China Telecom and Ericsson completed a standalone (SA) 5G data call on a commercial network, claiming the milestone a first for the country, while helping the operator accelerate its next-generation rollout.

In a statement, the vendor said the call was conducted on China Telecom’s commercial 2.1GHz 5G network in the city of Deyang, Sichuan Province. Using the Ericsson Spectrum Sharing service, it was carried out while 4G users were also using the frequency.

Ericsson noted the demo showed its spectrum sharing technology could enable deployment of a dual-mode 5G core using the SA mode.

“This will create business opportunities for our customers and deliver superior user experiences for 5G subscribers”, Ericsson’s head of product area Networks Per Narvinger explained.

Ericsson noted 5G services, including Voice over New Radio (NR), and extended coverage of higher frequency 5G NR TDD bands will be made possible by enabling nationwide SA 5G coverage in FDD bands.