Verizon hits tri-carrier gigabit LTE speeds in lab

Verizon, Ericsson and Qualcomm have clocked a peak LTE download speed of 1.07Gbps in a US laboratory test aggregating three 20MHz carriers of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) spectrum, claiming ‘new levels of spectral efficiency for commercial networks and devices’. The test used the Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 LTE (Category 18) modem as an end-user device on commercial network/chipset infrastructure, with twelve simultaneous LTE streams allowing for ‘up to 20% increase in peak data rates and capacity with a corresponding improvement in average speeds’. The test also utilised 4×4 multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) and 256QAM technology. Fredrik Jejdling of Ericsson called the test ’a big milestone on the road to 5G’.