ZTE has launched the world's first Pre5G FDD LTE Massive MIMO offering, after completing field trials of the technology with both China Unicom and China Telecom.
During separate field trials at the China Unicom Fujian Branch Quanzhou Innovation Center and the China Telecom Innovation Center, the companies verified that the technology is capable of enhancing cell throughput by over three times using existing spectrum.
ZTE's offering is compatible with existing 4G devices, potentially allowing operators to seamlessly increase speeds for subscribers without requiring their customers to buy new handsets.
ZTE noted that bringing Pre5G Massive MIMO to FDD networks will significantly expand its commercial opportunities for the technology, given that more than 85% of LTE networks are currently based on the FDD standard.
Presently the vendor is in negotiations with several Chinese and overseas operators regarding FDD Massive MIMO. The first commercial deployments are expected in 2017, with China Telecom expected to be among the first-year adopters.
Massive MIMO is expected to be a critical technology in the evolution of 4G networks towards 5G.