At the opening ceremony, Huawei streamed Ultra-High-Definition (Ultra-HD 4K) video and a range of Internet of Things (IoT) applications over a 5G air interface on the test bed it has helped install.
The Ultra-HD (4K) video was streamed to a mobile device over an enhanced outdoor mobile network - the test bed - which is a significant first step in delivering the expected capacity of 5G.
In this test, a new 5G radio network architecture called Radio Computing Architecture (RCA) was applied, with which the same resource pool can be sliced to accommodate different 5G applications, including self-driving vehicles, remote healthcare, smart city services and Ultra-HD video streaming, an innovative 5G radio access architecture to enable end-to-end "Network Slicing".
Huawei, one of the founding members of the centre, was represented at the launch by Dr Tong Wen, principal 5G scientist.
Speaking from the University of Surrey campus, he noted, "We are committed to researching and developing future technologies that help build better connected societies, businesses and economies, and ensuring 5G is a success is essential in achieving this. The 5GIC will play an important role in this by helping us start testing foundational 5G technologies as early as possible."
Meanwhile, Professor Rahim Tafazolli, Head of the 5GIC, expressed his gratitude for Huawei's involvement in the centre:
"We highly appreciate Huawei's effort in supporting the 5GIC with the 5G test bed of a real-world setting. 5G will be achieved through global collaboration so that everyone benefits from working to a single standard. The opening of the centre today marks an important step in allowing our partners, other universities and the industry to test out new applications and technologies on the 5G test bed, before they are brought to market."
The state-of-the-art 5GIC houses over 170 researchers and is one of the world's largest academic research centres dedicated to next generation mobile and wireless connectivity.
In the lead up to this important opening, the Huawei team actively participated in the building of the 5GIC test bed, providing expertise and a full set of network test equipment for the large-scale radio access trial. The 5G test bed, located on the campus of the University in Guildford, covers an area of four square kilometers.
