Qualcomm has demonstrated next phase of the global 5G New Radio (NR) standard at an event in San Diego on February 7th. Following the recent completion of the first 5G NR standard, 3GPP has approved various technology studies that are expected to define the next phase of 5G NR in Release 16 and beyond. The demonstrations are expected to be on display in the Company’s booth at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month.

Among the demonstrations, Qualcomm showcased a live over-the-air demonstration of 5G NR spectrum sharing technologies. The use of 5G spectrum sharing technologies is expected to bring higher levels of mobile broadband performance to unlicensed and shared spectrum, as well as play an important role in extending 5G into new types of deployments such as private networks for industrial IoT. 

The demonstration also showcased advanced spatial domain spectrum sharing technology that relies on Spatial Domain Multiplexing (SDM) and Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) concepts. This is designed to deliver higher network capacity and user throughput, through tighter coordination among users of unlicensed and shared spectrum bands. 

The demonstration utilized the previously announced Qualcomm Technologies 5G NR spectrum sharing prototype system, which is also designed to support testing of 5G NR operation in unlicensed spectrum, both licensed-assisted access (LAA) and standalone operation without a licensed anchor, also known as 5G MulteFire™.

The company also showcased a demonstration of a wireless PROFINET Industrial Ethernet over 5G NR. Private 5G Networks for Industrial IoT are an important area of focus for the next phase of 3GPP 5G NR. The ability to run Industrial Ethernet over a wireless network facilitates reconfigurable factories—a key concept of Industry 4.0—to increase productivity and flexibility. The demonstration previews new use cases for 5G NR ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) sub-millisecond latency, including the ability to run precise command-and-control for high-demand factory automation applications.

In addition, Qualcomm highlighted the role of 5G NR-based Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology in autonomous driving, by showcasing how the technology is designed to help the vehicle communicate its intentions, thus supporting the level of predictability needed for advanced path planning.