Qualcomm, ZTE and Three Austria achieve new 5G SA milestone in Europe

Qualcomm Technologies, Three Austria and ZTE on Monday claim to have achieved Europe's first 5G standalone (SA) milestone on 700MHz (n28) with 1400MHz (n75) aggregation, which will help accelerate 5G expansion in suburban and rural areas with enhanced downlink speeds and coverage for customers.

The trio have demonstrated 5G SA operating in the 700MHz (n28) band along with the world's first supplemental downlink (SDL) band 1400MHz (n75) with 30MHz bandwidth.

The 5G SA capabilities, powered by Snapdragon X65 Modem-RF system and deployed by Three Austria and ZTE, will Allow for next-generation high 5G speed in both suburban and rural areas across Europe, Qualcomm said in a media release.

"We're proud to be a key contributor to this demonstration as it is a crucial step in the evolution of 5G. This milestone will take the ecosystem further down the 5G path, unlocking more of the exciting benefits of 5G to people and industries across Europe, and making 5G an even more compelling proposition to mobile network operators (MNOs) in rural areas," said Enrico Salvatori, senior vice president, Qualcomm Europe, Inc. and president, Qualcomm Europe/MEA.

Commenting on this milestone, Matthias Baldermann, chief technology officer, Three Austria, said, "The first implementation and successful testing of this band worldwide together with Qualcomm Technologies and ZTE is a major step towards commercialization of the full 5G potential and bringing high-quality broadband coverage also to remote rural areas."