Blu Wireless unveils landmark 5G mmWave testbed in France

Blu Wireless, the leader in mmWave technology, today announced it has launched the first outdoor mmWave 5G testbed site in France, showcasing how 5G technology is driving mobility, 5G backhaul and security applications for multiple industries. With the recent statement by the French regulatory body ARCEP, announcing that the 57-71 GHz band will be available license free in France, following in the footsteps of many other European countries, this landmark testbed is accelerating the roll out of innovative applications that require high speed, low latency, and network flexibility.

The pioneering 5G mmWave testbed just outside Paris combines Blu Wireless’s IEEE 5G mmWave products with complementary products from Mentor Consultant, Lynceo and 4G Technology, demonstrating high bandwidth, low latency 5G backhaul in a real wireless environment. The Blu Wireless 5G mmWave product is unique in being the first product certified in Europe for operation between 57 and 71 GHz available under CEPT 70 03 licence exempt regulations. This provides customers with licence free operation over 14 GHz of spectrum in order to deliver Gigabit-grade performance for a wide range of infrastructure and mobility applications.

Alan Jones, CEO of Blu Wireless, comments: “The 5G network deployed at Cergy demonstrates how mmWave technology can overcome some of the common challenges faced by security and defence industries. By attaching mmWave distribution nodes to an existing site and surveillance infrastructure, we have created a high-performance, reliable mesh network that overcomes any possible line of sight issues, can be deployed rapidly and is suitable for diverse applications, including 8K video.”

The high-capacity, point-to-multipoint backhaul installation at Cergy has put 5G planning straight into action with the help of cost-effective mmWave technology. In combination with network slicing, mmWave communication has been identified as a key enabler for 5G, providing scalability, flexibility, and ease of implementation, driving innovation across multiple industries, particularly in high-speed transport, public safety, smart cities and defence.

Philippe Vertuaux, Strategy Director of Mentor Consultant, comments: “We are very satisfied with the partnership with Blu Wireless – with the quality of performance, the ease of product installation in the range that we tested on different use cases and the responsiveness of the entire team. We look forward to seeing continued success for Blu Wireless’s mmWave equipment.”