Qualcomm Technologies introduced its first 5G New Radio (NR) spectrum sharing prototype system. The trial platform is intended to demonstrate that 5G spectrum sharing can bring higher levels of mobile broadband performance to shared spectrum, enabling fiber-like performance and extending 5G into new deployments, such as dedicated networks for enterprise and industrial IoT. The system will be used for technology development in 2017, followed by field trials with industry leaders.

The industry is designing the 5G NR to get the most from all available spectrum — licensed, unlicensed and shared, from sub-6 GHz to millimeter wave. 5G spectrum sharing will expand and enhance the spectrum sharing technologies introduced in LTE, including:

• License Assisted Access (LAA), to aggregate across spectrum types,
• LTE Wi-Fi Aggregation (LWA), to aggregate across technologies,
• CBRS/License Shared Access (LSA), to share spectrum with incumbents and other deployments,
• MulteFire™, to operate stand-alone deployments in unlicensed spectrum.

The spectrum sharing prototype is based on Qualcomm's sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave 5G NR end-to-end prototypes, which include both base station and user equipment (UE). The spectrum sharing testbed will support Listen-Before-Talk (LBT), wideband waveforms with low latency and enhancements in the radio and network protocols, on top of which new spectrum sharing technologies are being designed and evaluated.

Matt Grob, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Qualcomm Technologies, said, “5G NR spectrum sharing innovations enable new spectrum sharing paradigms. This technology will benefit operators with licensed spectrum but also opens the doors to those without licensed spectrum — such as cable operators, enterprise or IoT verticals — to take advantage of the 5G NR family of technologies.”

For more information, visit the Qualcomm Technologies 5G website.