Elisa has achieved record-breaking 5G uplink speeds of 2.1 Gbps in a live demonstration at the Nokia Arena in Tampere in Finland.
Nokia provided its AirScale base station in 26 GHz mmWave spectrum over Elisa’s 5G network. Elisa has connected the live network to a 5G device powered by a Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System featuring Qualcomm QTM545 mmWave antenna modules.

Nokia deployed its Carrier Aggregation technology including four component carriers of 100 MHz each.

The Nokia Arena is one of the first stadiums equipped with 5G mmWave.

The service will create opportunities for at-venue data services such as real-time multi-user 8K ultra-high-definition video streaming, and augmented reality content for smartphones or wearable devices for immersive experiences. Visitors to the Arena will also be able to watch live performances from 360º camera locations via VR headsets from their seats.

Broadcasters will benefit from enhanced video capture to support ultra-high quality live reporting and content delivered to mobile devices and televisions. 5G technology will support optimizing venue operations and critical functions such as security.

Ari Kynaslahti, Head of Technology and Strategy at Nokia Mobile Networks, said: “5G mmWave stands out as an optimal solution for venues like stadiums, where large capacity and ultra-high data speeds are needed over a short distance for thousands of mobile users at the same time.”

Sami Komulainen, Executive Vice President, Production at Elisa, said: “We earlier announced reaching 8 Gbps downlink speeds with Nokia, and Qualcomm and now we have pushed the possibilities of 5G technology further with this new trial reaching over 2 Gbps uplink speeds.”

“The throughputs achieved show the true potential for mmWave deployments,” Enrico Salvatori, Senior Vice President, Qualcomm Europe, Inc., and President, Qualcomm Europe/MEA, said.