Deutsche Telekom and partners completed the first 5G Voice over New Radio (VoNR) call in an end to end multi-vendor environment.
The partners were able to verify the capability over a 5G Standalone (SA) network with voice and 5G data sessions in parallel. This network setup integrated a 5G Core from Ericsson and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) from Nokia. The calls were completed on commercial terminals from Samsung and Xiaomi and a Mobile Test Platform from Qualcomm.
The demo took place on 5G standalone network infrastructure in test mode at Deutsche Telekom’s innovation lab in Warsaw, Poland. Ericsson provided its cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core platform and Ericsson Radio System products such as Baseband 6630 and Radio 4422 for mid-band 5G.
Alex Choi, SVP Strategy & Technology Innovation, Deutsche Telekom, says: “High quality and seamless voice calling remains a must-have service for our customers in the 5G era. The addition of 5G VoNR can be a differentiator for next-generation immersive applications that integrate highspeed 5G data with high-definition audio. Our collaboration with best-in-class partners to validate end-to-end 5G VoNR interoperability is an important step towards the future of 5G voice services for our customers.”
“This achievement is a step forward in realizing the full potential of 5G for consumers and industries. The capabilities of mature 5G networks will bring significant benefits to end-users as well as produce a plethora of innovative new services and applications,” says Enrico Salvatori, senior vice president and president, Qualcomm Europe/MEA, Qualcomm Europe, Inc. “Both the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G and the 5G smartphone form factor test device used in this activity are powered by Snapdragon 780G and 888 5G Mobile Platforms with Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF Systems respectively which support a wide range of 5G capabilities including both 5G VoNR and 5G SA.”