Italian operator TIM has set a new European 5G speed record, achieving speeds in excess of 4Gbps on millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum.
The tests were conducted on a live network with devices powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X55 5G modem-RF system with QTM525 mmWave Antenna module and with Ericsson Radio System (ERS) technology.
5G will use a mixture of low, mid and high-band spectrum, each of which offers a combination of range and capacity. mmWave delivers massive capacity over a short range, making it ideal for high bandwidth applications that require a guaranteed level of throughput.
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5G speed record
The majority of 5G deployments to data have been powered by low and mid-band spectrum frequencies that are ideal for mobile broadband services. However operators such as Verizon in the US have used mmWave to power Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) 5G services in major cities.
TIM has hailed the test as a “significant achievement” that will help it develop its own FWA broadband products and inform indoor coverage deployments where reliable, high capacity connectivity is essential.
The former will help provide ultrafast broadband to areas where fixed cannot reach while the latter will be essential for certain industrial applications and use cases like Virtual Reality (VR).
Earlier this year, TIM became the first operator in Europe to use quantum computing on its network, using the technology to optimise its radio cell planning.
TIM has used a QUBO (quadratic unconstrained binary optimisation) algorithmic model to plan its 4G and 5G network parameters, performing the task ten times faster than conventional methods. This optimisation increases the reliability and performance of its mobile network.
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