T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS) has managed to achieve on its network download speeds of approximately 1.175 Gbps in tests that were conducted last week in the wireless carrier’s lab. To reach these speeds T-Mobile used the 4.9G network gear of Nokia Oyj (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) which was powered by Nokia AirScale Base Station and a QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM)’ Snapdragon X20 LTE modem.

“With this key test, using T-Mobile’s network and Qualcomm Technologies’ modem, we have not only broken the gigabit speed barrier but have exceeded existing performance using Nokia 4.9G technology,” said Mobile Networks president at Nokia, Marc Rouanne.

Licensed spectrum

Configuration of the test was restricted to the licensed spectrum only where 40 megahertz of downlink spectrum from AWS was used as well as PCS downlink spectrum of 20 megahertz. The Qualcomm modem used in the test supported Downlink Category 18 to reach the record-breaking downlink speeds. Other technologies used include LTE data independent streams numbering 12, 256 QAM and 4×4 MIMO. There were also three carrier aggregations across 60 megahertz of downlink spectrum.

The download speeds do not, however, come as a surprise since vendors have been promising such speeds for some time now. T-Mobile’s point though was that the tests were a demonstration that the 4G technologies that are currently commercially available are capable of delivering unprecedented download speeds that exceed what consumers currently get.

Fastest wireless carrier

The high download speeds achieved in a T-Mobile lab come in the wake of a report by Ookla suggesting that the wireless carrier has the fastest speeds in the U.S. having clocked 23.17 in Speed Score on modern devices. According to the report some of the reasons for the high speeds include a cell site grid that is tightly spaced as well as a smaller number of subscribers compared to its rivals AT&T and Verizon.

The report also noted that T-Mobile has the ability to provide support for its customers as mobile data consumption on its network grows exponentially. Additionally T-Mobile has been refarming spectrum from legacy technologies that include WCDMA and GSM and committing these to LTE.

On Friday shares of T-Mobile US Inc fell by 0.95% to close the day at $62.74.