NEWS & INFORMATION

Japanese Consortium Achieves World's First Demonstration of 5G Communication from Altitude of 4km Using 38GHz Band

Today, a landmark achievement in 5G communication was announced by a collaborative effort involving SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, NTT DOCOMO, INC., Panasonic Holdings Corporation (Panasonic HD), and NICT.

In a pioneering demonstration, these industry leaders successfully conducted a 5G communication test utilizing the 38GHz band from an altitude of approximately 4km. The test was carried out using a small Cessna aircraft to simulate the potential use of High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS). This groundbreaking demonstration marks a significant milestone in telecommunications technology.

The trial aimed to showcase the practical application of 5G feeder link and backhaul line for HAPS. Specifically, the Cessna aircraft was equipped with newly developed communication equipment known as the "Cessna onboard station," designed for eventual deployment in HAPS. Additionally, a lens-type antenna with an auto-tracking function served as the ground station.

During the test, an aerial relay backhaul line was established between the Cessna aircraft, flying at an altitude of approximately 4km, and three ground stations. This was achieved using the 5G New Radio (NR) standard with 38GHz band radio waves, representing a pioneering approach in terrestrial 5G networks.

This successful demonstration represents a significant step forward in the advancement of 5G technology and its potential applications in high-altitude communications. The collaboration between these esteemed organizations highlights the collective effort to push the boundaries of innovation in telecommunications.

Read more (Press release)

Related Information

News - IEEE Spectrum (spectrum.ieee.org)

Successful Japan-Europe Joint Experiment on Integration of Satellite Links in Japan-Europe Long Distance 5G Network

NICT has conducted a Japan-Europe joint experiment with Japan Radio Co., Ltd. (JRC), SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (SKY Perfect JSAT) for connecting satellite and 5G, including Japan-Europe long-distance network. Successful transmission of 5G control-plane signal, 4K video, and IoT data was achieved in January and February of 2022 for the first time in Japan. This experiment was conducted in collaboration with the University of Tokyo, School of Engineering, Nakao Research Laboratory, the European Space Agency (ESA), Eurescom GmbH, and Fraunhofer FOKUS Institute.

This joint experiment shows that 5G communications can be established over long-distance links between Japan and Europe, including satellite links, and be expected to lead to the early spread of 5G networks in places where 5G deployment has been difficult, such as in the sky, at sea, or on remote islands.

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Symposium on the Development of Frequency Resources 2021

The Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) will co-organize the Symposium on the Development of Frequency Resources 2021, under the theme of “Looking into the future ICT through Local (Rural) 5G and Beyond 5G / 6G” on July 9 at Meiji Kinenkan and on Zoom webinar.

As the 5th generation mobile communications system (5G) has been launched, expectations are growing for a local (rural) 5G service that will provide a self-employed 5G service that meets the communications requirements for specific areas and applications. In addition, technical studies and discussions have been initiated worldwide on next-generation mobile communications systems, known as “Beyond 5G” or “6G” for the wireless infrastructure that will support Society 5.0 in the future.

The symposium will focus on those wireless communication technologies that will lead to new forms of using frequencies. Experts from industry, academia, and government will give lectures on policies and the R&D, the standardization and expected use cases of the technologies. We look forward to your participation.

Event Information

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Successful international joint experiment between Japan and Germany in the field of space optical communication using a small satellite

NICT has conducted an international joint experiment with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) between the optical terminal (OSIRISv1) onboard the University of Stuttgart’s Flying Laptop satellite and NICT's optical ground station equipped with newly developed optical bench with fine-pointing system. In February 2021, a success in receiving the downlink light from OSIRISv1 at NICT's optical ground station was achieved.

At the same time, an initial experiment of the newly developed atmospheric turbulence measuring device was performed successfully. Furthermore, a successful demonstration experiment using a simple optical ground station composed of low-cost commercial parts was conducted by receiving laser light from the satellite.

The OSIRISv1 optical terminal uses body pointing for tracking and this is the first time a successful experiment with such implementation is performed in Japan. As a result, valuable experimental data that will contribute to the research and development of future space optical communication technology has been acquired.

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Successful Laser Acquisition and Tracking between Optical Data Relay Satellite and Optical Ground Station

NICT and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed that a bidirectional optical link was established between the laser-communication terminal for inter-satellite optical communications (Laser Utilizing Communication System: LUCAS) aboard the Optical Data Relay Satellite, which was launched by the H-IIA F-43 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center on November 29th, 2020, and the optical ground station at the Okinawa Electromagnetic Technology Center of NICT.

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Successful Experiment with Stabilization Technology for Wireless Communications for Manufacturing Systems

NICT and Toyota Motor Corporation (TOYOTA) have succeeded in experimenting with radio stabilization technology for manufacturing systems, and to have realized a "non-stop line". The "non-stop line" enables to detect unregistered terminals brought into manufacturing sites by visualizing radio waves, and also to suppress unplanned radio congestion for avoiding sudden interference by coordinated control of different systems. This time, we have demonstrated these technologies at two TOYOTA plants in operation.

In the future, TOYOTA plans to introduce this visualization technology to other factories sequentially in order to manage wireless systems at manufacturing sites properly. While, NICT will continue to demonstrate experiments of the technology at other TOYOTA plants, and to promote the research and development of the Smart Resource Flow (SRF) wireless platform, with the aim to put it to practical use at the plant.

Original Document

NICT released "Report Issued by the Study Group on the Integration of Satellite Communications and 5G/Beyond 5G"

NICT released a report summarizing what was discussed in the "Study Group on the Integration of Satellite Communications and 5G/Beyond 5G" (August 2019 - February 2020) to study the effective use of integration of satellite communications and 5G/Beyond 5G, with the participation of domestic terrestrial communications providers, satellite communications providers, satellite-related manufacturers, potential users, universities, research institutes, and standardization bodies.

Webpage for downloading this report

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