Qualcomm and Alcatel-Lucent Join Forces with T-Mobile to Accelerate Licensed Assisted Access Adoption
- Technology Extends LTE Benefits to the 5GHz Unlicensed Spectrum to Increase Capacity for Mobile Users
BARCELONA, Spain, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), T-Mobile US, Inc. and Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that they are enabling the extension of LTE to unlicensed spectrum with upcoming Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) deployment plans. Following its trials of this LTE Advanced capability in 5GHz, T-Mobile will be one of the first carriers to deploy LAA in 2016. Alcatel-Lucent will begin trials this year with LTE-U enabled small cells using Qualcomm Technologies' FSM99xx family of small cell system-on-chip (SoC) solutions, with commercial products expected in 2016.
"With T-Mobile's commitment to bringing LAA benefits to customers in the near future, we're looking forward to seeing both Alcatel-Lucent's and Qualcomm Technologies' LTE-U demonstrations at Mobile World Congress that show co-existence with Wi-Fi, which is critical for this technology to succeed," said Neville Ray, chief technology officer, T-Mobile. "The LAA ecosystem is coming together with innovative development from numerous partners to enable utilization of the 5GHz unlicensed bands."
As mobile data demand continues to grow for both licensed and unlicensed bands, the overlap and co-existence of Wi-Fi and cellular data become more important for the industry. Seamlessly integrating licensed and unlicensed band operation brings the benefits of cellular to unlicensed spectrum and delivers data speeds at rates more than two times faster than LTE alone.
"Alcatel-Lucent is committed to working with lead-adopter operators to prove that unlicensed spectrum can be used to significantly enhance the service provided over cellular networks without compromising Wi-Fi performance," said Mike Schabel, vice president of small cells, Alcatel-Lucent. "At Mobile World Congress, we are demonstrating our commercial commitment to blending Wi-Fi and cellular networks, including LAA, with our newly launched Wireless Unified Networks strategy."
Alcatel-Lucent and Qualcomm Technologies will conduct LTE-U trials beginning in the second half of this year using Alcatel-Lucent's small cell portfolio based on Qualcomm Technologies' FSM99xx family of small cell chipsets. Commercial products are scheduled for shipment in the first half of 2016.
"Trials and commitments from leading companies, such as Alcatel-Lucent and T-Mobile, are solid steps to prove industry readiness and adoption of LTE-U," said Neville Meijers, vice president of business development at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
For more information and to see live demonstrations, please visit the Qualcomm booth (#3E10), or the Alcatel-Lucent booth (#3K10) at Mobile World Congress.
About Qualcomm Incorporated
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm's licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm's engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.
About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent is the leading IP networking, ultra-broadband access and cloud technology specialist. We are dedicated to making global communications more innovative, sustainable and accessible for people, businesses and governments worldwide. Our mission is to invent and deliver trusted networks to help our customers unleash their value. Every success has its network. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog and follow the Company on Twitter.
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