Samsung Claims 5G Record Lower Than Six Years Ago

Samsung sets a new record for 5G equipment. However, that claim is incorrect because it is not purely about 5G. Also, the company achieved faster speeds more than six years ago.

The top speed of 5.23 Gbps was achieved in a lab by combining 40 MHz of 4G frequencies and 800 MHz of 5G frequencies in mmWave (millimetre wave) on one device using E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity, EN- DC. A Galaxy S20 + was used for this. By combining multiple spectrum channels, efficiency and speed are much higher.

But that speed claim deserves some serious nuances. For example, it is a lab test, and Samsung does not provide details about, for example, the distance between transmitter and receiver. We must also emphasize that such a lab test is not realistic for real network conditions, where there are obstacles and multiple users and a varying network load.

But a little research shows that it is not even a record for Samsung itself. As early as October 2014, the company announced a record speed of … 7.5 Gbps on 5G. More than two Gigabits faster than the current ‘record’ and that more than six years ago. The press release about that announcement can be found here.

Back then, it was not a test in a lab environment but a static test outdoors on a 28 GHz 5G network. We must indicate that this is a very high frequency that is especially interesting for very high speeds at very short distances without obstacles between transmitter and receiver (think, for example, a controlled environment such as a factory). The result that Samsung is now announcing may be more applicable to other circumstances, but it is not a record.