Lao Telecom, Huawei Verify FDD Smart Massive MIMO Solution

Laos PDR based Lao Telecom has recently worked with Huawei to verify the enhanced FDD smart massive MIMO solution based on Huawei's latest software version of eRAN17.1.

Results of the verification suggested that the enhanced solution, with a new intelligent beam solution introduced, greatly improved network performance: At the test sites, the number of users increased by 26%, traffic grew by 20%, and the user-perceived rate rose by 30%.

Over the past few years, Lao Telecom has seen a rapid growth in traffic, with the average monthly data usage per user exceeding 25 GB. The growth was especially significant in hotspot areas. Networks in the traditional 4T4R 6-sector form were also congested, putting user experience at risk. To accommodate this trend, Lao Telecom adopted the FDD dual-band massive MIMO solution in 2020 in hotspot areas. Thanks to a higher spectral efficiency achieved by this solution, the operator managed to expand network capacity to 1.9 times as large as that of a 4T4R 6-sector network, without adding sites or spectrum resources. Suppressed traffic was therefore significantly released. The joint test taken this year proved that the enhanced FDD massive MIMO solution further improved the network performance for Lao Telecom. This paves the way for large-scale commercial use of massive MIMO.

Latthapanya Khieovongphachanh, CTO of Lao Telecom, said that Lao Telecom is dedicated to delivering the best communications experience to users through network technology innovation. The operator was glad to see that Huawei's massive MIMO solution effectively eased the network congestion in hotspot areas and greatly improved user experience. This joint test is a further testament to the leading performance of Huawei's massive MIMO solution. He also said that Lao Telecom looks forward to working with Huawei in the future for more innovative technologies and their implementation, with the aim of providing users with the best network experience.

Huawei's FDD massive MIMO solution is a capacity solution for hotspot areas to provide the optimal experience for terminal users. It is realized by the mature wideband multiple-antenna technology and the innovative intelligent multi-beam solution.

This massive MIMO solution has been put into large-scale commercial use on more than 50 networks worldwide. It helps operators improve their network performance and enhance their competitiveness.