Trial was carried out in association with Ericsson and Qualcomm
Vodafone Portugal said it reached speeds of 600 megabits per second on its mobile network, using the new functions offered by the evolution of LTE-Advanced technology.
The telco said the technological innovation will provide improved user experience, making it possible, for example, to open a Web page instantly and download a 1 gigabyte Ultra HD/4K video in about 15 seconds.
The 600 Mbps speed was achieved using the bandwidth of three aggregated 60-megahertz frequency bands with new 256 QAM modulation, which, in good radio conditions, enables a 30% increase in current downlink speeds. The tests were performed in a laboratory environment in partnership with Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson and chipmaker Qualcomm. Vodafone Portugal had carried out tests in November with the same partners that generated network speeds of 450 Mbps.
Last month, Vodafone Portugal and Ericsson announced the implementation of FDD/TDD LTE carrier aggregation in the telco’s commercial network. The implementation is said to allow Vodafone Portugal to combine the characteristics of LTE FDD and TDD modes. Adding TDD to the already installed FDD network enhances the total downlink data capacity and is expected to improve subscribers’ mobile broadband experience.
Vodafone’s current deployment for the trial in its commercial network in Portugal uses 15 megahertz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band and 20 megahertz in the 2600 MHz band. The telco had initially launched LTE services in 2012.
At the end of June 2015, Vodafone Portugal claimed 4.92 million mobile subscribers in the country. The telco also had 357,000 fixed broadband customers in Portugal. In the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, Vodafone Portugal saw its service revenues declined 2.6% vs. the year-ago quarter, according to the company’s latest financial results.
