Ericsson, one of the largest telecom gear vendors globally and SingTel, one of the major telcos in Singapore, have achieved a download speed of 5.4 Gbps during a 5G test. The trial was conducted leveraging 5G standalone (SA) New Radio-Dual Connectivity (NR-DC), and the companies have become the first in Southeast Asia to achieve such download speeds. For the trial, SingTel’s spectrum across mid-band (3.5 GHz) and mmWave (28 GHz) was used. Ericsson had provided its 5G radio access network (RAN) products, solutions, and dual-mode 5G core network solutions for the test. Further, a test device from Qualcomm Technologies powered by Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System was used to check the results.
What is 5G SA NR-DC and What Use Cases Can It Bring to Life?
5G SA NR-DC combines the mmWave and mid-band frequencies. This enables the telecom operators in delivering an enhanced 5G experience. With 5G SA NR-DC, SingTel could deliver latency-sensitive and high-performance applications along with stimulating innovative new use cases across multiple verticals. The use cases that this can bring to life are many, including but not limited to - immersive media, cloud gaming, AR, VR, XR, or robotic control and more. The test from Ericsson and SingTel shows what’s possible with 5G SA NR-DC. Mr Martin Wiktorin, Head of Ericsson Singapore, Brunei and Philippines, said Ericsson has already deployed over 100 live 5G networks across the globe. The company is helping SingTel with constantly driving technology innovations. The new 5G technology has further solidified the 30-year-old partnership between Ericsson and SingTel. Ericsson and the telco had already achieved one of the fastest 5G speeds of 3.2 Gbps at SingTel’s unmanned pop-up retail store UNBOXED. Along with this, Ericsson had helped SingTel in delivering the world’s first 5G-in-a-box platform for enabling enterprises in expanding their 5G capabilities. This is a positive achievement by Ericsson in partnership with SingTel, one that will certainly pave the future of 5G connectivity.