Verizon, Qualcomm and Novatel Wireless collaborate to expedite trials and commercial deployment of 5G NR mmWave technology

Verizon, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), and Novatel Wireless, an Inseego company, today announced plans to collaborate on 5G New Radio (NR) millimeter wave (mmWave) technology development and over-the air field trials based on the 5G NR Release-15 specifications being developed by 3GPP – the global 5G standard. The companies plan to work together to help move the mobile ecosystem towards faster validation and commercialization of 5G NR mmWave technologies at scale, supporting a full-scale commercial network deployment before the end of the decade.                                                                                                      

The companies plan to initially focus on 5G NR operation in 28 GHz and 39 GHz mmWave spectrum bands, showcasing advanced 5G NR technologies to efficiently achieve robust multi-gigabit per second data rates with mobility at significantly lower latencies than today’s networks. These technologies are expected to be critical to meeting the increasing connectivity requirements for emerging consumer mobile and fixed wireless broadband experiences such as streaming high-definition video, immersive virtual/augmented reality, and connected cloud computing. The companies plan on delivering a common 5G NR mmWave technology platform for mobile and home broadband wireless access, supporting a 5G NR migration path for Verizon’s early 5G fixed wireless access deployments and trials based on the 5G-Technology Forum specifications.

“Since the inception of the 5G Technology Forum, Verizon has been working closely with Qualcomm Technologies and other technology leaders to accelerate a global 5G specification to help usher in the next generation of wireless innovation for customers,” said Ed Chan, senior vice president, Verizon Technology Strategy & Planning. “Verizon’s investment in mmWave spectrum has given us the flexibility to pursue a first-of its kind fixed wireless broadband customer trial, which has been invaluable in advancing our expertise in the deployment of mmWave technology. With the collaboration we’re announcing today, we are taking the next logical step towards extending our leadership position in the advancement of 5G, part of the Verizon Intelligent Edge Network.”

“Qualcomm Technologies is committed to delivering 5G NR mmWave technologies to meet the ever-increasing connectivity requirements for enhanced mobile broadband experiences,” said Joe Glynn, vice president, business development, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are excited to collaborate with Verizon in making 5G NR mmWave a commercial reality for mobile devices, including fixed wireless home routers, mobile hotspots, tablets and smartphones.”

“Novatel Wireless has been delivering innovative products for over 17 years, and has pioneered new categories of mobile devices with every technology generation since the inauguration of mobile data. We are excited to be closely collaborating with Verizon and Qualcomm Technologies to deliver on the 5G promise." said Dan Mondor, president and chief executive officer, Inseego. "We believe our unique expertise and capabilities are well aligned in the commercialization of 5G by delivering the next generation of high performance mobile broadband and IoT solutions,” said Stephen Sek, Chief Technology Officer, Novatel Wireless.

The companies expect the collaboration to include over-the-air trials, starting in 2018, that will be compliant with the first 3GPP 5G NR specification that will be part of Release 15. The trials will utilize 5G NR mmWave mobile test platforms from Qualcomm Technologies operating at 28 GHz and 39 GHz to test end-to-end applications in real-world scenarios, across a broad set of 5G NR mmWave use cases and deployment scenarios. In addition, the trials will employ advanced 5G NR Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna technology with adaptive beamforming and beam tracking techniques to deliver robust broadband communications in real-world mobile or fixed environments, including non-line-of-sight environments and device mobility. Qualcomm Technologies anticipate utilizing learnings from the trials to help drive the ongoing development of the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X50 5G NR modem family to support anticipated commercial service launches starting the first half of 2019 based on the global 3GPP 5G NR standard.