Verizon asked the US Federal Communications Commission for permission to conduct additional mmWave tests, this time evaluating a prototype 5G platform with multiple vendors in Texas.

As in other recent Verizon trials, testing will focus on the 28GHz band and seek to better understand mmWave characteristics, including channel bandwidths, for residential and commercial deployments. The operator said it plans to test equipment from Ericsson, Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung and Nokia, and will experiment with a variety of power and modulation parameters. The latter will include use of Time-Division Duplex and 256QAM.

The operator said the testing will be conducted at one of its Mobile Switching Centres and nearby apartments. If approved, Verizon aims to commence the tests on 20 February and conclude in mid-August.

It is unclear whether these tests are an extension of its existing fixed-wireless trials, though fixed testing is not mentioned in the application. The vendors named are similar to those listed as partners in Verizon’s ongoing fixed-wireless evaluations in 11 cities and the test location of Euless (a suburb of Dallas, Texas) was listed among Verizon’s fixed-wireless trial cities.

The company promised to commercially deploy fixed-wireless 5G in a handful of markets starting with Sacramento, California, by the end of this year. Earlier this week, Verizon completed an over-the-air voice call using 3GPP 5G standards and prototype equipment from Qualcomm and Nokia.

T-Mobile renewal
T-Mobile US also asked for an extension of its experimental approval for 28GHz testing in Bellevue and Bothell, Washington.

The request comes shortly after the operator’s acquisition of 28GHz spectrum in Ohio and comments from CTO Neville Ray during a Q4 2017 earnings call regarding T-Mobile plans to begin rolling out mmWave capabilities in “key urban environments” including New York, Los Angeles and Miami toward the end of this year.