Australian market leader Telstra claimed a world first after completing a 2Gb/s data call on its 4G network, in a trial involving Ericsson and Qualcomm.

In a statement, the operator said the call is the first of its kind to be conducted outside of laboratory conditions. The test in the town of Toowoomba (Queensland) builds on previous work by the trio including a demonstration during Mobile World Congress in February and a related trial in June at an Ericsson lab in Sweden.

Telstra claimed the test is an important step towards 5G, explaining the technology will rely on a strong underlying 4G network. The operator is currently engaged in various trials at its 5G Innovation Centre in Gold Coast.

The 2Gb/s 4G trial used Qualcomm’s mobile test platform, which runs the Snapdragon X24 LTE modem, along with Ericsson base stations, core network and related software. Telstra stated the trial used five-carrier aggregation (5CA) across three different frequency bands, with each carrier employing 4×4 MIMO and 256QAM technologies.

4G development
Following the trial in June, Telstra explained it planned to deploy the new technology in areas with high traffic including business districts, stadiums and shopping centres. At the time it outlined a goal to deploy the technology by year-end.

However, it appears access to the upgraded 4G network will initially be restricted to a mobile router rather than phones. The operator said a prototype Netgear router used during the lab test is expected to launch commercially in the coming months, noting it expects the device to offer faster data rates than some early 5G devices.