Samsung eyes 5G wireless by 2020

13 May 2013

Samsung Electronics says it has developed the world’s first adaptive array transceiver technology that forms the foundation of 5G mobile communications systems.

The technology, which operates in the millimetre-wave Ka bands for cellular communications, will provide data transmission up to several hundred times faster than current 4G networks, Samsung said.

A high-speed 5G cellular network requires a broad band of frequencies, much like an increased flow of water requires a wider pipe, Samsung said.

However, it has been long believed that the millimetre-wave bands had limitations in transmitting data over long distances due to its unfavourable propagation characteristics, the company said.

The adaptive array transceiver technology overcomes these limitations, according to Samsung, as it transmits data in the millimetre-wave band at a frequency of 28GHz at a speed of up to 1.056Gbps to a distance of up to 2 kilometres.

“The adaptive array transceiver technology, using 64 antenna elements, can be a viable solution for overcoming the radio propagation loss at millimetre-wave bands, much higher than the conventional frequency bands ranging from several hundred MHz to several GHz,” Samsung said in a statement.

The company said it plans to accelerate its R&D of 5G mobile communications technologies in order to commercialise them by 2020.

Mobile communications image via Shutterstock

Tina Costanza was a journalist and sub-editor at Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com