T-Mobile and partner Nokia today said they successfully completed what they claim was the nation’s first two-way over-the-air 5G data session on a 3GPP-compliant 5G New Radio system. This means the mobile device was able to upload information to the network as well as download information from it. The pair completed the test in a T-Mobile lab using a simulated phone and Nokia's 5G NR equipment in the 28 GHz band. "This test is a big step forward in building real 5G that will work on actual smartphones," said Neville Ray, CTO at T-Mobile. According to T-Mobile, the companies relied on the Nokia AirScale baseband and radio, AirFrame server, and AirScale Cloud RAN with compliant software. They didn't say much about the simulated mobile device. T-Mobile and its competitors are rushing to roll out 5G services in at least some capacity by the end of the year. Each carrier is taking a slightly different approach. The goal of 5G development is to create service with 1 Gbps speeds, minimal latency, and advanced media support, such as augmented/virtual reality. T-Mobile says it will have 5G up and running in some markets by December.  


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