MTN South Africa and Ericsson have showcased the potential of fifth-generation (5G) capabilities by having a driver navigate a vehicle around a skid pan at the Gerotek testing facility, in Pretoria, using only data fed into a virtual reality (VR) device.

In the first automotive use case demonstrated in Africa, the companies used 5G wireless technology to feed data in real-time through a 4K video camera to the driver’s VR headset using in excess of 1.6 Gb/s throughput achieved in 100 MHz spectrum in the 28 GHz band with less than 5 ms latency on the connection.

The vehicle’s windscreens and side windows were fully blacked out, with the vehicle equipped with a 5G user equipment prototype with an external antenna, the 4K video camera and VR headset, supported by four radio units and baseband equipment.

The audience was able to view and experience, in real-time, the driver’s perspective of his surroundings from screens on the sidelines as he traversed the track.

“Using pilots like this, we are not only assessing and preparing our network to roll out 5G in the future, but we are also futureproofing our infrastructure to enrich customer experience and take industries to the next level,” says MTN South Africa chief business enterprise officer Wanda Matandela.

The 5G collaboration between MTN South Africa and Ericsson dates back to November 2017 and led to the exploration of a variety of use cases and applications for the digital transformation of industries.

This is just one of the use cases emerging from the partnership that aims to trial a range of 5G use cases and applications for the digital transformation of industry verticals such as mining, transport, agriculture, manufacturing and utilities in South Africa.

“We see the reality of 5G coming closer and closer,” says MTN South Africa chief technology and information officer Giovanni Chiarelli, adding that the technology is accelerating and the standards are maturing, leading to a “world of opportunities”.

technology presents an opportunity for operators to improve existing consumer businesses and address previously untapped value chains in the digitalisation of industries.