Nokia and the Saudi Telecom Company (STC) conducted a test of MulteFire technology, which combines LTE with Wi-Fi deployment in unlicensed spectrum bands such as 5GHz.
The test, which used Nokia's FlexiZone small cells together with MulteFire software, showed how MulteFire can co-exist with Wi-Fi to deliver the performance, speeds and security offered by LTE in a densely populated environment, Nokia said. During the test, Wi-Fi was turned on in the same frequency and placed very close to a MulteFire access point. MulteFire allows the delivery of high-speed services across multiple end-user devices regardless of end-users' mobile operator, allowing anyone with a MulteFire device to access data using a MulteFire access point.
The test showed up to 120 Mbps of total download and upload throughput. The test also showed up to 50 percent better range and up to two times better coverage in comparison to Wi-Fi.
MulteFire complements heterogeneous networks (HetNets), which use a mixture of macro and small cell radios, allowing operators to meet the increased connectivity demands of future smart cities and the Internet of Things (IoT).
