Verizon stuffed a large chunk of its deep millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum holdings into a network test that supported 5G upload speeds in excess of 1 Gb/s.

The lab and field trial aggregated 20 megahertz of “LTE” spectrum and 400 megahertz of 28 GHz spectrum that resulted in upload speeds up to 1.26 Gb/s. Those speeds were registered using commercially available devices in a live network environment.

“This new achievement indicates how much additional performance we can unleash for our customers on the uplink as we aggregate different combinations of spectrum,” Adam Koeppe, SVP of technology planning at Verizon, noted in a statement.

Verizon has posted higher download speeds when aggregating big chunks of spectrum, but this is typically due to device power transmission constraints. Unlike a download speed that is transmitted from a base station that is tied to an unlimited power supply, upload speeds typically rely on a smaller end-user device that is often transmission limited due to its form factor or battery size.

The test also further highlights Verizon’s mmWave ambitions. The carrier is sitting on more than 1,700 megahertz of spectrum above 6 GHz, which is a vast majority of its total spectrum holdings.

Kyle Malady, EVP and president of global networks and technology at Verizon, recently stated the carrier has now deployed more than 40,000 nodes beaming out mmWave spectrum.

“Now that millimeter-wave technology turns into a tool for RF engineers to use in hot spots that they have,” Malady said.

However, the spectrum’s limited propagation characteristics have limited its commercial appeal. Verizon has stated that a majority of its data traffic is traversing its mmWave spectrum where it does have it deployed, something it’s looking to expand through recent deals.

The carrier earlier this month struck a deal with upstart radio access network (RAN) equipment vendor Verana Networks to test its Integrated Access and Backhaul platform that packages a mmWave antenna that can support both end-user facing connectivity like a traditional small-cell site and act as part of a wireless mesh backhaul service. This allows the product to reduce the need for individual wired backhaul connections to each mmWave antenna.

That deal also pulled the cover off of Verizon’s participation in Verana’s $43 million in funding it has secured since being formed in 2020.

Verizon has also touted the use of its mmWave spectrum holdings to power private 5G deployments. This could be appealing for enterprises that need additional security of licensed spectrum as opposed to quasi-licensed spectrum like the oft-discussed Citizen Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum.

Rival AT&T is less enamored with mmWave spectrum. Despite controlling more than 1,000 megahertz of high-band spectrum, the carrier has only used it modestly in deployments.

“What we found is propagation off of millimeter-wave towers is so short,” Chris Sambar, president for network at AT&T, recently explained. “That’s a very difficult value proposition to make work, so we are focused on serving it with our mid-band rollout spectrum.”

AT&T did use those assets as part of its initial 5G deployment, similar to Verizon, but also like Verizon those efforts have since been overshadowed by its better propagating C-band spectrum holdings.