TVU Networks is providing technology that will support China Unicom’s forthcoming deployment of 5G in the high frequency millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands above 6 GHz, where there is plenty of bandwidth but more challenging signal propagation conditions.

TVU Networks is focusing particularly on development of technology for collection, transmission, distribution, and management of 4K and 8K UHD in those high frequency mmWave bands. Advantages conferred by these 5G mmWave bands include increased bandwidth, reduced latency and flexible configuration, which will enable the capacity and transmission of demanding mobile applications such as 4K, 8K and immersive AR/VR. The radio frequency utilized for 5G mmWave is far less congested than the spectrum used by most TV and radio signals, but most importantly there is far more bandwidth available given the higher numbers.

China Unicom’s 5G mmWave technology will be deployed over 5G networks during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where the Chinese telecommunications operator will be the exclusive mobile service provider.

TVU Networks was one of a few companies invited to participate in a demonstration inside the China Unicom booth during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) exhibition in Shanghai. The demonstration showed the live transmission capabilities of 5G mmWave technology. With the theme “5G Millimeter Wave Makes Snow Sports More Wonderful,” TVU created a 5G-based private network in the cloud at the China Unicom booth with two, portable TVU 5G Rack Routers. TVU was able to transmit live, high bitrate 8K UHD video over 5G within the booth.

The real-time 8K video followed athletes in training for the games and was an example of the type of live 8K and AR/VR mobile coverage viewers may see during the 2022 Winter Olympics.

“We’ve selected the top technology providers in our mission to harness the power of the 5G millimeter wave band for mobile applications that were inconceivable a few years ago,”

“With the substantial increase in data transmission capabilities 5G millimeter wave provides, applications such as 4K, 8K and VR will see explosive growth,” said Jiawei Kang, VP of Cultural & Travel & Media Sales Centre, China Unicom.

The new 5G TVU Rack Router is a portable Internet access point that includes six embedded 5G modems, selected here for remote live video production set up, file transfers and emergency communication applications. An optional IP67 external MIMI antenna is available to maximize signal strength.