The world's first 5G service is coming this Friday

As major telecom manufacturers have successively built 5G base stations in multiple cities, 5G has ushered in an important moment recently.

According to a report by Nikkei on February 4, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea, which will open on Friday (February 9), will be the first to provide 5G application services, and users can directly experience 5G speeds at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. This is also the first global 5G actual service.

It is reported that this 5G service is jointly supported and provided by Korea Telecom, Samsung, Intel and other companies.

It is reported that Samsung will provide 200 5G-enabled tablet devices in multiple venues to facilitate users to view content and schedule data on dedicated devices; Korea Telecom will install 100 cameras in the figure skating rink so that spectators can watch the competition from more perspectives. In the bobsleigh event, the organizers even installed cameras on the sled to create a new viewing experience. In addition, Korea Telecom will also set up a showroom to integrate 5G networks and VR to provide simulated ski jumping and other experiences.

On this basis, to ensure a first-class viewing experience, the support of 5G network is indispensable.

In fact, the seeds for providing 5G services for the Winter Olympics were planted a month ago. On January 11, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Technology of South Korea held a special meeting on 5G, with representatives from more than a dozen companies providing 5G components, equipment and services, including Korea Telecom, SK Telecom, and LG U, participating in the meeting.

During the meeting, Yoo Young-min, Minister of ICT, revealed an important message: " The government hopes that South Korea will be the first to launch the world's first 5G service in March 2019 and deploy 5G networks earlier, which will be the foundation of Industry 4.0. The private sector is crucial for South Korea to lead the world in 5G development."

Shortly before the meeting, Yoo Young-min asked KT to carry out a 5G pilot program at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February, and KT also promised to showcase 5G at the Winter Olympics.

Among them, three operators including Korea Telecom are expected to invest more than 10 trillion won (about 60.95 billion yuan) in 5G deployment in 2018.

At the same time, Intel and Samsung, which provided 5G support for the Winter Olympics, have also had their own unique layout in the 5G field in the past year.

Robert J. Topol, General Manager of Standards and Next Generation Technology Department of Intel's Communications and Devices Division and Global Spokesperson for 5G, once said in an interview with Leifeng.com that 5G is of strategic significance to Intel, not only because 5G is the fifth generation of wireless connection technology, but more importantly, it is the foundation of the first generation of interconnected computing technology. In other words, when so many devices are connected to each other and given computing power, this creates unlimited business opportunities for manufacturers like Intel that provide end-to-end solutions.

At present, Intel's first step is to conduct interoperability tests on 5G networks with IT architecture manufacturers and network operators. During this period, it is necessary to ensure that the system can complete this interoperability above certain specifications. The next step is that after having the standard, Intel will conduct a large number of tests based on the standard. After these interoperability tests are successful, operators will face two choices, one is non-standalone new air interface (NSA-NR), and the other is standalone networking (SA-NR).

Robert J. Topol also pointed out to Leifeng.com that China will probably see 5G networks provided by some network operators in 2019, and large-scale 5G and 5G network services will have to wait until 2020. The timing of deployment will also depend on the IT architecture provider and the readiness of the client (handheld device).

Now let's talk about Samsung. Samsung is currently the only company in South Korea that has invested in the research and development of 5G baseband chips, and is also one of the manufacturers that has vigorously developed 5G baseband technology.

Leifeng.com previously reported that in mid-2017, Samsung, Cisco and Verizon successfully tested a multi-vendor end-to-end 5G network using NFV (network function virtualization) and part of Verizon's mobile network.

The 5G network pilot is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, and is the first city to adopt multi-vendor 5G network deployment. The test is supported by Cisco Ultra Services Platform's 5G virtualized packet core and Samsung's vRAN solution, and also uses Samsung's 5G wireless base stations and 5G home routers. vRAN is a new low-cost, rapidly deployable, next-generation green wireless network architecture that can effectively reduce system TCO, shorten TTM time, and provide a universal and open platform for third-party applications.

The three companies ran a series of NVIOT tests (Network Vendor Interoperability Tests) on the network under Verizon's 5G Technical Forum specification to achieve interoperability between the core network, radio edge and user equipment, as well as NFV. Verizon has held the 5G Technical Forum since 2016 to promote the formulation of 5G standards through the forum.

According to people from the three companies, the successful construction of the 5G network proves the necessity of 5G key technologies. "The shift to NFV will create new opportunities for the industry value chain," said Woojune Kim, vice president of 5G network business at Samsung Electronics.

Last month, Samsung pointed out in a statement that through its cooperation with Verizon, Samsung has explored the huge potential of 5G through market trials across the United States.

In addition, Samsung, Cisco and Verizon will also work with suppliers such as Ericsson, Intel, LG, Nokia and Qualcomm to deploy multi-vendor 5G pre-commercial networks in 10 other cities in the United States. These cities include Atlanta, Bernersville, Brookton, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Miami, Sacramento, Seattle and Washington, DC.

According to a spokesperson, each city will be assigned different "test parameters" based on different suppliers, geographical features, population density and other factors. Ann Arbor is the first city to implement multi-vendor 5G deployment. This test shows that 5G networks can be personalized using multi-vendor solutions.

Judging from the investment and progress of various players on the 5G road, we can see that after the Winter Olympics, there will be more and more pilot areas with actual 5G application services, which will in turn promote the commercialization process of end-to-end 5G product portfolios.