Improving LTE Data Speeds at the Edges of Cells

­The first live field tests of Coordinated Multipoint Transmission (CoMP) a new technology that will increase data transmission rates pn LTE networks have been carried out by the Bell Labs. The labs, now part of Alcatel-Lucent carried out the tests in partnership with Deutsche Telekom Laboratories, the Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz Institut, and antenna supplier Kathrein.

By coordinating and combining signals from multiple antennas, CoMP, will make it possible for mobile users to enjoy consistent performance and quality whether they are close to the center of an LTE cell or at its outer edges.

The live tests were carried out in a downtown area of the German capital Berlin as part of a joint research project sponsored by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) called Enablers for Ambient Services and Systems (EASY-C).

Transmissions between mobile devices and base stations during the field tests made use of the 2.6 GHz frequency band, which is expected to be the predominant band for introduction of commercial LTE services in Europe. Signals transmitted from mobile devices were received by two active remote radio heads deployed on two buildings located 500m from one another, then forwarded across an optical fiber link to a central unit comprising the modem and controller elements of an Alcatel-Lucent LTE base station (eNodeB). The signals were then combined with one another to increase the strength of the signal.

The configuration of this solution differs from that of basic MIMO primarily in the deployment and positioning of antennas. In MIMO, antennas involved in the solution are deployed on a single site. CoMP interconnects antennas deployed at a number of sites that are in proximity to one another.

Tight coordination of the transmission and reception of signals at these multiple access points reduces interference and increases efficiency.

"The results we have achieved with this new transmission technology are built on our world-leading multi-antenna wireless research," said Gee Rittenhouse, head of Bell Labs Research. "In the future as LTE networks become widely deployed we expect that CoMP will help enable our customers to meet the next wave of demand from users who expect to access all sorts of exciting high-bandwidth applications with their mobile phones."

Posted to the site on 16th October 2009