Chinese comms equipment maker ZTE says it is testing ways to boost the performance of LTE by exploring the limits of duplexing technologies.

It has launched dual-connectivity performance tests based on end-to-end (E2E) commercial long-term evolution (LTE) platforms.

Test results suggest that dual connections doubled the end user rates in a variety of service modes. This mean that dual connections can replicate the effect of LTE carrier aggregation in rate performance, which could mean that manufacturers have more options available when they need to boost network performance and make more creative use of the available spectrum.

The new development was announced by Dr Han Gang, VP of ZTE’s TDD products, as he addressed at the 14th Global time-division long-term evolution (TD-LTE) Initiative (GTI) Workshop in Budapest, Hungary.

The option to use higher frequencies makes TDD spectrum an important resource when LTE operator face capacity expansion challenges, according to Gang, who says that frequency division duplexing (FDD) will become an area of interest to equipment makers. The competition to create the finest tuning of TDD and FDD will be a crucial micro-macro battle for LTE players, according to Gang.

A flexible network architecture, in which small tweaks in FDD and TDD technology can create significant business advantages, is a critical development: “ZTE is laying a solid foundation for building healthier industry partnerships,” said Dr Han Gang.

ZTE said it will continue to push the barriers of carrier aggregation technology. “Carrier aggregation and dual-connectivity technologies can co-exist,” said Gang, “working together can create a more prosperous and harmonious LTE industry.”