T-Mobile US continues to take advantage of 5G technology standards to boost network speeds, with the latest move combining six spectrum channels that produced network speeds in excess of 3.6 Gb/s.

The carrier said it stitched together two channels of its 2.5 GHz spectrum, two channels of its 1.9 GHz “PCS” spectrum, and two channels of its 1.7/2.1 GHz “AWS” spectrum to form a single 245-megahertz 5G channel. The handywork was done on the carrier’s live 5G network and in collaboration with partners Ericsson and Qualcomm.

Spectrum channels are licensed contiguous megahertz of spectrum that operators dole out based on availability and need. Each channel typically requires a corresponding piece of supporting equipment (antenna and processing capabilities) on the transmitting end (at the cell tower) and receiving end (the receiving device) to work. 5G technology standards allow operators to combine these channels together to act as a single, larger channel that can support higher network speeds.

Most carriers own a small amount of low-band spectrum, which is considered spectrum lower than 1 GHz; a larger amount of mid-band spectrum, which is spectrum between 1 GHz and 6 GHz; and a significant amount of millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum, which is spectrum sitting above 6 GHz.

Low-band spectrum has the best propagation characteristics, which means it can travel further from a single transmission point using the same amount of power compared with higher spectrum bands. However, a larger amount of spectrum results in the capability to carry more data traffic at higher speeds.

The latest T-Mobile US move is significant as it pieces together mid-band spectrum, which has been key to T-Mobile US’ 5G coverage and capacity advantage. The carrier claims to cover more than 300 million people with its 5G network compared to around 200 million people covered by rivals Verizon and AT&T. That T-Mobile US coverage includes its deep mid-band spectrum holdings that provide higher network speeds.

A recent report from network performance monitoring firm Ookla showed T-Mobile US had the fastest median download and upload speeds among domestic wireless providers. T-Mobile US is also using that mid-band spectrum to power its rapidly growing 5G fixed-wireless access (FWA) service, which has garnered similar accolades.

Operators have been very active over the past year in testing carrier aggregation capabilities that can take advantage of their widening spectrum holdings.

T-Mobile US just last month completed a 5G network test using its mmWave spectrum that could allow the carrier to boost the speed and capacity of its FWA service. That test used the carrier’s 5G standalone (SA) network to aggregate eight channels of mmWave spectrum that produced peak download speeds in excess of 4.3 Gb/s. It also tied together four channels of mmWave spectrum on the uplink that produced speeds of more than 420 Mb/s.

T-Mobile US noted that the 5G mmWave testing is geared toward deployments in “crowded areas like stadiums and, potentially, for fixed-wireless service.”

“We’ve always said we’ll use millimeter wave where it makes sense and this test allows us to see how the spectrum can be put to use in different situations like crowded venues or to power things like fixed-wireless access when combined with 5G standalone,” Ulf Ewaldsson, president of technology at T-Mobile US, said in a statement.

Verizon conducted a similar test focused on upload speeds where it aggregated 20 megahertz of “LTE” spectrum and 400 megahertz of 28 GHz spectrum that resulted in upload speeds up to 1.26 Gb/s.

Network speeds are becoming increasingly important as operators look to support new broadband opportunities.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is looking to push minimum broadband network benchmark speeds to 1 Gb/s, which would require operators to meet those speeds in order to gain government funding toward bridging the digital divide.

Dan Hays, a partner at consulting firm PwC, told SDxCentral in an email that operators will face some financial pressure to support these speeds in broad commercial deployments.

“Mobile networks will be hard-pressed to embrace the proposed standards, given that they could require significant network upgrades and the acquisition and deployment of additional spectrum, which has already caused carriers’ balance sheets to swell under the pressure of increased debt loads,” Hays said.