SK Telecom, Ericsson and automobile major BMW have achieved a peak rate of 3.6 Gbps for a connected vehicle travelling at a speed of 170 kilometers per hour.
The three companies have deployed the world largest mmWave 5G trial network using the 28GHz band and demonstrated the world’s first 5G-based connected car in November 2016 — at BMW driving center in Yeongjong Island, Incheon.
SK Telecom — through the application of beamforming and beam tracking technologies — addressed the limitations of millimeter wave bands. Radio waves in millimeter wave bands use high gain and high directivity antenna resulting into block in signals smaller coverage.
The 3.6 Gbps of data rate significantly enhances the stability of connected car services by improving image recognition and V2X (Vehicle to Everything Communication) technologies. This means a vehicle can communicate, in real time, with other vehicles, traffic lights and surveillance cameras to understand and respond to unexpected situations and obstacles.
Ultra-high transmission speed at millimeter waves is expected to have an impact on all 5G use cases including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), drones and robots. Companies can develop 5G services, including a service that allows users to watch VR content within a moving bus. A drone can send real-time video of a disaster-stricken area to provide a better understanding of the situation.
