Earlier this year, Docomo Pacific opened the first-ever 5G lab to exist outside of Japan. On Friday, they had their first trial case using the 5G network.
Docomo Pacific is taking Guam to the future of a 5G world. Roderick Boss, president and CEO of DOCOMO PACIFIC, expressed his excitement about their new 5G test lab and verification center located in the company’s Tamuning headquarters.
“Two of the things that I think I’m most excited about with 5G in Guam is its use for telemedicine and then also for distance learning which we’re kind of demonstrating here with this inter-exchange with Japan,” Boss said.
As the first 5G trial case, 16 students from Jose Rios Middle School were selected to join students from four junior high schools in Fukuoka, Japan in an enhanced virtual classroom setting.
Facilitated through NEC’s “Smooth Space2” video conferencing solution, powered by Docomo Pacific’s 5G network, these students engaged in topics on tourism and environmental issues in a near-there experience.
“So everyone asked me that question: why do we need 5G? And my answer usually is everything that we do now … only better and faster! The reality is use cases keep coming up every day and as people find new uses for it they continue to come forward and that’s what our open partner program here in Guam is all about,” Boss said.
The 5G lab allows global and local partners to co-create and test solutions in a 5G environment through its 5G Open Partner Program. Hozumi Tamura, executive vice president of NTT DOCOMO, says that this 5th-generation mobile network is an improvement from its predecessor.
According to Tamura, one of the major developments that they are hoping to improve with 5G is remote medicine.
While 5G is not yet available for consumers, the open partner program is open to everybody and at no cost. Docomo has over 100 members participating in the program including the University of Guam, Guam Power Authority, FHP, and Bank of Guam.
##
