The companies said that, once commercially deployed, the solution will enhance the experience of Optus’ customers with improved speeds and performance. The solution will also pave the way for advanced 5G use cases such as AR and VR. Nokia added that it has prioritised the development of 5G Carrier Aggregation (CA) technology across sub-6 GHz 5G spectrum.
The trial took place in Australia, with Nokia using its latest commercial AirScale Baseband and radio portfolio powered by its Reefshark chipset over Optus’ commercial network. The trial combined the FDD band (2100MHz) with the TDD band (2300 MHz + 3500 MHz) using CA technology.
5G Carrier Aggregation allows compatible 5G smartphones to receive multiple 5G frequency bands in parallel, enabling higher data rates, increased coverage and improved network capacity while maximising the spectral efficiency of 5G networks. By combining spectrum from different frequency bands providers can make optimal use of their 5G spectrum, enhancing coverage and network capacity, providing higher data rates, increased coverage and improved indoor performance.
Dr Robert Joyce, chief technology officer at Nokia, explained, “Nokia is delighted to deliver yet another 5G world first with Optus. This 5G network enhancement provided by Nokia will allow Optus to continue to deliver superior network performance to its customers.”
Lambo Kanagaratnam, vice president of networks at Optus, said, “We’re always looking at ways that we can further optimise our network performance to benefit our customers. Once available commercially, this 3 NR Carrier operation will enable customers to achieve a higher 5G download speed at more places improving their overall 5G experience.”