OPPO spearheads 5G with video calls over new network

OPPO has conducted voice and video calls solely based on the 5G network as the technology continues to gain ground across the world.

Partnering with Ericsson and MediaTek, the VoNR (voice/video on new radio) calls were made on a modified commercial smartphone from OPPO, using MediaTek's Dimensity 1000 series SoC and using an end-to-end 5G standalone (SA) network with by Ericsson Radio System products and solutions.

VoNR is a basic call service that entirely relies on SA architecture, one of the mainstream architectures of future 5G networks, which global operators are laying the foundation for.

As one of the first technology brands to support VoNR calls under the SA architecture, OPPO aims to ensure that even the early adopters can have a comprehensive 5G experience and hopes to position itself as a major smartphone partner for operators and communication equipment suppliers building 5G networks around the world.

"OPPO proactively works to accelerate large-scale commercialization of 5G. Our cooperation with Ericsson and MediaTek on VoNR is part of our in-depth collaborations in the 5G era," says OPPO Middle East and Africa president Ethan Xue.

The joint test was carried out under the 5G SA network environment provided by Ericsson at its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden.

After dialling, the two phones connected almost instantly and then seamlessly switched to a high-definition video call.

"After spearheading 5G rollouts across the world, we are gearing up for the next step: 5G Standalone services. Using an Ericsson end-to-end 5G Standalone network based on commercial hardware and software, along with devices from our partners OPPO and MediaTek; we've shown that beyond the high-speed capabilities delivered by 5G," says Ericsson 5G RAN product line head Hannes Ekström.

OPPO was recently ranked by the World Intellectual Property Organization among the Top 5 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) filers for 2019, with 1,927 applications.

 In 2019, OPPO joined partners to take the lead in implementing the world's first video data call based on Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology.

As of February 2020, OPPO had filed applications for over 2,900 global patent families and declared more than 1,000 families of 5G Standard Essential Patents to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

It has submitted more than 3,000 5G standards-related documents to 3GPP.

OPPO founder and CEO Tony Chen states that OPPO will invest 50 billion yuan (~US$7 billion) in R-D in three years to promote research in 5G, artificial intelligence, AR, big data and other fields, as well as building core underlying hardware technologies and software engineering ability.