Huawei said the field trial has reached download speeds of more than 2 Gbps

Huawei and Canadian telco Telus have launched 5G wireless-to-the-home (WttH) trial service using a specially-designed 5G customer premise equipment (CPE) unit. The vendor said the trial is taking place in downtown Vancouver’s ‘5G Living Lab,’ a joint initiative between Huawei and Telus.

Huawei said the use of a new 5G CPE is a new step towards the launch of consumer-oriented 5G-ready products to market.

“This trial represents continued progress toward the launch of 5G, as we start to replicate both the in-home experience and network footprint we will see when 5G becomes commercially available in the near future,” said Ibrahim Gedeon, CTO at Telus. “Wireless 5G services will generate tremendous benefits for consumers, operators, governments and more through the use of advanced IoT devices, big data applications, smart city systems and other technologies of the future.”

The 5G trial, which began in early December, is also being conducted in the homes of Vancouver-based TELUS employees and is based on millimeter wave tests that the two companies conducted in June 2017 in Vancouver. The vendor said the trial has achieved single-user download speeds of over 2 Gbps.

Huawei highlighted that the network utilizes elements built as part of the Telus/Huawei 5G Living Lab. The trial system operates in the 28 GHz band with 800 megahertz of bandwidth and includes many 3GPP key technologies, such as massive MIMO, filtered orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (F-OFDM), and the polar code mechanism.

“[Millimeter wave] technology will be an important tool in ensuring widespread deployment of 5G technology in Canada. Huawei’s 5G solutions and terminals will enable 5G coverage over a neighborhood or small community cost effectively, while providing more convenient and high-speed home broadband internet access services.” said Wen Tong, CTO at Huawei Wireless.

Both companies have been trialling next-generation technologies in the ‘5G Living Lab’ in Vancouver since 2015.

Huawei is conducting 5G trials with Canadian operator Bell. In November 2017, the telco said it was conducting further trials of 5G mobile technology in the 28 GHz and 3.5 GHz ranges in partnership with the Asian vendor.

Bell previously demonstrated 5G capability in the 73 GHz range in collaboration with Nokia last year. The Canadian operator is a member of the Next Generation Mobile Networks consortium, a global body defining requirements for the international 5G ecosystem.

The Canadian government is also taking an active role towards the future deployment of 5G technology in the country. In November 2017, Canada’s Communications Research Centre (CRC) and the City of Ottawa have set up a 5G test site at Ottawa City Hall with the aim of allowing technology companies and other collaborators to learn from the CRC’s work and showcase their own innovations.

The new test site at Ottawa City Hall is a collaboration between the Government of Canada and the City of Ottawa. Researchers can demonstrate advancements at the site.