Softbank Tests Sequans LTE Interference Cancellation

Softbank has conducted a technical trial of Sequans’ AIR (advanced interference rejection) technology to determine its value in mitigating interference in LTE networks. Sequans AIR is an interference mitigation algorithm whereby the receiver uses multiple antennas to form a receive beam toward the desired signal and spatial nulls toward interfering signals.

Sequans said the laboratory trial used commercial eNodeBs (base stations) commonly deployed in Softbank’s network and a receiver equipped with Sequans AIR.  This was tested against a default receiver in both high mobility (vehicular) and low mobility (pedestrian) scenarios. In both cases the Sequans AIR receiver delivered performance gains well above the default receiver, measured at 7dB in the low mobility case and 9dB in the high mobility case.

Sequans notes that its AIR technology is designed to work in any LTE network, regardless of eNodeB vendor, carrier frequency, channel bandwidth, or duplexing method.

"These gains are meaningful to operators and their end users,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO. “In the low mobility case, we showed that a Sequans AIR receiver can handle about five times as much interference as a non-Sequans AIR receiver, and for the high mobility case, the Sequans AIR receiver can handle about eight times as much interference. This translates into 10 Mbps higher throughput in the low mobility case and 14 Mbps higher throughput in the high mobility case. In very high interference areas, such as might be encountered near cell edges, users can expect to get three times better throughput—this can mean users staying connected in conditions where other devices would be dropped from the network.”

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