The capacity-enhancing deployment of LTE-U has been initiated by T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS) and this will require new smartphones that achieve compatibility with the technology. With the LTE-U technology, LTE signals are sent over the unused spectrum of Wi-Fi channels with a frequency of 5GHz.
“LTE-U will make it possible for T-Mobile to bring its forthcoming Gigabit LTE to more places across the country,” a press release from T-Mobile read.
FCC approval
The announcement of the deployment comes after the U.S. Federal Communication Commission gave approval for the LTE-U technology following T-Mobile’s and Wi-Fi alliance’s long-standing disagreements over the co-existence of LTE-U with Wi-Fi. Fears had been raised that the technology was bound to affect the speeds of Wi-Fi though this is not so as signals are not transmitted through busy Wi-Fi channels but rather through those that are not in use.
The revelation that new smartphones will be required in order to access LTE-U was made by T-Mobile with the promise that by Spring new ones will have arrived as there are none in the market currently that have achieved compatibility with LTE-U. One of the chips that is LTE-U-compatible is the Snapdragon 821 and the Snapdragon 820 from QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) though T-Mobile could be eyeing the Samsung Galaxy S8 which will feature the Snapdragon 835 chip.
Coverage gripe
The downside is that the new technology will not solve the biggest problem users have with T-Mobile, which is coverage. This is because the technology is only able to reach a couple of feet from one access point. But the technology could find use in areas that are densely populated such as city centers. It could also serve well in places such as office complexes, casinos, hotels, college campuses and stadiums. In buildings, the technology is capable of improving speeds and coverage but it has to be placed within and not externally.
Later in the year, other wireless carriers are also understood to be planning to install LTE-U as well as another technology that is closely related, LAA.
In Wednesday’s trading session, shares of T-Mobile US Inc fell by 0.19% to close the day at $63.08.