Building on the introduction of Carrier Aggregation in the world\'s first three commercial LTE-Advanced networks in Korea during 2013, NSN is now presenting the evolution of LTE-Advanced for maximum performance in data rates and network capacity. At Mobile World Congress 2014, NSN will demonstrate the next step in its Carrier Aggregation evolution using its commercially available Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Stations: individual users\' downlink data rates of up to 450 Mbps, achieved by aggregating spectrum resources on 3 carriers for operators having a total bandwidth of up to 60 MHz.

"NSN continues to break ground in LTE-Advanced development," said Stéphane Téral, Principal Analyst at Infonetics Research. "In 2013, LTE-Advanced has been launched commercially by the Korean operators and I expect a ramp-up in more markets during 2014. For wireless operators, LTE-A Carrier Aggregation increases competitiveness as it allows for large, high data rate pipes to be created out of fragmented frequency allocations. NSN is well-positioned to help its customers achieve the highest data rates possible in commercially launched networks."

"As the development of LTE and TD-LTE smartphones progresses towards higher aggregated bandwidth, operators continue to evolve their LTE network capacity adding further frequency allocations. With our software-based evolution of LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation, we combine the advantages of both these trends,"said Tero Peltola, vice president of FDD LTE at NSN.

With the help of NSN\'s planning and optimization services, operators can effectively translate their investment in capacity into supporting the highest possible data rates, in line with the expected evolution of the user device market.

"Carrier Aggregation is not something that can be easily implemented without the support of network planning. When planned properly, throughput doubles on average over the cells," said Dennis Lorenzin, head of Global Services for network planning & optimization at NSN. "NSN is committed to helping operators deliver sustained fast data rates in commercial networks and not just highest headline peak speeds under ideal conditions."

NSN is also evolving LTE-Advanced towards higher network capacity by enabling more efficient integration of small cells with the macro network. NSN’s dynamic eICIC solution manages interference while balancing the subscriber load across the small cell and macro layers. Unlike competing standard-based eICIC offerings, NSN’s solution works with upcoming LTE-Advanced devices as well as with the LTE devices available today. This means that operators can expect greatly improved multi-layer performance right away.

"The small cell deployment focus is definitely moving beyond simply filling coverage gaps to improving subscriber experience with added capacity. Even though it is possible to deploy LTE small cells without interference management, NSN’s dynamic, load-balancing eICIC solution boosts capacity to 30 percent with coordinated macro and small cell interference management techniques,"continued Peltola. "For effective capacity growth with HetNets, resource management must be optimized for all users, regardless of their LTE device’s capabilities or whether they are connected on the small cell or macro layer. With our solution, operators can ensure every user enjoys a performance boost following the small cell deployments."