30 November 2016, Shenzhen, China – ZTE Corporation (0763.HK / 000063.SZ), a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, has completed the first round of IoT tests based on long term evolution (LTE), Wi-Fi link aggregation (LWA) architecture defined by 3GPP R13, in partnership with MediaTek.

During the tests, ZTE and MediaTek successfully achieved bandwidth aggregation for both the unlicensed band wireless local area network (WLAN) and licensed band LTE. The test throughput was close to the theoretical peak, with both functional and performance test results achieving expected goals.

The test environment followed the LWA standard architecture as defined by 3GPP R13. The test used an X20 custom terminal provided by MediaTek. The evolved NodeB (eNB) software was upgraded to support the LWA function. Standard control plane and bearer plane connection were set up between the eNB NE and WT. The test version supported two bearer distribution modes: split bearer and switch bearer, for flexible configuration of LTE and WLAN.

LWA is the latest feature incorporated in 3GPP release 13 (LTE-Advanced Pro), which integrates Wi-Fi and LTE with a new service architecture that couples non-licensed spectrum WLANs to LTE systems at a low cost, thus greatly improving LTE performance and the value of WLAN. Base stations and smart phones can use the LWA feature to split data traffic, so that part of the LTE traffic can be tunnelled through the WLAN. For operators with both LTE and WLAN, LWA can help them improve customer experience by integrating network resources and aggregating bandwidth through software upgrades. Being the first end-to-end LWA IoT test based on the standard 3GPP R13 architecture, this marks a positive step towards commercial launch and means that operators can connect more devices to the 4G network at a lower cost to bring users a high quality experience.

After the test, ZTE will release scenario-specific LWA solutions including high-density indoor coverage and home blind-spot covering based on QCell, Femto and other product platforms. As part of the Pre5G solution, LWA will help operators achieve integration and optimisation of LTE and WLAN network resources, eliminate network blind spots and implement indoor coverage, in order to facilitate the golden age of small cell development.