Verizon inched closer to making mobile 5G a reality, teaming with Nokia to conduct what it said was the first transmission of a New Radio (NR) signal to a receiver moving between two radio sectors.

As part of the test, the operator said a vehicle equipped with a receiver and measurement equipment drove between two 5G NR radios set up on a building at Nokia’s campus in New Jersey. The system, operating at 28GHz, managed to successfully hand off the signal from one radio sector to the other.

Bill Stone, VP of technology development and planning for Verizon, called the achievement a “significant” advancement in the development of 5G technology. “By taking these tests out of the lab and into the field, we’re replicating the experience users will ultimately have in a 5G mobility environment.”

Verizon previously stated it plans to launch 3GPP-compliant mobile 5G service in early 2019 following a rollout of fixed wireless access 5G later this year (using its own technology standard).

The announcement is the latest in a string of 5G milestone claims from US operators.

In February, Verizon and Korea Telecom claimed the first demonstration of an international video call using a pre-commercial 5G network. Verizon followed up with what it said was the first standards-based 5G over-the-air call on mmWave spectrum later the same month.

T-Mobile US in June also staked a claim with Nokia, announcing what it said was the first bi-directional data transmission over mmWave using 3GPP standards-based technology.

However, a Verizon representative noted that trial was conducted in a laboratory: a few days later, Verizon completed a similar test with Nokia in an outdoor environment.