Globe and Huawei team up to deploy commercial FDD Massive MIMO

Philippines Globe Telecom has partnered with Huawei to commence the trial of the world's first FDD Massive MIMO commercial product.

FDD Massive MIMO is expected to boost cell capacity by a factor of two to three times based on legacy terminals compared to the current LTE deployment.

This enhancement in cell capacity will provide a better experience for more consumers.

Globe began building LTE networks in 2013 and is utilizing LTE technology to provide mobile broadband and fixed wireless broadband services.

Mobile data traffic has been growing rapidly driven by increased smartphone penetration.

LTE networks have been the major contributor to this growth over the last few years.

Massive MIMO technology can enhance network capacity without adding additional spectrum resources and deferring to the construction of new sites.

Massive MIMO is also seen as one of the key technologies for the future 5G era network.

Globe Telecom chief technical advisor Robert Tan says, "We are committed to providing users with high-quality and high-speed connectivity to support their digital lifestyle.

"Video and rich multimedia content are driving the growth in data demand and the need for a better customer experience.

"The Massive MIMO technology utilizes spectrum more efficiently and enables us to deliver better customer experience with a boost in data capacity to support the exponential growth in wireless data consumption from our increasing base of MBB and WTTx customers," adds Tan.

"We are glad to see the timely introduction of Huawei's FDD Massive MIMO commercial products. It is a natural evolution of our network towards the 5G era."

Huawei LTE product line president Veni Shone says, "Since the release of commercial TDD Massive MIMO products two years ago, such products have been deployed by over 40 operators.

"This shows Huawei's technology accumulation and experience in Massive MIMO deployment. Now, Huawei is launching the FDD Massive MIMO commercial product.

"We are pleased to see that Globe has chosen Huawei's Massive MIMO solution to cope with its growing wireless data traffic," Shone adds.

"It is our hope that Huawei's active-antenna technologies supporting all RATs and multiple bands can effectively help global operators embrace the era of massive connections and maximize spectral efficiency.

"We also hope it can effectively facilitate operators' digital transformation and further support a continuous evolution towards the 5G era."