MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATIONPUBLIC RELATIONS DIVISION
7-3, Marunouchi 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-8310 JapanFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

No. 3174

Customer Inquiries

Media Inquiries

Information Technology R&D Center
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
www.MitsubishiElectric.com/ssl/contact/company/rd/form.html
www.MitsubishiElectric.com/company/rd/

Public Relations Division
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
prd.gnews@nk.MitsubishiElectric.co.jp
www.MitsubishiElectric.com/news/

Mitsubishi Electric Demonstrates 16-beam Spatial-multiplexing
Technology and Achieves 25.5Gbps Throughput in 5G Base Station
Expected to contribute to ubiquitous connection of devices via broadband transmission
TOKYO, February 14, 2018 – Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that it hasdeveloped a 16-beam spatial-multiplexing technology operating at 28GHz for fifth-generation (5G) mobile
base stations and that it has demonstrated what is believed to be the world’s first1 5G system to achieve
25.5Gbps for one user device at 28GHz with 500MHz bandwidth. Mitsubishi Electric expects its new mobile
system to help realize a society in which mobile devices are connected ubiquitously via broadband
transmission. The details of the system will be announced at the IEICE Technical Committee on Radio
Communication Systems conference on February 28. Outdoor trials are planned in fiscal 2018.
1 According to Mitsubishi Electric research as of February 14, 201816-beam Spatial-multiplexing Transmission Trial
2 ビーム超多素⼦

User equipment

Base station(16 antennas)(2-beam massive element RF unit x 8)

2-beam antenna RF unit withmassive antenna elements(512 antenna elements)

Key Features
The 16-beam spatial-multiplexing technology consists of eight analog, front-end processing, low-power units
to form 16 beams and a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) digital processing algorithm to reduce interbeam interference. The new system’s realizes the gain of 4,096 antenna elements while its computational

1/3

complexity is just that of 16 antenna elements. The new mobile telecommunication system operating at 28GHz
yielded spectral efficiency of 63.7bps/Hz2 and a downlink transmission rate of 25.5Gbps, both believed to beworld’s firsts, with 500MHz bandwidth for one user device.
2 Time occupancy for downlink transmission is assumed to be 80% during the transmission interval. The remainder of the interval
is used for uplink transmission.

The two-beam massive MIMO antenna RF module includes two active phased array antenna (APAA) units
operating at 28GHz, each consisting of densely integrated 256 antenna elements and RF devices. The RF
module’s thickness of just 7cm, roughly one-third that of a predecessor unit, will enable easy installation forwide deployment of 5G systems.
Overview
Transmission parameters

Maximumthroughput

5G

500MHz 16-stream paralleltransmission

25.5Gbps

Conventional(4G)60MHz 4-stream paralleltransmission

788Mbps4

Featured spatial transmissiontechnology
Single user3 16-beam spatial
multiplexing technology
Single user MIMO technology

3 One user device
4 Latest 4G mobile communication system in Japan in February 2018

BackgroundResearch of 5G technologies has accelerated globally, aiming for deployment of 5G systems from 2020 tomeet increasing demands to accommodate growing traffic due to IoT applications. Such systems are expectedto achieve data transmission rates of around 20Gpbs, much higher than the achievable maximum rate of
788Mbps in current 4G systems.

Autonomous truck
fleet management
Automaticshipments via truck

Displaying work instructions
on a goggle screen

Data collection
and analysis
surpassing
human visualabilities

Remote diagnosis or medical
procedures for patient in ambulance

Envisioned Uses of 5G

2/3

Detailed Features
High frequency bands such as 28GHz offer wide bandwidth needed for the practical deployment of 5G systems.
Massive MIMO technology capable of spatially multiplexing multiple signals on the same frequency and timeis effective to combat the large attenuation loss that frequently occurs in high frequency bands. However,
implementation of such a fully digitalized technology could require a prohibitive increase in the size of thedigital circuitry and large power consumption. In response, Mitsubishi Electric has been conducting researchon hybrid beamforming based 16-beam spatial-multiplexing technology combined with MIMO digitalprocessing algorithm to reduce inter-beam interference. The company’s newly developed system achieves thegain of 4,096 antenna elements while its computational complexity is just that of 16 antenna elements.
With 4G, it has been challenging to establish high data-rate communication for a single mobile device using
more than four streams. But now, Mitsubishi Electric’s 16-beam spatial-multiplexing technology has achieved
parallel transmission of 16 streams to a single device in a line-of-sight test5 in an anechoic chamber6. Spectral
efficiency of 63.7 bps per hertz and a downlink transmission rate of 25.5Gbps, both believed to be world’s
firsts, were achieved with 500MHz bandwidth and 0.8 downlink time occupancy.
5 There was no obstacle between the base station and device; the environment was challenging for parallel transmission
6 External electromagnetic waves could not enter the environment and generated electromagnetic waves were not reflected inside

the environment

Complex analog circuitries required in the antenna RF module add thickness to the device, which would makedeployment in metro areas impractical. Accordingly, Mitsubishi Electric reduced the size of its antenna RF
module using a densely integrated RF device compatible with APAA technology. The compact RF module,
which is positioned precisely behind the 256 antenna elements, contains two APAA units with heatsinks. The
module measures just 7cm in thickness but is capable of wideband and wide-angle beamforming.

The news release includes a part of the results of “The research and development project for realization of the fifth-generation
mobile communications system” commissioned by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

###About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
With over 90 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products, Mitsubishi Electric
Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales ofelectrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development
and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation andbuilding equipment. Embracing the spirit of its corporate statement, Changes for the Better, and its
environmental statement, Eco Changes, Mitsubishi Electric endeavors to be a global, leading green company,enriching society with technology. The company recorded consolidated group sales of 4,238.6 billion yen(US$ 37.8 billion*) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. For more information visit:
www.MitsubishiElectric.com*At an exchange rate of 112 yen to the US dollar, the rate given by the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market onMarch 31, 20173/3