The concept of deploying LTE in unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) has taken several forms including LAA, which requires an anchor deployed in licensed spectrum, LWA, which aggregates LTE and Wi-Fi, and now, MulteFire, which removes the need for the licensed anchor.
The primary operative issue for all these technologies is co-existence with Wi-Fi, which operates in the same unlicensed spectrum.
Qualcomm, which developed and has been a strong proponent for LTE-U, came up with MulteFire last year. The company frames MulteFire as one component of solving the ever-growing need for capacity.
“Thanks to a robust radio link, synchronized nodes with better coordination, and carrier aggregation with an anchor in licensed spectrum, LTE-U/LAA delivers better network performance and an enhanced user experience compared to carrier Wi-Fi, providing mobile operators a solution for making better use of unlicensed spectrum. But could we extend the benefits of the LTE technology and ecosystem even further?
“The answer to this question is MulteFire—a new, LTE-based technology that solely operates in unlicensed spectrum, and doesn’t require an ‘anchor’ in licensed spectrum. The new technology broadens the LTE ecosystem to entities that may not own licensed spectrum, such as Internet Service Providers and enterprise/venue owners. MulteFire also benefits mobile network operators (primary licensed spectrum holders), providing them with new deployment opportunities for offloading and augmenting their mobile networks. The ultimate goal of MulteFire is to ensure the best possible user experience for wireless access to the Internet or when making video/voice calls, especially in hyper-dense environments as described earlier.”
Qualcomm demonstrated MulteFire earlier this year during an analyst event at its La Jolla, California, headquarters.
In a white paper on the subject, Nokia delineates who could benefit from MulteFire.
“It can be readily deployed by cable companies, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), small businesses, enterprises, venue owners, building owners and mobile operators. Major benefits for mobile operators include neutral host deployments, access to markets where they don’t have licensed spectrum, co-existence with LTE licensed, simple and rapid deployment using small cells without needing costly licensed spectrum, and carrier grade security.”
For enterprises, “MulteFire can be used…without barriers or as a way to rent capacity to ISPs, enterprises and various other private network operators. Among the benefits for this sector are the ability to provide a predictable network at a low price point, the chance to monetize the unlicensed LTE experience, the ability to offer 4G services on top of the core, provide extra capacity for mass or critical events and to offer the benefits of global roaming to customers…Enterprises will gain particular benefits from MulteFire, such as easier mobile and cloud enterprise networks, the scalability to serve an ever increasing number of users and IoT (Internet of Things) enabled devices/machines/appliances and an enhanced user experience with reduced Interference.”
RCR Wireless News caught up with Senza Fili Consulting President Monica Paolini during Mobile World Congress 2016 to get her take on MulteFire.
“It’s another possibility to use that spectrum and that is not for mobile operators, generally speaking, because in that case you do not need a licensed band. So the question is, fi you want to take advantage of the LTE air interface in an unlicensed band, but you do not have licensed spectrum, you can use MulteFire. IT’s more attractive for operators that do not have access to unlicensed bands.”
To support the development and commercialization of MulteFire, the MulteFire Alliance formed with the mission of “support[ing] the common interests of members, developers and users in the application of LTE and next generation mobile cellular technology in configurations that only use unlicensed radio spectrum.”
Members include Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, Qualcomm, Athonet, Bai Cells, Boingo, Casa Systems, Ruckus, Sercomm, SoftBank, SpiderCloud Wireless and Rohde & Schwarz.
SoftBank, Rohde & Schwarz and Sercomm joined just this week.
“The addition of tier-one mobile operator SoftBank, leading telecom broadband solution provider Sercomm, and test and measurement solution provider Rohde & Schwarz underscores the value that MulteFire technology delivers across the ecosystem,” Stephan Litjens, MulteFire Alliance board chair and head of innovation steering for Nokia said. “The combined experience, dedication to seamless connectivity, and international reach of the new and existing members allows the Alliance to ensure MulteFire technology will not only coexist with other technologies in the global communications market, but also provide a quality and reliable service in all applications. We invite all companies with a stake in wireless connectivity to join the Alliance.”
