09
Dual Connectivity
Dual connectivity is a technique in which a UE is connected to a network with two different nodes (LTE+NR or NR+NR) simultaneously. The architecture where one node is of LTE and other node is of 5G NR, is referred to as EN-DC. Similarly, when both the nodes are of 5G NR, is referred to as NR-DC architecture. The challenge of uplink limited cell range of mmWave network can be overcome by using it in dual connectivity mode by having the uplink on either LTE eNodeB in case of EN-DC or on 5G NR gNodeB with low/mid band in case of NR-DC. The below figure 9 is a logical representation to understand EN-DC architecture.
5G 4G
5G mmWave UL Coverage
5G mmWave DL Coverage
LTE Coverage
Figure 8: mmWave coverage EN-DC Scenario
Carrier aggregation (CA) is said to be combining of two or more carriers together to increase the data rates. CA can be used to aggregate up to 800 MHz of spectrum with up to 8 carrier components in DL (as on today) The large spectrum and higher channel bandwidth in mmWave enable to realize up to 800 MHz aggregated bandwidth- leads to higher throughput and capacity. The carrier aggregation across the FR1 and mmWave bands can be used for extending the coverage by leveraging FR1 band for UL channel. These carrier aggregation band combination strategies will need to consider at network planning stage to make full potential of mmWave in the network. Carrier Aggregation mmWave are newly introduced to mobile telecommunication. The product ecosystem i.e., radios, antenna, user devices, CPE are getting developed. Also, the product readiness at this point of time supports ‘Non-Stand Alone’ type of deployments. The mmWave products for ‘Stand Alone’ kind of deployment are still getting developed and getting tested in lab and not mature for commercial deployment at this point of time. Product Ecosystem
Powered by FlippingBook