The Austrian subsidiary of Telekom Austria Group, A1, and its technology partner Nokia recently showcased LTE-Advanced(LTE-A) technology with speeds of 513Mbps over its live 4.5G network using a mobile router. Calling it as pre-5G testing, A1 and Nokia also achieved speeds of 463 Mbit/s on a smartphone.
The speeds were made possible via triple carrier aggregation where the 2.6 GHz, 1800 MHz and 800 MHz spectrum ranges were bundled and combined using 256 QAM modulation.
According to A1, carrier aggregation will also play a major role in 5G, the new generation of mobile communications, as it provides the technical basis for high bandwidths and the efficient use of the available frequency bands.
A1 said that 5G builds upon 4G technology. However, before the new generation of mobile communications can be taken into service, a number of evolutionary steps will have to be completed so that more characteristics such as higher bandwidths and the technical prerequisites for 5G can be gradually implemented. This will enable the introduction of more and more new services, for example in the Internet of Things or for Smart Cities.
The Telekom Austria Group, the international holding company with A1 as the Austrian operator, is a member of the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) so that it can play an active role in the standardization of 5G networks. The NGMN is an international alliance of operators, manufacturers and research institutes that promotes and guides the development of future mobile broadband technologies with a particular focus on 5G.
Marcus Grausam, A1, CTO
The use of different frequency bands that span a wide section of radio spectrum is also very important for 5G transmission speeds. A1 has an excellent frequency spectrum here and is already optimally prepared for the new generation of mobile communications. In Austria we will already be making selective use of triple carrier aggregation in 2017.
Peter Wukowits, Nokia Country Manager Austria and Head of the Customer Business Team Central Europe
The foundations have already been laid in the laboratory and the technology will now be coming to the live networks. Nokia is a leader in the development of 5G and as an innovation partner we are delighted to be taking this forward with A1.
