Samsung completes first successful demonstration of 5G on a moving train

Samsung Electronics has just announced that it has successfully demonstrated the fifth-generation network on a high-speed train traveling over 100 kmph under a joint project with Japanese telecommunications operator KDDI.

The demo was conducted along a section of track where the distance between two stations was approximately 1.5km (nearly 1 mile). During the demonstration, the two companies which have been rolling out joint projects in the field since 2015, achieved a successful downlink and uplink handover as well as a peak speed of 1.7 Gbps.

As per the company blog post, the tests were carried out from October 17th through the 19th in the city of Saitama in Japan, near Tokyo. For the tests, Samsung's 5G pre-commercial end-to-end solution was used, which is composed of a 5G router (CPE), radio access unit (5G Radio), virtualized RAN and virtualized core.

"The demonstration leveraged capabilities driven by 5G, such as high throughput, low latency and massive connections, which verified potential services that would be highly beneficial to passengers and operators of high-speed trains," Samsung said in a statement.

However, the test is anticipated to pave the way for faster onboard WiFi services that offer stronger security as well.

Apart from a successful downlink and uplink handover at more than 100km/hour (over 60 mph), the companies have also stated that 8K-quality video was downloaded via a 5G router installed onboard. A 4K video shot from a camera installed on the train was also uploaded in the demonstration.

"In collaboration with Samsung, KDDI has opened up the possibility for new 5G vertical business models, such as a high-speed train. With 5G expected to bring railway services to a whole new dimension, the success of today's demonstration in everyday locations such as a train and a train station is an important milestone indicating 5G commercialization is near," said Yoshiaki Uchida, Senior Managing Executive Officer at KDDI. "To fulfill our aim to launch 5G by 2020, KDDI will continue exploring real-life scenario experiments for diverse 5G use and business cases together with Samsung."

"The potentials that 5G holds is powerful enough to transform the landscape of our daily lives," said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. "The success of today's demonstration is a result of our joint research with KDDI, which we will continue to pursue as we explore next-generation networks and use cases This will include research on diverse spectrums and technologies, as well as new business models and applications."