The first trial, conducted in Newbury, demonstrated mmWave’s ability to deliver ultra-fast home broadband with peak download speeds of up to 4 Gbps using Fixed Wireless Access (FWA).
The trial provided a fibre-like experience over the air, eliminating the need for extensive underground infrastructure.
Devices within 100 metres of the mast achieved peak speeds of 4Gbps, with even 500 Mbps recorded at the coverage zone’s edge of 700 metres. Latency was also significantly reduced, by up to five times compared to existing 5G capabilities.
Andrea Dona, chief network officer at Vodafone UK said: “While mmWave is a niche technology for mobile network operators in the UK, the uplift to customer experience will be incredible. This trial shows how we can target today’s challenges and improve customer experience.”
The second trial, at a football stadium in London, focused on reducing network congestion in busy venues.
With a capacity of 20,000, the site experienced frequent connectivity issues. However, using mmWave, the trial achieved peak download speeds of 2.8 Gbps, with 500 Mbps recorded in areas without direct line-of-sight to the mast.
This showcases mmWave’s ability to support large numbers of simultaneous connections, alleviating network strain in high-traffic areas such as stadiums and transport hubs.
Evangelia Tzifa, CTO at Ericsson UK, added: “These trials highlight mmWave’s potential to revolutionise connectivity, offering fibre-like speeds and supporting dense traffic environments.”
As data consumption continues to rise, Vodafone, Qualcomm, and Ericsson see mmWave as crucial for future use cases, including home broadband, industrial automation, and IoT.
With Ofcom preparing to award the spectrum, Vodafone aims to strategically deploy mmWave technology to improve customer experience and reduce network congestion across the UK.
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