DOCOMO and Tokyo Institute of Technology Achieve World’s First 10 Gbps Packet Transmission in Outdoor Experiment
— Paving the way for super-high-bit-rate mobile communications —
R&D
TOKYO, JAPAN, February 27, 2013 --- NTT DOCOMO, INC., Japan’s leading mobile operator and provider of integrated services centered on mobility, announced today that in a joint outdoor experiment conducted recently with the Tokyo Institute of Technology, it succeeded in the world’s first packet transmission uplink rate of approximately 10 Gbps. The test, which is expected to help pave the way for future super-high-bit-rate mobile communications, took place in Ishigaki City of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on December 11, 2012.
In the experiment, a 400 MHz bandwidth in the 11 GHz spectrum was transmitted from a mobile station moving at approximately 9 km/h. Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology was used to spatially multiplex different data streams using 8 transmitting antennas and 16 receiving antennas on the same frequency.
In light of the squeeze on remaining frequencies as mobile data traffic continues to increase, DOCOMO aims to achieve a transmission speed of more than 10 Gbps using super-high-frequency bands exceeding 5 GHz. Such high frequencies have been difficult to use for mobile networks due to the limited distances their waves are able to travel, especially along indirect paths such as around buildings. This is why more robust lower-frequency waves have been the preferred choice for mobile communications systems so far.
Detailed findings of the experiment will be presented to the Technical Committee on Radio Communication Systems of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers at Waseda University in Tokyo from February 27.
The technologies behind the experiment also are applicable to downlink packet transmissions, suggesting that it should be possible to achieve a 10Gbps downlink, which is one hundred times the 100Mbps maximum rate of DOCOMO’s current Xi™ LTE service.
DOCOMO’s research and development initiatives have made news numerous times over the years, including for field tests that achieved downlink maximum speeds of 2.5 Gbps on December 14, 2005 and 5 Gbps on December 14, 2006.
The experiment was conducted under the auspices of a program sponsored by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to research and develop the expansion of radio spectrum resources.
(Attachment1) Key Technologies of 10 Gbps Packet Transmission Experiment
(Attachment2) Images of Field Experiment
- About NTT DOCOMO
- NTT DOCOMO is a world-leading integrated-services company centered on mobility. The company serves over 60 million mobile customers in Japan via advanced wireless networks, including a nationwide 3G network and one of the world’s first commercial LTE networks. Leveraging its unique capabilities as a mobile operator, DOCOMO is a leading developer of cutting-edge technologies for NFC mobile payments, mobile GPS, mobile TV, intuitive mobile assistance, environmental monitoring, smart grids and much more. Overseas, the company provides technical and operational expertise to eight mobile operators and other partner companies. NTT DOCOMO is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM) and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. Please visit www.nttdocomo.com for more information.
