When 5G connectivity was first introduced with the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G in February 2019, it was obvious that the technology was still very underdeveloped and not ready for wide use. However, someone had to make the first step, and that someone was Samsung, a company that is not afraid of being the first to introduce new concepts and innovations.Throughout the last three years, 5G has been pushed further and further both as a type of technology and service. Companies have been trying to convince users that this is the future of mobile connectivity by frequently mentioning it during keynotes and presentations and, of course, advertising.
A new 5G speed record set
Well, Samsung and Qualcomm have just managed to achieve yet another record in 5G download speeds, now reaching 8.08Gbps. Given the fact that the last highest achieved speeds were 5.23Gbps—again by Samsung—in March 2021, this can be considered a significant jump in results. (via AndroidHeadlines)The tremendous merit was achieved with the Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System, which was a testing device that Qualcomm provided for Samsung to experiment with. The tests were carried out at Plano lab in Texas, thanks to its fully virtualized RAN and Core, mmWave 5G Compact Macro, and Massive MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) radio.
If we go through the history of these records, it quickly becomes clear that this download speed record-breaking is far from over. In 2018 the best-achieved results amounted to just 1.7Gbps, in 2019 2.65Gps, and in 2020 it was 4.3Gps.
Samsung and Qualcomm were able to get to 8.08Gbps by using New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-DC) technology to combine mmWave and mid-band 5G spectrums. Consequently, that resulted in 800MHz of mmWave frequencies and 100MHz of mid-band ones.
All of that being said, as far as 5G has come, the fact is that many still can’t make use of it. Providers are racing to increase their coverage worldwide, but that will probably take at least a few more years before becoming a reality. The good news is that during that time, companies like Samsung and Qualcomm will continue to develop 5G technology, perfecting it even more.
