Ericsson and MediaTek Set Uplink Speed Record on mmWave

Ericsson and MediaTek performed a four-component carrier (4CC) uplink aggregation on millimeter wave (mmWave) that resulted in a peak throughput rate of 495 Mbps - 425 Mbps in New Radio (NR) plus 70 Mbps in LTE. The demo used pre-commercial software on a device containing a MediaTek M80 5G chipset. The lab test used Ericsson RAN Compute baseband 6648 with the AIR 5331 millimeter wave radio.

The test, which focused on uplink carrier aggregation, is the first of its kind. It showed how this solution can help communications service providers deliver higher data rates and capacity for uplink applications such as user-initiated streaming (AR/VR) and content creation. Fast uplink performance means the user or subscriber does not have to be concerned with weak signals when video-conferencing on phones, for example.

Downlink or download speed has long dominated what we use the internet for, from surfing to streaming. The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted many across the world to work or study from home, highlighting the importance of uplink or upload speed performance.

Upload speed dictates how quickly data is sent from the computer or handheld device to the internet. This includes uploading files, such as photos and videos to social media or collaborative worksites. Upload speeds are also crucial to the image and sound quality of video conferencing. Strong uplink means less or even none of those frozen screens, or broken audio, when using apps like Skype or Microsoft Teams. Similarly, faster uplink improves voice over internet protocol (VoIP) calls and online gaming experience.

This latest technology milestone follows a single user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO demo in April 2021 when Ericsson delivered a single user uplink data rate of 315 Mbps, 15-20 times faster than current typical uplink speed.