Samsung And KDDI Demo 1.7Gbps 5G Gigabit Wireless Link From A Moving Train

Samsung and KDDI carried out the tests last month in the Japanese city of Saitama. The train was traveling at a speed of 100 kph (roughly 62 mph) over a one-mile stretch of track, with Samsung successfully completing downlink and uplink transmissions at 5G speeds.

The equipment used for the test included Samsung’s 5G pre-commercial end-to-end solution, which consisted of a 5G router (CPE), a 5G radio access unit, virtualized RAN and a virtualized core. During the tests, 8K video was downloaded using the CPE. Additionally, a camera mounted at front of the train uploaded recorded 4K video.

Peak speeds during the test topped out at 1.7Gbps, which is a great achievement for the tech duo. Samsung hopes to eventually fit production-quality hardware in high-speed trains to blanket customers with far superior internet connectivity than what’s available with today's solutions. Samsung says that this will "pave the way to vastly improved backhaul for onboard Wi-Fi, superior passenger infotainment and increased security and analytics."

“The potential 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.”

Samsung and KDDI are aiming for a commercial launch of 5G networks by 2020.