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Vodacom hits 650Mbps on LAA site

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 15 Sept 2017
LAA allows operators to use unlicensed spectrum while co-existing with WiFi.
LAA allows operators to use unlicensed spectrum while co-existing with WiFi.

Vodacom says it has successfully launched a licensed assisted access (LAA) site on its live network at its Midrand campus and demonstrated speeds of over 650Mbps using a commercial handset.

The telco says this is the first speed test on both a commercial LAA site and device in Africa and is also the fastest speed test ever achieved on a commercial LTE network and device in SA.

LAA allows operators to use unlicensed spectrum while co-existing with WiFi by fair sharing of the unlicensed spectrum using Listen Before Talk (LBT) technology. This type of innovative technology allows mobile networks to improve the network capacity and speeds in indoor hotspot areas, and in the absence of additional licensed spectrum. It is less suited to wide-scale coverage on outdoor macro sites due to the poorer propagation characteristics of the unlicensed 5GHz band.

Vodacom's LAA site is also believed to be the first time in SA where four component carrier (4CC) aggregation has been deployed on a live LTE network. The site is configured to use a single 10MHz carrier of Vodacom's licensed 1 800MHz spectrum and three additional carriers each of 20MHz unlicensed 5GHz spectrum. In addition to 4CC carrier aggregation, 4x4 MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology was used for the 1 800MHz carrier and 256QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) was activated on all carriers.

Using this configuration, Vodacom achieved a peak download speed of up to 653Mbps on Ookla using a commercial Motorola Z2 Force handset, which it says is the first commercial LAA device tested in SA.

"We have managed to launch new technologies such as LAA despite the severe constraints on spectrum that we are facing in the country. Quite crucially, the latest speeds on the LAA network show that the single biggest contributor to mobile network performance is spectrum," says Vodacom group CTO Andries Delport.

"Although we have demonstrated impressive LAA speeds using unlicensed spectrum, Vodacom still requires access to new, licensed spectrum for the practical roll-out of similar high-speed LTE services across the country. Licensed spectrum is the key to making these higher speeds available to all customers, as it can be deployed across our extensive outdoor site footprint and is not limited to indoor and other small area deployments, as is the case with LAA," Delport adds.

Last year, it looked as if mobile operators would finally have an opportunity to gain access to in-demand radio frequency spectrum when the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) released an invitation to apply for licences for spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands. However, the North Gauteng High Court interdicted the process in September last year, and in February, ICASA announced it was delaying the process "until further notice".

Government's new Integrated ICT Policy whitepaper, finalised last year, has also called for a shake-up of the previous policy framework for spectrum allocation.

Vodacom will soon begin rolling out LAA to other sites on its live network, starting with indoor hotspots such as airports, malls and office buildings. The availability and pricing for LAA capable handsets will be communicated as the roll-out has progressed, the telco says.

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