DNA has begun trialling 1GBps speeds on its network through tri-carrier aggregation, ahead of a wider rollout of the technology.
The Finnish operator held the test in Karuby, Siuntio, dubbed “the fastest 4G village in Finland”, in conjunction with Ericsson.
It combined carriers in the 1800MHz, 2.1GHz and 2.6GHz bands, using 4×4 MIMO and 256QAM modulation.
DNA said the technology will be launched commercially across the country once smartphones supporting the speeds reach a critical mass.
Jarkko Laari, Director, Radio Networks, DNA, said: “A year ago, in Karuby, we announced a theoretical network speed of 600Mbps. Terminal devices supporting it are just starting to enter the market. Now, the network speed of Finland’s fastest 4G village has risen to 1Gbps, and we expect devices capable of reaching that speed to become more common later this year.
“The piloted maximum speed, however, is just the tip of the iceberg of our capacity extension. This year, the 4G network will be updated in different parts of Finland using the LTE CA technology, utilising, e.g., the 2100MHz frequency band.”
Olli Sirkka, Head of Ericsson Finland, added: “In our scarcely populated country, mobile broadband is vital for introducing the benefits of digitalisation to all Finns. That’s why it’s great that DNA is investing in the capacity and performance of its 4G network, which already covers 99 percent of Finns. The speed tests we have conducted now speak of the evolution of the 4G network toward 5G and of Giga-level mobile connections for homes.”
Last month Swisscom said it would be rolling out 1GBps speeds across Switzerland during 2017, with Monaco Telecom also upgrading its network to offer the service commercially in the previous month.