EE UK Claims First to Test “pre-standard” 5G Mobile Backhaul Capability

EE (BT) claims to have become the “first UK mobile operator” to showcase a “pre-standard” 5G backhaul (network capacity) capability within their network, which is based off their 4G “Air Mast” technology and harnesses the 26GHz radio spectrum band for faster speeds and lower latency.

Some readers may recall that the operator first unveiled details of their patent-pending Air Mast solution earlier this year (details), which uses airborne balloons (Helikite) and drones to help keep people connected (useful when responding to network outages or for delivering coverage to special events etc.).

In this case EE modified one of their Helikite balloons to use the new pre-5G backhaul technology (the demo used the 26GHz band to connect a Parallel Wireless small cell on the Helikite to an Athonet virtualised Evolved Packet Core (EPC) on the ground using a PHAZR link), which helped to increase 4G network speeds and lower latency within the coverage area.

Simply making use of the millimetre wave (mmWave) frequencies (26GHz) isn’t true 5G but it does form a key part of the same standard and so represents a useful test of future technology.

Marc Allera, EE’s CEO, said:

“Innovation is what drives advances in technology, and it’s what keeps making UK consumers’ experience of mobile better and better. The EE network will go from strength to strength thanks to BT’s incredible R&D capabilities and our commitment to delivering what our customers need. Today’s demonstration is a great example of that: we know that we need better solutions to keep customers connected in the most rural parts of the UK and during disasters, and we can make that solution even more powerful by developing ground breaking pre-standard 5G technology.

This is not 5G, but it is a technology that’s an important stepping stone to 5G. We’re working hard to adopt the principles and the technologies that will become 5G, and to showcase what benefits these can bring to our customers.”

Sadly we haven’t been given any details about precisely how fast the service ran (before and after the upgrade) or over what distance. The test itself was conducted at BT’s Adastral Park Innovation Week event.