Carrier Aggregation in 5G | What is It & How Does it Enhance Network Capacity?
Telecom
Silpa Sasidharan November 14, 2023

Are you looking to improve the 5G experience for your customers? Then carrier aggregation is the best solution!

Speed and coverage are the two most important aspects to enhance the 5G experience.

So, how does carrier aggregation help improve the performance of 5G networks?

To start off, we must understand what exactly encompasses the concept of carrier aggregation.

Let’s discuss the significance of carrier aggregation and its role in enhancing the user experience in 5G networks.

Let’s begin with a brief introduction to 5G technology, and then we shall start explaining carrier aggregation. Here we go!

Getting into the Essence of 5G

All of you know that 5G is more capable than its predecessors, indeed. You won’t understand how beneficial 5G is!

It’s a game-changer in the big world of mobile technology.

Imagine break-neck speed, enhanced connections, and almost no waiting time- 5G is all about offering these features!

And it’s not just the hype. It allows enterprises to transform their operations and move them one step ahead.

It has already impacted several industries, making their functions much more sophisticated and safer. Farming, healthcare, logistics, and transportation are businesses that make the most out of 5G networks.

Significance of 5G in the Evolution of Communication Networks

The telecommunication industry needs scalable networks to adapt to the ever-evolving needs, particularly for connected devices.

As we know, traditional capacities failed to meet these needs, while most get addressed by introducing 5G networks.

5G is all about revolutionizing the way we connect and interact. Using 5G, we embrace exceptional speed, reduced response time, and great coverage and connectivity- It’s changing the digital communication landscape! Further, it facilitates real-time interactions and better customer experience!

Did you know Carrier aggregation

What is Carrier Aggregation?

What do you think is the foundation for a better 5G experience? Yes, it is nothing but carrier aggregation. On top of that, carrier aggregation is a tool used in mobile networks to improve data speeds.

In addition, it features the unique capability of aggregating several frequency bands for higher peak rates, increased coverage, and reduced waiting time.

Just imagine using several carriers at the same time to create a wider channel for sending data!

Pretty interesting, isn’t it? It is exactly what carrier aggregation does!

Carrier aggregation is the most wanted technology tool that expands the coverage of mid-range and high-range bands to enhance capacity.

Also, it is essential for a responsive mobile network.

Read more: From 1G to 5G: The Evolution of Mobile Communication Networks

What is the Need for Multiple Carriers?

When we make use of multiple carriers, it results in increased data transmission, reduced response time, and improved network performance. Top of all, it facilitates efficient and responsive mobile networks.

Do you know about the outstanding benefit of using carrier aggregation?

It allows networks to make the most of the unutilized and under-utilized spectrum.

The key benefit is that it improves capacity, especially in thickly populated areas.

Also, carrier aggregation improves coverage in those areas where signals are weak.

Imagine the chances of finding a strong signal when you use multiple carriers at the very same time!

Certainly, it can be a boon for people living in rural areas. There are always coverage issues in such places.

But with carrier aggregation to your rescue, there is little concern over coverage.

How Do Multiple Frequency Bands in Carrier Aggregation Enhance 5G Speed and Connectivity?

Have you ever wondered how data speed improves?

Carrier aggregation is one such magical tool that helps several bands work together at the same time to amplify your internet speed.

multi-band frequency carrier aggregation

Imagine these bands as several healthy foods on a platter, each carrying specific data.

Therefore, by integrating these healthy foods, 5G prepares a superfood that gives the extra capacity to ensure that your calls connect fast and there is no buffering while watching videos.

It’s like giving the superpower to address and accommodate the heavy traffic.

In addition, it makes the online experience fast and flawless.

Next time, when you get better fast connectivity, think about the magic of aggregating these multiple frequency bands.

Also, it makes you enjoy the best digital experience, regardless of where you are!

What are the Benefits of 5G Carrier Aggregation?

High-Speed Data: An enhanced 5G network attracts more users while facilitating several low-latency applications.

Improves mid-band coverage: Combining a low-band with a mid-band improves mid-band coverage to 7dB.

