Airtel, in collaboration with MediaTek and Nokia, has announced that it has successfully conducted trials that efficiently combine TDD and FDD mid-band spectrum on a time-based basis.
By aggregating frequency bands of 3.5 GHz (n78) and 2.1 GHz (n1), Airtel was able to achieve impressive uplink speeds of 300 Mbps in the trial, conducted at Airtel’s tech lab.
Airtel used equipment from Nokia’s next-generation 5G AirScale radio portfolio, while MediaTek provided its Dimensity 5G mobile platform as the user equipment.
This breakthrough technology involves dynamically switching the uplink transmission across two carriers in TDD and FDD spectrum, leading to faster connectivity, enhanced user experience, and improved network efficiency.
Airtel said that it used equipment from Nokia’s next-generation 5G AirScale radio portfolio, while MediaTek provided its Dimensity 5G mobile platform as the user equipment.
This innovation is particularly beneficial for high-demand use cases such as video conferencing, live-streaming, and large file uploads, said the company.
Regarding the new achievement, Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer, Bharti Airtel said:
At Airtel, continuous innovation remains the bedrock of all our product and service offerings. This trial not only stands testament to our philosophy of enhancing our state-of-the-art network infrastructure and delivering an unmatched 5G user experience, but will also greatly enhance our network’s uplink performance, resulting in faster data speeds and improved connectivity.
Dr. Ho-Chi Hwang, General Manager of Wireless Communication Systems and Partnerships at MediaTek, said:
We are thrilled to collaborate with Bharti Airtel and Nokia on this groundbreaking trial in India where our Dimensity 5G mobile platform played a crucial role in achieving the highest uplink speeds on Airtel’s 5G network. This partnership underscores our commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology that enhances the connectivity experience for users
Tarun Chhabra, Country Manager and Head of Mobile Networks Business at Nokia, India, said:
We are proud to partner with our long-term partner Airtel on this ground-breaking project. Uplink Tx switching will pave the way for superior 5G networks, enabling seamless data transfer in mobile devices and driving demand for data-intensive applications like XR. We congratulate Bharti Airtel for achieving this milestone and pushing the boundaries of connectivity to new realms.