back to article Who needs 5G? Qualcomm, Ericsson and Verizon hit 1Gbps with LTE gear

A group of researchers working for Verizon, Ericsson and Qualcomm say they have hit a record 1.07Gbps download rate with LTE hardware. The three companies say that, in a controlled Ericsson lab, the Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 chipset was able to use Verizon spectrum to access 12 simultaneous LTE streams and pull data at a gigabit …

  1. Snowy Silver badge
    Facepalm

    I think not

    [quote]The three companies say that, in a controlled Ericsson lab, the Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 chipset was able to use Verizon spectrum to access 12 simultaneous LTE streams and pull data at a gigabit rate through licensed commercial bands.[quote]

    So just increase the network by 11 times and you are good to go? hahahaha!

  2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

    5G is a marketing label only

    LTE didn't get the name by chance. AFAIK there are no plans to include anything radical in 5G, if it ever arrives. It's just a label to be used by marketing departments and will largely be defined by bandwidth, using the current combination of technologies to boost headline speeds as long as you're in lab conditions.

    1. Mage Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: 5G is a marketing label only

      Yes, 5G is about infrastructural integrations not speed.

      Capital Expenditure vs Speed.

      Why is geographical coverage poor and peak time speed poor for many users? It's NOTHING to do with technology, as indeed this lab demo (which has been done on other HW, this is PR) shows. The Network operators only install enough so not too many calls dropped and PAYG can be consumed and cherry pick the areas with good ability to sign up many bill pay customers (i.e. not much rural).

      The licensing is too weak, enforcement almost none existent. Regulation exists to raise revenue from licences, not benefit consumers.

      One physical RAN operator with "beauty comp" licence and USO 100% coverage, minimum peak time speed KPIs and raise revenue from VAT would be far better. Then the operators would be retailers.

      "Free" phones on contracts should be banned. That's a hidden cost and reduces choice and competition.

      This is shameful PR, in a long line of it since news of first 3G licences.

  3. Cuddles

    Finally

    1 Gbps was the original standard for 4G, so it's nice to see we've finally got there. Only 8 years late, and in a manner that will never be seen outside the lab. Progress!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'll be happy when I can consistently get 5Mbps. My speed tests (done a minute ago) was 1.11Mbps with Sprint. With T-Mobile I frequently got 2Mbps. (iPad Pro /LTE)

    I live in Colorado very close to a major freeway and street, so it's not like I live in the boondocks.

    What guys (and gals) are doing in the lab seem pretty irrelevant at the moment.

  5. fobobob

    I'm sure they'll buff their data caps to match the new speeds... right? right?

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like