Singtel and Ericsson announced they have completed a live trial of pre-standard License Assisted Access (LAA) technology on Singtel's network.
The trial in an office building at Serangoon North involved a 20 MHz block of licensed 1800-MHz spectrum, augmented with 20 MHz in the unlicensed 5-GHz band.
A stationary live test achieved an LTE LAA throughput of 275 Mbps, while a second test demonstrated LAA's ability to co-exist with Wi-Fi signals without degrading the Wi-Fi user experience.
The trial also involved coverage testing to validate the technology's ability to improve link performance, coverage and medium access control compared to Wi-Fi access points.
Announcing the results, Singtel said the testing showcases the potential for LAA to improve network capacity for mobile customers, in a market where nearly 85% of mobile traffic is generated indoors.
Due to the success of the trial the operator plans to progressively deploy LAA technology in Singapore over a two-year period starting in the first half of 2017, as part of efforts to evolve its networks in preparation for the introduction of 5G.
The company said in the future, customers with LAA-capable handsets will be provided with peak download throughput of up to 450 Mbps.
“To provide our customers with a superior mobile experience when they are indoors, we are continuing to invest in new technologies that will increase indoor 4G speeds,” Singtel managing director of networks consumer Singapore Tay Yeow Lian said.
“We are pleased to be the first in Singapore to showcase LAA technology live. This is an integral part of the LTE-Advanced evolution and will bring us one step closer to our 5G goals.”