Optus, Huawei to conduct 4.5G technology trial

NEW DELHI: On the eve of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016, Optus and Huawei have announced a live trial of 4.5G technology resulting in download speeds of 1.41Gbps with theoretical maximum speeds reaching 1.43Gbps.

The successful trial of specific sets of 4.5G technologies, known globally as LTE-Advanced Pro or 4.5G, occurred at Optus’ Gigasite in Newcastle, north of Sydney. The combination of Carrier Aggregation, Higher Level Modulation, and 4X4 MIMO achieved a peak download speed of 1.23Gbps over the air in live network conditions.

“We continue to utilize our network and spectrum assets to test our network of the future and prepare for 5G. By 2020, 5G will be here and we are committed to identify ways to prepare our network to support this new technology and further improve customer experience,” said Dennis Wong, Optus Networks acting Managing Director.

The successful trial is a result of continued innovation and partnership between Optus and Huawei that commenced with the announcement of the world first Gigasite in 2013.

“This field trial in Newcastle is a first and important milestone as a direct result of our local investments in R&D here in Australia. This joint trial represents a significant advance toward fulfilling Huawei’s & Optus’ commitment to developing 4.5G technology in Australia,” James Zhao, Huawei Australia CEO said.

David Wang, President Huawei Wireless Networks said “4.5G and related technologies are the future of our increasingly digitalized world. Huawei together with Optus will strive to foster an open and a better connected Australia.”

The continued work on 4.5G, evolving towards 5G technology leverages on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on joint R&D that parent telco Singtel signed with Huawei in 2014. 5G will provide the infrastructure to support a networked society for a multitude of devices and applications. Apart from advanced wireless techniques, another key aspect is machine type communications to support the Internet of Things.

Tay Soo Meng, Singtel Group Chief Technology Officer said, “As we work towards 5G we expect significant demand for cost-effective connection to a multitude of sensors and devices, and it is important that operators deliver new capabilities to enable the new connected ecosystem to support the growth and innovation of M2M services.”