Optus and Ericsson have demonstrated peak downlink speeds of 3.4 Gbps on Optus’ live 5G standalone network in Sydney, achieved through four-component carrier aggregation across multiple spectrum bands.
The trial aggregated Optus’ downlink holdings at 900 MHz, 2.1 GHz, 2.3 GHz and 3.5 GHz to create a combined 220 MHz of bandwidth. The companies said this result was measured on Optus’ Sydney campus using commercial devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.
In uplink testing, Optus and Ericsson recorded speeds of roughly 200 Mbps via two-component carrier aggregation. That configuration paired an FDD band (either 900 MHz or 2.1 GHz) with a TDD band (either 2.3 GHz or 3.5 GHz).
How the spectrum was combined
The tests used Ericsson 5G standalone radio and core equipment and software. On the downlink, the setup combined FDD spectrum at 900 MHz and 2.1 GHz (3GPP bands n8 and n1) with TDD spectrum at 2.3 GHz and 3.5 GHz (bands n40 and n78).
Optus and Ericsson highlighted that the 2.3 GHz and 3.5 GHz pairing created 180 MHz of aggregated TDD mid-band spectrum — a first for those bands on a live network — while the overall downlink test used 220 MHz of bandwidth across the four bands.
Carrier aggregation combines separate spectrum blocks to increase the capacity available to a user and raise peak throughput. In these trials, Optus blended low-band, mid-band and upper-mid-band resources on the same live 5G standalone network to boost downlink performance.
The demonstration conforms with 3GPP Release 16 and Release 17 enhancements for 5G NR carrier aggregation, including support for mixing FDD and TDD within sub-6 GHz frequencies.
The companies emphasized that these speeds were achieved with commercial off-the-shelf devices rather than specialized laboratory equipment.
Commercial devices and rollout plans
Optus said mainstream devices on its network already support the carrier aggregation capability, citing Samsung Galaxy S24 and later models. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra was used during the Sydney campus trial to validate real-world performance.
The operator plans to roll out the carrier aggregation capability across metropolitan networks in Sydney and Melbourne over the next 12 to 18 months.
Because the trial ran on a 5G standalone architecture, it used a dedicated 5G core rather than relying on 4G core infrastructure.
This work builds on earlier carrier aggregation tests between Optus and Ericsson. In 2020 the partners demonstrated carrier aggregation between 2300 MHz and 3500 MHz on a 5G non-standalone setup.
Fixed wireless and high-traffic use cases
Optus said the expanded aggregation capability is aimed at improving capacity and performance in high-traffic locations such as transport hubs, central business districts and event venues.
The operator expects the added bandwidth to better support data-intensive services including high-resolution video streaming, augmented and virtual reality applications, and large file downloads.
Combined mid-band spectrum will also help fixed wireless access (FWA), which uses mobile network infrastructure to deliver home or business broadband. Optus said the 180 MHz mid-band aggregation in particular will strengthen FWA performance and overall user experience in high-demand areas when used alongside low-band coverage.
Optus CTO Sri Amirthalingam noted the tests were conducted over a live network and described the collaboration with Ericsson as focused on increasing capacity and performance as the operator evolves toward 5G Advanced capabilities.
Ludvig Landgren, head of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand, said the work demonstrated how multiple Optus spectrum assets can be combined using Ericsson technology to deliver higher throughput.
Carrier aggregation tests continue globally
Carrier aggregation trials are underway worldwide. For example, T-Mobile US has reported 6 Gbps downlink using six carriers and 550 Mbps uplink using transmit switching on sub-6 GHz spectrum. In Spain, Vodafone and MediaTek reached 277 Mbps uplink in carrier aggregation testing, while in Finland, Elisa with Ericsson and MediaTek combined 12 carriers to record 8 Gbps downlink.
In Australia, Telstra has deployed Ericsson’s automated carrier aggregation solution at more than 50 live 5G Advanced sites in North Sydney, further showing industry momentum behind multi-band aggregation techniques.
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