Sprints Hits 295 Mbps with 3-Channel Carrier Aggregation

Sprint reached peak lab speeds of 295 Mbps in three-channel carrier aggregation lab tests using the HTC 10, one of the first devices on the market to support the functionality. S

Sprint is testing three-channel carrier aggregation ahead of its LTE Plus network deployment.

Two-channel carrier aggregation used by Sprint delivers peak speeds of more than 100 Mbps in 237 LTE Plus markets across the country using 40MHz of spectrum on the company’s 2.5GHz cell sites. With three-channel carrier aggregation Sprint will utilize 60MHz of spectrum to provide peak speeds of more than 200 Mbps on compatible devices.

Sprint currently offers 22 devices that actively support two-channel carrier aggregation on its LTE Plus network.

In March, Sprint demonstrated speeds of more than 300 Mbps using three-channel carrier aggregation on a Samsung Galaxy S7. Five devices currently offered by Sprint are three-channel carrier aggregation capable: the HTC 10, HTC 9, LG G5, Samsung Galaxy S7, and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Three-channel carrier aggregation is slated for enablement on devices via an automatic software update following network deployment.

“LTE Plus uses some of the most advanced technologies in wireless such as carrier aggregation and it’s a key part of our Densification and Optimization strategy,” said Günther Ottendorfer, Sprint COO, Technology. “With LTE Plus we’ll keep delivering the best mobile services for our customers with higher throughput and capacity using very cost-efficient solutions.”

“Two-channel carrier aggregation has made a significant difference for our customers in LTE Plus markets across the country and that’s just the beginning,” said Dr. John Saw, Sprint CTO. “With holdings of more than 160MHz of 2.5GHz spectrum in the top 100 U.S. markets, we have more capacity than any other carrier in the U.S. Our customers and those switching to Sprint can be confident in our ability to meet their demand for data now and well into the future.”

http://newsroom.sprint.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=12283