Telefónica Deutschland is to deploy a “5G ready” antenna aimed at overcoming space limitations while delivering next generation cellular services.
The German operator is working with Huawei on a jointly developed solution, which features an integrated 14-port multi-band antenna and TDD 3.5GHz Massive MIMO antenna, that it said would help pave the way towards rolling out 5G.
It said operators face challenges in deploying architecture that offers high-band four transmit and four receive signals over Sub 3GHz, as well as Massive MIMO, as multiple antennas that they may not have room for are required.
However, Telefónica Deutschland gave no details about the timescale of the technology’s rollout or where in Germany they will be brought to.
Jaime Lluch, Radio Access Network Director in Telefónica Deutschland, said: “We believe that during the future-oriented network evolution of MBB, antenna installation space severely hinders the progress of network deployment.
“Telefónica Deutschland and Huawei’s 5G ready antenna deployment solution can address the challenge of insufficient space, while ensuring excellent network performance and capacity.”
Joyee Zhang, President of Huawei Wireless Network Antenna Business Unit, added: “This innovative solution can help operators to overcome the obstacles of 5G network deployment and potentially further help to achieve new business success.”
It will deploy a mixture of licensed and unlicensed spectrum, as well as Massive MIMO in densely populated city centres to increase capacity.