T-Mobile US hailed further progress in its mid-band 5G service after completing a carrier aggregation (CA) trial covering three channels on its live network using a commercial Samsung smartphone.

The US operator stated the trial delivered data rates in excess of 3Gb/s using a Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone. T-Mobile combined two 2.5GHz channels with one 1900MHz, a union it claims provided an effective 210MHz 5G channel.

T-Mobile already employs CA capabilities in its network, with some areas able to access a tie-up of the two 2.5GHz bands. It plans to add the 1900MHz channel to the 5G mix later this year, albeit only for Samsung owners initially before being expanded across its “network and to additional devices”.

President of technology Neville Ray branded the CA trial as “another huge step forward” for T-Mobile’s standalone (SA) 5G plans.

The operator launched Voice over New Radio in some cities earlier this month.

In a separate announcement, T-Mobile revealed it teamed with network technology provider Oceus to supply 5G products and services to some US government departments.

T-Mobile cited AR and VR, maintenance and logistics, training and “active operations” as initial focus areas for the US military, tapping its 5G network and Oceus’ “experience with massive MIMO” and software-defined network orchestration, among other fields.