LTE to integrate picocells and femtocells

September 19, 2016

According to research firm, ABI Research, the initial rollouts of LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks will include femtocells and picocells, to help improve the ability of the technology to penetrate structures.

LTE is a next generation mobile wireless broadband technology that allows operators to offer 3G wireless broadband services, for applications such as VoIP, video streaming, music downloading, and mobile TV.

In most geographical areas, LTE networks will be deployed using higher frequency bands which are less effective at penetrating structures than low frequencies.

Femtocells and picocells are cellular mini-base stations which can compensate for lower indoor signal strength and ensure than LTE networks achieve the required bandwith.

In Europe LTE will operate in the 2.6 GHz band, in the US it will operate mainly in the 700 MHz band, while in China TD-LTE is expected to be deployed in the 1880-1920 MHz and 2018-2025 MHz MHz bands, making femtocells less important.

Some manufacturers, such as Alcatel-Lucent and Motorola, are supporting a new interface called “Iu-h” in the LTE architecture, which integrates femtocells and femto gateways.

ABI Research’s findings are reported in its report titled “Long Term Evolution (LTE)”.