Vodafone, Qualcomm and Xiaomi achieved peak upload speeds of up to 273 Mbps in this recent test
Vodafone, Xiaomi, and Qualcomm Technologies said they have successfully tested a new 5G technology that will enable customers to get faster upload speeds and wider coverage with the arrival of new smartphones and devices expected during this year.
In this test of advanced 5G uplink technology, Vodafone, Qualcomm and Xiaomi achieved peak upload speeds of up to 273 Mbps. The carrier said that most of today’s smartphones and home broadband services are capable of an average upload speed of 100 Mbps. The enhanced 5G technology raises upload speeds closer to download levels while also extending coverage and increasing capacity, Vodafone said.
The test combined Vodafone’s new 5G Standalone (5G SA) networks in both Germany and Spain with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform and the next Xiaomi flagship smartphone. Vodafone explained that better uplink capabilities will enable customers to upload their photos, videos and files to social media sites and the cloud at almost double the speeds possible today, when next-generation devices arrive later this year. This is important to meet the growing demand for cloud storage, video streaming, augmented and virtual reality applications and multi-player gaming, the U.K.-based carrier added.
The tests took place in the Spanish city of Ciudad Real using Vodafone’s multi-vendor testing 5G network named “CREATE” and Vodafone’s commercial 5G SA network in Hannover, Germany.
Alberto Ripepi, chief network officer of Vodafone said: “We want our customers to be among the first anywhere in the world to benefit from this new 5G feature when it becomes available. That’s why we are working with key partners to lead the industry in pulling together and testing the necessary network, silicon chips and devices to turn it into a reality, all while driving a stronger vendor and developer ecosystem.”
The partners highlighted that this technological breakthrough is made possible using the advanced capabilities of 5G SA. Specifically, the ability to enhance the uplink performance using a technique called Uplink Carrier Aggregation with Tx Switching which combines multiple transmission channels supported by the smartphone and the mobile antenna.
“The successful pilot test of UL Tx switching highlights the added value that maximizes resource utilization with respect to user equipment’s capability and further enhances the uplink performance,” said Andi Zhang, deputy general manager of product and technology at Xiaomi.
