Nokia, China Mobile (CMCC) and MediaTek performed the world’s first 3-component carrier aggregation technology test, reaching 5G Standalone (5G SA) speed with a record of 3Gbps.

Nearly all 5G deployments released to date have been based on Non-Standalone 5G (NSA 5G), which uses new radio technologies but is still based on the 4G core at its core. However, 5G SA, developed by 3 technology companies together, serves a principle by using a new virtual cloud-based core that allows data to be processed closer to the collection point and features such as network slicing. The resulting speeds provide enhanced reliability and ultra-low latency.

This capability will not only improve speeds and coverage, it will also allow operators to reduce network deployment costs by using their existing structures.