Verizon and Motorola launched the world's first 5G upgradeable smartphone. The new moto z3 is the first 5G upgradeable smartphone, which enters Verizon's 5G network by simply snapping into the 5G moto mod.

With its 5G ultra-broadband NR network launched, Verizon will be the first wireless supplier to launch Samsung's new 5G smartphone Galaxy S10 5G in the first half of 2019.

Verizon highlighted several use cases of XR using its 5G network at the Mobile Communications World Congress in September. A demonstration by Verizon's Envrmnt showed how users wearing VR headsets can immerse themselves in a 360-degree audio experience. Users were able to attend a concert involving an orchestra of about 100 instruments. As he walked around the concert hall, the instruments were getting bigger or quieter as they got closer to each part.

Voxon Photonics presented the world's first 3D holographic telephone implemented by Verizon 5G at the Mobile World Congress in September 2018. Using Verizon's 5G network in the Los Angeles Convention Center showroom, Voxon Photonics sent medical data from the Verizon booth to the Ericsson booth - about 200 feet away - and conducted the first live video conference, with the caller's holographic surface appearing using an Intel Real-Sense Depth Camera.

On October 1, 2018, the world's first commercial 5G network went live in Sacramento as well as parts of Houston, Indianapolis and Los Angeles. The installation of the Verizon 5G Home started on the same day in Sacramento’s “First on 5G” membership. Based on Verizon-led open 5G TF network standards, Verizon 5G Home is the next generation of home broadband internet service that provides ultra-fast Wi-Fi.

On October 4, 2018, the Independent Filmmaker Project (“IFP”), the leading member organization of Independent Filmmakers and Storytellers in the United States, and Verizon’s premium entertainment studio RYOT (“RYOT”), announced a new initiative focusing on new storytelling forms developed specifically for 5G mobile networks.

On November 9, 2018, Verizon and the Volkswagen Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC) teamed up with Ericsson to announce the launch of the Verizon 5G Robot Challenge, the first opportunity for universities, startups and other developers. The larger Boston area will create 5G-powered robotics technology for modern industrial transformation potential.

On November 13, 2018, Verizon worked with Motorola, Samsung Electronics America and Qualcomm to complete the world's first 5G data transmission on smartphones on commercial 3GPP 5G new radio (NR) networks. This successful test was done in Providence, Indiana with the moto z3 with a 5G moto modtm, the world's first 5G upgradeable smartphone.

Orange

The company is also involved in the 5G ecosystem co-building process: from transportation to manufacturing, from health to entertainment. This open collaboration allows Orange to better understand problems, new business models and requirements, and test cases.

Some of its progress towards achieving 5G goals are listed below.

Orange has been selected by UTAC CERAM, a global leader in testing and certified vehicles, including autonomous vehicles, and is its 4G/5G connectivity partner.

It also partnered with Ericsson to deploy an experimental mobile infrastructure to test the 5G capabilities required by autonomous vehicles.

Orange also announced that they will launch their first 5G tests in France in Lille and Douai by the end of 2018 or early 2019.

In Romania, Orange worked with Samsung and Cisco to conduct actual testing in the second half of 2018. The company also worked with Nokia and Kathrein to design an antenna for managing 4G/5G connectivity.

Orange and Huawei have completed the construction of the Spanish national network, the world's largest long-distance transmission. The new Orange Spain network will reach a total capacity of 19.2 Tbps in a pair of fibers.

Orange Poland has launched a commercial pilot for LTE-M technology in Warsaw, Gliwice, Mysłowice and Tarnow. The pilot allows interested companies, including startups, to develop IoT-based services and devices, which also meets all requirements for 5G networks.

On September 10, 2018, Orange Belgium was the first to propose a real-life use case to rely on the highly anticipated 5G technology. Stéphane Richard, CEO of Orange Group, teamed up with Orange to demonstrate the potential and future applications of 5G. Orange Belgium also confirmed its ambition to deploy 5G technology as soon as possible for residential and commercial customers.

On December 14, 2018, Orange announced its goal to launch 5G technology in 17 major European cities including Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and Spain in 2019. The telecommunications company said these first launches will pave the way for the company’s entirety. The commercial launch of the technology is scheduled to be held in 2020.

On February 21, 2019, Orange signed a strategic R&D framework agreement with Japan's NTT company, which will continue until 2022. The main goal of the agreement is to share research results in several key areas such as 5G, network transformation, artificial intelligence, etc. Internet of Things, cybersecurity, cloud services, smart cities, sports, tourism and culture.

At MWC 2019, Orange’s booth was fully dedicated to 5G devices. In particular, it launched the first 5G smartphone. This phone can serve as a test machine for the carrier’s infrastructure and can be commercialized after launching Orange’s 5G network in 2020.