Extends coverage area: It also extends the coverage areas by 2.5x and increases the population supported by the mid-band to 25 percent.

Benefits of 5G carrier aggregation

Increases network capacity: The higher available capacity allows more traffic off-load to mid-band frequency, further helping to improve overall capacity up to 27 percent.

Improve high-band coverage: Combining low band with high-band improves high-band coverage to 10dB. Therefore, it extends the high-band coverage area to 3.7x. Further, it provides better data throughput.

Fair Resource Allocation: Carrier aggregation ensures optimized allocation of radio resources by assigning several carriers to users as per their unique needs. Finally, it maximizes network capacity and optimal utilization of the existing spectrum.

Reduces Latency: By combining multiple frequency bands, carrier aggregation helps minimize waiting time. Further, due to the improved data throughput, it improves the performance of gaming and video streaming applications. 

Read more: How Can Telecom Industries Enhance Transformation With Digital Twin Technology?

The Big Challenge in Carrier Aggregation

The need for wireless data and applications will continue to grow in the future.

Therefore, service providers have to work to find more spectrum to fulfill the rising demands. Further, they must fully use the existing spectrum.

Now, 5G interferes. It’s opening the possibilities for new applications alongside lightning-fast data speeds.

Further, it comes with new spectrum sources with mid and high-band frequencies. Quite impressive, isn’t it?

But there is a twist. It has limited coverage only, particularly in high-frequency zones, as signal quality issues exist.

Therefore, to enjoy the benefits of these bands, there should be some great solutions to address the coverage.

Therefore, a solution to improve coverage helps to make the most out of 5G networks.

What are the Solutions?

Fret not; indeed, there are solutions. We can improve the mid and high-band coverage issues by creating carrier aggregation using a lower-frequency band and increasing capacity and data speed with the help of a high-frequency band.

Sounds great, right? It gives better coverage, enhanced capacity, and data throughput!

The three types of radio frequencies in the fifth generation include- low, mid, and high bands. Each kind covers a different area.

The baseband units (send and receive signals) should be placed in various locations across the coverage area. These units communicate in real-time with the least delay.

As a result, you get a one-of-a-kind experience while using the fifth-generation network.

New Radio (NR) Carrier Aggregation

Fifth-generation operators can use New Radio (NR) carrier aggregation with coverage extension to provide a better customer experience regarding coverage and data speeds.

Above all, it helps the baseband units to work together easily. The fast communication between the units helps the network operators provide fast internet, low latency, with the best use of signals available.

Therefore, it works like a team effort to ensure you make the most of the fifth-generation network.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is carrier aggregation?

In the world of wireless communication, carrier aggregation is a tool needed to increase data rate where you aggregate multiple frequency bands to improve speed.

What is the purpose of carrier aggregation in the fifth-generation network?

Carrier aggregation enhances the network performance of applications that need high-speed data, for example, AR and VR services.

Do you think career aggregation is necessary?

Carrier aggregation is needed to increase bandwidth and peak data rates. It uses unutilized and under-utilized spectrum to enhance data speed.

ThinkPalm’s 5G Offerings

Are you looking for an ideal way to improve your 5G experience? ThinkPalm boasts broad experience in communications technology and product engineering services.

By evolving 5G Carrier aggregation features into reality, we focus on providing enhanced network capacity and maximizing spectral efficiency for a better 5G user experience.

Want to transform the way you operate? Now that you know performance improvement and spectral efficiency help service providers offer the best user experience.

Carrier aggregation for the fifth-generation network is key to improving coverage and increasing network capacity.

ThinkPalm employs state-of-the-art technologies and creates better possibilities by developing ingenious solutions for increasing the coverage of mid and high bands.

Top of all, the fifth-generation network helps  IoT services and M2M communication for faster decision-making.

Contact us today to redefine your business!

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Author Bio

Silpa Sasidharan is a content writer and social media copywriting expert working at ThinkPalm Technologies, who aspires to create marketing texts for topics spanning from technology, automation and digital business solutions.