Vodafone Ireland is working with Ericsson and Qualcomm to address the increasing demand for uplink speeds in its mobile network using Uplink Carrier Aggregation (CA) and 64 QAM modulation. In a recent test, the Operator achieved uplink speeds of 136Mbps on its commercial network.
Increased social sharing and video uploads are driving the need for higher uplink performance among smartphone users across the network. At the same time, growing adoption of Enterprise cloud applications for unified communications, especially video-conferencing apps are driving uplink requirements for both remote and onsite workers.
The Ericsson Networks Software feature Uplink Carrier Aggregation has been implemented using LTE FDD 40 MHz (two 20 MHz carriers) together with 64 QAM in the Vodafone network in Dublin, Ireland. The result is a 200 percent improvement compared to current uplink performance, with the ability to deliver peak throughputs of up to 150 Mbps, claims Ericsson.
The demonstration also featured the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with X12 LTE.
Per Narvinger, Head of Radio Access Networks
By working with leading operators like Vodafone, Ericsson is able to quickly apply our software-based performance enhancements, like Uplink Carrier Aggregation, in commercial networks, to ensure fast time-to-market. Operators increasingly differentiate themselves by improving the app coverage experience for their customers, so gaining the first-mover advantage on new features is critical.
Enrico Salvatori, President, Qualcomm Europe
Now, consumers with a mobile device powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with X12 LTE can utilize uplink enhancing technologies to upload content from their mobile devices up to three times faster, while also delivering improved functionality for users in the network.
