Claimed as a world first, this achievement was made “using the commercial production network and a smartphone form factor mobile test device”.
We’re told this “is a result of the continued effort to not only increase the speed capability of the network for all Telstra customers but unlock key learnings for Telstra to implement in the immediate future”, and builds on “a previous 4.2Gbps maximum download speed capability achieved in September 2020”.
We’re also advised the milestone will see Telstra customers “experience a more advanced network performance, paving the way for greater capacity and capabilities on the network”.
Nikos Katinakis, Telstra Group Executive Networks & IT celebrated the development in a blog post at Telstra Exchange entitled “Breaking the 5G speed barrier with new records.”
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“The throughput was achieved via NR carrier aggregation (CA) of eight 100MHz n257 mmWave carriers combined with LTE CA of two 20MHz Band 7 carriers – in total 840MHz spectrum was used for a single user, which is a major milestone for wireless communication.
“The device used was a smartphone form factor mobile test device, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 5G Modem-RF System with 3rd generation Qualcomm QTM535 mmWave antenna modules”.
The aforementioned Nikos Katinakis of Telstra said: “We’re pleased to have yet again increased our existing network peak speed record as we deploy 5G and ready ourselves for this year’s upcoming mmWave spectrum auction.
“In an era of increased demand for flawless connectivity, it gives us great pleasure to provide our customers with enhanced network capabilities such as the use of mmWave and our other spectrum assets.”
Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand said: “Since achieving a world-first milestone with the 2Gbps LTE technology back in 2018, we have worked tirelessly with Telstra and Qualcomm Technologies to consistently innovate and provide Australians with the best 5G technology.
“This announcement today is a testament to that dedication, and we look forward to seeing Australians reap the benefits as we move into 2021.”
Durga Malladi, Senior VP and GM, 4G/5G, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. said: “We are proud to have been a part of this significant mmWave milestone of reaching download speeds of 5 Gbps.
“5G mmWave will enable many new use cases for consumers and businesses as well as enable many of today’s mobile devices to take advantage of its enhanced network capacity, multi-gigabit speeds and low latency. We look forward to our close, ongoing collaboration with Telstra and Ericsson in driving commercial 5G mmWave in Australia in 2021.”
Ericsson has more information on Carrier Aggregation in 5G here and here, as well as a podcast on 5G here and on 5G NR interoperability here.
Here's an earlier video about Telstra's 5G Innovation Centre:
