T-Mobile Netherlands announced the roll-out of a new antenna synchronisation system around the country, in preparation for the launch of gigabit speeds in the 2.6 GHz band with TD-LTE. The operator said this will be a first in Europe for the standard based on SyncE and IEEE 1588v2.
To raise 4G speeds, all the elements in the network need to work in perfect sync. T-Mobile has around 5,000 sites with 45,000 LTE antennas in the Netherlands. That's an average nine antennas per site, typically divided over three directions, with each an antenna for the 900 MHz, 1800/2100 MHz and 2600 MHz bands.
To ensure a stable connection and cell handover, the optimal synchronisation of antennas is needed. This is especially important for customers moving, either by foot or vehicle.
The new system is one of the steps towards 5G. T-Mobile's main reason for starting with the upgrade is the launch of TD-LTE in the 2.6 GHz band. Smartphones using this standard need to be able to quickly change between sending and receiving on the same frequency in order to ensure there is no interference.
T-Mobile activated last September an antenna from Huawei to test the spectrum, which otherwise is not in use. The Massive MIMO antenna on the Leidseplein in Amsterdam combines the signals of 64 small antennas in order form numerous parallel signals for the smartphones of many users.
In November, T-Mobile signed a multi-year contract with its main supplier Huawei for the further development of its network on the way to 5G. T-Mobile has 25 MHz of TDD spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band. Huawei has demonstrated in China how more than a gigabit can be delivered over a LTE network from the mast with 20 MHz.
Richard Marijs, Technology Strategist at T-Mobile Netherlands, said in a statement that there is another reason for the upgrade: the time signal can be used as an alternative to GPS. By triangulating the signals from multiple antennas, the exact location of an object can be determined. This opens up new possibilities for IoT devices, which would not need a GPS receiver, or only for back-up. T-Mobile said 112 emergency centres could also use this to locate callers.
T-Mobile reviewed its entire transport network for the implementation of 1588v2. For example, it needed to know the distance of fibre to each site, as each signal needs time to get from A to B. T-mobile now has over 100 precision clocks across the mobile network. These transport synchronisation signals both on the Ethernet and IP layers to all the antennas.