Understanding LTE-Unlicensed // July 2015
Editor's Note
LTE-U Attracts
Controversy and
Industry support
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>> Can LTE and Wi-Fi Coexist in the Same Spectrum Band?
"Today, an operator might find one channel that they
can devote to their own use," said Paolini, "but they
don't know—6 months a year from now, 5 years from
now—who else is going to be sharing that spectrum."
Technical challenges
Although the debate is ongoing about whether LTE
will "crowd out" Wi-Fi users, Jeff Thompson, CEO
of Towerstream, believes the majority of technical
challenges have been resolved. "We believe using
licensed spectrum on the upstream would make LTE
a good neighbor," he said. "Ultimately, LTE-U will
give a better user experience than Wi-Fi alone or
LTE Licensed alone. We also think there is a great
opportunity for carriers to use the 3.5 GHz band for
LTE-U."
Many of the companies that make LTE chips have
a financial incentive to not devalue Wi-Fi, so it's in
many companies' best interest to make coexistence
work. "Our own tests and research have shown that
LTE can be a better neighbor than a new Wi-Fi device
introduced in the same location," said Thompson.
"With Towerstream's systems in major urban markets,
we know what channel we are using on our Wi-Fi
systems and will have a large advantage to deploy
carrier LTE over the 5 GHz band."
"The real challenge," Mike Schabel, VP of small cells,
Alcatel-Lucent, said, "is this: If you're going to use that
unlicensed spectrum, how do you do it in a way that's
fair, standardized in a way that everybody can go use it,
and doesn't really change the nature or behavior of the
other technologies that are already there? It requires a
tremendous amount of collaboration and careful study
to get that done properly."
n
"Ultimately, LTE-U will give a
better user experience than Wi-
Fi alone or LTE Licensed alone.
We also think there is a great
opportunity for carriers to use the
3.5 GHz band for LTE-U."
JEFF THOMPSON, CEO OF TOWERSTREAM
