Verizon in partnership with its technology partners - Ericsson, and Qualcomm Technologies, announced on Thursday that they reached an astounding 953 Mbps in a joint commercial network deployment of Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) technology.
The demonstration which too place in Boca Raton, Florida used all commercially available Verizon network components including a cell site, hardware, software, and backhaul.
Ericsson provided micro Radio 2205 for LAA, designed for unlicensed spectrum use, provides small dimensions, flexible mounting and superior performance, and is a component of the Ericsson Radio System, an end-to-end modular radio network portfolio of hardware and software. Qualcomm Technologies provided a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 mobile platform test device, with Gigabit LTE capability thanks to the integrated Snapdragon X16 LTE modem.
This four carrier aggregation uses LAA (License Assisted Access) to combine Verizon's spectrum holdings with unlicensed spectrum, which takes advantage of spectrum where home and commercial Wi-Fi technologies exist. In addition to four channel carrier aggregation, other technological advancements include: 4x4 MIMO (multiple in, multiple out) which uses multiple antennae at the cell tower and on consumers' devices to optimize data speeds 256 QAM which enables customer devices and the network to exchange information in large amounts, delivering more bits of data in each transmission, significantly enhancing data speeds.
Verizon's closest rival, AT&T and Ericsson in June conducted live LTE-LAA field trials, reaching initial wireless speeds of more than 750Mbps in downtown San Francisco. At around the same time, T-Mobile also announced that it completed field trial of LAA on its commercial network in Los Angeles, showcasing 741 Mbps download speeds using 80 MHz of aggregated spectrum.
Nicola Palmer, Chief Wireless Network Officer, Verizon
Today's milestone is a great example of our approach to new technology - we deploy the latest capabilities reliably and in real-world environments, not just in a lab.
Mike Finley, SVP & President, Qualcomm North America
It is exciting to see Gigabit LTE momentum globally and in the U.S., especially as we move closer to a 5G world. With leading operators and infrastructure vendors like Verizon and Ericsson, we will continue to develop and deploy innovative technologies to power future networks and devices.
