Nokia, Deutsche Telekom and Cosmote demonstrate 3.5GHz LTE carrier aggregation
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Nokia, Deutsche Telekom and Cosmote demonstrate 3.5GHz LTE carrier aggregation

Nokia Networks, Deutsche Telekom and its Greek subsidiary Cosmote have demonstrated an LTE-advanced 3 carrier aggregation combining LTE-FDD in band 3 (1.8GHz) and LTE-TDD in band 42 (3.5GHz).

The showcase is said to demonstrate the ability of 3.5GHz LTE-TDD technology to increase mobile broadband capacity and improve consumer experience. 

“Spectrum plays a fundamental role for mobile communications as we look to exploit opportunities to meet the growing demand for network capacity,” said Rachid El Hattachi, SVP of technology architecture & blueprints at Deutsche Telekom. 

“The demonstration of FDD-TDD 3 carrier aggregation together with our partners, sets a benchmark for a completely new combination of technologies including the increasingly recognised band 42 which will be expected to be a mainstream TDD band.”  

The rise of mobile data services, like video streaming, has increased demand for network capacity. With 400MHz of fresh TDD spectrum bandwidth available in many countries, 3.5GHz is said to provide a good solution for capacity expansion to meet future demand based on LTE and LTE-A pro technologies. Presently, 12 out of 62 commercially launched TD-LTE networks are utilising the 3.5GHz LTE-TDD spectrum.

Markus Borchert, SVP for Europe, said: “We are proud and pleased to partner with Deutsche Telekom and Cosmote to demonstrate the world’s first 3 carrier aggregation across LTE-FDD and TDD using band 42. With Nokia Networks’ expertise in LTE-advanced, we will help the operator take full advantage of its LTE spectrum to deliver the data experience its subscribers deserve.”

Nokia Networks claims to be the first to achieve TDD-FDD 2 carrier aggregation. It is also a TD-LTE supplier to 10 out of 17 TDD-FDD LTE networks. 

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