Qualcomm and ZTE Achieve 5G Voice Over NR Call

An industry leading step in 5G took place last month when Qualcomm and ZTE achieved 5G-enabled Voice over New Radio call. The call was performed in compliance with 3GPP Release 15 specifications over the 2.5 GHz spectrum band (n41) by utilizing a ZTE’s 5G NR base station and a 5G smartphone form factor test device powered by a Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF System.

Voice services are a fundamental offering for mobile operators, and when performed using a 5G network, it is called Voice over New Radio (VoNR). The ability to complete VoNR calls will be an important step in the global mobile industry’s evolution from non-standalone to standalone, as it will allow operators to deliver high-quality voice service without having to rely on VoLTE (voice over LTE) or an LTE anchor.

The 5G VoNR call is the latest in a line of milestones completed by Qualcomm and ZTE in their ongoing collaboration to support the evolution of 5G. Previously, collaboration between the two companies produced the world’s first end-to-end 5G NR Interoperability Data Testing system demonstrating a data connection based on 3GPP R15 standard in November 2017 in China. Additionally, the companies completed a live demonstration of 5G network services based on an end-to-end sub-6GHz commercial system in February 2019 in China. More recently, they completed the first 5G mobile phone millimeter-wave interoperability test in the country.