Deutsche Telekom (DT), this week announced that it has successfully deployed Inter-Sector MIMO (IS-MIMO) on its live network grid to bring peak performance to the cell-edge area and improve the overall customer experience on its LTE-advanced(LTE-A) network. Deutsche Telekom was able to demonstrate that the IS-MIMO combination extends the area where LTE-A customers can reach the maximum throughput of 150 Mbps.
The Inter-Sector MIMO is a new technology concept jointly developed by DT and Samsung with the aim of solving the challenge of limited throughput at the cell edge. In explaining the benefits of the new technology, DT said that in conventional LTE networks, the maximum reachable LTE user experience (150Mbps) is only achievable close to the antenna where the signal is strongest. As the customer moves further away from the antenna the signal gradually weakens, until the customer eventually experiences an extremely limited throughput in the area between two intra-site sectors caused by inter-cell interference in LTE.
With IS-MIMO, all intra-site cells combine to create one cell and the data signal is transmitted to the user terminal from the best source. No terminal assistance is required, irrespective of whether the signal is transmitted from a single or two separated intra-site eNodeB antennas, said DT.
Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, Chief Technology Officer, Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom continues to drive the development of LTE. Our customers demand a seamless user experience wherever they are on our mobile networks. The demonstration of the feasibility of this technology is an important step on the way to realistic IS-MIMO commercialization.
Dong Soo Park, Executive Vice President and Head of R&D Team in Networks Business at Samsung Electronics
Building upon Samsung 's Smart LTE, IS-MIMO will be a disruptive technology to deliver uniform service quality regardless of user location. Since the network will be more and more complex to support billions of devices and extended throughput for immersive contents, IS-MIMO will be a key technology required for future networks.
