Verizon gets plenty of flack for deploying millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum for 5G. But it stands by its strategy and now boasts achieving 711 Mpbs upload speeds in a lab trial with Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm Technologies.
“Our mmWave build is a critical differentiator, even as we drive towards massive and rapid expansion of our 5G service using our newly acquired mid-band spectrum, we are doubling down on our commitment to mmWave spectrum usage,” said Adam Koeppe, SVP of Technology Planning for Verizon, in a statement. “You will see us continue to expand our mmWave footprint to deliver game changing experiences for the densest parts of our network and for unique enterprise solutions.”
According to Verizon, previous multi-gigabit speeds have been recorded on downloads before, but this is the fastest speed the companies have been able to reach while uploading data to the network. Such achievements will pave the way for uploading videos, pictures and data to the cloud, social media accounts or sharing directly with others in crowded venues like football stadiums and concerts. This will matter even more when those kinds of live, in-person events are happening more frequently in less-pandemic times.
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“Whether using a traditional mobile link or fixed wireless access, these speeds will also allow students working from home or employees in distributed workforces the ability to upload and synchronize massive files, complete simultaneous editing of documents in the cloud, and collaborate with colleagues effortlessly,” according to Verizon.
Trial details
The demonstration was conducted by combining 400 MHz of Verizon’s 5G mmWave frequency and 20 MHz of 4G frequency using 5G technologies such as mmWave carrier aggregation and Single-User MIMO (SU-MIMO). Samsung’s 28 GHz 5G Compact Macro and virtualized RAN (vRAN) and Core (vCore) were used in the demo, along with a smartphone form-factor test device powered by Qualcomm’s flagship SnapdragonvX65 5G Modem-RF System.
Samsung’s Compact Macro brings together a baseband, radio and antenna in a single form factor, which can be installed on the sides of buildings or on other structures, like utility poles. The Compact Macro achieved first Common Criteria (CC) certification against Network Device collaborative Protection Profile (NDcPP), an internationally recognized IT security standard, according to the press release.
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Snapdragon X65 is Qualcomm Technologies’ fourth generation 5G mmWave Modem-RF System for phones, mobile broadband, compute, XR, industrial IoT, 5G private networks and fixed wireless access. Commercial mobile devices based on these Modem-RF solutions are expected to launch by late 2021.