Telecom Italia, Ericsson and Qualcomm claimed to have set a new world record for the highest speed recorded on a mmWave 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) network over a long distance, clocking 1Gb/s on a terminal located 6.5km from the antenna.

The test, performed in Rome, used the 26GHz mmWave frequency and recorded rates of 1Gb/s in the downlink and 700Mb/s uplink.

It used an antenna supplied by Ericsson kitted out with its extended range software, Telecom Italia’s existing network and FWA receiving equipment from Casa Systems, which uses a Qualcomm extended-range antenna and modem.

In a joint statement, the partners said the demonstration paved the way for Telecom Italia to offer “enhanced ultra-broadband connections” to areas not covered by its traditional fibre network.

The operator noted it would now test the technology in the Turin town of Front, before introduction of the system to industrial districts for business users to trial use of the FWA 5G over mmWave.