In February 2019, Orange demonstrated how 5G performs in real situations by showing the first 5G video transmission in Spanish commercial networks. To this end, Orange España cooperated with Ericsson to implement the first real-time 5G transmission on Spanish commercial networks.

On February 28, 2019, Orange Poland said it had conducted more 5G testing this month, using the first batch of standard complaint devices and spectrum in the 26-28 GHz range. UKE regulators provide the frequency to operators for testing and use Ericsson’s equipment.

On March 1, 2019, Huawei and Orange signed an agreement to form the Orange-Huawei IT Joint Innovation Center.

MTS

Like other top companies in the telecom industry, Mobile TeleSystems is also making progress on the road to delivering 5G communications to millions of users.

In February 2017, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) and its Moscow fixed network division MGTS (“Moscow City Telephone Network”) outlined a joint strategy for the development of fixed/mobile technology in the Moscow region from 2017 to 2020.

They began to launch the XG-GPON/5G fixed/mobile strategy for Moscow, joining the Moscow fixed network division MGTS (“Moscow City Telephone Network”) for technology development in the country’s capital.

For the 2018 FIFA World Cup, MTS and Nokia teamed up to launch on-site 5G network trials and signed a collaborative strategic alliance. The alliance is committed to providing avenues for 5G technology, extending a variety of LTE technologies. Another goal is to deploy 5G networks at Russian football stadiums during the World Cup.

MTS is also aligned with Ericsson to conduct 5G and IoT upgrades. The deal includes hardware, software and equipment integrated with 5G NR, Ericsson radio systems, core networks and user data. The total value of the deal is expected to exceed €400 million.

MTS also cooperated with Samsung and signed a memorandum of understanding to explore and improve 5G networks, including carrier aggregation, MIMO, LTE broadcast (eMBMS) and multi-path TCP (MPTCP) technologies.

Ericsson, in partnership with Mobile TeleSystems, claims they claim to be the largest Massive MIMO deployment in Europe, has installed AIR 6468 radio competitions with 5G new radio (NR) cables in more than 40 cities in 7 out of 11 cities.

In July 2018, Samsung Electronics and MTS Russia showed off a range of 5G scenarios, including HD video calls, ultra-low latency video games and HD video streaming using Samsung's 5G network.

Russian companies said at a press conference on February 26 that on February 27, 2019, Mobile TeleSystems and Swedish Ericsson announced an agreement to launch the first batch of 5G network segments in Russia. At the 2019 Mobile World Congress, the two companies signed an agreement. 5G Russia Roadmap for 2019-2020.

The collaboration will also help MST achieve better results in NB-IoT and LTE-Machine technologies, as Samsung is a senior developer of the Internet of Things. As part of this newly signed memorandum of understanding, the companies will conduct multiple tests on these technologies to increase the speed of data communication.

AT&T

AT&T claims it will be the first company to provide 5G services in the U.S. To achieve this feat, they deployed gigabit 5G connectivity in three cities: Waco, TX, Kalamazoo, MI, and South Bend, IN.

In Waco, 5G speeds are 1.2Gbps at a height of 500 feet (150 meters) on a 400 MHz channel, with a latency of 9-12 milliseconds. According to AT&T, this is related to "hundreds of users who are connected simultaneously."

Kalamazoo has 1Gbps at 900 feet (275 meters) in "line-of-sight" conditions and there is no negative impact of rain or snow. AT&T notes that the signal can penetrate "important leaves, glass and even walls" better than expected, but it is not clear what exactly means.

South Bend does not report specific speeds, but claims "gigabit wireless speed" in line of sight and "some non-line of sight" conditions.

The company also said that the speed has little or no impact on the weather, thus having very low latency.

They also announced the availability of 5G in nine other cities. AT&T is the industry's most aggressive network virtualization path. They plan to virtualize 75% of the network by 2020, as they completed 55% in 2017.

One of the internal projects AT&T has established in the lab is the Advanced 5G NR Testbed System (ANTS). ANTS is the first 5G test bench system and is exclusive to AT&T.

The company also wants to showcase the 5G entertainment experience. They have asked the FCC to demonstrate 5G in the 28 GHz mmWave band at the SHAPE event, which is scheduled to be held at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California on June 2 and 3.

AT&T also announced that it will deploy 60,000 white box routers in the coming years to virtualize its 5G network in the United States.

AT&T has been licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a 28 GHz demonstration, giving gamers at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) a close-up view of how 5G connectivity can provide them with a real-time gaming experience anywhere the network covers.

