Ericsson and Australian carrier Telstra announced that they have made the first call on combined 1800 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum bands in a commercial network, using the LTE-Advanced feature carrier aggregation.
The call took place on July 31 via a transfer of data across a number of Telstra’s sites in Queensland.
Carrier aggregation (CA) allows operators to combine multiple spectrum bands to enable more efficient use of spectrum and higher mobile broadband download speeds. Ericsson has also supported LG U+ in South Korea to launch LTE-Advanced using 2100 Mhz and 850 MHz bands.
Mike Wright, executive director of networks for Telstra, said the carrier’s LTE subscribers are growing fast — with nearly 3 million currently on its network, up from 2.1 million six months ago.
“The capacity, higher data speeds and efficiencies provided by LTE-Advanced will help manage growth in data traffic as more customers choose our network,” Wright said. “This will allow us to continue providing additional capacity and high-quality service, and we look forward to working with Ericsson to make this happen.”
Håkan Eriksson, head of Ericsson’s operations in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, noted that many operators around the world have access to spectrum in the 1800 MHz and 900 MHz bands that can be utilized as subscribers are moved from 2G to 3G and 4G networks.
“Many operators will be watching the Australian deployment of LTE-Advanced on these spectrum bands,” he said.
