Airtel And Ericsson Join Hands To Conduct India’s First LAA Trial In A Live Network

Bharti Airtel and Ericsson have announced that they have successfully conducted India’s first LAA trial of Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) technology over a LIVE LTE network. If you are unaware, LAA trial is a primary technology as operators evolve their networks to achieve Gigabit LTE. It opens up previously untapped resources of unlicensed spectrum delivering speeds via fiber technology.

The main purpose of the LAA trial is to make use of the unlicensed spectrum in the 5 GHz band in combination with the licensed spectrum. As a subscriber, you will be able to enjoy an improved mobile broadband experience alongside ultra-fast speeds. The operators will be able to use unlicensed spectrum resources effectively.

During the trial in Delhi-NCR, both Bharti Airtel and Ericsson observed that data download speeds of over 500 Mbps were recorded on smartphones in an indoor environment. The peak download speed was more than 400Mbps when it comes to the outdoor environment within 180 meters from the base station.

Commenting on the development, Randeep Sekhon, CTO – Bharti Airtel disclosed that the company has always led the introduction of cutting-edge network technologies to serve its customers. The company is pleased to establish a partnership with Ericsson to conduct India’s first LAA trial, which is also a big step towards 5G and Gigabit networks. Sekhon added that the LAA is an important technology evolution that can truly unlock the power of 4G LTE networks by taking advantage of unutilized unlicensed spectrum.

Responding to media, Nitin Bansal, Head of Network Solutions, South East Asia, Oceania, and India at Ericsson revealed that LAA trial is a key evolution of mobile technology. The company is glad to collaborate with Airtel to demonstrate the increased capacity, improved speeds and enhanced user experience with a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum.

Airtel has employed one LTE 5 MHz carrier aggregated with three 20 MHz carriers of unlicensed spectrum. The trial was conducted using Ericsson Radio System with the help of 4×4 MIMO and 256QAM technology solutions via 4CC carrier aggregation. – Netans