US challenger operator Dish Wireless lauded the results of a trial it claimed as the world’s first successful demo of simultaneous 5G 2x uplink and 4x downlink carrier aggregation on FDD spectrum, a feat it expects to translate into a speed increase for customers.

The operator, which is owned by TV and media player Dish Network, highlighted the test had yielded 200Mb/s peak uplink speeds using 35Mhz of 5G spectrum, and 1.3Gb/s downlink on 75Mhz.

Dish’s test used its open RAN cloud-native network and was conducted with partners Samsung and Qualcomm. The device used was a mobile phone form factor-like test unit.  

The company claimed with the results of the trial it was poised to deliver improved customer experience on its standalone 5G network, noting increasing demand for “uplink-heavy applications,” citing social media posts and video conferencing as examples.

Dish is currently in the process of building out its open RAN-based 5G network, which covers 73 per cent of the US population according to the company’s statement today (16 October).

Earlier this month US regulator the Federal Communications Commission set Dish a target to prove downlink speeds being delivered to users in its 5G coverage area using drive testing.