The LTE-U Forum, an industry collaboration unit formed in 2014 by Verizon with Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Qualcomm Technologies and Samsung, has released its first technical report evaluating the use of LTE in unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U), which the operator says is an important step towards demonstrating how LTE-U can co-exist with Wi-Fi and other technologies.
LTE-U, which is also known as License Assisted Access (LAA), extends the benefits of LTE and LTE Advanced, enabling mobile operators to offload data traffic onto unlicensed frequencies more efficiently and effectively. With LTE-U, operators can offer consumers a more robust and seamless mobile broadband experience with better coverage and faster download speeds.
The Forum’s technical specifications include minimum performance specifications for operating LTE-U base stations and consumer devices on unlicensed frequencies in the 5 GHz band, and co-existence specifications. These specifications support LTE operation in the 5 GHz UNII-1 and UNII-3 bands, in conjunction with LTE deployment in licensed bands.
Last month, Ericsson conducted a live demonstration of LTE-U use cases, covering peak rate usage and fair-sharing, in partnership with leading mobile operators including Verizon, SK Telecom and T-Mobile US. At the same time, Nokia Networks in February this year, announced that they are working closely with T-Mobile US to develop pre-standards LTE-U Solution.
With LTE-U, we believe we’ll be able to leverage every available technology to help deliver more connectivity for customers. Unlicensed spectrum is designed to promote innovation and choices for consumers. Today, unlicensed spectrum is shared by a wide variety of technologies and products, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cordless phones, baby monitors, and garage door openers. With the release of the Forum’s report, Verizon looks forward to working with the unlicensed community to ensure that consumers can choose the best connectivity available to meet their needs without negatively impacting other unlicensed users.
Neville Meijers, Vice President, Small Cells, Qualcomm Technologies
The LTE-U Forum has been instrumental in determining the specifications for LTE-U implementation. By combining the capabilities of LTE in the licensed spectrum with LTE-U and Wi-Fi, we believe the connectivity options to consumers and enterprises alike will be superior.
