Easy to deploy in high-traffic areas, minimizes service dead zones
Following a pilot implementation in select regions such as Jeju Island within the first half of the year, verification in a commercial environment is scheduled.

KT (Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu, www.kt.com) announced on the 8th that it has succeeded in the world's first demonstration of a small cell (ultra-small base station) based on LWA (LTE-WiFi Aggregation) technology, which is attracting attention as a next-generation LTE technology, in collaboration with Nokia.

LWA refers to a 3GPP standard technology that combines licensed LTE frequencies and unlicensed WiFi frequencies at a base station rather than at a terminal for transmission.

This demonstration, conducted by KT at Nokia Labs (Arlington, Texas) in the United States, was carried out in a small cell environment with a terminal providing LWA functionality, and succeeded in merging and transmitting LTE and WiFi signals without any additional equipment.

Previously, separate gateway equipment was deployed in large base station environments to merge LTE and WiFi signals, but the small cell demonstrated this time is capable of autonomous signal merging and transmission, enabling stable wireless services even if the communication environment changes upon future implementation.

In addition, small cells are much smaller than base stations, making them easy to deploy in urban areas with high traffic. Furthermore, because they consume less power than conventional systems, they can be easily installed outside of buildings using internet lines, thereby minimizing service dead zones.

KT plans to deploy the LTE-WiFi integrated small cell demonstrated this time to Jeju Island within the first half of this year We plan to implement a pilot system in select regions and verify it in a commercial environment.

"Through this technical cooperation with Nokia, we have secured effective LTE-WiFi integrated small cell technology," said Kim Young-sik, Senior Vice President and Head of KT's Field Technology Support Group. "We will strive to provide the world's highest level of wireless quality, extending not only to next-generation LTE evolution technology but also to the development of 5G technology."

Meanwhile, KT plans to strengthen cooperation with Nokia not only on next-generation LTE-WiFi merged technology but also on the development of upgraded LTE technology to provide high-quality wireless services.