In recent years the wireless industry has made a series of progressive improvements in the performance. However, end users now make increased use of mobile multimedia services and they stay online for longer periods. They therefore require faster data rates, quicker response times and longer battery life in order to enjoy the benefits of services such as voice over IP, mobile video, sharing and collaboration and rich multimedia telephony.

One year ago Nokia Siemens Networks conducted the world’s first LTE demonstration in conjunction with MIMO (Multiple Input / Multiple Output) antenna technology. In this demonstration peak data rates of 160 Megabits per second were realized.

The now performed field trial was a world first since it was conducted in a real urban outdoor environment with multiple users using the new 2.6 GHz spectrum. It confirms that LTE performance requirements can be met using 3GPP standardized technologies and it realized data rates of more than 100 Mega bits per second over distances of several hundred meters, while maintaining excellent throughput at the edge of typical urban mobile radio cells.

”As the world continues to move closer to our vision of 5 billion people connected by 2015, mobile operators will need to use all of the available spectrum with minimum network complexity and maximum cost efficiency to handle a 100 fold increase in traffic,” says Stephan Scholz, CTO of Nokia Siemens Networks. “This field trial is an important initial proof of concept for LTE.”

This field trial was assisted by the Heinrich Hertz Institut (HHI), a world-wide recognized expert centre in the field of intelligent adaptive MIMO/Algorithms.