AT&T announced an agreement with Nokia to provide enterprise customers around the world with avenues to develop next-generation IoT services and pave the way for global 5G networks.

In December 2019, AT&T said its 5G network was launched in parts of 12 cities, becoming the first wireless operator to launch a mobile network based on 5G standards.

On January 21, 2019, AT&T announced the three pillars of 5G, namely mobile, 5G fixed and wireless edge computing, which will bring about a future business experience. The company is building a network to enable fiber-based connectivity and LTE working in parallel with 5G solutions to maximize the impact of business transformation.

On February 8, 2019, AT&T successfully tested a new software update on real-time commercial 5G+ networks at speeds of over 1.5 Gbps. The test was conducted on site using a mobile form factor test device.

2019年2月8日，AT&T成为美国体育场的第一个5G体育场。该公司预计5G最终将有助于在体育场提供下一代互联娱乐。

2019年2月12日，该航空公司宣布了接下来的两个城市：芝加哥和明尼阿波利斯，它们将在2019年的某个时候获得AT&T真正的5G网络。

在2019年2月20日，AT&T表示，从AT&T购买其中一款Galaxy S10的客户将能够体验5G Evolution网络技术，这是AT&T迈向5G的第一步。在限定时间内，购买Galaxy S10 128GB，S10 + 128GB或S10e的AT&T客户可以免费获得一个。

在2019年2月22日，AT&T 推出了AT&T 5G创新计划，继续以5G的力量创造和开发新的客户体验。该计划旨在与应用程序开发人员，内容创建者，设备制造商和网络供应商合作，将5G创意和体验变为现实。

在2019年3月4日，AT&T表示它希望在德克萨斯州测试24GHz毫米波设备以及进一步的“sub6”设备测试。AT&T申请了为期两年的“5G”实验许可证，以涵盖2月20日在德克萨斯州奥斯汀的5GHz和24 GHz频段的测试。该申请仍在FCC中列为“待定”。

在5G的这次旅程中，AT&T进行了许多合作和收购，如下所列。

2月，AT&T完成了对FiberTower的收购，该公司在美国前100大市场中平均为运营商提供了375 MHz的39 GHz频谱。该公司表示计划在今年晚些时候推出mmWave频谱，作为其移动5G部署的一部分。

AT&T和Crown Castle签署了一项新协议，简化并扩大了他们对无线网络基础设施的长期租赁协议。根据新协议，简化了租赁管理和运营，以提高AT&T部署新技术和提高网络容量的效率和灵活性。

Tech Mahindra计划将AT&T FlexWare与其系统集成和服务组合相结合，并为正在进行数字化转型的全球客户提供解决方案。

2019年1月，AT&T通过与拉什大学医疗中心合作，帮助远程医疗向前迈进了一步，创建了美国第一家5G医院。AT&T周二表示，该技术有望加速网络通信并减少延迟，以帮助改善芝加哥医院的医疗服务。

2019年2月12日，美国领先的临终关怀服务提供商AT&T和VITAS®Health 就推出了一项研究，旨在将5G与虚拟现实和增强现实(VR和AR)相结合，以测试它是否能够提供帮助减少某些临终关怀患者的慢性疼痛和焦虑。

在2019年2月20日，AT&T，爱立信和英特尔宣布，通过基于5G技术的基于位置的混合现实，粉丝们将有机会沉浸在DC最精通技术的超级英雄蝙蝠侠和超级体验中。 -Villain稻草人在MWC 19巴塞罗那。

在2019年2月22日，AT&T宣布与VeloCloud合作推出VMware SD-WAN，在其SD-WAN中实现5G功能，为企业提供更高水平的网络控制。对于希望将SD-WAN与高速，低延迟5G网络一起用作主要或辅助WAN连接类型以及其他传输连接的企业而言，这种变革性组合可能是理想的解决方案。

2019年2月25日，AT&T和Vodafone Business在2019年巴塞罗那世界移动通信大会(MWC)上宣布，他们将合作开展汽车领域的物联网(IoT)应用，包括安全，安全和娱乐。

在2019年2月26日，AT&T和微软合作测试了一种边缘部署模型，该模型将中央核心部署的网络计算元素与远端网络边缘部署的网络计算元素之间的差异分开。该模型使用公司所称的“网络边缘计算(NEC)功能”，通过Microsoft的Azure公共云平台从边缘部署运行网络流量。

Cisco

这家美国网络硬件公司在MWC 2018上推出了5G现在的产品组合，以支持5G自动化和基础设施，该公司将以三种主要方式提供支持：

服务- 启用5G服务，以便服务提供商(SP)可以赚更多钱;

