CommScope, Nokia partner on Massive MIMO Integrated Antenna

CommScope has collaborated with Nokia to develop a Massive MIMO (multiple input/multiple output) integrated antenna solution that enables network densification in support of mobile data traffic growth and the evolution to 5G.

The Massive MIMO beamforming antenna solution consists of a CommScope dual-band, FDD-LTE antenna integrated with two Nokia AirScale radios to deliver 16T16R Massive MIMO in two bands simultaneously. This integrated antenna solution will add capacity in both uplink and downlink and provide coverage enhancement for 4.9G networks.

“The path to 5G includes evolving the current 4G network through densification, virtualization and optimization to deliver an enhanced mobile broadband experience,” said Ben Cardwell, senior vice president, CommScope Mobility Solutions. “The new Massive MIMO solution showcases the synergies of combining Nokia’s radio expertise with CommScope’s advanced antenna technology.”

Antenna technology is evolving with deployments today of 4xMIMO with four streams of data transmitted and received. Massive MIMO is an evolutionary leap forward that uses more elements to support multi-user MIMO, beamforming and typically 8 or 16 streams to enable a major boost in network capabilities.

Massive MIMO substantially increases spectral efficiency to deliver more network capacity and wider coverage and takes LTE network performance to near 5G levels.

This new Massive MIMO beamforming antenna solution will be available in mid-2018 for commercial deployment and will be on display in the CommScope stand at Mobile World Congress 2018 in Hall 2, stand 2J30.