Taiwan Mobile partnered with Nokia to combine spectrum in the 700MHz and 3500MHz bands, with the vendor claiming the standalone (SA) 5G trial achieved the world’s first New Radio (NR) carrier aggregation.

In a statement, Nokia detailed use of its AirScale SA architecture in Taiwan Mobile’s commercial 5G network, aggregating the two bands to deliver enhanced connectivity and increased coverage.

Nokia is a long-time equipment supplier for Taiwan Mobile and its sole 5G vendor, covering RAN, core and IMS.

MediaTek provided the equipment to verify network performance in the trial.

Tom Koh, SVP and CTO of the operator’s Technology Group, explained the trial is “an important milestone as we execute our 5G strategy and deliver best-in-class” services.

“Combining SA with NR carrier aggregation, our 5G user experience is raised to the next level, while the utilisation of our spectrum assets and 5G networks are maximised”.

Mark Atkinson, SVP for Radio Access Networks PLM at Nokia, added spectrum aggregation was “an efficient way to enable enhanced coverage and capacity”, with the trial highlighting the potential for other operators “with similar spectrum allocation”.

Taiwan Mobile had 600,000 5G subscribers at end-March, 10.4 per cent of its post-paid total. It launched the service in June 2020.