Vi, Ericsson attain 5.92 Gbps download speeds in 5G trials

Vodafone Idea (Vi) in collaboration with Ericsson has achieved a download speed as fast as 5.92 Gbps (GigaBytes Per Second) during the ongoing 5G trials in Pune. 

The speed was achieved on a single test device during its 5G trials by combining the mid-band and high-band (mmWave) 5G trial spectrum using Ericsson Massive MIMO radios, Ericsson cloud native dual mode 5G core for standalone architecture and NR-DC (New Radio-Dual Connectivity) software, stated an official release. 

With 5G Standalone NR-DC software, Vi can deliver latency-sensitive and high-performing applications such as AR/ VR and 8K video streaming as well as innovative new use cases for consumers and enterprises once it deploys 5G on its commercial network, the statement said. 

Earlier during its 5G trials and use cases’ showcase in Pune, Vi had demonstrated speeds of over 4 Gbps. The new speed record of 5.92 Gbps has been achieved using the government allocated 5G spectrum for the trials.   

“The trial demonstrates how Vi is constantly testing and preparing its network for new 5G-based applications that will rely on the low latency, reliability and high speeds of 5G,” said Jagbir Singh, Chief Technology Officer, Vi. 

“Given the growing consumer demand for immersive media and video streaming services, the 5G speeds that we have demonstrated will help us prepare for the mobile broadband speeds and greater network capacity requirements of customers, as we ready for ‘5G for a Better Tomorrow’ in India,” Singh added. 

“Based on our global 5G deployment across 121 live networks, we are confident we can help our customers like Vi seamlessly evolve their network to 5G,” said Amarjeet Singh, Vice President and Head of Customer Unit Vi at Ericsson. 

5G will represent around 39% of mobile subscriptions in India at the end of 2027 according to Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2021 edition. 5G is on track to become the dominant mobile access technology by subscriptions globally by 2027. 

By this time, 5G is expected to account for around 50% of all mobile subscriptions worldwide — covering 75% of the world’s population and carrying 62% of the global smartphone traffic, the report said. 

Nokia on Thursday said that Vi will use its DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) solution in the access layer to upgrade Vi’s transport network to 5G.