Using commercial equipment, Airspan successfully completed the first end-to-end 5G Air-to-Ground (ATG) call in the industry. Using a 50 MHz channel in the 2.4GHz frequency range, the 5G ATG call was made in Airspan’s lab in Slough, UK, utilizing the company’s configurable In Motion 5G platform in partnership with Gogo and GCT Semiconductor Holding, Inc. (“GCT”).
The modular, Open RAN-based architecture of Airspan’s end-to-end programmable 5G platform is designed for high-performance connection in high-speed and high-altitude settings.
The platform consists of the centralized and distributed units (CU/DU), beamforming radios (RUs), Airspan’s aircraft Radio Module, which uses a 5G chipset from GCT, and patented Airspan end-to-end software, which is intended for long-range, low-latency communications in a high-noise environment.
With engineering capabilities far beyond this, Airspan’s 5G In Motion platform has been tested at speeds of up to 1,200 km/h and ranges of up to 300 km. The following functionality are available on the platform:
- Long Range – introduces a dynamic timing advance to allow for long distances between the aircraft radio module (UE) and the base station.
- High Speed Doppler Compensation – the system compensates for the doppler effects at very high speeds.
- Beamforming and Tracking – uses M-MIMO antennas at both the base station and the aircraft radio module with high-speed beam tracking and positioning.
- Interference Based Scheduling – uses time and frequency selective scheduling based on channel conditions to manage interference.
These technologies work together to provide real-time drone-based command links, low-latency, high-reliability broadband for air-to-ground applications, and resilient communications in emergency, public safety, and defense situations.
Leadership Comments
“This successful call validates Airspan’s In Motion 5G platform and advances Gogo’s efforts to deliver 5G ATG broadband for business aviation,” said Glenn Laxdal, President and CEO of Airspan. “Our platform is designed to support a broad spectrum of use cases including broadband for private and commercial aviation, aerial connectivity for drones and uncrewed aircraft, tactical networks for defense and mission-critical operations, and the emerging connectivity for high-altitude platforms (HAPS) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications.”
