Ericsson pushes ahead with LTE devices and trials
Published: 6 April, 2009
Ericsson made HSPA the centrepiece of its CTIA showing, talking up its demonstration of the 56Mbps HSPA+ iteration. But it was also talking up its credentials as a frontrunner in LTE, showing off prototype devices in Las Vegas in the week that it worked with Telefónica in Spain on that operator's first LTE tests.
On display on Ericsson's stand were a terminal (called Berta) and a home router, both doubtless designed to catch Verizon's eye, since the Swedish giant is one of its two suppliers of LTE RAN equipment. Berta has a large form factor, like a rather fat tablet, but Ericsson stressed it was a test product and real world products would shrink. With Verizon initially focusing on fixed access in its 700MHz LTE roll-out, it may at first be more interested in the home router than in handsets and PDAs anyway.
Over the Atlantic, Telefónica has conducted its first LTE tests at its Demonstrations Centre in Madrid. It will use these trials to start planning and defining future technical needs for LTE. The first real tests consisted of a VoIP call and a videocall, using a mini-network installed by Ericsson; plus a videoconference, and data and images downloads. Telefónica said laboratory tests have achieved download speeds of over 326Mbps, and uploads of 86Mbps.
The operator is looking to LTE roll-outs around 2011, and in the meantime will deploy HSPA+ from this year. It is currently working with several manufacturers on data cards, with which to launch commercial HSPA+ services. It aims to cover 85% of Spain's population with HSDPA by the end of this year, and 50% with HSUPA. HSPA+ will be centered on urban areas.
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