LTE to be extended to unlicensed spectrum

As mobile data demand continues to grow for both licensed and unlicensed bands, the overlap and co-existence of WiFi and cellular data become more important for the industry. Seamlessly integrating licensed and unlicensed band operation brings the benefits of cellular to unlicensed spectrum and delivers data speeds at rates more than two times faster than LTE alone.

Alcatel-Lucent and Qualcomm Technologies will conduct LTE-U trials beginning in the second half of this year using Alcatel-Lucent’s small cell portfolio based on Qualcomm Technologies’ FSM99xx family of small cell chipsets. Commercial products are scheduled for shipment in the first half of 2016.

“With T-Mobile’s commitment to bringing LAA benefits to customers in the near future, we’re looking forward to seeing both Alcatel-Lucent’s and Qualcomm’s LTE-U demonstrations at Mobile World Congress that show co-existence with WiFi, which is critical for this technology to succeed,” said Neville Ray, CTO, T-Mobile. “The LAA ecosystem is coming together with innovative development from numerous partners to enable utilisation of the 5GHz unlicensed bands.”

“Alcatel-Lucent is committed to working with lead-adopter operators to prove that unlicensed spectrum can be used to significantly enhance the service provided over cellular networks without compromising Wi-Fi performance,” said Mike Schabel, Vice President of Small Cells, Alcatel-Lucent. “At Mobile World Congress, we are demonstrating our commercial commitment to blending WiFi and cellular networks, including LAA, with our recently launched Wireless Unified Networks strategy.”

“Trials and commitments from leading companies, such as Alcatel-Lucent and T-Mobile, are solid steps to prove industry readiness and adoption of LTE-U,” added Neville Meijers, Vice President of Business Development, Qualcomm.

For more information and to see live demonstrations, please visit the Qualcomm booth (3E10), or Alcatel-Lucent booth (3K10) at Mobile World Congress.