This week at MWC 2017, Intel and its partners are holding 5G technology demonstrations - including the first public demo of live over-the-air interoperability between the 5G Intel Mobile Trial Platform and the Ericsson 5G Radio Prototype system demonstrated via autonomous driving and virtual reality technology use cases.

Key milestones have been reached, or are within sight, across each area of importance for 5G, from new radio (NR) standards, to fixed wireless RAN enablement of pre-5G services, to the virtualization of the core network itself.

Autonomous Driving

At CES, Intel announced the new Intel GO Automotive 5G Platform, which leverages the capabilities of our 2nd Generation Intel 5G Mobile Trial Platform, 5G mmWave for V2X connectivity, and the Intel XMM 7360 LTE modem for 4G fall back connectivity. At MWC, Intel showed it off live, in the first public demo of 5G 28 GHz over-the-air connectivity between the Ericsson base station and the Intel GO Automotive 5G Platform located in the trunk of a BMW 740i.

Smart Home and Virtual Reality

With Nokia Intel streamed high-resolution video over a fixed wireless connection, leveraging our Intel 2nd Generation Mobile Trial Platform's 28 GHz capabilities. In Intel's virtual reality demo zone, the company showcased mobile edge computing, bringing the network as close as possible to the end user, using a live stream of the Nokia race track from the company's Ozo camera. The Intel 5G Mobile Trial Platform was also hard at work in Intel's virtual reality zone, streaming 8K 360-degree video over the air via Ericsson 28 GHz eNodeB network infrastructure to two user devices.

These demonstrations were particularly notable because it's anticipated that fixed wireless deployments in the home will be one of the first entry points to true 5G commercial availability.

Smart Cities

Intel's smart cities demos tapped into the company's advancements in sub-1 GHz to show how the Internet of Things (IoT) will enable cities to get "smart" about infrastructure, public safety applications and conservation efforts.

Intel was a key contributor to the development of the NB-IoT standard and has a modem roadmap of low power wide area (LPWA) IoT solutions for smart cities, smart agriculture and smart industrial use cases.

Connected 2 in 1s

Intel's partners revealed beautiful new 2 in 1 devices with Intel LTE modems inside.These PCs include Samsung Mobile's Galaxy Book 10.6- and 12-inch 2 in 1s, and Lenovo's detachable 2 in 1, the Miix 320.

Intel 5G Network, Cloud, Client

Progress has been made in each of the above areas:

• A Unified 3GPP Standard for 5G: AT&T, China Mobile, NTT DOCOMO and Vodafone with Intel, Ericsson, Huawei, Keysight, Nokia, Qualcomm, R&S and ZTE have announced a joint commitment to promote a unified 3GPP standard for a global 5G ecosystem.
• Non-Standalone 5G NR in 2019: AT&T, NTT DOCOMO, SK Telecom, Vodafone, Ericsson, Qualcomm, British Telecom, Telstra, Intel and more will support a work plan proposal for the first phase of the 3GPP 5G NR specification. This new proposal will enable specific 5G use cases one year in advance of when official Rel-15 5G NR deployments are expected.
• New 14nm Mid- and High-End SoC Platform: Spreadtrum announced a new 8-core 64-bit LTE SoC platform based on Intel Airmont architecture and developed on Intel's 14nm process technology.
• 5G Fixed Access Availability with Nokia 5G FIRST: Comprised of Nokia's radio access network (RAN) and the 2nd Generation Intel 5G Mobile Trial Platform, Nokia 5G FIRST will use the Intel 5G modem to deliver fixed access ultra-broadband wireless connectivity - allowing operators to address growing residential and business data demands. The first deployments are expected as soon as the second half of this year.
• Residential and Business 5G Entertainment Trial: AT&T and Intel are launching a second 5G market trial in Austin, Texas, allowing residential and small-to-medium business customers to stream DIRECTV NOW and access next-generation entertainment and broadband services. Based on the 2nd Generation Intel 5G Mobile Trial Platform, and introducing our 39 GHz RFIC, this trial will incorporate key learnings from its predecessor to accelerate the commercial availability of mmWave-capable 5G solutions.
• First Interoperable Cellular IoT-Based Factory Trial: Intel is working with Ericsson and China Mobile to deliver cellular IoT and Industry 4.0 interoperable connectivity in a factory setting, leveraging the Intel XMM 7115 NB-IoT modem.