Telstra plans to start deploying new 4G technology in high-traffic areas after demonstrating theoretical peak speeds of 2Gb/s at Ericsson’s lab in Sweden using a prototype device.

The largest mobile operator in Australia said the speeds were reached on an LTE network aggregating 100MHz of spectrum across various combinations of frequency bands and using 4×4 MIMO technology.

Mike Wright, Telstra’s group MD for networks, said “the results continue to be very positive” and the tests also showed a prototype Netgear Nighthawk mobile router in action.

Telstra will target areas including central business districts, stadiums and shopping centres with the upgraded 4G technology, which it plans to deploy later this year. With the Nighthawk router expected to be available in late 2018, it is gearing up to launch “the world’s fastest 4G device”, Wright said.

Supporting 5G
The executive noted enhancing the performance of 4G is also an important step forward in the development of 5G.

For most initial uses, he said 5G will not be a standalone technology, which means the quality of the underlying 4G service and how it integrates with 5G will go a long way to determining the overall mobile experience.

“As this testing shows, there is still plenty of life left in 4G as we continue to invest in faster speeds and greater capacity on 4G as part of delivering the best mobile experience for our customers,” he said.