As demand for cellular data performance continues to rise in the 5G era, uplink capability is increasingly critical for modern and upcoming smartphone user experiences. This is especially true in the creative economy for video streaming and content sharing, and where productivity and social interaction rely on activities such as video conferencing, file sharing, and online gaming. These use cases require both high performance and robust, low-latency uplink connections.
At MediaTek, we are constantly pushing the envelope, heavily investing in the research and development of upcoming connectivity tech. In the most recent example of this effort, we worked together with Vodafone on a successful trial utilizing a technique known as 3GPP-based Release 17 Uplink Transmit Switching (2T-2T UL Switching).
That technical term is a mouthful, but in short, we teamed up with Vodafone to achieve an uplink throughput of 277 Mbps, a 20% improvement over the Release 16 version (using the same setup and network configurations). This milestone was executed on the MediaTek M90 modem, announced earlier this year, and involved the employment of 2CC-CA (Carrier Aggregation), combining TDD and FDD connections in multiple uplink connections (UL MIMO). Similar to how downlink connections aggregate multiple bands to enhance performance, this uplink trial leveraged two sub-6 GHz bands (n1 and n78) simultaneously to deliver improved network efficiency and connectivity robustness.
There are several key benefits to deploying this new technology:
- Better network efficiency
- More robust connectivity
- Higher upload speeds
- Improved data transmission efficiency
This successful demonstration further highlights MediaTek’s market leadership, and its readiness for future infrastructure upgrades. To learn more about the trial, please check out Vodafone’s press release here: https://www.vodafone.com/news/technology/the-only-way-is-up-for-vodafone-and-media-tek-as-they-test-5-g-uplink-speeds-of-277-mbps
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