Nokia Networks, STC show first TDD-FDD aggregation with commercial chipset in Middle East & Africa

Use a new band combination of FDD 1800, TDD 2300 MHz

Take technology to the next level, set new benchmark to improve LTE coverage on current bands and equipment

Exhibit optimal use of TDD, FDD spectrum to save costs for operators

Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Nokia Networks and Saudi Telecom Company (STC), the largest and leading telecom operator in Saudi Arabia, announced today the successful demonstration of TDD-FDD Carrier Aggregation, the first with a commercial chipset in Middle East and Africa. The demonstration, carried out using a new band combination of FDD 1800 MHz and TDD 2300 MHz, sets a benchmark for operators to optimally use their scarce spectrum resources and significantly improve LTE mobile broadband network capacity, coverage and speed.

Carrier aggregation allows operators to create larger, virtual carrier bandwidths for services by combining separate spectrum bands, thus boosting capacity and speed as well as performance in the network.

Click to Tweet: First TDD-FDD carrier aggregation demo using commercial chipset in MEA by @STC_KSA @nokianetworks http://nokia.ly/1xayQct #LTE

Carrier aggregation benefits

Combination of 1800 and 2300 MHz bands provide higher speed in larger areas

High frequency bands have limited uplink coverage, but operators can significantly extend TDD coverage with TDD-FDD carrier aggregation with no additional changes to the network

Load balancing between TDD- and FDD-LTE networks ensures the best coverage and speed for all subscribers in both networks

Abdullah Alzmame, vice president, Networks, STC, said: We have a strong track record with Nokia: Early this year we launched carrier aggregation on the TDD layer, doubling available throughput for our customers. In 2011, we provided commercial service on a TD-LTE network which now covers most of the Saudi population. With this new achievement, we enter the next level to improve speeds for consumers.

Hani Dib, head of STC customer team at Nokia Networks, said: We believe that the optimal use of spectrum is key to satisfy ever-increasing subscriber demand for network capacity and speed. Our achievement with STC will encourage other operators globally to look at this kind of spectrum convergence to save costs and increase throughput.

Did you know?

Nokia Networks and China Telecom were the first to achieve a TDD-FDD carrier aggregation with a commercial user device chipset. This successful interoperability is a milestone towards commercial adoption of the carrier aggregation to significantly improve the LTE network speed and coverage for users in areas where both variants of LTE are deployed. Also by aggregating 10 spectrum frequencies allocated for both LTE variants for a massive 200 MHz of bandwidth, Nokia and SK Telecom reached a throughput speed of 3.78 Gbps.

Click here for a photo and here for a video about the demonstration.

Resources:

Press releases: Worlds first TDD-FDD CA, Original record-breaking 3.8 Gbps TDD-FDD LTE throughput, TDD-FDD carrier aggregation using commercial chipset devices.

Blog: Nokia makes LTE-A CA faster everywhere

Webinar: Grow capacity

Datasheet: LTE

Youtube: Nokia LTE-A Carrier Aggregation

Insight newsletter: How to make LTE-A even more advanced

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Tags: LTE, TDD-FDD carrier aggregation, Nokia Networks, STC, mobile broadband, customer experience, spectrum

About STC

STC is the largest telecommunication services provider in the Middle East and North Africa. It is the leading operator within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its international presence extends to 10 countries.

About Nokia

Nokia invests in technologies important in a world where billions of devices are connected. We are focused on three businesses: network infrastructure software, hardware and services, which we offer through Nokia Networks; location intelligence, which we provide through HERE; and advanced technology development and licensing, which we pursue through Nokia Technologies. Each of these businesses is a leader in its respective field.

Nokia Networks is the worlds specialist in mobile broadband. From the first ever call on GSM, to the first call on LTE, we operate at the forefront of each generation of mobile technology. Our global experts invent the new capabilities our customers need in their networks. We provide the worlds most efficient mobile networks, the intelligence to maximize the value of those networks, and the services to make it all work seamlessly. http://networks.nokia.com/ // http://company.nokia.com

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LINK:	http://company.nokia.com/en/news/press-releases/2014/12/15/nokia-netwo...
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