China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile operator, and Sweden’s Ericsson teamed up to conduct what they say is the world’s first ‘5G’ drone prototype field trial.

The duo’s claim comes despite the fact 5G standards are not expected to be ratified until at least 2018.

The test on the operator’s network in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, showed that a drone could be controlled across multiple cell cites, which were simultaneously used by commercial mobile phone users to demonstrate the performance in a real-world setting.

The two firms have been working together as part of the China National Key 5G Project since the beginning of the year. One of the project’s aims is to improve latency for mission-critical (emergency) use cases in hazardous areas.

An Ericsson statement went on to say the drone trial is an important step towards developing 5G networks in which part of a network can be distributed and dynamically deployed at the cellular edge to reduce latency.

Ericsson and China Mobile showcased this 5G demo at Mobile World Congress in Shanghai in June.