Norwegian operator Lyse announced that it has tested Ice's 5G network in collaboration with national public broadcaster NRK. The test, conducted at a base station in Lyse's Oslo office using Nokia mmWave technology, achieved a download speed of 3.8 Gbps and an upload speed of 280 Mbps. Lyse noted that this speed is almost four times faster than that of a fibre line. For example, downloading a 20 GB, 10-minute film takes just five seconds.

Lyse and NRK Collaboration

The Lyse Group provides telecommunications services such as TV, mobile, broadband, and the Internet of Things, among others. This spring, Lyse collaborated with NRK to test the speed of Ice's 5G network from Lyse's offices in Nydalen, using a test license for mmWave issued earlier this year by the regulator Norwegian Communications Authority (Nkom).

The company noted that 5G offers better transmission speed than 4G, but even 5G has limitations on upload speed, which NRK particularly needs for delivering sound and images directly from field cameras.

Importance of Upload Speeds for NRK

"We will also use wireless technology to upload recordings and employ artificial intelligence to analyse content in the cloud, making our work much more efficient," said NRK. "Higher upload speeds are crucial for both live production and recording. We need to quickly edit and publish important events, and require technology that supports filming over large areas. A high-quality camera and a greater proportion of uplinks than downlinks are necessary. This challenge can be addressed with access to dedicated frequencies."

5G Technology

Lyse said it has achieved very good results from the tests, using NRK's prototype Sony phone, which is mounted in and connected to the field camera. NRK has also conducted similar tests with Telenor and Telia.

Together with operators, we aim to find effective solutions to unresolved challenges. The testing has provided valuable insights and has been a successful collaborative project. The most important outcome for us is that frequency resources are allocated to meet nomadic needs at short notice. mmWave can relieve the load where lower frequencies lack sufficient capacity, but the proportion of uplinks must be increased, said NRK.