Qualcomm, Ericsson demo LTE TDD in India

Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) reported that its India-based Wireless Broadband Business Services Private Ltd. venture has in partnership with Ericsson successfully demonstrated LTE TDD mobility using the 2.3 GHz spectrum band in an outdoor environment in India.
Qualcomm noted that the demonstration streamed multiple high-definition video feeds to a mobile van that included seamless hand off between base stations while maintaining session connectivity. The event used radio access network and evolved packet core solutions from Ericsson and USB modems based on Qualcomm’s MDM9x00 multimode chipset supporting both 3G and LTE standards.
The demonstration is significant as Qualcomm recently paid $1 billion in the India BWA auction for a 20 megahertz TDD spectrum license in the 2.3 GHz spectrum band covering Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala, India. As part of that win, Qualcomm formed a joint venture under the India LTE Venture name to move forward with building out a mobile network using the spectrum.
“LTE TDD, with its attributes of mobility and 3G interoperability, is the technology most suited for deployment in India’s 2.3 GHz BWA spectrum,” said Kanwalinder Singh, president of Qualcomm India and South Asia and SVP of Qualcomm. “The demonstration today is a significant step towards commercial availability of infrastructure and chipsets that will support both 3G and LTE TDD in 2011, and we will continue to work with our ecosystem partners to drive the growth of mobile broadband in India with 3G and LTE.”
Qualcomm said it will continue to execute on its previously stated plan for the India LTE Venture and expects to attract one or more “experienced 3G HSPA and/or EV-DO operator(s) for the construction of an LTE network in compliance with the Indian government’s roll-out requirements for the BWA spectrum, and then to exit the venture.”
(Qualcomm has a history of acquiring spectrum licenses in auctions for the intent of building out a network using a specific technology and then spinning off that venture. Those include the formation of Leap Wireless International Inc., which was formed in the late 1990’s and more recently its FLO TV Inc. venture that Qualcomm is reportedly looking to exit.)
Unlike traditional FDD spectrum bands that rely on separate uplink and downlink channels to mitigate interference issues with mobile transmission, TDD spectrum relies on specific changes to technology to allow for both uplink and downlink to occur in a single block of spectrum. The technology is currently being used domestically by Clearwire Corp. for its WiMAX network. The LTE TDD standard has also gained traction in China where the world’s largest mobile operator China Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. has begun trialing the technology.
The push to launch mobile broadband services in India is gaining steam as analysts predict the market to explode over the next several years. A recent report from Juniper noted that the mobile data market in India could surge from $4 billion this year to $10 billion by 2015.