Nokia, Qualcomm and T-Mobile achieve industry-first 5G carrier aggregation combining 5 component carriers #MWC23

• Companies achieve world’s first showcase of 5G Carrier Aggregation combining 5 TDD and FDD Carriers in sub-6 GHz (5CC CA) delivering data rates above 4Gbps.  
• Solution utilised a 5G Standalone network with 5CC CA running on Nokia’s commercial 5G AirScale base station with a mobile test device powered by the new Snapdragon® X75 Modem-RF System.
• 5CC CA enables mobile operators to deliver faster speeds and superior coverage.

Espoo, Finland – Nokia, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and T-Mobile today announced that they have achieved a world’s first showcase of successfully aggregating 5G Standalone (SA) spectrum using 5CC Carrier Aggregation (5CC CA) in sub-6 GHz spectrum. The successful trial aggregated 2 FDD and 3 TDD carriers resulting in peak downlink throughput speeds exceeding 4.2Gbps. 5G Carrier Aggregation with 5CC will enable mobile operators to deliver higher data rates and better coverage to even more customers. The companies are industry leaders in Carrier Aggregation technology.

The 5CC CA call was conducted on Nokia’s AirScale base station and a mobile test device powered by the new Snapdragon X75 5G Modem-RF System, the world’s first modem-RF solution to support 5G 5x carrier aggregation. During the test, five component carriers on FDD bands n71 (600MHz) and n25 (1900MHz) and TDD bands n41 (2.5GHz) and n77 (3.7GHz) were aggregated. The uplink data rates were also accelerated with 5G uplink Carrier Aggregation on bands n25 and n77. The combination of uplink and downlink carrier aggregation allows operators to keep the uplink and downlink data rates in balance. 

By aggregating with 5CC, mobile network operators have more options to leverage their spectrum and network assets for a superior user experience. With ongoing subscriber migration to 5G, network operators can tap into an increasing pool of 5G FDD frequency carriers and combine these with the bandwidth of multiple mid-band (TDD) carriers. 5CC CA unlocks this potential without compromising on coverage and capacity.

Mobile World Congress 2023
At MWC 2023, Nokia is showcasing its latest high-performance, high-capacity AirScale products and services portfolio including CA at its stand in Hall 3. Guests will be invited to take different journeys covering different focus areas across Nokia’s comprehensive portfolio including Radio Leadership, Performance Innovation, Energy Efficiency, Operational Efficiency, and Cloud RAN. Qualcomm Technologies will be showcasing the capability as part of a Snapdragon X75 video demonstration at its booth (Hall 3, 3E10).

Karri Kuoppamaki, SVP of Network Technology Development and Strategy at T-Mobile commented: “We continue to work with industry leaders like Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies to bring America’s largest, fastest, and most reliable 5G network to the next level. These successful tests pave the way for even faster speeds so customers can unleash the full potential of their 5G devices. Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at T-Mobile and we make sure that our customers are always first to get the very best the industry has to offer.”

Sunil Patil, vice president product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. commented: “With Snapdragon X75, we enable the next generation of 5G smartphones and beyond to fuel the Connected Intelligent Edge. This world’s first 5CC CA call on sub-6 GHz 5G spectrum showcases the power of our modem-RF technology and underlines the power of our collaboration with Nokia to advance the 5G ecosystem.”

Mark Atkinson, SVP, Radio Access Networks PLM at Nokia, said: “Advanced mobile network operators are transitioning quickly to 5G SA. Multi-component carrier aggregation propels 5G SA data rates to multi-Gigabit levels. With 5G Carrier Aggregation software, we enable our AirScale customers to provide the highest 5G data rates at more locations to their subscribers. With this successful 5CC CA test we once again highlight our leadership position in providing the technologies that support mobile operators in maximising radio network performance and pushing them to the forefront of 5G.”