Verizon hits record 5G download speeds with a little help from Samsung

Verizon engineers have managed to hit breathtaking 5G download speeds by using carrier aggregation and virtualized technology. The groundbreaking 5.5 Gbps download speed was achieved in a lab using Samsung and MediaTek equipment and, as Verizon puts it, means that one can download 266 Taylor Swift albums in one minute or stream more than 3,000 Hulu shows in one hour. 

The test aggregated 350 MHz of PCS, 850 MHz, AWS, CBRS and C-band spectrum in Verizon's 5G lab environment and ran data via Samsung virtualized RAN and the next-gen 6CC connectivity platform by, surprise, surprise, MediaTek, whose chipsets are increasingly powering popular flagship phones like the Oppo Find X8 series.

To achieve both high speeds and low latency, next-gen networks ought to run on some sort of virtualization technology so that carriers like Verizon can adapt to their customer's varying requests in real time. This is where Samsung's virtualized RAN and 5G Standalone core stepped it, demonstrating that the next wave of Samsung phones like those in the Galaxy S series will be able to take advantage of this rapidly evolving virtualization technology. As per the VP of Business Strategy of Samsung Electronics America:

Verizon, Samsung, and MediaTek used the efficiency of carrier aggregation by putting together six separate channels of sub-6 GHz midband spectrum in order to hit the record fast 5.5 Gbps throughput, boding well for the upcoming devices by Samsung and those with MediaTek chipsets on its network that provides the widest coverage in the US.