Ericsson is getting in on the upload speed race, touting a new “record” using a combination of acronyms and working with chip partner MediaTek for a trial focused on fixed-wireless access (FWA) services.

The vendor’s combined Ericsson’s uplink single user multiple-input, multiple-output (SU-MIMO) and uplink carrier aggregation technology running across MediaTek’s T830 customer premises equipment (CPE) that included three transmit antennas (3Tx). It used a combination of 2.1 GHz frequency division duplex (FDD) and 3.5 GHz time division duplex (TDD) spectrum.

FDD is where different bands of frequency are used; one for uplink and the other for downlink. TDD is where one frequency band will be used for uplink and downlink, switching between the two from moment to moment.

All of that resulted in an upload speed of 565 Mb/s. However, the vendors downplayed the speed by linking its importance to FWA, “which would benefit greatly from combining uplink SU-MIMO with uplink carrier aggregation.”

“This combination is especially appealing for FWA service providers given that device output power constraints and the placement of additional radio frequency components is simplified for FWA devices with larger form factor in contrast to smartphones,” they explained. “While the focus on applications has traditionally been downlink-heavy, uplink performance has always been an important factor. The uplink can have a significant impact on time-to-content. A limited uplink can slacken time-to-content on many popular websites, which negatively affects the experience for FWA subscribers.”

Ericsson noted that the uplink focus requires an “integrated radio and antenna that sends and receives radio signals, the baseband processors, and the software algorithms that keep everything running with a high level of performance. This is why interoperability tests like this with ecosystem partners are key to ensuring the best possible user experience.”

Uplink speeds in wireless networks often trail that of downlink speeds. This is most often due to the power requirements needed to beam a spectrum-heavy connection between a device and base station. Most end-user devices obviously have a smaller form factor than a cell tower so they need more creative antenna technology to support the signal. The devices also often rely on an embedded battery, which can quickly heat up and drain while trying to power that connection.

This discrepancy was made clear in Opensignal’s recent 5G Experience Report, which showed 5G download speeds ranging between 80 Mb/s and more than 195 Mb/s, while upload speeds were between 12 Mb/s and 19 Mb/s.

However, analysts have noted that wireless uplink speeds are becoming increasingly important for both consumer and enterprise customers.

Consumer market demand is being driven by the growth in end user–generated video content that is often created or streamed from a mobile device and is uploaded from that device to social media platforms across a cellular connection.

“As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity,” Opensignal noted in its report.

Ericsson also remains bullish on the equipment-needy FWA market. The vendor’s latest Mobility Report predicts FWA connection will surge from 107 million last year to 300 million connections in 2028, and that 5G technology will account for nearly 80% of those forecast connections. It added that around 40% of current FWA service providers offer a 5G variant of that service.

Despite this test’s reported FWA focus, it was similar to one announced earlier this month by Samsung and MediaTek. That trial used Samsung’s C-band massive MIMO radios, virtualized distributed unit (vDU) and 5G SA core technology that were linked to a MediaTek-powered test device connected through separate uplink channels in the 1.9 GHz and 3.7 GHz bands, with an extra link using MIMO in the 3.7 GHz band.

That combination resulted in a peak uplink speed of 363 Mb/s, though the participants admitted that current smartphones and CPEs only support two transmit antennas. They added that the test shows the potential for performance improvement if those devices eventually gain three-antenna support.