SoftBank, ZTE trial TDD Massive MIMO

Japan’s SoftBank and ZTE have achieved a peak data rate of 956Mbps during a trial of TDD Massive MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) technology on a commercial network.

The trial in Nagasaki involved 24 terminals simultaneously downloading FTP data at the 956Mbps rate over 20MHz of bandwidth.

ZTE’s core space division multiplexing technology means that each user on a pre5G TDD Massive MIMO network exclusively occupies 20MHz spectrum resources on a single carrier.

In commercial networks the average user data rate reaches 40Mbps or above, and the cell spectrum efficiency is improved by 7.7 times compared with that of traditional LTE cells, ZTE said.

The trial marked the first practical test for ZTE’s Pre5G TDD Massive MIMO technology on a commercial network, and follows verification tests in China achieving a data rate of 1.1Gbps in a 24-stream field test.

SoftBank is ZTE’s first pilot partner for the Smart Life project, which involves planning product solutions for pre5G and early 5G networks. The companies have been conducting R&D on improvement of spectrum efficiency, 4G/5G network integration mobile bandwidth, IoT and Internet of Vehicles technologies.

“ZTE is the first partner to support Massive MIMO 24 streams in the commercial network at a throughput of close to 956Mbps on a single carrier,” SoftBank network department director Takeshi Noda said.

“We will work together to build a network that makes the future life of SoftBank’s users smarter and more intelligent.”