Sprint is moving ahead device testing of three-carrier aggregation on its network, most recently with LG’s new modular G5 handset.
The carrier on Thursday said tests of the G5 yielded speeds of 275 mbps in the lab.
The device is one of six three-channel carrier aggregation capable phones currently offered by Sprint. Others include the HTC 9, HTC 10, Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge and Note 7.
Sprint has previously conducted device testing with the Galaxy S7 and HTC 10. Those trials yielded speeds of 300 mbps on the S7 and 295 mbps on the HTC 10, Sprint said.
The tests come as Sprint works toward deployment of three-channel carrier aggregation on its network to boost speeds and user experience.
Sprint CTO John Saw said during the carrier’s second quarter earnings call Sprint has already launched two-carrier aggregation using 40 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum in 237 U.S. markets. He said the operator is “progressing very quickly” to three-carrier aggregation, which will use 60 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum.
Sprint has said its two-channel carrier aggregation offers customers speeds around 100 mbps, and noted three-channel carrier aggregation will generally boost that figure to more than 200 mbps on compatible devices.
Sprint COO of Technology Guenther Ottendorfer said Thursday the move to three-channel carrier aggregation would help the carrier further “futureproof” its network. Ottendorfer cited Sprint’s holdings of 160 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum in the top 100 U.S. markets as a key facilitator for its plans.
“In combination with our Densification and Optimization strategy, we futureproof our network for our customers,” Ottendorfer said. “This capacity enables us to reach very high speeds, as well as provide innovative unlimited data plans to our customers while keeping pace with the growing demand for data.”
Filed Under: Devices
