Twenty (20) operators have commercially launched 300 Mbps Category 6 LTE-Advanced service in 15 countries: Australia, Austria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and the UK- according to the latest data from GSA.
3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) defines a Category 6 system within its Release 10 specifications as having a theoretical peak downlink (download) speed capability of 300 Mbps, and 50 Mbps on the uplink (upload speed).
Alan Hadden, President of GSA, said: “A further 22 Category 6 LTE-Advanced systems are also being deployed or in a trial phase. It means that 42 operators in total are investing in 300 Mbps LTE-Advanced deployments in 24 countries.”
GSA announced earlier this month that 107 operators, i.e. almost 30% of all LTE operators, have launched, or are deploying or are trialing LTE-Advanced technologies. Carrier aggregation is the first LTE-Advanced feature to be commercialised and facilitates higher data throughput rates, the most efficient use of spectrum assets for network operators, and an enhanced user experience of mobile broadband.
To date, 49 operators have commercially launched LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation in 31 countries, including M1 and Singtel in Singapore, with theoretical peak downlink speeds between 110 Mbps and 300 Mbps.
Nine Category 9 systems are in deployment, trial or test phase in Australia, Japan, Portugal, Qatar, Turkey, South Korea, Switzerland, UAE and the UK. 3GPP defines a Category 9 system as part of Release 11, and is capable of a theoretical peak downlink speed of 450 Mbps, and 50 Mbps for the uplink direction.
As of last year, 360 operators globally have commercially launched LTE networks and service in 124 countries.
GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) represents GSM/EDGE, WCDMA-HSPA and LTE suppliers, providing reports, facts, analysis and information explaining market developments and trends.
[Download PDF]– GSA Paper: LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation deployments: peak speeds
