SMART Communications Inc. claimed on Sunday that it made Southeast Asia’s first 5G stand-alone (5G SA) video call.
Using only 5G for data transmission, 5G SA is accepted to be “pure 5G,” as other products combine 5G with 4G technologies, Smart Chief Information and Technical Advisor Joachim Horn said.
“This is the first 5G implementation which is completely stand-alone. We don’t need LTE for it. Most 5G implementations today actually need LTE—in fact they’re actually only fast LTE,” he said.
He explained that 5G SA technology can enable a suite of industry applications such as massive connectivity for thousands of devices, ultralow latency, ultrahigh reliability, distributed cloud computing, unified security, and network slicing, among others.
“What we’re seeing here—this is real 5G. For the first time, we are experiencing the true capabilities of 5G. For example, 5G’s real low latency can only be achieved in this configuration. This is just the first milestone to show what is possible, and we brought it here to the Technolab,” Horn added.
Ultralow latency, he noted, is important for 5G use cases such as video analytics plus industrial robotics control for manufacturing, remote crane/tractor operations in challenging/hazardous environments like mines and ports, as well as for real-time gaming with tactile sensors.
The first 5G SA video call is powered by Nokia’s 5G SA equipment, which is currently housed at the 5G Technolab in Makati City.
Smart has partnered with several vendors to test various 5G equipment, as it develops industry-grade products to offer to enterprises in the latter part of the year.