Movandi Achieves Landmark 5G mmWave Automotive Test Results

By Tiera Oliver

Associate Editor

Embedded Computing Design

October 08, 2021

News

Movandi Achieves Landmark 5G mmWave Automotive Test Results

Movandi announced the test drive results showing how 5G mmWave can deliver suitable performance in a moving automobile when Movandi-powered BeamXR smart repeater with Movandi BeamX cloud software control, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) are combined.

This landmark test in a moving vehicle demonstrated the ability of these high frequencies and cloud intelligence to deliver high quality of service and multi-gigabit per second downlink speeds in difficult mobile environments. Download the complete whitepaper here.

To perform the test, Movandi mounted a prototype millimeter-wave repeater behind the windshield in the car and measured downlink and uplink speeds on a smartphone with and without the repeater. It was conducted at speeds up to of 28 mph using Verizon’s 28-GHz UltraWideband network over a 3 mile (5 km) route along DeAnza Boulevard, one of the busiest corridors in Silicon Valley near Apple’s corporate headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. 

Along the route, the car passed six gNBs and 24 switching points that seamlessly handed the signal off to each other. The switching and continuous high speed links were enabled by Movandi BeamX cloud intelligence that collects GPS, speed and environmental intelligence from moving vehicles in real-time and dynamically processes this data to establish and switch to the optimal gNB signal. With the repeater turned off, downlink speeds averaged 114.3 Mbps, and varied from 87 Mbps at 130 meters to 177 Mbps at 90 meters. Performance was affected by the location where a user held the phone, and it periodically switched back to sub-6 5G or 4G LTE when communication was not possible using the millimeter-wave network.

With the Movandi BeamXR powered smart repeater turned on, downlink speeds averaged 1.6 Gbps and 151.2 meters with a maximum downlink speed of 2.7 Gbps at 250 meters.  Performance remained strong throughout the route regardless of where the smartphone was held in the car. Even videoconferencing calls with Blue Jeans, Zoom and Cisco Webex were maintained seamlessly without interruptions, which was not possible without the smart repeaters. The signal consistently remained in the millimeter-wave network, never resorting to the lower 4G LTE frequencies. 

The test showed that Movandi BeamXR powered smart repeaters enhanced 5G performance 19X compared to national averages and 14X without repeaters. This type of performance will be necessary for broad 5G adaption and many application use cases including trains, buses, automobiles, entertainment and interactive AR / VR and business real-time applications - telemedicine, customer support, and video conferencing. 

In the future, the purpose-built Movandi 5g mmWave technology can be integrated within the structure of cars, buses, trains, and trucks, similar to today’s 4G or satellite radios. Movandi 5G mmWave powered smart repeaters with cloud control deliver suitable performance, cost, and size advantages across challenging high frequency 5G millimeter waves, unlocking the potential of 5G and other multi-gigabit communication applications.

Watch the test drive video.

For more information, go to movandi.com

Tiera Oliver, Associate Editor for Embedded Computing Design, is responsible for web content edits, product news, and constructing stories. She also assists with newsletter updates as well as contributing and editing content for ECD podcasts and the ECD YouTube channel. Before working at ECD, Tiera graduated from Northern Arizona University where she received her B.S. in journalism and political science and worked as a news reporter for the university’s student led newspaper, The Lumberjack.

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