Optus and Huawei take another step towards 5G

Massive MIMO (multiple input multiple output) trial achieved aggregate cell throughput of 665 Mbps shared by 16 devices.

Optus and Huawei have completed a successful test of Massive MIMO (128T128R) technology in field on Sunday, 26 February 2017. 

The trial achieved aggregate cell throughput of 665Mbps over a single frequency channel of 20MHz on Optus’ 2300MHz frequency band, shared by 16 devices. 

Dennis Wong, Managing Director, Optus Networks, said: “Massive MIMO is an important technology enabler and lays the foundation for the upcoming 5G. We are proud to have successfully taken this next step towards 5G with our partner Huawei. 

 “Earlier this month, we launched the 4.5G network in Macquarie Park. Today’s announcement showcases our dedication to launching a world-class 5G network in Australia and shows how we are leading the field in testing the technology,” said Mr Wong.

The trial demonstrated an aggregated speed improvement of up to eight times of what is currently being experienced through existing 4G cell sites. It significantly increased the cell site capacity within the same spectrum channel, to serve more users especially for multimedia content delivery simultaneously. 

In addition to overall aggregated speed improvements, the Massive MIMO testing indicated a significant improvement to areas with high density populations, such as vertical buildings, with the new beamforming function  

“We’re seeing a 75% year on year increase in data consumption. Massive MIMO is an important step along the journey to 5G as it allows us to immediately increase cell site capacity and spectrum efficiency. For customers, this means that their experience will be of consistently high standard even in high usage situations – regardless of whether your neighbour is downloading movies, or the person across the hall streaming 4K videos off YouTube,” said Mr Wong.

To complete the trial, Optus used Huawei’s Massive MIMO AAU solution which has 16 beamforming streams in a 128T128R configuration, boosting Optus wireless network capacity and user experience by maximizing existing sites and spectrum resources.