3 HK to Launch 5CC CA 4.5G Service This Month

3 Hong Kong has announced it has completed the refarming of spectrum in the 2100-MHz band for its 4.5G services, becoming the first local operator to provide five-band carrier aggregation.

In partnership with Huawei Technologies, the operator has prepared an upgrade to coincide with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, the first handsets to support 5CC CA.

3 HK plans to activate 5CC this month, providing a 4.5G service that operates across the 900-MHz, 1800-MHz, 2100-MHz, 2300-MHz and 2600-MHz bands.

The collaboration with Huawei follows the deployment of technologies including 4x4 multiple-input multiple-output (4x4 MIMO), Massive MIMO and 256 quadrature amplitude modulation (256QAM).

The upgrade will also help the operator pave the way towards a 5G deployment, according to Cliff Woo Chiu-man, executive director and CEO of 3 Hong Kong's parent company Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings (HTHKH).

“We are working on a 5G development framework, while conducting research and trials in respect of various technology solutions,” he said.

“We aim to provide 5G service promptly, as soon as spectrum allocation and technology specification become available.”