Ericsson and Singtel claim APAC LAA record

Ericsson and long-time operator partner Singtel have announced they managed to hit 1.1 Gbps in a joint trial of a new LAA configuration.

License Assisted Access is all about increasing the amount of spectrum available for mobile broadband by using chunks of unlicensed spectrum too. This test, conducted in a Singtel lab, used 4×4 MIMO, 256 QAM, and any other LTE goodies they could throw into the mix, to aggregate two licensed and three unlicensed spectrum bands. The result was apparently an APAC first.

“We are very encouraged by this breakthrough in peak speeds,” said Mark Chong, Singtel’s Group CTO. “In Singapore, a large percentage of mobile traffic is generated indoors with more mobile customers browsing the web, streaming video and accessing cloud applications on the go. We are now in a position to deploy LAA technology to boost our LTE mobile capacity to meet increasing traffic demand. This will allow us to deliver a faster and more reliable mobile connectivity experience even during peak periods.”

“Licensed Assisted Access took wireless technology to a whole new level, delivering the increased capacity and faster speeds that operators demand as they evolve their networks,” said Martin Wiktorin, Head for Ericsson Singapore, Brunei & the Philippines. “This trial is a significant milestone in the use of LAA, pushing the limits of Gigabit LTE in a unique configuration of advanced technologies.”

Earlier this year Singtel and Ericsson announced the opening of Singapore’s first 5G center of excellence, a symptom of the two companies’ enduring chumminess. As a technologically advanced city state Singapore is quite a handy place to try out new wireless technologies, especially when it comes to capacity as opposed to coverage.