5G has gathered momentum globally as per latest GSA report. 201 operators, in 83 countries are currently investing in 5G mobile and 5G FWA networks, ~30% increase since mid-2018. Level of commitments include tests, trials, planned and pilot deployments, and launches.

Ericsson and Qualcomm have completed a non-standalone (NSA) 5G New Radio (NR) data call on 2.6 GHz, adding a new frequency band to those successfully tested for commercial deployment. The bi-directional downlink and uplink data call was made at the Ericsson Lab in Kista, Sweden last December 20.

U.S. carrier T-Mobile has made a successful 5G data call and video call on 600 MHz both on a live commercial network in partnership with Ericsson and Intel. T-Mobile also accomplished a tri-band 5G video call with three users on different spectrum bands – 600 MHz, 28 GHz and 39 GHz.

Ericsson, SK Telecom (SKT) and Qualcomm have successfully established a 5G NR data call on mid-band over SKT’s live, 5G commercial network in Busan, South Korea. SK Telecom plans to launch 5G commercial services with 5G smartphones, built on the collaborative work with Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies, in the first half of 2019.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has announced four winners in recently concluded 5G spectrum auction in the 3.6 GHz band. All 350 lots available in the auction were sold, realizing total revenue of approximately AU$853 million.

South Korean carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus have launched the 5G network that supports 3GPP specifications in limited areas in Seoul and other major cities. 

Nokia and Singapore's StarHub have completed the outdoor pilot of 5G New Radio on 3.5GHz frequency band in Singapore. The companies demonstrated industrial and consumer applications to staff, industry partners and enterprise customers over 'live' Nokia 5G cells and core network technology at StarHub's headquarters in Singapore.

Mitsubishi Electric and NTT DOCOMO have demonstrated 5G 27Gbps and 25Gbps maximum throughputs via one mobile terminal over communication distances of 10m and 100m, respectively, using the 28GHz radio frequency. 

Australia’s Telstra has announced the demonstration of live 5G 3GPP R15 data call using a commercial 5G chipset in a form factor device on Telstra’s mobile network.

SK Telecom has successfully completed the 5G call using the 3GPP 5G Non-standalone(NSA) new radio (NR) standard and commercial 5G NR Samsung's equipment that can be readily applied to the commercial 5G network. The call took place at the company’s 5G testbed located in its Bundang office building. 

Verizon has announced the launch of the commercial 5G network in portions of Sacramento, Houston, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles. Installations of 5G Home began this week for “First on 5G” customers in those cities. 

T-Mobile and Ericsson have signed a multi-year, $3.5 billion contract to support T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G network deployment. Under the deal, Ericsson will provide T-Mobile with the latest 5G New Radio (NR) hardware and software compliant with 3GPP standards.

Ericsson and Swisscom have stepped up their 5G game by setting up end-to-end, multivendor 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) data call on 3.5 GHz band in the Swiss city of Burgdorf. Swisscom aims to be the first mobile operator in Switzerland to offer 5G services, pending the definitive outcome of commercial spectrum in the country.

Vodacom has announced the launch of standards-based, commercial 5G service in Lesotho using 3.5GHz spectrum to initially deliver Fixed-Wireless Access broadband services to two enterprise customers in Lesotho.