Motorola announced today that it has successfully completed the Phase I TD-LTE field trials with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Motorola announced today that it has successfully completed the Phase I TD-LTE field trials with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). This over-the-air (OTA) TD-LTE trial included key functionality, performance and mobility test cases in a multi-sector, multi-site environment that lays a solid foundation for large scale TD-LTE deployment.

Motorola’s key trial achievements include:

• High performance with downlink throughput up to 80 megabits per second (Mbps)
• Successful demonstration of key TD-LTE features including mobility and handover with live applications, low latency and more
• Utilization of third-party user equipment (UE) test to guarantee standard compliance
• TD-LTE trial sites overlaid on existing 2G/3G sites

Motorola is now ready to begin Phase II TD-LTE field trials with increased focus on applications and quality of service (QoS) in Shunyi, Beijing.

The milestone follows the recently announced TD-LTE key functionalities test initiated by the TD-LTE working group, which was set up by MIIT in June 2009 with China’s three telecom operators and other key industry partners. Motorola’s unmatched expertise in OFDM mobile broadband technologies and class-leading TD-LTE solution performance has been leveraged as part of these efforts to develop a globally competitive TD-LTE end-to-end solution and drive for a healthy TD-LTE ecosystem. Motorola also leveraged its world-class research and development (R&D) facilities devoted to the development of TD-LTE, including two R&D centers in China – the Wireless Broadband Access Solutions (WBAS) Hangzhou Center and the Wideband Base Transceiver System (WBTS) China Center – to enable a prompt response to local customer requirements.

“Thanks to our valued collaboration with partners, TD-LTE is well on its way to realizing its potential as a promising next-generation wireless technology that enables a compelling media mobility lifestyle,” said Dr. Mohammad Akhtar, corporate vice president and general manager, Motorola Networks business in Asia Pacific. “We are very pleased to have reached yet another milestone with the successful completion of Phase I TD-LTE field trials and are looking forward to upcoming trial results. The announcement today is a testament to Motorola’s commitment to TDD spectrum operators around the world and once again demonstrates the maturity of our TD-LTE solution.”

As an important TD-LTE partner of China Mobile Communications Corporation for the TD-LTE showcase network at Shanghai Expo, Motorola provides indoor network coverage for several pavilions of Shanghai Expo. To help operators build a healthy TD-LTE ecosystem, Motorola will also work with partners to integrate and launch TD-LTE USB dongles that support 2.3GHz at the event.

Dr. Akhtar added, “Accurate network simulation and planning, as well as highly efficient system optimization are key factors for successful deployment of a LTE network. Motorola has an advanced simulation platform based on LTE and is now working closely with China Mobile to leverage the proven TD-LTE platform at Shanghai Expo and in Beijing Shunyi. With its more than 10 years of OFDM expertise and award-winning LTE solutions, Motorola will be in the best position to enable TDD spectrum operators to roll out their next-generation networks.”

Interest in TD-LTE continues to grow because of several key factors: the low cost of TDD spectrum that is particularly attractive to emerging and developing markets; operators’ continuing need for more capacity and spectrum; and the ability to roaming and hand-off between TD-LTE and FDD LTE networks. In effect, this ability to roam between FDD LTE and TD-LTE means operators can use TD-LTE networks to augment their FDD LTE network for more capacity or other applications such as video broadcasting, while operators choosing to use TD-LTE as their “main” network can still offer their subscribers the ability to roam to other operators’ FDD LTE networks in different countries.

Motorola is one of the few vendors in the industry that has expertise in, and is committed to investing in multiple wireless broadband technologies, both FDD LTE and TD-LTE as well as WiMAX. In addition to the TD-LTE trials with MIIT, Motorola is actively engaged with global tier-one operators on TD-LTE trials.

Motorola’s Networks business delivers fully integrated and customizable media solutions enabling operators to offer personalized, rich media experiences to their subscribers. As a global wireless infrastructure leader, Motorola is committed to 4G with WiMAX and LTE solutions that provide a way for operators to profitably meet the ever-growing demand for mobile broadband today while giving 2G and 3G customers a future path as we continue to support their legacy networks. Motorola brings its services, fourth-generation OFDM platform and 25 years of wireless data systems innovation, experience and expertise to bear as operators – wireline, wireless, cable and telco – seek to evolve their networks for the future.