SoftBank announced a field trial with a common API that uses 5G features to collaborate with telecommunications operators around the world. SoftBank hopes that this field trial will contribute to the realization of optimal communication control in a 5G environment. To conduct the field trial, SoftBank created a common API defined by the open-source project, CAMARA, and built a private 5G environment at Keio University's Shonan Fujisawa Campus.
Achieving Quality Control through APIs
It was confirmed in the field trial environment that communication quality control can be achieved using the CAMARA-defined common API. CAMARA, being an open-source project within the Linux Foundation, establishes a standardized set of rules and protocols for communication and interaction between different network elements and services. This API acts as a common language that allows different components or systems to communicate with each other seamlessly.
By implementing the CAMARA-defined common API in a field trial environment, operators or service providers can monitor, manage, and optimize communication services to ensure they meet the desired quality standards. This API facilitates seamless integration and interoperability between various network elements and services, allowing for effective control and management of communication quality.
In this field trial, SoftBank created a system that controls the image and communication quality of cameras for remote monitoring, as well as a solution that optimizes image and communication quality based on person detection. This solution included operational fields such as image and communication quality control, as well as use case validation, which resulted in successful remote control.
Addressing Social Issues
While considering the commercialization of this technology, SoftBank hopes to address a variety of social issues through new use cases that require network customization. These may include bridging the digital divide to ensure equal access to network services, fostering educational opportunities and skills development, enhancing healthcare access and telemedicine services, promoting environmental sustainability through smart energy management and IoT integration, stimulating economic development and entrepreneurship, and fostering community engagement and social cohesion through technology-enabled initiatives.
In addition to providing a common API, SoftBank will encourage the development of new mobile services and work with a number of partners to foster innovative business ventures in the 5G era.
