Verizon hits 1.45Gbps 4G LTE speeds in New York
With a little help from Nokia and Qualcomm.
Verizon may be busy rolling out its 5G tech in several US cities, including its inbound 5G Home internet and TV service, but that doesn't mean it's forgotten 4G. With the help of Nokia's AirScale base station and a Qualcomm test device with a Snapdragon X24 LTE modem, Verizon says it's reached peak data speeds of 1.45 gigabits per second (Gbps) on 4G LTE in New York.
The milestone saw it aggregate six channels of spectrum (both licensed and shared -- a first in the US). According to Verizon VP of Technology Planning and Development, Bill Stone, the company is laying a "foundation" for its "evolution into 5G."
The trial involved aggregating four carriers of licence-assisted access (LTE-LAA) spectrum with licensed PCS and AWS spectrum, according to ZDNet. It also relied on 256 quadrature amplitude moderation (256 QAM) and 4x4 multiple-input multiple-output (4x4 MIMO) technologies -- the latter antenna tech is available in 1,100 locations nationwide. Meanwhile, it's facing fierce 5G competition from rivals AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint.
