Ericsson revealed it achieved data rates of 300 Mbps during trials of FDD LTE Advanced (LTE-A) carrier aggregation technology carried out with Orange in October and November.
The trials were conducted in the 3.5 GHz frequency at Orange's laboratories in Paris and, latterly, on the operator's live mobile network in Bordeaux using pre-commercial Ericsson radio base station equipment.
Ericsson and Orange tested a range of streaming services and achieved a peak data rate of 150 Mbps over a range up to 700 metres in the 3.5 GHz band alone. The higher peak data rate of 300 Mbps was achieved when the frequency was aggregated with the 2.6 GHz band.
Alain Maloberti, SVP at Orange Labs Networks, said the trial shows the 3.5 GHz band "can be successfully used in urban and suburban environments in stand-alone mode or in aggregation with another band to provide advanced mobile broadband services using a FDD access scheme".
Ericsson explained in a statement that one of the key benefits arising from the trials is that operators' existing network grids can be re-used for a 3.5 GHz macro grid. The tests also confirm that FDD technology has the potential to extend European operators' capacity "for advanced services and applications."
The trial with Orange is the latest in a series of carrier aggregation tests and deployments announced by Ericsson in recent weeks.
In November, the infrastructure company revealed it achieved data rates of up to 300 Mbps in the 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz frequency bands in trials conducted with Polish operator Polkomtel's mobile brand Plus.
Telekom Austria's mobile brand A1 subsequently revealed it is working with Ericsson to deploy LTE carrier aggregation technology in two 20 MHz frequency blocks in the 800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands, to enable it to offer higher transmission speeds and bandwidths.
Rival Nokia Networks this week said it has completed the first demonstration of TDD-FDD carrier aggregation on a commercial chipset in the Middle East and Africa region. The company combined FDD 1800 MHz spectrum and TDD 2300 MHz spectrum in the demonstration, which it conducted with Saudi Telecom Company.
For more:
- see this Ericsson announcement
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