Verizon set to trial LTE-U via SpiderCloud small cells

Small cell provider SpiderCloud Wireless has announced that giant US operator Verizon will commence testing its LTE-U system to deliver in-building capacity.

SpiderCloud’s LTE-U Enterprise Radio Access Network (E-RAN) is designed to deliver LTE capacity to high-density venues like office buildings, malls, stadia, etc. It combines licensed and unlicensed spectrum, with the latter still a contentious issue thanks to concerns that wifi quality will be diminished if it has to share 5GHz bandwidth with LTE.

“SpiderCloud has deployed and demonstrated its dual-carrier LTE in-building solution at Verizon’s enterprise customer locations across the country,” said Adam Koeppe, VP of network planning for Verizon. “We look forward to working with SpiderCloud on LTE-U.”

“SpiderCloud is excited to continue its collaboration with Verizon,” said Mike Gallagher, CEO of SpiderCloud. “SpiderCloud’s LTE-U system will allow Verizon to use unlicensed spectrum to offer the best network experience in high-density venues and busy enterprises.”

The key to making LTU-U work is to ensure wifi quality is not degraded by using technology to ensure the two don’t clash. If big players can demonstrate this is possible in the field it will go a long way towards easing concerns. Verizon will start the trial in Q3 2016.