Australian mobile network operator (MNO) Optus has announced a successful end-to-end 5G video test call whilst simultaneously streaming video content on a 4G device with Ericsson Spectrum Sharing technology. In a press release regarding the development, Optus said that – utilising its 5G network in Australia and Singtel’s pilot 5G network in Singapore – the inter-country video call was made with a pre-commercial OPPO 5G device equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System, while also video streaming content on a 4G device connected to the same spectrum. According to the Australian MNO, its network was able to assign spectrum resources on both 4G and 5G, switching between them in milliseconds to support the different service video demands from both users.
With Optus claiming the test call demonstrated the benefits of Dynamic Spectrum Sharing, the operator’s Head of Access Network Planning & Quality, Kent Wu, was cited as saying: ‘While we have customers benefitting from our 5G network, both in the home and on the go, we are busy behind the scenes looking at how we can maximise the future benefits of 5G … Optus is one of the first few operators in the world to demonstrate this Dynamic Spectrum Sharing with end to end capability. Our 4G network currently covers 97.3% of Australians and Dynamic Spectrum Sharing will enable us to efficiently manage our spectrum assets in a way that addresses the needs of our existing 4G customers whilst also assisting to widen our 5G coverage and unlocking new video experience services.’