T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) announced what it says is a record-breaking 550 Mbps uplink speed in sub-6 GHz spectrum. This milestone was achieved using 3GPP Release 17 UL Tx Switching in a live demo with Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and MediaTek. This new 5G Advanced feature allows smartphones or mobile devices to switch between different antennas or transmission methods when sending data to the network, depending on what works best at the time. This is important because better uplink performance helps improve data upload speed and reliability. This means devices can use less power by selecting the optimal transmission path.
In the T-Mobile live network demonstration, 100 MHz of TDD 2.5 GHz spectrum and 35 MHz of FDD 1900 MHz spectrum was used to achieve the 550 Mbps total speed. The test was conducted using a MediaTek smartphone flagship test device with an integrated M90 modem that was connected to Nokia radios and MIMO antennas.
“Everyone obsesses over download speed, but at T-Mobile we see what’s coming, and uplink is the next big thing,” said Ulf Ewaldsson, T-Mobile President of Technology. High-speed uplinks are becoming significant as consumers and businesses are increasingly uploading data intensive applications and content such as 4K video, gaming in real time, or powering a VR headset.
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