The record speed was achieved by combining eight 100 MHz channels of millimeter-wave spectrum in the 28 GHz and 39 GHz bands, providing 800 MHz of bandwidth and 40 MHz of LTE spectrum using the EN-DC functionality available in Nokia's AirScale solution. EN-DC allows devices to connect simultaneously to 5G and LTE networks, transmitting and receiving data over both air interface technologies. This means devices can achieve higher throughput than when connected to either 5G or LTE alone. The speeds were achieved in both cloud-based 5G (vRAN) and traditional baseband configurations.
Nokia's AirScale Radio Access is an industry-leading, end-to-end commercial 5G solution that enables operators worldwide to capitalize on their 5G spectrum assets. It delivers high-capacity scale, market-leading latency, and connectivity by enabling all air interface technologies on the same radio access equipment.
Stéphane Téral, chief analyst at LightCounting Market Research, said: “This is a substantial achievement that reflects the careful work of a brilliant and subtle team with the deepest appreciation for detail and circumstances. In other words, the aggregation of 8-component carriers in the millimeter wave domain shows the world that there is more than massive MIMO and open RAN to not only deliver on the promise of commercial 5G, but also pave the way for the future Terahertz system.”.
Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, commented: “This is an important and significant milestone in the development of 5G services in the United States, particularly at a time when connectivity and capacity are so crucial. It demonstrates the confidence that operators have in our global end-to-end portfolio and the progress we have made in delivering the best possible 5G experiences to customers. We already supply our mmWave radios to all major US carriers and look forward to continuing to work closely with them to move forward.”.
