• The South Korean partners are preparing for the 6G era
• They have achieved 3 Gbit/s downstream data rates in a field test over 7GHz spectrum

Ahead of the expected ramp up in 6G activity at the upcoming MWC26 show in Barcelona, Samsung Electronics and South Korean telco KT Corp, in partnership with test and measurement vendor Keysight Technologies, have achieved a peak downstream data speed of 3 Gbit/s in the 7GHz band, which is one of the frequencies being considered for 6G services.

The partners achieved that throughput in an outdoor field test using extreme multiple-input multiple-output (X-MIMO) technology, which integrates significantly more antenna elements into equipment than other comparable radio access network (RAN) systems. “Considered a foundational component of 6G, ultra-high-density antenna technology achieves four times the antenna density of current 5G systems,” noted Samsung in this announcement. 

The test took place at Samsung’s R&D campus in Seoul, where the partners used keysight’s 6G terminal testbed to measure data rates during the simultaneous transmission of eight data streams from a prototype 6G base station (featuring 256 digital ports) to a single user. 

“The validation of ultra-high-density antenna technology performance in the 7GHz band marks a critical step toward 6G commercialisation,” stated Jong-Sik Lee, executive VP and head of KT Corp’s Future Network Laboratory. 

“By securing stable, high-capacity operation in high-frequency bands, we have established a foundational technology for enabling ultra-fast, immersive services. Moving forward, we will continue to drive network innovation in collaboration with Samsung Electronics,” he added. 

KT and Samsung recently validated AI-based radio access network (AI-RAN) optimisation technology on the operator’s commercial network.

Samsung also recently unveiled efficiency improvements for virtual RAN (vRAN) deployments, something that is increasingly important as mobile networks become more AI-oriented and cloud native ahead of the 6G era – see Samsung boasts enhanced vRAN efficiency, targets 6G.

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV