Nokia, Optus and Samsung’s ‘world first’ feat paves way for more advanced 5G
Nokia, Optus, and Samsung team up for even faster 5G
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Nokia,Samsung, and Australian mobile operator Optus have made the first data call using 3 components (3CC) carrier aggregation (CA) technology on a 5G Standalone (5G SA) network using a commercial smartphone.
The achievement paves the way for more advanced commercial 5G networks and revolutionary new use cases such as augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) applications that rely on high performance connectivity.
“We’re always looking at ways that we can further optimize our network performance to benefit our customers,” said Lambo Kanagaratnam, vice president of networks at Optus.
5G SA speed record
“Once available commercially, this 3 NR Carrier operation will enable customers to achieve a higher 5G download speed at more places improving their overall 5G experience. Our Samsung Galaxy S22 customers will soon be the first to benefit from this technology enhancement with other handsets to follow shortly after.”
Most 5G deployments to date have relied on 5G non-standalone 5G (5G NSA), which uses new radio technologies but still relies on the underlying 4G core.
Nokia and Elisa set 8Gbps 5G speed record>Vodafone launches Standalone 5G trials in UK>AT&T will use Ericsson radio kit to spread C-band 5G
SA 5G uses a new virtual, cloud-based core that allows data to be processed closer to the point of collection and enables features like network slicing. This allows for guaranteed speeds, enhanced reliability and ultra-low latency.
Meanwhile, carrier aggregation fuses separate spectrum bands together to harness the advantages of each to deliver advances in speed, capacity and coverage, while allowing operators to maximise the efficiency of their assets.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
For this particular trial, the partners used a combination of 2.1GHz, 2.3GHz and 3.5GHz frequencies combined with Nokia’s commercially available 5G equipment and a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone.
“Nokia is delighted to bring our market-leading 5G technology to Australia to deliver yet another 5G world first with Optus,” added Robert Joyce, chief technology officer at Nokia Oceania. “This market-leading 5G network enhancement provided by Nokia will allow Optus to continue to deliver superior network performance to its customers.”
In testing earlier in 2022, Nokiaachieved speeds of 3Gbpsusing 3CC CA in trials with China Mobile and MediaTek.
Steve McCaskill is TechRadar Pro’s resident mobile industry expert, covering all aspects of the UK and global news, from operators to service providers and everything in between. He is a former editor of Silicon UK and journalist with over a decade’s experience in the technology industry, writing about technology, in particular, telecoms, mobile and sports tech, sports, video games and media.
TP-Link Archer BE3600 Wi-Fi 7 Router review
Ulefone Armor Pad 3 Pro rugged tablet review
Evercade Alpha review: authentic countertop arcade fun
