Verizon, Ericsson and Qualcomm achieved 1.07Gbps (gigabits per second) download speeds with commercial silicon and network infrastructure using the Qualcomm SnapdragonTMX20 LTE Modem that supports Category 18 LTE speeds, during an Ericsson lab trial. 

This 1.07 Gbps achievement builds on the recent announcement about Gigabit LTE with support for License Assisted Access (LAA). It was done using only three 20MHz carriers of FDD (Frequency Division Duplex using separate transmit and receive frequencies) spectrum, achieving new levels of spectral efficiency for commercial networks and devices. 

The companies achieved the 1.07 Gbps industry milestone by using 12 simultaneous LTE streams, which allow for up to 20 percent increase in peak data rates and capacity with a corresponding improvement in average speeds. Ericsson’s Radio System and LTE software, in concert with a mobile test device based on the Snapdragon X20 LTE modem, enabled these high speeds.

In the lab, the 1.07 Gbps speeds were achieved using all licensed band combinations with:

• 12 LTE streams with 3 cell carrier aggregation of FDD spectrum
• 4x4 MIMO per carrier (multiple in, multiple out), which uses multiple antennae at the cell tower and on consumers devices to optimize data speeds
• 256 QAM per carrier, which enables customer devices and the network to exchange information in large amounts, delivering more bits of data in each transmission, significantly enhancing data speeds

“Qualcomm Technologies has been at the forefront of driving Gigabit LTE in the industry.  Our work with Verizon and Ericsson has allowed us to be first in surpassing the Gigabit speed barrier with our Snapdragon X20 LTE modem. This is an important milestone on the path to 5G that will allow for better average speeds for all users and will drive new and exciting consumer experiences.”, said Mike Finley, senior vice president and president, Qualcomm North America.