Ericsson and Qualcomm help NBN hit 1.1 Gbps over fixed wireless

Australian state telecoms outfit NBN managed to hit 1.1 Gbps download speed in a fixed wireless demo conducted in partnership with Ericsson, NetComm Wireless and Qualcomm.

The speed was achieved thanks to carrier aggregation utilizing a massive 11 carriers – seven in the 3.4 GHz band and four in the 2.3 GHz band – on TDD LTE as well as bonding together three antennae that NBN insists on calling Wireless Network Termination Devices. This seems mainly to be a publicity exercise to show NBN has been busy.

“Our ability to deliver gigabit speeds on fixed wireless demonstrates our continued focus on identifying and implementing tech advancements as and when they are needed, across all technologies,” said NBN CEO Bill Morrow. “It’s particularly exciting to be able to reaffirm our commitment to delivering a great experience to the 600,000 premises in regional Australia that will be served by the fixed wireless network.
“Our fixed wireless network has already been recognised as a world leader and we are determined to maintain that position by making sure regional Australians get access to the same high speed broadband available in our cities. This also underlines the importance of NBN’s spectrum in the 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz bands in allowing high speed services to Australians.”

Ericsson and Qualcomm we keen not to miss out on the self-promotion action. “Ericsson has been NBN’s partner for the TDD fixed wireless network since its inception in 2011, and we are proud of our achievements with NBN to connect regional Australia, closing the digital divide,” said Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson Australia & New Zealand.

“Our advanced cellular products and technologies, including our Snapdragon X16 LTE modem which supports Gigabit LTE speeds, underscore our ability to make these game-changing speeds and user experiences possible,” said Mike Finley, president of Qualcomm North America and Australia.

What this proves in terms of the development of fixed wireless or wireless in general is unclear as the case for carrier aggregation is already made. But sometimes you just can’t beat a good old speeds-and-feeds publicity opportunity and, in that respect at least, this seems to have got the job done.