Huawei and China Telecom have developed a new technology designed to increase the uplink rate and reduce latency on 5G networks. The 5G Super Uplink Joint Technology Innovation uses time division duplex (TDD) and frequency division duplex (FDD) coordination, time and frequency domain aggregation, and high- and low-band spectrum to deliver lower latency and higher speeds on the uplink.

The firms say the technology adheres to 5G standards and network requirements. The technology, which was first introduced in April by China Telecom, is formulated around Standalone (SA) 5G networking architecture and leverages three key 5G standards: ultra reliable low latency connectivity (URLLC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and enhanced machine type communication (eMTC).

By using time-frequency domain aggregation of TDD and FDD in the uplink frequency band, test results showed a performance increase of 20% to 60% for uplink traffic on a 5G network. The uplink rate for users at the cell edge increased two to four times and air interface latency decreased by about 30%.

The network operator says high bandwidth and low latency will be critical to the development of new enterprise and consumer services riding on 5G networks. It has conducted extensive 5G trials in government, transportation, health care, tourism, public safety, vehicles, education, and manufacturing to explore opportunities with the new uplink technology.

“This solution aims to further improve the uplink data capability and reduce latency, providing better development space for vertical industry applications,” Liu Guiqing, executive vice president of China Telecom, wrote in a prepared statement.

The companies explained that applications in exploratory use cases such as autonomous driving, remote medicine, live high-definition video streaming, and drones will all require higher rates on the uplink and lower latency.

“Service requirements are driving the development of 5G technologies. 5G industry innovation represents uplink ultra-large bandwidth, ultra-low latency, end-to-end slicing, and mobile edge computing,” Ryan Ding, executive director and CEO of Huawei’s carrier business group, wrote in a prepared statement.

The uplink technology development comes just weeks after China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued long-awaited 5G licenses to the country’s three major network operators, including China Telecom. Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, ZTE, and Huawei are all vying for contracts to supply equipment and software for forthcoming deployments.

The operators might choose to lean heavily on Chinese vendors, Huawei in particular, amid a widening global campaign to ban Huawei’s equipment from future networks in the United States and other countries. The vendor is battling ongoing challenges, and earlier this month, Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said the financial toll of the U.S. export blacklisting and other actions taken against the company could result in a 20% decline in revenue. As such the Chinese vendor is now predicting revenues to come in around $30 billion less than previously forecast this year.