Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson boast 40 Gbps speeds with wireless backhaul trial

Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom take one step closer to 5G after becoming the first to successfully demo a wireless transmission on the mmWave spectrum that can transfer at speeds of 40 Gbps, four times faster than current systems.

The trial was conducted at the Deutsche Telekom Service Centre in Athens over a hop distance of 1.4km.

It could run at 40 Gbps stably with a latency performance of less than 100ms, placing it within 5G’s goals.

Ericsson described the test as an “important milestone” towards 100 Gbps 5G networking.

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“A high-performance transport connection will be key to support high data throughput and enhanced customer experience in next-generation networks,” said Alex Jinsung Choi, SVP Strategy & Technology Innovation, Deutsche Telekom.

“While fiber is an important part of our portfolio, it is not the only option for backhaul.

“Together with our partners, we have demonstrated fiber-like performance is also possible with wireless backhauling/X-Haul solutions. This offers an important extension of our portfolio of high-capacity, high-performance transport options for the 5G era.”

According to Ericsson’s head of product area networks, Per Narvinge, the trial also highlights that: “higher capacity microwave backhaul will be an important enabler of high-quality mobile broadband services when 5G becomes a commercial reality.”

Last year, Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica Deutschland announced a “significant partnership” whereby they will interconnect their mobile and fibre networks.

Through the agreement, around 5,000 Telefonica Deutschland mobile base stations will be connected using Deutsche Telekom’s fibre-optic backhaul which they say will enable 5G upgrades in the future.