Rohde & Schwarz has said there is a “clear path” to the commercial launch of LTE-A 3x carrier aggregation after it successfully simulated Category 9 throughput using Qualcomm’s latest modem.
The equipment testing and manufacturing company said it was able to sustain full protocol stack rates for LTE Cat 9 using its CMW500 radio communications tester, achieving 3x 20MHz aggregation and downlink speeds of 450Mbps.
Qualcomm’s modem demonstrated “stability and support” for 3x carrier aggregation, it added, meaning operators could deliver higher peak data rates to customers.
Rhode & Schwarz said the test showcased the benefits of LTE-A Category 9“ across the entire supply chain” and would help speed up the commercial launch of the technology.
Its CMW500 wideband radio communications, which the company claimed is the only test platform currently able to combine RF and protocol tests for Cat 9 devices, supports full stack verification from RF up to the application layer in addition to 2×2/ 4×2 MIMO component carriers.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 SoC will be the first chip from the manufacturer to support Cat 9 LTE-A when it launches in early 2015.
It features a fully-integrated 64-bi CPU and can aggregate both LTE FDD and TDD bands, in addition to being backwards-compatible with GSM/EDGE, CDMA1x/EVDO, TD-SCDMA and WCDMA/HSPA+.
The chipmaker recently unveiled its Gobi 9×45 LTE-A Cat 10 modem, which supports up to 3x60MHz carrier aggregation and integrated support for LTE Broadcast, VoLTE and LTE dual-SIM.
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