Nokia has been at the forefront of Carrier Aggregation technology for a considerable amount of time, supporting our mobile operator customers as they adopt 5G and helping them maximize their radio network performance. Carrier Aggregation is the key to enhancing throughput and extending the coverage of 5G Standalone (SA) cells, which ensures compelling 5G experiences for mobile subscribers.

Pushing boundaries with Samsung Electronics

In a recent test at our lab in Wroclaw, Poland, with Samsung Electronics' System LSI Business, we pushed the boundaries yet again by achieving an incredible downlink throughput of over 6Gbps! This new record was reached by using six component carriers with 5G Carrier Aggregation (6CC CA) and a real UE device. This trial truly showcases the potential of large-bandwidth aggregation.

We conducted the test with a Samsung Exynos reference platform equipped with its Exynos Modem 5400 and the latest Nokia AirScale RAN products. The component carriers we used provided a total of 380MHz:

• Two component carriers on TDD n77 band, each with a bandwidth of 100MHz

• One component carrier on TDD n41 band with a bandwidth of 100MHz

• Two component carriers on FDD n66 band with a bandwidth of 40MHz + 20MHz

• One component carrier on FDD n25 band with a bandwidth of 20MHz

Carrier Aggregation’s role in 5G Standalone

Carrier Aggregation is the foundation for the 5G Standalone experience. It enables mobile operators to combine multiple carriers within or across the available frequency bands to maximize the use of their spectrum assets. This improves the performance of 5G by enabling higher throughput for faster data transfers, and by extending the coverage area that can offer those higher data rates, resulting in an enhanced 5G experience for subscribers.

Nokia’s AirScale RAN portfolio and the industry-leading Carrier Aggregation software offer operators the opportunity to tap into this bandwidth potential. Our decades-long collaboration with leading device and chip suppliers ensures that when new consumer and enterprise devices that support larger aggregation bandwidths become available, our hardware and software are ready to support those devices right from the start.

Proactive steps for future-ready networks

As Carrier Aggregation helps boost 5G SA data rates, it will attract more 4G users to transition to 5G, which will give operators an opportunity to re-farm spectrum resources from 4G to 5G. This will pave the path towards 6CC CA in commercial networks.

In addition, regulators in different countries are in a key position to ensure the availability of spectrum for accelerating the deployment of 5G, and ultimately, 5G-Advanced and 6G. As we advance to future generations of networks, we anticipate even greater improvements in wireless communication capabilities while Nokia continues to lead the evolution of radio network technologies.

Interested in learning more? Reach out to our subject matter experts or visit our Carrier Aggregation webpage for further information.