Telecom network vendor Ericsson has joined hands with IBM to research phased-array antenna designs for 5G network.
Ericsson expects that its research with IBM on phased-array antenna techniques will result into to development of prototype systems that will serve more mobile users, enable more services on the same frequency and offer better data speeds.
The strategy of Ericsson is to open up possibilities for new uses by developing antenna technology with IBM.
The phased-array design allows for more directional antennas that are electrically-steerable and will have significant weight and flexibility advantages over existing mechanical antennas.
Thomas Noren, head of Product Management Radio, Ericsson, said: “The outcome of these technological advances will integrate on the order of a hundred antennas and radios on a single chip smaller than a credit card in size, greatly facilitating the use of these technologies for high-capacity small cells in indoor spaces and dense downtown areas.”
Ericsson has already showed 5 Gbps over-the-air in trials in July. The telecom equipment vendor is also working to solve the size barrier.
Ericsson Mobility Report predicts that by 2019 there will be a ten-time growth in mobile data traffic and the 200 million M2M devices in use at the end of 2013 will grow by three to four times, before 5G even arrives.
“We have accumulated over 10 years of experience in developing radio frequency (RF) integrated circuit and packaging solutions, demonstrating highly integrated phased arrays for various applications,” said Mehmet Soyuer, manager of the Communication and Computation Subsystems Department, IBM Research.
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