DOCOMO and Nokia achieve world's first real time 8K video transmission over 5G

Tuesday, May 24th, 2016
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DOCOMO and Nokia Achieve World’s First Real Time 8K Video Transmission Using 5G Radio Access Technology

TOKYO, JAPAN — NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that it has achieved the world’s first wireless real-time transmission of 8K video deploying radio access technology for 5G mobile communications systems, in a trial jointly conducted with Nokia on May 19.

The transmission of ultra-high-resolution 8K video was achieved by a combination of an experimental system jointly developed by DOCOMO and Nokia, and H.265/HEVC encoding techniques developed by NTT Media Intelligence Laboratories. The system uses beam-tracking techniques to transmit millimeter wavelength signals at an extremely high frequency of 70GHz.

In the trial, 8K video of 48Gbps—a bit rate four times greater than 4K video and 32 times than Full HD—was compressed by the encoder into signals ranging from 145Mbps to 85Mbps and successfully transmitted without delay.

DOCOMO and Nokia have been collaborating since May 2014 to develop radio access technologies for future 5G mobile networks. Recent achievements include ultra-high-speed data transmission in excess of 2Gbps at the Roppongi Hills high-rise complex in Tokyo.

Glenn Booth, Vice President and General Manager, 5G Business Line at Nokia, said: “We are excited to be collaborating with DOCOMO to shape 5G and show how this technology can be used to dramatically enhance the delivery of services such as video. This world’s first demonstration is a clear indication of our progressive leadership in 5G. We will continue to leverage our expertise and work with industry leaders including DOCOMO to drive further innovation in the industry.”

These achievements will be demonstrated during the 5G Tokyo Bay Summit 2016, a 5G promotional event and part of the Wireless Technology Park 2016, at the Tokyo Big Sight complex from May 25.

DOCOMO will further collaborate to lead research and development for future 5G mobile communications and transmission of even higher definition video.