Samsung has announced a breakthrough in 5G upload/uplink speed. The company teamed up with MediaTek for a successful test run of an industry-first three-transmit (3Tx) antenna transmission system to improve upload speeds on 5G networks.
The two firms combined 5G Standalone Uplink 2CC Carrier Aggregation with C-Band Uplink MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) to reach a top uplink speed of 363Mbps. They believe it’s a “groundbreaking achievement in wireless mobile capabilities” that can usher the industry “in an era of enhanced connectivity for consumers worldwide.”
Samsung and MediaTek conducted this test in the former’s lab in Suwon, Korea. They used Samsung’s extensive set of 5G network solutions, including its C-Band Massive MIMO radios, virtualized Distributed Unit (vDU), and core. MediaTek, on the other hand, provided the test device, which features its new M80-based CPE chipset.
The firms began with “one uplink channel apiece at 1,900MHz and 3.7GHz.” But as the test progressed, they added “an extra uplink flow using MIMO on 3.7GHz.” The result is a record-setting upload speed of 363Mbps. Samsung says this speed is near the theoretical peak that the 3Tx antenna system can ever deliver.
According to Samsung, the 3Tx antenna system have greater benefits than just faster upload speeds. It can also enhance the spectrum and data transmission efficiency, helping deliver a better overall network performance. Current smartphones and other 5G-enabled consumer devices can only support 2Tx antennas.
Commercial 5G networks can’t deliver an upload speed anywhere near this
Of course, it’s just a test run conducted in a lab. We are far, far away from such high upload speeds on commercial 5G networks. Samsung achieved a peak download speed of over 8Gbps in a similar lab test conducted with Qualcomm in January 2022. But commercial networks only deliver a fraction of those speeds.
Recent research by Opensignal showed that T-Mobile has the fastest 5G in the US, and its average download speed is 195.5Mbps. That’s far lower than the upload speed achieved by Samsung and MediaTek. The average upload speed delivered by US wireless carriers is below 20Mbps.
“The demands on uplink performance are increasing with the rise of live streaming, multi-player gaming, and video conferences, Samsung said in a press release. “As more consumers seek to document and share their experiences with the world in real-time, enhanced uplink experiences provide an opportunity to use the network to improve how they map out their route home, check player stats online and upload videos and selfies to share with friends and followers.