Verizon hits 5.5 Gbps in 5G speed tests with Samsung and MediaTek

January 08, 2025 07:00 AM

Concept of high-speed internet, showing abstract light trail effects

Verizon has achieved a new 5G speed milestone, reaching 5.5 Gbps download speeds — the equivalent of downloading 266 Taylor Swift albums a minute — during tests with Samsung Electronics and MediaTek.

The trio used advanced carrier aggregation to combine six channels of sub-6 GHz spectrum, demonstrating the potential of next-generation mobile networks.

Leveraging Samsung’s virtualised RAN (vRAN) solution and MediaTek’s 6CC connectivity platform, Verizon was able to aggregate 350 MHz of PCS, AWS, CBRS, and C-band spectrum to transmit data at superfast speeds.

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“Customers expect the gold standard from Verizon and we work every day to do even better for them,” said Adam Koeppe, SVP of technology planning at Verizon. “We will continue to push the boundaries of our technology and drive innovation in our industry so our customers know they are always a step ahead of what’s next simply by being a Verizon customer.”

Verizon’s tests were aiming to increase speeds, as it forecasts mobile data traffic is expected to explore, growing more than fourfold by 2030 to over 5,400 exabytes.

Verizon engineers, with the help of Samsung and MediaTek, demonstrated 5G speeds of 5.5 gigabits per second in a lab environment.

The trio combined multiple channels of both FDD and TDD spectrum bands which provided greater efficiency for data sessions transmitting over wireless networks. The six separate channels helped achieve the multi-gigabit speed in the downlink.

“Achieving 5.5 Gbps peak download speeds in collaboration with Verizon and Samsung is a testament to our innovative spirit and technical expertise, and not only highlights the potential of our next-generation chipset but also sets the stage for new and exciting use cases in the 5G era,” said Dr HC Hwang, general manager of wireless communication systems and partnerships at MediaTek.

“We are thrilled to be part of this industry-leading achievement alongside Verizon and MediaTek, bringing increased performance and greater possibilities to consumer devices,” said Alok Shah, VP of strategy, business development and marketing, networks business at Samsung Electronics America.