T-Mobile hits speeds of 673Mbps in Gigabit LTE demo

10 November 2017 | James Pearce

US operator T-Mobile has demonstrated real world LTE speeds topping 673Mbps in partnership with Qualcomm aimed at demonstrating the power and speed of Gigabit LTE.

The demonstration came as Deutsche Telekom’s US unit announced the deployment of higher speed LTE Advanced services in 920 markets across the US, with 430 of these Gigabit LTE-ready. T-Mobile also unveiled plans to launch license assisted access (LAA) technology, which uses unlicensed spectrum, on small cells later this year.

The Gigabit LTE demonstration combined three technologies seen as key stepping stones in the development of 5G: carrier aggregation, 4x4 MIMO (multiple input, multiple output), and 256QAM.

“This is what I’m talking about when I say T-Mobile has America’s best unlimited network and the only one purpose built for unlimited,” claimed Neville Ray, chief technology officer, T-Mobile.

“Not only do we have a nationwide LTE footprint that’s every bit as broad as the “Duopoly’s” (AT&T and Verizon), and the fastest according to multiple third parties – it also keeps getting faster. Gigabit Class LTE technology is part of the secret sauce behind our success – and why others are struggling under the weight of unlimited – and we’re only continuing to advance with LAA on the horizon.”

T-Mobile has been rolling out LTE Advanced technologies in the network since 2014 and was first globally with 4X4 MIMO and first in the US with 256 QAM, the operator claims. It has more than doubled its LTE Advanced footprint since last year.

“Global momentum for Gigabit Class LTE is continuing to pick up around the world, and we’re delighted that T-Mobile is planning to deliver gigabit connectivity to millions of consumers in the United States,” said Mike Finley, senior vice president and president, Qualcomm North America and Australia.

“In addition to providing blazing fast mobile connectivity, Gigabit Class LTE enables operators to expand network capacity to accommodate increasing demands by unlimited data plans, and increases overall spectral efficiency, enabling faster speeds for all users in the network.”