Cat 9 is one of the latest advancement in 4G network technology. With Cat 9, users will get the fastest mobile internet speeds ever. This brief post covers what exactly Cat p is, how does it work, and which smartphones are compatible with it?
What is Cat 9?
Cat 9, used as a short form for ‘Category 9’, is basically a new standard of 4G network’s advanced connectivity that offers significantly improved upload and download speeds. Cat 9 is the latest in a string of network technology that comes as an upgrade to Cat 6 and earlier Cat 4.
How fast is Cat 9?
Cat 9 phones are able to provide upload speeds of up to 55Mbps and download speeds of up to 450Mbps. In the real-world use case, it is known to achieve speeds of 360Mbps, which equals the best connection speeds available around the world.
Talking of that internet speed in context, several US broadband service currently offers download speeds of up to 200Mbps, meaning Cat 9 4G has the potential to almost double that speed.
In real-world usage, Cat 9 connection speeds are more or less fast enough to download an HD movie in just a couple of seconds.
Which smartphones are compatible with Cat 9?
To enjoy faster mobile internet speed, you will need to have a smartphone that precisely supports Cat 9 network connectivity.
Several high-end mobile phones support the Cat 9 standard, including the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus; the HTC 10; the Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge and Galaxy Note 7; and the Sony Xperia X Performance.
Samsung was one of the early adopters of Cat 9 compatibility and, therefore, all leading Samsung devices support the standard, including Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, and Galaxy Note 5.
How does Cat 9 work?
Cat 9 runs on the same 4G+ or LTE-A network as Cat 6. However, it offers significantly improved speeds by linking 3 lots of the spectrum as compared to Cat 6’s 2.
Telecom operators generally tend to combine 20MHz of 1800MHz spectrum with 35MHz of 2600MHz spectrum for creating a 55MHz spectrum to power their 4G services.