Ericsson, SingTel and Qualcomm achieve FDD / TDD Carrier Aggregation for the first time

The latest generation of mobile technology will optimize network performance and accelerate the take-off of services associated with high bandwidth such as mobile access to audiovisual content.

Las líneas móviles superarán a la población mundial en 2015, con un significativo aumento en el tráfico de datos móviles, según el Ericsson Mobility Report publicado en junio de 2014. Los principales operadores móviles buscan caminos innovadores para aumentar el rendimiento de sus redes y hacer frente a este crecimiento, ofreciendo al mismo tiempo una experiencia de usuario igualmente buena.

Para hacer frente a los retos de los operadores, Ericsson, SingTel y Qualcomm Technologies, filial 100% propiedad de Qualcomm, han logrado un hito en la industria con la demostración en directo de Carrier Aggregation FDD / TDD utilizando hardware y software comercial. La prueba alcanzó velocidades de descarga de 260 Mbps.

Tay Yeow Lian, General Manager of Networks at SingTel, acknowledges that "we are already using dual layers of LTE FDD with Carrier Aggregation LTE-Advanced, and we know that the performance of our mobile network is vital to ensure that our customers have a great experience on their smartphones and tablets. Therefore, we will continue to explore the future option of even introducing TDD spectrum on Carrier Aggregation LTE to increase network capacity, allowing our users to enjoy high data download speeds even in “We are very pleased that Ericsson is making significant efforts to deliver innovations that position us at the forefront of these types of technological developments, Ericsson is moving Carrier Aggregation FDD/TDD from a mere tentative to a commercial solution that we can plan to further differentiate our competitive advantage in the future when additional TDD spectrum becomes available.”

The demonstration took place at SingTel's Singapore office on October 3, using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, a product of Qualcomm Technologies, and Ericsson's high-performance LTE software, designed to support the multi-standard RBS6000 family of base stations for macro and small cell networks. In the demonstration, Ericsson added 20 MHz of LTE FDD spectrum with 20 MHz, supporting data peaks of up to 260 Mbps.

Serge Willenegger, vicepresidente de Gestión de Producto de Qualcomm, ha asegurado que “estamos encantados de trabajar con Ericsson y SingTel para ofrecer las últimas soluciones multimodales LTE Advanced a la industria móvil. El procesador Snapdragon 810 se apoya en nuestro liderazgo en tecnología LTE Advanced al soportar Carrier Aggregation a través de LTE TDD y LTE FDD”.

Carrier Aggregation FDD/TDD allows operators to complement their FDD networks with efficient TDD deployment. For operators using TDD bands, TDD uplink coverage can be a barrier. By combining TDD and FDD spectrum using Carrier Aggregation, low-band FDD can offer good upstream coverage, while the TDD band can be leveraged to improve downstream capacity. LTE FDD / TDD Carrier Aggregation allows combining spectrum from both LTE FDD and LTE TDD to deliver higher data speeds and improve app coverage across the network. It also expands the TDD coverage area by 70% by reducing the cost of offering TDD coverage. And it guarantees efficient spectrum utilization, increasing both the FDD/TDD coverage area and network capacity.

Per Narvinger, director del área de producto LTE de Ericsson, aseguró que “nos complace tener una oportunidad para exponer nuestras capacidades en FDD / TDD Carrier Aggregation a SingTel junto con Qualcomm Technologies. Hemos demostrado que la combinación de FDD de banda baja a media con TDD de banda alta puede ofrecer mayores ventajas en cuanto a rendimiento de red. Esto complementa la labor de interoperabilidad FDD/TDD que ya hemos comercializado en países donde se ofrece espectro TDD”.

Ericsson also conducted earlier tests of its innovative Carrier Aggregation approach over the summer, laying the foundation for its latest achievement. Ericsson is working with mobile ecosystem partners to support the full commercialization of LTE FDD/TDD Carrier Aggregation capability. Commercial devices supporting FDD/TDD Carrier Aggregation are expected in 2015.