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22 mobile communications companies announced collective support for accelerating the 5G new radio (NR) standardization schedule to enable large-scale trials and deployments as early as 2019. The firms are supporting a proposal to be discussed at the next 3GPP RAN plenary meeting, scheduled for March 6-9 in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

The quest for highly efficient 5G wireless connectivity has been given a boost thanks to a collaboration between a team of 5G engineers from the Universities of Bristol and Lund, National Instruments (NI), and BT Labs, one of the world’s leading providers of communications services. The research team has undertaken field trials of a massive MIMO system at the BT Labs in Adastral Park, Suffolk. The trials were conducted in a large indoor hall mimicking a stadium environment and outdoors within the Adastral Park campus.

According to Viavi Solutions 25 operators have announced "5G" lab tests, and 12 report field testing. Five have demonstrated data rates of 35 Gbps or more in the lab, with the UAE's Etisalat claiming the highest speed of 36 Gbps. 28 GHz is the most widely used spectrum for the tests, based on eight operators that have disclosed operating at this frequency. Seven operators are using 15 GHz.

MaxLinear Inc. announced the MxL1105, a broadband microwave transceiver that supports all licensed and unlicensed bands from 5 to 44 GHz, including all ETSI-defined channel spacing options from 5 to 224 MHz. It handles all QAM modulation code rates up to 4096 QAM.

Pico Technology has added CAN FD decoding to its PicoScope 6 software

Multi-channel high-frequency signal acquisition and analysis has become easier with the release of the DN6.22x series of LXI digitizers from Spectrum GmbH.

Cambridge Broadband Networks pioneers the world’s first Gbps 28 GHz point-to-multipoint commercial links.

Madrid Barajas joins the long list of airports to operate the new generation solid-state SCANTER 5502 Surface Movement Radar from Terma.

As the newest addition to its passive waveguide product offering, SAGE Millimeter Inc. has released a new line of flexible waveguides to cover 18 to 50 GHz. The flexible waveguide line is manufactured with a precision machining process to ensure high quality and ruggedness. Furthermore, all standard models feature a vulcanized silicone rubber jacket for added protection and reliability.

The FCC's office of engineering and technology has authorized the first LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) devices for operation in the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band. U.S. cellular operator T-Mobile announced it is deploying LTE-U technology, using network equipment from Ericsson and Nokia, and will begin rolling out the service this spring.