To explore LTE technology and its possibilities, the independent research organisation TNO, is launching a trial in cooperation with Huawei. A test network will be set up on the outskirts of Delft, the Netherlands, with a number of market players and user groups scheduled to take part in the study.
The LTE standard offers greater efficiency, network capacity and peak transmission in comparison to UMTS. LTE technology enables substantially faster data speeds at a lower price per delivered Megabit. In Europe, LTE will operate on several frequency bands: 800, 900 and 1800 MHz and 2.6 GHz and the expectation is that a number of mobile operators in the Netherlands will roll out LTE in the coming years.
A great deal of technical and theoretical knowledge is available on the possibilities of LTE and the Delft trial will test the performance of the new technology in the 800 and 1800 MHz bands, with Huawei supplying TNO with the necessary base station and core network equipment. The study will look at, for example, what performance can be achieved with different network options, and which performance is needed to offer services, such as broadband video. In addition, user groups will assess new application possibilities.
TNO aims to utilise the knowledge obtained in the LTE pilot study to provide support to the public and private sectors in realising an optimum roll-out and implementation of the LTE network in the Netherlands.