XR market could hasten demand for advanced networks

Ericsson-LG tests its private 5G network on the 28 gigahertz spectrum on immersive virtual reality content at Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Tuesday. [ERICSSON-LG]

Newly created enthusiasm for the extended reality (XR) market spurred by Apple's Vision Pro could lead to a surge in demand for advanced networks.

Ericsson-LG, a network equipment provider in Korea, says that it will be able to realize the commercialization of the XR ecosystem through its new private 5G network solution on the 28 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum.

Ericsson-LG showcased its latest technology at a lab at Newgens, a Korean network company based in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Tuesday. The company was approved by the government as a private 5G common carrier in November 2022, and Ericsson-LG is the company’s 5G vendor.

The government each allocated 600 megahertz (MHz) spectrum bands for private 5G operators on 28 GHz spectrum, compared to 100 MHz distributed to those on the 4.7 GHz spectrum. This means in theory, 28 GHz is six times as fast at transmitting data and allows more devices to simultaneously access the network.

Kang Ji-hoon, the head of Ericsson-LG’s division at digital service Korea, said that 28 GHz can provide the ultralow latency for XR content.

“A new paradigm for XR content has emerged as Apple and Google launch related devices, and we anticipate that 30 million devices will be released in the U.S. alone,” Kang said. “XR content consumes data in large volumes and needs the ultralow latency for smooth streaming.”

The average network latency rate for 28 GHz tested at the Newgens lab was 4 milliseconds, reduced down to more than half of the 10-millisecond rate at the 4.7 GHz spectrum.

Ericsson-LG and Newgens also tested VR content utilizing Nvidia’s CloudXR, a solution for streaming virtual and augmented reality from any VR application or devices.

A user experiences smooth movement and speed without interruption at a high-resolution immersive 3-D experience while docking on a head-mounted display at a high refresh rate of 90 hertz and does not need a separate graphics processing unit hardware to process the data.

Ericsson-LG projects that private 5G on the 28 GHz spectrum will become more commercialized in enterprises that require low latencies.

“Upgraded services in various industry sectors can be uncovered once the ecosystem for private 5G on 28GHz solution forms,” said Shim Kyo-hun, the head of enterprise business at Ericsson-LG said. “As we have partnered up with Nvidia since 2019, we will contribute to vitalizing the XR content ecosystem based on the 28 GHz spectrum.”

Ericsson-LG is a joint venture between Swedish equipment maker Ericsson and Korea’s LG Electronics, with the Swedish company holding a 75 percent stake.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]