DT and Kumu complete full-duplex field trial

Deutsche Telecom’s innovation lab 5G:haus and wireless specialist Kumu Networks have completed the world’s first field trial of self-interference cancellation (SIC) technology which could allow 5G to support in-band full duplex communication.

This would make it possible to transmit and receive signals at the same time and on the same frequency, boosting spectral efficiency significantly. It could even improve today’s mobile networks by extending the power of backhaul and small cell technologies.

In the field trial on a local network in Prague in the Czech Republic, Deutsche Telekom and Kumu Networks evaluated the potential of SIC under real life conditions and tested SIC’s ability to provide in-band full duplex communication. The field trial focused on measuring the stability and robustness of the technology in a variety of challenging, real-world situations. According to Deutsche Telekom, the trial successfully demonstrated an increase spectral efficiency and its relevance as an enabler for 5G networks.

In-band full duplex communication has a rich set of potential applications, according to Deutsche Telekom. When used in the 5G network architecture, it can help introduce new radio features to the standard, which bring about greater spectral efficiency and boost network capacity. Full Duplex could also improve today’s 3G and 4G networks, it says. SIC could solve the small cell backhaul problem, for example, by allowing an efficient re-use of spectrum normally reserved for end-users, which creates a new ‘self-backhauled small cell’. This would allow the network operators to install small cells in previously unreachable places, which would otherwise have no backhaul connectivity.

“We use field trials to get a better understanding of a technology’s potential and that helps us to identify use cases and applications in the context of 5G,” says Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, Chief Technology Officer at Deutsche Telekom. “In 5G:haus, we will continue to test and evaluate advanced technologies that pave the way to 5G.”

DT’s Prague trials provide the evidence that the theoretical advantages of self-interference cancelling radios are actually feasible, according to Kumu Networks CEO David Cutrer. “We are encouraged to accelerate the commercialization of the technology for near-term applications,” said Cutrer.