Sprint claims latest lab test used 60 megahertz in the 2.5 GHz band to support speeds up to 295 Mbps
Sprint continues its quest for speed, noting its latest three-channel carrier aggregation lab testing resulted in throughput of up to 295 megabits per second using an updated HTC 10 smartphone.
The lab testing aggregated three 20-megahertz spectrum channels in the 2.5 GHz band, for a total spectrum channel of 60 megahertz. The aggregation takes advantage of features in the LTE-Advanced standard allowing for the bonding of separate channels together to form a larger data channel to support more capacity and faster data speeds.
The HTC device used in the testing was enabled via a software update to support the three-channel carrier aggregation. The carrier said it currently has five devices available able to support the update, including the HTC 10 and 9; LG G5; and Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Sprint earlier this year used a Galaxy S7 device enabled with the software update to report three-carrier channel aggregation speeds near 300 Mbps in a lab environment.
Sprint’s current LTE network offers two-carrier channel aggregation in 237 markets under the LTE Plus marketing name. The network, and enabled devices, are said to offer peak speeds in excess of more than 100 megabits per second. With three-carrier channel aggregation, the carrier said customers will see network speeds of more than 200 Mbps.
“LTE Plus uses some of the most advanced technologies in wireless such as carrier aggregation and it’s a key part of our densification and optimization strategy,” said Günther Ottendorfer, Sprint COO of Technology. “With LTE Plus we’ll keep delivering the best mobile services for our customers with higher throughput and capacity using very cost-efficient solutions.”
RCR Wireless News recently spoke with Ottendorfer as part of our Carrier Wrap video show about Sprint’s recent “5G” network testing.
Sprint’s focus on network speeds have shown mixed results. The carrier cites a recent PC Magazine test proclaiming Sprint with the fastest mobile network, though other tests have shown that while the carrier’s network speeds are improving, they still remain slower than rivals.
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