T-Mobile has achieved a global first on a live production network.
The popular wireless network operator recently announced it had achieved network speeds of up to 3Gbps and would be offering this to subscribers sometime this year.
The company's 3Gbps network speed is based on the mid-band 5G spectrum on its standalone 5G network.
T-Mobile 3Gbps Achievement Details
T-Mobile mentioned in its announcement that it could reach 3Gbps by combining three channels of mid-band spectrum on its 5G network through 5G Carrier Aggregation (NR CA), allowing T-Mobile to merge multiple 5G channels or carriers to deliver greater network speed and performance.
In a test T-Mobile carried out, the company specifically merged three 5G channels - two channels of 2.5Ghz Ultra Capacity 5G and one channel of 1900 MHz spectrum - to create an effective 210Mhz 5G channel.
The 210Mhz 5G channel was found to be providing around 3000 Mbps, or 3Gbps, with T-Mobile stating that it was able to reach 3130mbps or 3.13Gbps network speeds by doing so.
With network speeds like this, T-Mobile has also proven that carriers need not deploy extremely high-frequency mmWave technology to get "blazing fast speeds," per Digital trends.
Carriers use extremely high-frequency mmWave technology because they provide high throughput and it allows for efficient use of spectrum as frequencies that can be reused over relatively small distances, per Accton.
T-Mobile's test was conducted using a commercially available device, specifically on a Samsung Galaxy S22 powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform with Snapdragon X65 Modern-RF system on a live production network.
The aggregation is only possible with standalone 5G architecture, with it being the latest in a series of important 5G architecture milestones for T-Mobile.
Neville Ray, T-Mobile's president of Technology, mentioned that the aggregation and its subsequent test demonstrated "the incredible power of mid-band spectrum" and that it represents another significant step forward for standalone 5G.
"Only T-Mobile is delivering a nationwide standalone 5G network to customers today, and we're blazing a trail with new performance-boosting capabilities that generate incredible speeds and deliver on our vision to create the highest capacity network in the country," Ray added.
Using carrier aggregation to produce impressive network speeds is nothing new - Verizon also used the same technology to produce 4.2Gbps on its 5G network in 2020. However, T-Mobile claims to be the first due to it being the first to make such speeds accessible on commercially available phones.
When Will T-Mobile Offer 3Gbps Network Speeds?
The Verge mentioned that T-Mobile will provide this 3Gbps network speed to its subscribers "later this year," though when exactly is still a T-Mobile secret.
However, NR CA is already live in parts of T-Mobile today, with customers with Samsung Galaxy S22 phones being among the first to experience a third 1900 Mhz 5G channel later this year.
T-Mobile also mentioned that it would expand NR CA's network capabilities to cover additional devices "in the near future."
