-- Major upgrades planned for Dense Air's Hyper Dense network at Millbrook

Dense Air, the neutral host operator of the connected 5G testbed ( 
https://www.millbrook.co.uk/services/connected-and-autonomous-vehicle-testing/5g-and-connectivity-testing/ 
) at Millbrook originally created by the DCMS 5G testbed and trials project 
AutoAir, has announced a major upgrade of the hyper dense, high performance 4G 
and 5G network. The network will be one of the first, and the largest 
standalone 5G neutral host network's in Europe. Connected and Autonomous 
Vehicle (CAV) developers will have access to the latest technology, including 
low latency connectivity, network slicing and the opportunity to test vehicles 
in more advanced networks which are available in key export markets.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1418570/5G_AutoAir_Network.jpg

These enhanced network technologies will be deployed at Millbrook's 700 acre 
independent test facility in Bedfordshire in early 2021. In addition to its 
extensive test tracks ( 
https://www.millbrook.co.uk/services/proving-grounds/tracks-and-facilities/test-tracks-at-millbrook-proving-ground/ 
) and laboratories, Millbrook is home to the UK Government Controlled Urban 
Testbed for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles - part of CAM Testbed UK.

The AutoAir network is being migrated to commercial grade Open RAN, 
disaggregated RAN and cloud native 5GC based 3GPP 5G SA (standalone) 
technologies, making extensive use of Airspan Networks' product suite. This 
deployment supports the UK Government's supply chain diversity initiative and 
is compliant with emerging O-RAN standards which seek to democratise the supply 
of Radio Access Units within an open source platform.

The network will operate on spectrum at 4G Band 40 (2.3 GHz), 4G Band 3 (1.8 
GHz) and 5G Band n77 (3.8 & 4.2 GHz) under pioneering shared access licenses. 
This will allow private networks to work with their own allocation of radio 
spectrum for test and development, whilst also supporting public access from 
mobile network operators. The n77 band is the same as is already in commercial 
operation in Japan and which is currently being auctioned in the USA by the 
Federal Communications Commission. This means that users will be able to test 
CAVs in the UK, using the latest network frequencies, before exporting vehicles 
to Japan and the USA.

With standalone 5G, the full capabilities of the latest 3GPP release can be 
realised in a secure private operating environment with pervasive coverage 
across Millbrook Proving Ground ( 
https://www.millbrook.co.uk/services/proving-grounds/tracks-and-facilities/test-tracks-at-millbrook-proving-ground/ 
). This brings Ultra Reliable Low latency Communications (URLLC), Massive 
Machine Type Communications (mMTC), and network slicing capabilities into a 
real-world test arena for the first time in the UK. Each adds significant value 
to the technology landscape. With URLLC, latency as low as 3ms can be 
experienced and mMTC brings the potential of connecting massively more devices 
per km2 than previously possible. Network slicing in essence gives a dedicated 
portion of the network to each network service, facilitating separate 
localisation, edge-computing and cloud access. This is analogous to having your 
own dedicated lane on a motorway that can expand and contract depending on what 
is driving through it!

Paul Senior, CEO, says: "Our partnership with Millbrook goes from strength to 
strength, and we are delighted to announce this major upgrade to the very 
latest state-of-the-art 3GPP 5G SA Open RAN technology from Airspan Networks. 
One of the key goals of the DCMS AutoAir 5G project was to ensure that the 
network we constructed was sustainable and provided a lasting legacy for 
Millbrook and the UK's CAV eco-system. The deployment of a 3GPP 5G standalone 
infrastructure using the n77 band creates a unique test and development 
opportunity that can support both automotive and telecommunication eco-systems, 
within a bookable and accessible research facility."

Connor McCormack, President of Millbrook says: "This upgrade is a huge step 
forward in capability, bringing the latest technology to our 5G testbed. It 
brings vast benefits to customers within our secure operating environment and 
future-proofs our testbed for the long-term. We are very proud to be part of 
the AutoAir consortium and look forward to the roll out of this cutting-edge 
technology."

Eric Stonestrom, CEO of Airspan Networks says: "We are delighted to continue 
our long term relationship with the DCMS funded AutoAir project. The 5G upgrade 
using Airspan's OpenRANGE end-to-end Sub-6 GHz solution is another proof point 
for the use of OpenRAN technology to leverage innovation in the UK"

Contact the team at Dense Air via info@denseair.net or Millbrook via 
info@millbrook.co.uk to see how we can introduce you to the new era.

About Dense Air

Dense Air is headquartered in the UK and has spectrum interests in Ireland, 
Belgium, Portugal, New Zealand and Australia. Dense Air provides unique 
"carrier of carriers" neutral host small cell services to deliver cost 
effective densification to any existing 4G or 5G Mobile Carrier or Service 
Provider. Dense Air New Zealand is based in Auckland where it manages its 
operational commercial services.

About Airspan

Airspan is a US-based, multi-award-winning, 4G and 5G end-to-end, fully 
virtualized, cloud-native OpenRAN hardware and software vendor with more than 
20 years' experience and over one million cells deployed in the most 
cutting-edge Tier 1 networks, non-public networks, and vertical applications 
across the globe. Airspan's expansive product portfolio of indoor and outdoor, 
Macro and low-power base stations and open vRAN software solutions create the 
perfect tool kit to fully exploit new technologies such as mmWave, Sub-6 GHz, 
Massive MIMO, and open vRAN architectures following O-RAN and 3GPP 
specifications, as well as an industry-leading Fixed Wireless Access and 
backhaul portfolio for PTP and PTMP applications using Wi-Fi 6. For more 
information, visit www.airspan.com. 

About Millbrook

Millbrook provides vehicle test and validation services and systems to 
customers in the automotive, transport, tyre, petrochemical and defence 
industries. It is independent and impartial in everything it does.

It has a range of test facilities for full vehicles, tyres and components 
located in the UK, the USA and Northern Finland. These include varied outdoor 
and indoor test tracks, engine dynamometers, environmental chambers, e-motor 
and e-axle test cells, portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS), 
structural test laboratories, crash laboratories including a state-of-the-art 
ServoSled, interior systems laboratories, battery test facilities and advanced 
emissions chassis dynamometers.

Millbrook designs, builds, installs, and services dynamometer test systems and 
an associated data acquisition and control system.

Millbrook's employees are passionate about safety, customer service and 
technical excellence, making them ideal partners at any stage in the 
development and launch of the vehicles of tomorrow. 

In December 2020, Millbrook and the French automotive testing group UTAC CERAM 
reached an agreement to merge their operations to create a market leading group 
in vehicle testing, homologation and emerging technologies for autonomous, 
connected and electric vehicles. The transaction is expected to be completed in 
the first quarter of 2021, subject to the normal regulatory clearances.

SOURCE:  Dense Air