High-speed 4G network by Nokia

Telecommunications equipment major Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) demonstrated for the first time its Time Division Duplex version of LTE (TD-LTE) technology in India on Tuesday in Bangalore. The technology, running on broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum, for which licences were issued recently, will herald the fourth generation (4G) of technology in the wireless communications space, said top officials of the company.

The inaugural video call at the demonstration, which was conducted at NSN's R&D facility here, was initiated by Gurdeep Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Aircel. The demonstration was conducted on the 2.3 GHz spectrum band, which has been reserved for BWA services.

Urs Pennanen, Head, India Region, NSN, said the network's capability of handling throughputs of up to 110 mbps augured well for the rapid deployment of high-speed wireless broadband in the country. “The key to rapid deployment is in operators providing much higher speed data transmission without increasing prices too much,” Mr. Pennanen said.

“The capability of the 4G networks go beyond those of 3G, ensure better user experience and better spectral efficiency, all of which are important because users need to handle more data,” Mr. Pennanen said. He said the TD-LTE technology had been deployed by 17 operators across the world and several more are in the process of going on that platform. He said NSN's acquisition of Motorola's Wimax assets would result in NSN being in a position to “offer even more solutions to operators.”

Juha Lappalainen, Head, Mobile Broadband Sales, NSN, said while 2G was mainly geared to handle voice traffic, 3G technology smartphone users could handle data and voice using several applications. “The 4G technology”, he said, “is meant to ensure high-speed transmission of large amounts of data.” He said the 2.3 GHz band is “likely to be deployed globally,” he added. “Both CDMA and GSM-based systems are likely to converge towards TD-LTE,” Mr. Lappalainen said.

Keywords: Nokia Siemens Networks, broadband wireless access