Nokia Networks and Qualcomm have completed interoperability testing of LTE-Advanced three-band Carrier Aggregation (3x CA) to achieve subscriber data rates of up to 300 Mbps in network environments.

The tests utilized the Nokia Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station and Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and allows operators, such as SK Telecom, to offer data rates of up to 300 Mbps to their subscribers using a network of three frequencies (20 MHz + 10 MHz + 10 MHz). 3x CA provides an alternative option to operators to reach 40Mhz carrier aggregation, as this option was previously available only to the operators with at least two bands of 20 MHz bandwidth each.

The interoperability tests with Qualcomm Technologies were performed in September at the Nokia Networks laboratory in Ulm, Germany, and involved 3GPP bands 1, 3 and 5 as used by SK Telecom. Nokia Networks launched its 3x CA capability in February.

Nokia Networks is introducing 3x CA to commercial networks later this year. The Snapdragon 810 processor is expected to be available in commercial devices by the first half of 2015.