T-Mobile, the Un-carrier, has once again made a significant stride in the realm of 5G technology. The company recently announced that it has achieved an unprecedented uplink speed of 345 Mbps on its 5G standalone (SA) network. This record-breaking speed was achieved through the use of a novel feature known as UL Tx switching. This is the fastest speed ever recorded in North America using sub-6 GHz spectrum, highlighting the immense potential of this technology to transform data transmission from mobile devices to the network.
UL Tx switching is a revolutionary technology that facilitates seamless switching and amalgamation of different frequencies. This results in increased uplink capacity and higher uplink speed. In essence, it is akin to adding new, faster lanes with spare capacity to the 5G superhighway, enabling data to travel at unprecedented speeds. The test that achieved these remarkable speeds employed the power of carrier aggregation and SU-MIMO. Carrier aggregation involves the combination of different channels of spectrum to increase capacity and speed. SU-MIMO, or single user multiple input, multiple output, enables your phone to send multiple data streams simultaneously. This combination resulted in uplink speeds that were 25% faster than T-Mobile’s previous record of 275 Mbps.
The test was conducted using equipment from Nokia’s state-of-the-art next-generation AirScale portfolio and a mobile test smartphone powered by a flagship Snapdragon® Modem-RF system from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. Ulf Ewaldsson, President of Technology at T-Mobile, stated that this achievement is a testament to their relentless pursuit of innovation and their commitment to delivering an even better network experience to their customers. He further emphasized the potential of uplink transmit switching to significantly boost upload speeds and capacity.
T-Mobile’s 5G network has already delivered substantial performance enhancements for customers, primarily in terms of download speeds. However, the industry is just beginning to explore the potential of upload speeds. Increased uplink speeds are crucial for customers for content creation and sharing, remote work and collaboration, gaming, emerging technologies like XR, and much more.
Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, expressed pride in their collaboration with T-Mobile on this significant achievement. He stated that this will enhance the uplink speed and capacity of T-Mobile’s 5G network, which is the largest and fastest in the U.S., and deliver an even better experience for customers. Durga Malladi, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Technology Planning & Edge Solutions, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., echoed these sentiments. He highlighted the potential of switched uplink to reach incredible upload speeds through smart, dynamic use of TDD and FDD spectrum in the device.