Alcatel-Lucent and China Mobile accelerate deployment of 4G TD-LTE across China
Available now for large-scale commercial deployment in China Mobile’s first trial TD-LTE network, which spans 13 cities in China, lightRadio Metro Radio will bring high-performance 4G services to residents in densely populated areas of Shanghai, Nanjing and Qingdao, three of the fastest growing cities in China and indeed the world. This will help to meet the ever-increasing demand for mobile Internet, video and data in the world’s largest smartphone market. China Mobile itself has over 722 million subscribers – over half of the total mobile subscriptions in the country.
In China, lightRadio Metro Radio will be deployed in busy indoor and outdoor locations, such as shopping malls and stadiums where coverage can suffer either from the large number of consumers trying to access a network, or because the density of buildings impedes the radio signal. In these locations it can be traditionally either too difficult or costly to deploy a macro cell base station.
Alcatel-Lucent and China Mobile signed a co-creation agreement in January 2012 to conduct joint development and test activities on a series of lightRadio TD-LTE projects to speed the deployment of LTE in China. TD-LTE is the 4G standard developed for use across China, and it is now being adopted by operators across the globe. The lightRadio Metro Radio houses two lightRadio cubes, fully integrated with a directional antennae, allowing it to provide the coverage normally associated with a much bulkier, heavier remote radio unit linked to an external antenna via an RF coaxial cable.