The full duplex relay trial was carried out in the city of Turin
Italian mobile operator TIM carried out what it claims to be the world’s first test of the full duplex relay technology, which doubles the transmission capacity of the current LTE network and in the future that of 5G.
The European telco carried out the test in the vicinity of the city of Turin, in collaboration with U.S start-up Kumu Networks. TIM said that this technology will allow mobile transmissions in downlink and uplink to travel at the same time, even if of different intensities, and it is also applicable on the current 4G networks with the use of small cells in areas where there is no traditional backhaul solution available.
“5G is a key network evolution towards more advanced Digital Services and we are not only committed to defining the standards, but also to contributing to key research and development initiatives that will be fundamental for a healthy eco-system in Digital Services, including the network, open platforms and services,” Gabriela Styf Sjoman, Head of TIM’s Engineering & TILAB, said.
Kumu Networks specializes in increasing spectral efficiency with full duplex chip-based technology; last week the company raised $25 million in an investment round including Cisco Systems, Verizon Communications and Deutsche Telekom among others.
Kumu says it has developed technology that cancels self-interference, the excess energy that leaks into a radio’s receiver while transmitting. As a result of the cancellation, the receiver hears no noise from its transmitter, freeing it to cleanly receive external signals. The company says this allows a radio using its self-interference cancellation technology to transmit and receive at the same time on the same frequency.
TIM is fully owned by telecoms group Telecom Italia. The telco ended the third quarter of 2015 with 3.43 million subscribers in the 4G LTE segment, up from 844,000 in the year-ago quarter. TIM’s LTE coverage reached 86% at the end of September 2015, up 12 percentage points year-on-year.
TIM initially launched LTE in Italy in November 2012. The telco currently offers 4G through spectrum in the 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands.
Saudi Arabia to build new tech center with Huawei
The government of Saudi Arabia confirmed the construction of a new center for the development of telecommunications and IT in association with Chinese ICT services provider Huawei.
The agreement for the new facility was inked between the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and the Chinese company.
The Saudi government said that Huawei will work on the development of supporting wireless applications for LTE technology, which would benefit local telecommunications companies, research centers and universities. The new center will also enable Saudi researchers to work with Huawei telecommunication experts in the LTE field.
