Verizon achieved a data upload speed of 711Mb/s in laboratory trials conducted with Qualcomm and Samsung using mmWave and carrier aggregation.

The operator stated the trial employed Samsung’s 28GHz 5G Compact Macro base station, and virtualised RAN and core software. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X65 modem featured in a smartphone form-factor test device.

Verizon explained the carrier aggregation involved 400MHz of mmWave spectrum and 20MHz of 4G.

Adam Koeppe, SVP of technology planning, explained Verizon remains on track to deploy 14,000 mmWave small cells this year, adding to 17,000 from 2020. “We’ll keep building after that”.

Verizon noted faster upload rates would benefit workers sending files or collaborating with colleagues, while also offering potential gains for videos posted on social media.

It added private networks will also rely heavily on fast uploads, citing use cases in manufacturing involving AI and HD video.