基础设施- 帮助建立5G基础设施;

自动化- 使大规模生产更简单。

该公司了解5G的潜力，并计划在未来三年内连接超过300亿台设备。网络强化是5G的关键部分，思科不容错过任何机会。

为加入5G旅行车，思科还采取措施加入合作伙伴网络，为英国的农村社区提供5G服务。以下是该公司在5G之旅中所取得的一些进展。

思科推出了5G安全架构，以实现安全网络转型，将人工智能与深度学习相结合，创建一个能够以同等熟练程度协调物理和虚拟资源的网络，从而实现最佳网络效率。凭借这种独特的方法，思科成功地将检测时间从100到200天的行业平均水平降低到了4个小时。

思科还建立了多个联盟，以提供增强的5G功能。

沙特电信公司(STC)与思科签署战略谅解备忘录，将5G的优势带给沙特阿拉伯，并合作开发5G通信系统和网络。

思科还与Airtel合作，通过将他们的SON合作提升到印度的新水平来改善移动用户体验。

该公司继续与Rackspace长期合作，为多云环境提供高级安全性。由于其运营效率，灵活性，可扩展性和增长扩展，许多组织正在利用Multiclouds。超过50%的安全专业人士表示，由于更好的数据安全性，他们在云端托管网络。

思科，沃达丰，爱立信以及众多汽车技术合作伙伴通过远程控制成功驾驶宝马汽车绕过杜塞尔多夫的测试跑道，通过蜂窝网络将远程驾驶员的操作连接到汽车上。

思科系统公司还推出了云原生宽带路由器，将其称为融合有线接入平台(CCAP)服务的“容器化，完全软件重写”。

此外，据报道，思科正在努力构建一个“创新”的新型5G网络基础设施解决方案，以便在2018年的某个时间点推出。

由思科领导的财团5G RuralFirst 发布了Me + Moo，这是一款智能手机应用程序，可以让您选择自己的“连接”牛(充满传感器的衣领)并接收有关您所选择的牛朋友的每日更新。

2019年2月8日，思科在不列颠群岛推出了一项雄心勃勃的农村5G试验，其中包括29个无线行业合作伙伴，用于测试增强型移动宽带，光纤无线(LiFi)，5G以上的无线电广播和农业技术。该试验是思科5G RuralFirst计划的一部分，该计划旨在为改善城市以外的连通性做出贡献。

2019年2月24日，思科宣布计划在未来三年内通过思科融资投入50亿美元的5G资金，以帮助其客户将网络过渡到5G。

2019年2月24日，思科宣布与Sprint合作部署新的路由技术，以支持Sprint不断增长的回程网络流量，因为它准备在2019年上半年在9个城市推出移动5G服务。

在2019年2月25日，Verizon和思科宣布合作建立一个移动SD-WAN产品，该产品利用了Verizon未来的5G网络。这是思科首次将蜂窝电话侧的移动组件引入SD-WAN。

2019年2月26日，由于科技巨头思科和诺基亚的硬件和软件，日本在线市场乐天宣布将在短短八个月内推出自己的移动网络。

2019年2月28日，思科宣布与Fastweb合作开展网络现代化项目，该项目将增强Fastweb光纤网络的功能和性能。该项目将使这家位于意大利的运营商处于合适的位置，以满足视频宽带，企业VPN和未来5G流量不断增长的需求。

在2019年3月4日，思科与SoftBank合作开展了全球首个分段路由IPv6(SRv6)部署。随着即将到来的5G时代的到来，思科一直在协助SoftBank在全国范围内部署SRv6网络，以构建极具可扩展性的未来网络架构，同时提高可靠性，灵活性和灵活性，同时有助于降低资本支出和运营成本。

在2019年3月6日，思科和Telenor集团宣布他们将扩展他们在网络安全，云和数字工作场所的联合创新，并将探索针对5G的开放虚拟化RAN(vRAN)解决方案。

in conclusion

世界经济论坛将5G描述为第四次工业革命。高通声称5G 将比电力更大，他们预测到2035年，它将是一个价值13万亿美元的商品和服务行业。

5G将通过未实现的收入来源产生数十亿美元。所有电信巨头都有动力抓住即将到来的浪潮。我们已经见证了很多公共/私人合作伙伴关系，其中包括主要合作伙伴关系，还有很多未来的合作伙伴关系。

由于在几乎所有领域尚未进行大量研究，因此可以发现许多空白。因此，在这个阶段，要预测行业领导者将会是谁将是困难的。然而，具有高度一致的商业方法，研究和专利战略的人肯定会赢得比赛。

报告作者：市场研究研究分析师Vipin Singh和Neha Tanwer。