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Telco tests 4×4 MIMO, 8T8R to improve network performance in urban areas.
Vodafone UK on Wednesday revealed it is testing the latest LTE TDD technology in a bid to improve the performance of its 4G network in urban areas and lay the foundations for 5G.
The telco and its hardware supplier Huawei are using 4×4 multiple-input, multiple output (MIMO) to upgrade capacity, in combination with eight transmit, eight receive (8T8R), which increases the number of radios at a cell site to eight from the standard two. 8T8R is used as a means of providing advanced beamforming, allowing an operator to improve coverage, throughput, and spectral efficiency by sending a signal to an individual device.
One well known backer of 8T8R is U.S. telco Sprint, which is deploying the technology on its 2.5-GHz LTE TDD network.
TDD technology is also important to Vodafone. At the moment it uses FDD spectrum for its 4G networks; however, Vodafone also holds 25 MHz of unpaired 2.6-GHz spectrum, which it acquired during the U.K.’s 4G auction in 2013.
"We are working hard with our radio network equipment partners to ensure our network is future-proofed for the expected arrival of 5G in four or five years’ time, whilst continually improving our 4G performance for customers throughout the U.K.," said Jorge Fernandes, CTO of Vodafone UK, in a statement.
The tests are being carried out on Vodafone’s network in Manchester.
