Alcatel-Lucent has completed the first worldwide long-term evolution (LTE) data call on the 800 MHz “European Digital Dividend” (EDD) spectrum band in a live network. The call was completed in October at Alcatel-Lucent’s 4G/LTE end-to-end solutions centre in Stuttgart, Germany and involved high-definition video streaming transmitted over the air
using Alcatel-Lucent’s commercial infrastructure platforms and prototype mobile devices.This first EDD call in a live LTE network marks a milestone for the introduction of LTE in the European market and highlights Alcatel-Lucent’s readiness to provide mobile operators with a commercial solution as soon as regulatory decisions on EDD will be made.
“This is a major breakthrough on our path to become the first vendor to offer a commercial solution for the ‘Digital Dividend’ spectrum”, said Ken Wirth, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s LTE/4G Solutions. “Our goal is to quickly and effectively support operators in their plans to further enhance the availability of broadband services all over the region, so we adapted our LTE solution to the 800 MHz frequency band quite early on and we are now working with customers on field trials.”
Deploying LTE at 800MHz has a clear benefit for operators which can require fewer sites to cover rural areas, thus reducing overall environmental impact Alcatel-Lucent is a leading player in LTE and is actively engaged in the majority of LTE projects being pursued by operators around the world, including both commercial deployment and trials with operators including Verizon Wireless, Telefonica, Etisalat, FT/Orange and NTT DoCoMo.
