Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today announced that it had demonstrated for the first time Long Term Evolution (LTE) in both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode on the same base station platform. LTE is the only technology that can use the same platform for both paired and unpaired spectrum, thereby enabling large economies of scale for operators.

Ericsson's LTE TDD mode demonstration encompassed a variety of applications and showcased speeds over 90Mbps in the downlink with 2x2 MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output). Ericsson has previously demonstrated LTE in FDD mode several times with speeds of up to 160Mbps.

Mobile broadband is rapidly growing, and LTE offers a superior user experience. It will enhance more demanding applications like mobile video, blogging, advanced games, rich multimedia telephony and professional services. It also interoperates with existing cellular systems. 

LTE is the next evolution in mobile network standards defined by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) and supports operations in both the paired spectrum and unpaired spectrum. It enables efficient spectrum utilization for both legacy and future wireless frequency bands. Channel bandwidths of 1.4-20MHz are supported. The wide industry support for LTE ensures economies of scale, providing cost-efficient solutions.

Ulf Ewaldsson, Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio at Ericsson, says: "We have now demonstrated that LTE can be used in both paired (FDD) and unpaired spectrum (TDD) on the same base station platform. This means that operators with only unpaired spectrum also can plan for LTE and benefit from the optimal global LTE solutions."

With its latest achievement in LTE TDD/FDD, Ericsson is continuing to drive important global research in this area. At the same time TDD continues to play an international role, featuring in markets such as China, where Ericsson has initiated a cooperation with the Chinese company Datang Group. 

Today more than 90 percent of all mobile spectrum is paired and less than 10 percent is unpaired. Operators are now able to get access to a healthy ecosystem regardless of the duplex mode.