AT&T is conducting a 5G network trial with an actual business customer, albeit a friendly one. The trial, which is being conducted with the help of Ericsson, is using millimeter wave (mmWave) technology over the 15 GHz and 28 GHz spectrum bands to deliver real-time camera feeds and 4K HD video to Intel’s offices in Austin, Texas.
AT&T says it is clocking network speeds of nearly 14 Gb/s using the mmWave technology.
Besides the HD video, AT&T is also testing several enterprise applications, or use cases, such as VPN, unified communications, and even 5G VoIP.
“We’re leaving the lab and heading into the field with a real-world business customer,” said Rick Hubbard, AT&T’s senior vice president of networking product management.
AT&T envisions being able to offer 5G to deliver video content, making it a potential competitor with cable companies. “We expect speeds rivaling what we see from cable providers,” said Tom Keathley, senior vice president, wireless network architecture and design, AT&T.
When AT&T announced its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner in late October, CEO Randall Stephenson touted the deal as a way for the company to build its content portfolio and ultimately compete with the cable companies in delivering high-speed broadband and TV services. At the time, Stephenson said that he believed the deal would drive more demand for 5G and even speed deployment.
AT&T’s Stephenson is expected to meet with the Senate Judiciary Committee this week to make a case for the company’s purchase of Time Warner. Lawmakers will look at antitrust concerns over the deal that combines the wireless heavyweight with Time Warner’s properties that include HBO, CNN, and Warner Bros.