28 GHz-Band Experimental Trial at 283 km/h Using the Shinkansen for 5G Evolution

To enhance 5G (5G Evolution) further, more stable high bit-rate transmission using high SHF bands including 28 GHz or EHF bands is provided even in high-mobility environments such as in high-speed trains. However, in future 5G use cases in the Shinkansen, a dynamic changes in the beam direction and a greater Doppler frequency shift may cause performance degradation in 28 GHz-band transmission. Thus, we conduct a 28-GHz band 5G experimental trial on an actual Shinkansen that runs at a maximum speed of 283 km/h. This paper introduces the world’s first 28 GHzband 5G experimental system used in a 5G experimental trial in the Shinkansen travelling over 200 km/h. We detail the experimental configuration in which three base stations are deployed along the Tokaido Shinkansen railway with a mobile station located in the train. This paper also presents the downlink transmission performance measured in such a high-mobility environment. The experimental trial can achieve throughput exceeding 1.0 Gbps and consecutive handovers among the three BSs.