Nokia has brought 64 QAM and carrier aggregation to Southeast Asia for the first time, helping Singapore’s Starhub to hit upload speeds of more than 150MBps.
The vendor used its carrier aggregation technology to bring together spectrum in the 1800MHz and 2.6GHz bands.Â
Starhub said it will now launch the technology in the Marina Bay and Orchard areas of Singapore before the end of the year. Customers with smartphones compatible with Category 13 technology will be able to take advantage of the greater upload and download speeds.
Mock Pak Lum, Chief Technology Officer, StarHub, said: “The ability to upload quickly is fast becoming a necessity for our mobile customers. In fact, we saw a close to 50 percent increase in upload traffic year-on-year, as customers increasingly share high definition videos and photos instantly with the world. Collaborating with technology partners such as Nokia, we are driving innovation in 4G for the benefit of our customers amid continued growth in mobile data use.”
Nicolas Bouverot, Head of Asia South at Nokia, said: “We are committed to supporting StarHub in its quest to deliver a world-class service experience to its customers. Our technologies will enable the operator to improve the upload and download speeds of its 4G network even at peak traffic times to enrich the user experience.”
Earlier this month, Vodafone Ireland held a successful trial of 64 QAM with Ericsson, hitting an upload peak of 136MBps, which it said was the fastest recorded to date in Europe.