Keysight Technologies has announced that it has demonstrated data uplink (UL) throughput speeds of 3.5 Gbps using 5G new radio dual connectivity (NR-DC) with mmWave carrier aggregation (CA), in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies.

The milestone was achieved by combining Keysight’s 5G Protocol R&D Toolset and 2D multi-probe anechoic (MPAC) over-the-air (OTA) test chamber with a Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System. Use cases such as streaming live video content, gaming and data backup to a cloud environment depend on wireless connections that support quick and reliable uploading of high volumes of data.

“Keysight is pleased to collaborate with Qualcomm Technologies to achieve this industry first milestone,” said Mosaab Abughalib, General Manager of Device Development Solutions at Keysight. “The need for high uplink data throughput rates is on the rise, a trend driven by a multitude of 5G consumer applications, wireless broadband access for businesses and a growing number of private 5G deployments that support industrial internet of things use cases.”

Keysight’s 5G Protocol R&D Toolset, part of the company’s 5G network emulation solution portfolio, leverages Keysight’s UXM 5G Wireless Test Platform, an integrated and compact signaling test platform with multiformat stack support, rich processing power and abundant RF resources, to emulate a 5G new radio (NR) network. The demonstration, which took place in Qualcomm Technologies’ San Diego lab, used 5G NR-DC technology in 5G NR standalone (SA) mode. The milestone was achieved using one component carrier (CC) in frequency range one (FR1) and four CCs in FR2 (also referred to mmWave spectrum).

“Together with Keysight, Qualcomm Technologies has realized several key industry milestones that will propel the wireless industry to the next phase of 5G NR deployments,” said Krishna Mandadapu, Senior Director, Engineering at Qualcomm Technologies. “The 3.5 Gbps in UL milestone is vital to many applications, such as uplink broadband connectivity for effective cloud storage of data and high-definition live streaming.”

Qualcomm Technologies uses Keysight’s 5G network emulation solutions to verify 5G NR 3GPP Rel-16 protocol, RF and radio resource management (RRM) test requirements using SA mode. This enables the modem vendor to capitalize on early commercial introductions of advanced 5G NR features, consequently accelerating the adoption of smart factory, industrial automation, smart city and autonomous vehicle applications.