35 Mbps LTE service demonstrated
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) today demonstrated a 35 Mbps LTE service at its offices in Centurion. LTE promises to revolutionize the mobile broadband environment by reducing the effective cost of bandwidth, removing complexities in the network and significantly improving throughput and latency.
According to Malan Smith, Head of NSN Network Solutions MEA, LTE will go a long way to improve the capabilities of mobile broadband and ensure that affordable broadband can be brought to the ‘next billion’.
NSN’s Kofi Kyei added that LTE is well positioned to accommodate the 100 fold increase in IP traffic which is expected over the next eight years. Kyei added that NSN expects connectivity to double in Africa over the next six years, reiterating the need for higher capacity and more efficient networks.
Live LTE demonstration
NSN’s LTE demonstration illustrated the speed and latency advantages of LTE over previous wireless technologies. NSN previously did a live demonstration showing speeds of 160 Mbps, but the local demonstration featured speeds of up to 35 Mbps.
The system handled bandwidth hungry applications like High Definition (HD) movie streaming, video conferencing and online gaming with ease, while voice quality over the test network was excellent.
LTE removes some network complexity typically associated with mobile broadband, and the low latency is proof of the advantages of LTE over GPRS/EDGE and 3G/HSPA. 10 ms latency was the order of the day for online applications, and Kyei is confident that LTE will provide similar latencies to ADSL when it is launched.
Kyei added that even under the least favourable load conditions a base station throughput of 120 Mbps is realistic and end users can still expect a real-life experience of between 2 Mbps and 10 Mbps. This is multiple times higher than what current technologies like HSPA can offer under similar conditions.
Projected launch date
The live demonstration used an LTE chipset which can hardly be described as portable, giving a strong indication that the commercial launch of LTE services is a long way off.
Kyei said that the first LTE chipsets are set to be ready for testing in mid-2010, and that mass produced chipsets should start filtering through in the last quarter of 2010. LTE embedded laptops and broadband dongles will however only be available in 2011/2012.
When it comes to Africa Kyei expects that a 2012/2013 commercial date is realistic, but this will also depend on operators’ take up of the technology and suitable spectrum allocation.
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