Nokia, Alphabet, Qualcomm Demonstrate Private LTE Network on CBRS Spectrum

Founding members of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) Alliance Nokia, Alphabet’s Access Group, and Qualcomm technologies this week said they joined forces to put together the first live demonstration of a private LTE network on CBRS shared spectrum.

According to the companies, the demo took place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the trio built a virtual reality zone inside stock car race cars with 360-degree video streaming to provide an “in car” experience in real time. The video was streamed using YouTube Live Events at speeds in excess of 180 miles per hour via a private LTE network running on shared spectrum in the CBRS band.

In a Tuesday release, Nokia said the network utilized CBRS base stations positioned – provisioned by the Access Spectrum Access System – to cover the complete track and spectator area. Nokia reported it customized the network with the “first multi-frame configuration TDD LTE network” that included a config 0 and 64-QAM for high uplink data rate from the race car, and config 2 for high downlink data rate in the spectator area. A Smart Scheduler configuration and Mobile Edge Computing were also used to deliver low latency and smooth mobility, Nokia said.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon LTE modem provided in-car connectivity for the trial.

The setup was able to deliver a high uplink data rate on the race track and high downline data rate in the spectator area with very low latency between the car and network to allow continuous streaming of real time 4K 360-degree virtual reality video between the spectators and the cars on the track.

Executives from the companies said the point of the demonstration was to showcase how the combination of CBRS spectrum and forward-thinking technologies can offer new audience experience and how shared spectrum can be used by venues and enterprises to deploy their own private LTE network to offer new services.

“By bringing together the ingenuity of Nokia, Alphabet’s Access Group, and Qualcomm Technologies, not only are we showing how the CBRS band can enable new business ideas using LTE, but also how such futuristic applications like this are possible,” Chris Stark, head of strategy and business development for Nokia North America, said. “We want this trial to act as a catalyst for carriers and enterprises to start thinking about leveraging this band for new applications. Beyond the high speeds and amazing views this demo provides, the real opportunity is in the life-changing applications that will benefit from the 3.5 GHz U.S. CBRS spectrum and transform users’ experience.”