Ericsson has developed a new technology that allows operators to provide enhanced indoor LTE coverage using unlicensed spectrum.
The vendor has unveiled a line of License Assisted Access (LAA) small cells, which it plans to launch in the fourth quarter.
LAA technology allows operators to aggregate licensed and unlicensed spectrum for LTE-Advanced networks.
Ericsson said the technology can provide an up to 150 Mbps speed increase by using 4% of the unlicensed 5-GHz band, and that each additional 4% of available spectrum will increase speeds further.
A survey of smartphone users in 23 countries conducted by the company shows that only 41% are highlysatisfied with their indoor browsing experience. That figure drops to 36% for data-heavy applications including watching online video.
Ericsson VP of consumer and infrastructure services Peter Jarich said that aggregating licensed and unlicensed spectrum is a key prerequisite for the development of the 5G standard.
"In our discussions of future 5G networks, a number of themes are front and center: network function virtualization, small cell architectures, use of higher frequency bands, and licensed-unlicensed band aggregation,” he said.
“The License Assisted Access that Ericsson is integrating into its small cell portfolio clearly foreshadows this 5G future. Ultimately, it's all about optimizing the network to support diverse consumer applications, diverse user locations (indoors and outdoors), and diverse device types - including future IoT (Internet of Things) demands.”