The demonstration involved Kymeta’s electronically steered flat-panel u8 antenna using Intelsat’s integrated satellite and terrestrial network. The companies described it as the first test of its kind in a mobile environment.
The demonstration was carried out by the research organisation Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS. The location was Kymeta headquarters, in Redmond, Washington.
“Validating the feasibility of 5G mobile communications over satellite networks with Kymeta and Fraunhofer IIS is a significant milestone toward recognizing our future vision of an end-to-end ecosystem for a unified software-defined 5G network on a global scale,” said Bruno Fromont, Chief Technology Officer at Intelsat.
“Satellite-enabled 5G services have the potential to provide worldwide connectivity,” added Thomas Heyn, Group Manager at Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS. ““Fraunhofer IIS is focused on developing and prototyping technologies that are vital for the future, such as 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks as currently standardised in 3GPP.”
Kymeta
“Our participation in this early testing for the development of 5G standards over satellite is an important step in the next generation of connectivity and where 5G is heading,” said Ryan Stevenson, VP and Chief Scientist at Kymeta. “By hosting these 5G waveforms over the Kymeta u8 terminal (pictured above), our technology continues to push the boundaries of what is possible.”