Telecoms23.03.2010

Another LTE First for Motorola

Motorola Adds Industry’s First TD-LTE 4Tx/8Rx Radio Head to 4G LTE-Advanced Capable eNodeB

New WBR 700 Series eNodeB supports growing interest in TD-LTE

The Networks business of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced the addition of a TD-LTE-Advanced capable 4Tx/8Rx radio head with multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) to its 4G – WBR 700 Series LTE eNodeB portfolio. This TD-LTE solution – while similar in size to a standard 2Tx/2Rx LTE eNodeB – enables advanced MIMO schemes including multi user (MU) MIMO and beam-forming to provide unprecedented capacity and coverage. The WBR 700 TD-LTE 4Tx/8Rx with MIMO solution will be displayed in Motorola’s booth at International CTIA Wireless 2010 (Central Hall #409).

Motorola recently launched its LTE-Advanced capable WBR 700 Series, which is Motorola’s fourth generation orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) solution and its second generation LTE platform. The WBR 700 Series features Motorola’s proprietary Intelligent OFDM Scheduler for improved sector throughput. This eNodeB portfolio supports TD-LTE as well as FDD-LTE solutions in a wide variety of frequencies from 700MHz to 2.6GHz and offers an unprecedented mix of capacity, compact size and energy efficiency.

With this latest addition, the WBR 700 series brings a high-performance TD-LTE radio head to provide a better subscriber experience due to the maximized performance and coverage. The product will be available for 2.3GHz and other TD-LTE bands such as 2.6GHz. The energy-efficient WBR 700 TD-LTE 4Tx/8Rx radio head reduces power consumption by up to 30 percent using advanced linearization techniques, helping to lower operational expenses.

“Motorola continues to demonstrate the benefits of our significant OFDM expertise by bringing to market industry-leading LTE solutions like the WBR 700 4Tx/8Rx TD-LTE solution,” said Bruce Brda, senior vice president, Motorola Networks. “We are one of the few vendors that has committed to investing in both TD-LTE and FDD-LTE because we know operators will likely use a combination of technologies to meet their 4G needs.”

Interest in TD-LTE continues to grow because of several key factors:

•    the low cost of TDD spectrum that is particularly attractive to emerging and developing markets

•    operators’ continuing need for more capacity and spectrum

•    and the ability of TD-LTE to hand-off to FDD-LTE networks

In effect, this ability to roam between FDD-LTE and TD-LTE means operators can use TD-LTE networks to augment their FDD-LTE network for more capacity or other applications such as video broadcasting, while operators choosing to use TD-LTE as their “main” network can still offer their subscribers the ability to roam to other operators’ FDD-LTE networks in different countries.

The LTE-Advanced-capable design of the Motorola WBR 700 series also will accommodate 3GPP Release 9 and 10 based upon the current specification, offering operators greater flexibility as well as investment protection as they roll out LTE across their network. The baseband unit provides up to four times the processing power of the average LTE eNodeB and is the most energy-efficient unit on the market. That level of processing power is required to support the sophisticated and complex functionality of this 4Tx/8Rx radio head and deliver maximum performance.

Motorola’s TD-LTE Expertise and Achievements

Motorola has gained significant experience and momentum in TD-LTE thanks to its OFDM experience, which was instrumental in the development and design of the TD-LTE 4Tx/8Rx solution. These engineering innovations resulted in one of the most efficient radios in the market – allowing it to be compact enough to be installed and mounted on a tower. By packing more performance into a smaller unit, operators can get better performance out of the sites they deploy and may be able to use fewer sites, thereby lowering their total cost of ownership.

Motorola was selected last year by China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC) to be the primary TD-LTE solution supplier providing indoor coverage for all major pavilions at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai China. At the Expo, which runs May 1 to Oct. 31, 2010 and is expected to attract 70 million visitors, Motorola also will integrate and launch the world’s first TD-LTE USB dongle that supports both 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz. This LTE device launch will help operators build a healthy TD-LTE ecosystem.

Motorola’s on-going advancements in TD-LTE include its recently announced first over- the-air TD-LTE data session on the TD-LTE network in Shanghai and the successful completion of the TD-LTE key functionalities tests initiated by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

These achievements, plus being the only vendor able to complete all radio frequency (RF) test cases in CMCC’s TD-LTE trial including reaching the TD-LTE theoretical maximum data rate in 20MHz and successfully running multiple user devices, and conducting the world’s first TD-LTE live drive demo at ITU Telecom 2009 in Geneva, are further demonstrations of Motorola’s LTE expertise.

Motorola Networks business delivers fully integrated and customizable media solutions enabling operators to offer personalized, rich media experiences to their subscribers. As a global wireless infrastructure leader, Motorola is committed to 4G with WiMAX and LTE solutions that provide a way for operators to profitably meet the ever-growing demand for mobile broadband today while giving 2G and 3G customers a future path as we continue to support their legacy networks. Motorola brings its services, fourth-generation orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) platform and 25 years of wireless data systems innovation, experience and expertise to bear as operators – wireline, wireless, cable and telco –seek to evolve their networks for the future.

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