Imagine you’re watching a super-fast movie on your phone. It plays without any glitches, and you can download it in seconds. That’s exactly what 5G is like, but 5.5G is even faster and a test done during a demonstration on Day 1 of the Africa Tech Festival now makes what was thought impossible, possible.
MTN has just done something cool. They teamed up with Huawei to test what could arguably be the fastest mobile network, so far as we tap into 5.5G.
On the sidelines of the Africa Tech Festival, both MTN and Huawei completed the first 5.5G network trial in Africa. First, it was done at MTN’s head office in Johannesburg then brought to witnesses at the festival during the Mobile Broadband Forum 2024.
5.5G technology includes five key features:
- 10-gigabit experience
- all-scenario Internet of Things
- Integrated communication perception
- L4-level autonomous driving networks, and green ICT.
#Explosive news |
Did you know that an ultra high speed experience of 8.7 Gbps was achieved on Day 1 of #AfricaTechFestival by @Huawei and @MTNza #AfricaTechFestival2024#AfricaCom@africatechfest #AfricaIgnite #TheAIsummit #AI@Meta @Accenture @Huawei @HuaweiEnt @orange pic.twitter.com/lFceOUj1O9
— TheBoardmemberGlobal (@BoardmemberGlo) November 13, 2024
In the 5.5G era, technological innovations will enhance network performance, increasing capabilities by ten times compared to current 5G technology.
This means 10 Gbps headline connection speeds, 10 times the number of IoT connections, reducing latency by a factor of 10.
Networks also consume a tenth of the energy that they consume today on a per Terabyte basis, and through level 4 autonomous driving, making operations and maintenance (O&M) more efficient by a factor of 10. This new era will empower MTN to unlock new opportunities for businesses and consumers alike. This new era will empower MTN to unlock new opportunities for business and consumers alike, says Huawei.
For the 5.5G mobile network trial, MTN South Africa deployed Huawei’s commercial SingleRAN ultra-wideband active-antenna units and applied hybrid beamforming architecture in conjunction with flexible dynamic beam management and Inter-FR carrier aggregation (CA) innovative technologies.
MTN achieved an ultra-high-speed experience of 8.6 Gbps for a user. The 10-gigabit experience will expand new commercial services for consumers, households, and enterprises, accelerating the development of advanced use cases such as 24K Extended Reality (XR), High-Speed Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), holographic conferencing, enhanced 5G private networks, and more.
Why is this important?
5.5G is super fast simply because it’s almost ten times faster than the 5G we have now. This means you can download movies in seconds, play online games without any lag, and have super clear video calls.
5.5G can also connect lots of devices at the same time, like smart TVs, fridges, and even self-driving cars. It can also make our world more energy-efficient.
To achieve this amazing speed, MTN used special technology from Huawei. They used super-fast waves called millimeter waves and combined them with another type of wave called C-band. This helped them reach incredible speeds of 8.6 gigabits per second.
This is a big deal because it means we can do more with our phones and other devices. We can enjoy faster downloads, smoother streaming, and even new technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality.
So, the next time you use your phone, remember that 5.5G is coming soon, and it’s going to change the way we use technology.