Nokia and TPG Telecom claim 5G uplink speed record

Kit vendor Nokia and telecoms group TPG Telecom have achieved 5G uplink speeds of 2 Gbps in Australia, which they say is a first for the country.

The live demonstration used Nokia’s commercial AirScale Radio solution together with TPG Telecom’s 5G mmWave spectrum, with which the firms say they hit 5G uplink speeds of 2 Gbps at the Nokia 5G Futures Lab in Sydney, Australia.

The milestone will enable the firms to offer ‘ultra-high-performing, low-latency services for Industrial and IoT applications which are heavily reliant on high-speed uplink connectivity,’ we are told. Some sort of market ready solution is expected to be deployed next year following the trial, as ‘devices that support this capability become available.’

With regards to the specific technical gubbins involved, the demonstration used a commercially available Nokia AirScale 5G mmWave base station using TPG Telecom’s 26 GHz spectrum to connect to a 5G device powered by a Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System, featuring fourth-generation Qualcomm QTM545 mmWave antenna modules. Nokia also deployed its Carrier Aggregation technology, which included four component carriers of 100 MHz each in the 26 GHz band.

“Super-fast uplink speeds are critical to fully realise the huge benefits of 5G networks, particularly as we look to emerging technologies like augmented intelligence, machine learning, advanced sensors and robotics that are set to transform industries and economies with huge safety, productivity and efficiency outcomes as we move towards the metaverse era,” said Dr Robert Joyce, Chief Technology Officer at Nokia Oceania. “For consumers and industries alike, the future is exciting. Pushing the boundaries of 5G with innovative customers like TPG Telecom in Australia is a big part of this journey forward.”

Giovanni Chiarelli, Chief Technology Officer at TPG Telecom added: “We are very proud of this achievement and other mobile technology innovations we continue to develop with Nokia. This demonstration is important as it shows the huge potential of 5G mobile technology and gives a glimpse of the high-speed services that will one day be available to customers and businesses right across Australia.”

There is no shortage of announcements involving discreet high water marks for 5G connectivity in any given month, and while each no doubt represent progress of a kind, the tangible application of lab based demonstrations into the real world are of course what matters.

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