SoftBank famous that the outside trial, performed with Nokia since June 2025, concerned three experimental Huge MIMO base stations put in throughout Tokyo’s Ginza district
In sum – what to know:
7GHz exhibits robust city protection – Area assessments in Tokyo discovered the band can attain most important streets and facet alleys whereas sustaining secure efficiency for future 6G wants.
Sign high quality remained constantly excessive – Measurements confirmed dependable connectivity throughout the take a look at space, with median SINR of 5.9 dB and restricted interference.
Propagation helps macro deployments – Regardless of anticipated losses, 7GHz carried out shut to three.9GHz in clear areas, pointing to sensible use in giant city macro cells.
Japanese provider SoftBank mentioned it has efficiently demonstrated how centimeter-wave spectrum within the 7GHz band — now being thought-about for 6G — can ship wide-area protection and secure connectivity in dense city settings. It mentioned the outside trial, performed with Nokia since June 2025, concerned three experimental Huge MIMO base stations put in throughout Tokyo’s Ginza district.
With AI-driven providers anticipated to drive heavy will increase in cellular knowledge utilization, operators are in search of frequency bands that may help each excessive capability and broad protection. SoftBank’s take a look at outcomes recommend that the 7GHz band may very well be a robust candidate for future 6G networks, notably in busy metropolis areas.
In the course of the area trials, SoftBank measured protection and connection high quality utilizing a take a look at automobile, evaluating the 7GHz websites with current 3.9GHz 5G stations. The operator highlighted that the measurements confirmed robust alerts on main streets and dependable reception even in slim again alleys, confirming the band’s capability to help wide-area protection.
SoftBank additionally evaluated how 7GHz alerts journey in each line-of-sight and obstructed areas. In open areas, the 7GHz band carried out practically the identical as 3.9GHz—regardless of expectations of upper loss—doubtless helped by reflections from surrounding buildings. In obstructed areas, 7GHz alerts weakened extra shortly than 3.9GHz, as predicted, however nonetheless maintained sufficient energy for sensible city use, the corporate mentioned.
General, the assessments confirmed that 7GHz can ship wide-area, high-quality connectivity when utilized in macro websites throughout busy business districts.
Akihiro Nakao, professor on the Graduate College of Engineering on the College of Tokyo, and co-chair of the XG Cell Promotion Discussion board, mentioned the analysis demonstrates the effectiveness of 6G community design utilizing the 7GHz band. “Constructing on the insights gained from this verification, we’ll proceed to advertise the formation of a worldwide 7GHz band ecosystem and its social implementation by way of co-creation amongst business, academia, authorities and worldwide companions.”
SoftBank Group not too long ago reported a pointy rise in revenue for fiscal Q2 2024, ending September 30, with internet revenue surging to JPY2.5 trillion ($16.2 billion), mainly fueled by AI and chipmaking investments. The consequence follows SoftBank’s $5.8 billion divestment of its whole Nvidia stake in October.
