Nokia and Singapore's StarHub have successfully tripled peak upload speeds over the operator's 4G network to 150Mbps in Southeast Asia's first trial using the carrier aggregation technology. The speed achievement was made possible by Nokia, whose technology aggregated spectrum in the 1800MHz and 2600MHz bands together using the 64 QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) technique.
Carrier aggregation is a technique used in 4G LTE-Advanced standards to allow non-contiguous bands of spectrum to be bonded to create wider channels, resulting in faster 4G speeds. Nokia Carrier Aggregation software was used to combine two blocks of 4G spectrum to double the upload speed. The 64 QAM further enhanced the speeds by 1.5 times. The techology however requires compatible mobile devices equipped with 4G LTE-Advanced technology (Cat. 13).
Following the trial, StarHub said that it will introduce the technology commercially in the Marina Bay and Orchard areas of Singapore in time for the city state's year-end celebrations, allowing customers with compatible devices to enjoy a smoother mobile data experience while sharing high definition videos and photos in real time. At such speeds which are three times faster than what most 4G networks offer today, a 200MB 4K resolution video can be uploaded to the Internet in as little as 11 seconds.
Mock Pak Lum, Chief Technology Officer, StarHub
The ability to upload quickly is fast becoming a necessity for our mobile customers. In fact, we saw a close to 50% increase in upload traffic year-on-year, as customers increasingly share high definition videos and photos instantly with the world.
Nicolas Bouverot, head of Asia South at Nokia
We are committed to supporting StarHub in its quest to deliver a world-class service experience to its customers. Our technologies will enable the operator to improve the upload and download speeds of its 4G network even at peak traffic times to enrich the user experience.
