Singtel and Ericsson conduct successful trial of pre-standard License Assisted Access

Singtel and Ericsson have successfully conducted a live trial of pre-standard License Assisted Access (LAA) on Singtel’s network earlier this month. Today, almost 85% of mobile traffic is generated indoors in urbanised Singapore, according to Ericsson ConsumerLab. With the growing demand for differentiated experiences from Web browsing, video streaming to cloud applications, Singtel estimates that extensive LAA implementation will potentially provide an additional network capacity boost for mobile customers.

Source: Ericsson LAA media kit. The advantages of using LAA.

LAA basically augments the existing Wi-Fi and LTE bandwidth by offloading demand onto currently-unused frequency bands, such as the 5 GHz band. Many countries do not use the 5 GHz band, though it could be other parts of the frequency spectrum that are unused.

The trial was completed after a two-week period of extensive testing to demonstrate extended coverage and increased network capacity as well as seamless mobility with opportunistic aggregation of unlicensed spectrum. The tests leveraged LTE-U, a mobile technology innovation that unlocks unlicensed spectrum for LTE and enables data speed boosts by applying LTE efficiencies to boost licensed spectrum. Multiple RBS 6402 indoor small cells, Wi-Fi access points, prototype LAA devices, and Wi-Fi devices were used. Singtel provided the licensed spectrum of 1,800 MHz (20 MHz) for the LTE anchor carrier, augmented with 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum (20 MHz) in its live network deployed in an office building at Serangoon North in Singapore. 

 A first test case demonstrated the opportunistic carrier aggregation of unlicensed spectrum to deliver higher throughput and greater capacity. A stationary live test at the office building measured LTE LAA throughput of 275 Mbps, which is the highest throughput supported by prototype devices today. 

 The second test case showcased LAA's ability to co-exist with Wi-Fi signals without affecting the user experience in Wi-Fi. Two Wi-Fi access points (APs) which are close to each other work less well because of frequency interference if both APs are transmitting and on the same channel. If LAA is paired with a Wi-Fi AP instead, it was established that Wi-Fi throughput on the Wi-Fi AP will remain constant. LAA produces no interference with the AP, and listens to traffic transmission on the unlicensed 5Ghz band through the Listen-before-talk functionality. When the Wi-Fi AP stops transmitting, LAA can transmit on the unlicensed 5Ghz as well and double its throughput.

The trial thus showed that Wi-Fi users are better off with LAA as a 'neighbour' as performance for Wi-Fi users is unaffected, while LAA average throughput can improve.

 Finally, coverage testing was performed to demonstrate that LAA has better link performance, medium access control, mobility management, and better coverage as compared to Wi-Fi access points, and also to consistently provide higher user throughput speeds through seamless handover between multiple small cells and across various radio conditions. 

With the successful trial of LAA, this service will be progressively deployed in Singapore over the next two years, beginning in the first half of 2017, enabling Singtel to extend its current in-building coverage capacity and provide a better 4G experience to its mobile customers. New handset models supporting LAA are expected to be available by early 2017. In the future, customers with LAA-capable handsets will be able to enjoy peak download throughput up to 450 Mbps.

Tay Yeow Lian, Managing Director of Networks, Consumer Singapore, Singtel said, “To provide our customers with a superior mobile experience when they are indoors, we are continuing to invest in new technologies that will increase indoor 4G speeds. This means that customers will enjoy more consistent and faster speeds while watching their favorite videos and listening to music on their mobile phones. We are pleased to be the first in Singapore to showcase LAA technology live. This is an integral part of the LTE-Advanced evolution and will bring us one step closer to our 5G goals.” 

Martin Wiktorin, Country Manager of Ericsson Singapore and Brunei said, “5G standards do not yet exist but 5G is expected to be an evolution of today's LTE networks along with new radio technologies and use cases. Ericsson and Singtel are very focused on technologies like LAA which will be key to operators as they evolve their LTE networks to support increasing mobile broadband demand from consumers, businesses and the Internet of Things (IoT) towards 5G.”