Ericsson breaks 5G millimeter wave speed record with 4.3Gbps downloads

Given the recently rapid pace of major tech innovations, it’s easy to forget that only several years have passed since it became feasible to stream 4K videos over wired home broadband connections. Now Ericsson says its latest 5G hardware will be able to transfer a full hour of 4K video in as little as 14 seconds, with consumer availability coming later this year.

Though Ericsson opted to pull out of this year’s MWC trade show in Barcelona, the announcement of a new record 5G speed is in keeping with its tradition of annual breakthroughs timed to coincide with the annual event. Ericsson engineers in Kista, Stockholm hit a download speed of 4.3Gbps, flying faster than Huawei’s October 2019 rate of 3.67Gbps, and coming closer to the theoretical 7.5Gbps download peak of existing 5G chips.