Qualcomm and Germany's Deutsche Telekom announced they have completed what they are calling the world's first over-the-air trial of LTE license-assisted access (LAA).
During a trial conducted last year, the companies used LAA test equipment developed by Qualcomm Research to validate the technology.
Deutsche Telekom provided licensed LTE spectrum for the anchor carrier, augmented with unlicensed spectrum in the 5-GHz band.
The trial demonstrated LAA's extended coverage and increased network capacity in utlizining unlicensed spectrum compared to Wi-Fi, aswell as the fair co-existence between LAA and Wi-Fi in unlicensed 5-GHz bands.
The LAA test equipment used in the trial complies with current 3GPP Release 13 standards development and is designed to meet global unlicensed band regulations including channel occupancy limits and listen-before-talk features.
Qualcomm CTO Matt Grob commented that the trial “is an important milestone demonstrating how global LAA technology will soon provide enhanced consumer benefits to users.”
Development of technologies for providing LTE in unlicensed bands is picking up steam in APAC as operators seek ways to meet surging demand for data traffic.
Source: http://www.telecomasia.net/content/qualcomm-dt-trial-lte-laa
