Millimeter Wave Spectrum Boosts 5G Capacity, Speeds

 By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor Millimeter Wave 5G users were able to consume 4.5 times more data compared with 4G, and 2.4 times more than other types of 5G using sub-6 GHz spectrum bands, according to an analysis of data traffic during the month of July issued Wednesday by Opensignal. Meanwhile, labs continue to achieve higher and higher 5G data speeds using mmWave spectrum.

“These significant increases prove the ability of mmWave 5G to boost mobile capacity and help to minimize mobile network congestion,” Francesco Rizzato, Opensignal Senior Technical Analyst, wrote.

In July 2021, the lion’s share (90.7 percent) of mobile data was consumed on 4G networks, compared with only 9.3 percent consumed on 5G networks. T-Mobile dominated the mmWave use of 5G (58.6 percent), followed by AT&T at 41.3 percent and Verizon at 18.7 percent. Continue Reading