• August 19, 2021

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AT&T recently announced it has started installing a 5G testbed using millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum and Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) technology at the University of Tennessee (UT) campus in Knoxville, TN. AT&T’s 5G+ and MEC will provide students and faculty with a private, high-speed network with ultra-low latency and better capacity, while powering further education, research, and innovation.

With AT&T’s 5G+ and MEC, UT plans to delve into several 5G use cases in industries such as defense, public safety, healthcare, and education, specifically exploring:

• 5G in Rural Locations – Providing reliable connectivity in rural areas to enhance the communities’ quality of life, offer access to online education, telehealth, and jobs, and deliver support for farming technologies, like real-time monitoring of crops.
• Digital & Immersive Learning – Offering immersive education such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for students to experience learning in unique environments, like a nuclear power plant, that are not easily accessible due to cost, risk, etc. The blend of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology will also provide data on individual student performance to better individualize their education experience.
• Military Applications – Enabling the military to explore and test different tactics like using mmWave radar to show images through physical barriers such as walls. Military personnel will utilize a portable communications system, which takes and shares visual images through barriers, to make themselves aware of, and be able to defend against, potential threats.

AT&T and UT are planning to have 5G+ and MEC fully deployed by Fall of 2021. For more information about the deployment details, read AT&T’s full press release.

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Sources:

tcomstage.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/UTK-ATT-5G-MEC-Press-Release-FINAL.pdf

fiercewireless.com/5g/at-t-turns-up-mmwave-5g-testbed-at-ut-campus-fall

rcrwireless.com/20210818/5g/att-deploys-mmwave-5g-testbed-university-tennessee-campus

mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/att-explores-private-5g-with-university-of-tennessee

newswire.telecomramblings.com/2021/08/att-brings-5g-to-the-ut-campus-to-power-research-and-education/