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Operator aims to boost indoor mobile capacity in busy locations.
Verizon plans to trial LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) equipment developed by small cell maker SpiderCloud Wireless, it emerged this week.
SpiderCloud said its LTE-U enterprise radio access network (E-RAN) offers improved performance in busy locations such as multi-tenant office blocks, shopping malls, university campuses, hospitals, and concert halls.
LTE-U increases the bandwidth of LTE networks by aggregating carriers in licensed and unlicensed frequency bands, including those used for WiFi networks.
As a result, the WiFi industry is worried that LTE-U might interfere with WiFi-based services.
SpiderCloud said its LTE-U solution comes with self-organising network (SON) software to ensure that LTE-U coexists with WiFi.
"SpiderCloud’s LTE-U system will allow Verizon to use unlicensed spectrum to offer the best network experience in high-density venues and busy enterprises," said SpiderCloud CEO Mike Gallagher, in a statement on Wednesday.
Verizon plans to conduct the trial in the third quarter this year.
"We look forward to working with SpiderCloud on LTE-U," said Adam Koeppe, vice president of network planning for Verizon.
The announcement comes after the FCC last week gave chip maker Qualcomm permission to test LTE-U on six Verizon base stations in three locations: Oklahoma City, and Cary and Raleigh, both in North Carolina.
