Telstra, Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies announced a new 5G download peak speed benchmark of 7.3Gbps achieved in Telstra’s live commercial network.
The new global downlink speed benchmark for a single user was achieved at a Telstra live mobile site located at the Gold Coast, Queensland Australia. This latest achievement further demonstrates how 5G is helping to build a connected future for Telstra customers through greater speed and capacity that delivers better experiences and productivity outcomes for customers.
This new global 5G benchmark of 7.3Gbps for a single user was demonstrated using a smartphone form factor mobile test device, powered by Snapdragon® X70 5G Modem-RF System. The mobile device connected to a live commercial Telstra mobile site equipped with an Ericsson Radio System base-station supporting New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-DC) between 800MHz of n258 (26GHz) mmWave spectrum and 100MHz of mid-band n78 (3.6GHz) Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum.
The 256QAM modulation was used on the mmWave carriers which boosts the peak speed to 7.3Gbps, surpassing the previous 5G downlink benchmark also set by Telstra in February 2022 of 5.9Gbps (peak modulation of 64QAM on mmWave).
The introduction of this improved peak speed capability further enhances Telstra’s recently launched 5G SA network which allows Telstra to carve up its world-leading mobile network into separate, slices that can be finely tuned to suit the needs of many customers. By adding improved peak speeds and capacity, Telstra can deliver more capable network slices to more customers. Telstra’s 5G Standalone network will support not only consumer services but also new and emerging enterprise and industrial digitisation use cases.
Iskra Nikolova, Telstra’s Network and Infrastructure Executive
We are pleased to be working with our partners Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies to once again increase the peak download speed capability of our mmWave network to 7.3Gbps, a significant jump from our previous benchmark of 5.9Gbps set in February this year. Improved peak download speeds translate directly into improved network capacity which benefits all Telstra customers. It is also another important step in evolving our 5G SA network capability which is essential to delivering new services to our customers.
Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson, Australia, and New Zealand
This latest achievement builds on Telstra’s leadership in 5G mmWave technology in Australia, beginning with the first 5G trial with Ericsson back in 2016 and subsequently setting multiple technology milestones in their commercially deployed 5G mmWave network. We are delighted to be working with Telstra and Qualcomm Technologies to once again push the boundaries of what can be achieved with 5G which is a critical technology in the digitisation of Australia’s economy and helping to build a more connected future for Australians.
