Qualcomm and its 5G broadband partners claim to have completed the world's longest-range mmWave data call

mmWave has been touted as one of the most effective forms of 5G: it is slated to be capable of speeds of 1 gigabit per second (Gb/s) or more. This spec has the technology that delivers it marked as an alternative to fixed-line broadband solutions in the future, especially for rural or isolated areas that cables just can't reach. This concept is known as fixed wireless access (FWA), and may become more common as data-transmission technology moves on in the future.

However, to bring this to fruition, mmWave would have to overcome the problem of requiring a high density of base-stations or "towers", as seen in some US locations covered by those 5G bands. Qualcomm has been working on it with partners such as Ericsson and the 5G braodband company Casa Systems. Most recently, these three companies have asserted they have reached an important milestone in this process.

The companies claim that their project has achieved a successful mmWave data call over a distance of 3.8km in total. This result was achieved during testing in Regional Victoria, Australia during June 2020. The call was completed using Air5121 radio and Baseband 6630 5G equipment from Ericsson, as well as an example of the customer-premises equipment (CPE) based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon X55 modem and QTM527 mmWave antenna.

Therefore, the OEM may now hope that this latest report may encourage more telecomms companies - especially those serving remote areas - to take this kind of CPE up in as they develop their next-generation networks.