14 DAY TRIAL // Sprint and Samsung partnered for a live demonstration of three-channel carrier aggregation at Soldier Field in Chicago. The demo reached peak download speeds of 230Mbps running on Samsung's latest network infrastructure technology. Samsung Galaxy Note 7, Galaxy S7, and Galaxy S7 edge were used during the experiment.
During the test, Sprint deployed three-channel carrier aggregation on more than 500 cell sites in Chicago. Sprint's 2.5GHz spectrum was utilized for delivering peak download speeds higher than 230Mbps, and live streaming of 4k video through Sprint's LTE Plus Network was also showcased. In addition to this, Sprint provided participants with a high-speed virtual reality system that they could check out.
Carrier aggregation is an LTE-Advanced feature that brings together bands of spectrum in order to create wider channels. This would lead to a greater capacity and faster speeds, but only on capable devices. The feature creates a wider lane for more data traffic to travel at higher rates.
Sprint currently delivers peak speeds of 100Mbps, but they're expected to raise to 200Mbps
Samsung utilized its three-channel carrier aggregation technology that was delivered via software update on Sprint's current LTE Plus network. The main advantage of this feature is that users can reduce download time of videos and various other media content by approximately one third, compared to using two-channel carrier aggregation. However, they would also need to be using devices that are capable of supporting such speeds.
Samsung's SVP and General Manager Mark Louison stated, “We continue to invest in LTE Advanced technologies, and drive commercialization of new three-channel aggregation features with carriers such as Sprint through both our Network infrastructure and device products. This will ensure customers will receive the best possible wireless service experience.”
Sprint's network currently uses two-channel aggregation and manages to deliver peak speeds of 100Mbps using 40MHz of 2.5GHz spectrum on the company's LTE Plus cell sites.
Sprint currently offers six devices that support such channel aggregation, and many more are expected to come. The feature will be enabled with an automatic software update after the network is deployed.