Ericsson and Plus, a mobile brand operated by Polkomtel, said they have jointly conducted a test of LTE Advanced technology in Poland, achieving speeds of up to 300 Mbps in the 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz frequency bands.
The companies used carrier aggregation technology to achieve the higher speeds, and claimed this was the first time such data transfer speeds have been successfully tested in Poland.
Plus has been one of the more aggressive LTE providers in Poland, first launching services in 2011. It now competes on the LTE market with rivals Play, Orange Poland and T-Mobile Poland. Plus has also tested LTE Broadcast based on eMBMS technology and voice over LTE (VoLTE).
The four operators are now waiting for the opportunity to buy more LTE spectrum to help them with their network rollouts. First attempts to hold an auction collapsed earlier this year, but in October Poland's Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) announced new plans to auction 19 national frequency licences in the 800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands.
Bidding will close on Nov. 24 and no entity is allowed to bid for more than two lots in the lower band, and four lots in the higher range. The concessions will be valid for 15 years.
TeleGeography noted that a minimum price of PLN250 million (€59 million/$74 million) has been set for each packet of 800 MHz spectrum, while the minimum bid for lots in the 2600 MHz band is PLN25 million.
For more:
- see this Ericsson release
- see this TeleGeography article
- see the UKE auction announcement
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