Polkomtel, the operator of Plus network and a member of Cyfrowy Polsat Group is rolling out the first in Poland LTE-Advanced network, offering data transfer rates of up to 300 Mbps.
Faster Internet access, better quality and enhanced capacity are the major benefits that customers will get.
The new network will enable Plus and Cyfrowy Polsat customers to use Internet access at data speeds of up to 300 Mbps. Such a speed is possible thanks to combination of bands from two radio frequencies - 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz, with Polkomtel using 20 MHz of spectrum in each frequency band. First base stations supporting LTE-Advanced technology have already been built in Warsaw.
Plus aggregated two frequency bands in LTE-Advanced standard, which enables Internet access at speeds of up to 300 Mbps. The speed has been accomplished by aggregating the spectrum from two carrier frequencies, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz, with 20 MHz of spectrum in LTE FDD standard used in each frequency band. LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation software has been used for the purpose of aggregation.
Plus already offers smartphones and routers which support LTE-Advanced technology. The operator’s customers already own over 70 thousand devices which enable Internet access at speeds of up to 300 Mbps.
”By launching LTE-Advanced we have not only doubled the maximum data transfer rate but also enhanced the network’s capacity, which will enable us to ensure broadband Internet access to a bigger group of users in the face of increasing traffic,” says Jacek Felczykowski, a Polkomtel Board Member. “First stations which operate in LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation standard are being put on air by us, and we will continue to expand the coverage footprint of this technology,” adds Felczykowski.
Plus carried out first frequency aggregations back in March 2014. In November 2014 Plus was the first operator in Poland who conducted LTE-Advanced tests with transfer rate of 300 Mbps while using the spectrum from 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz frequency bands. Plus was also the first operator in Poland who, jointly with Cyfrowy Polsat, achieved a data transfer rate of 150 Mbps using LTE technology and the first to have demonstrated LTE-Advanced in 800 MHz band, and finally the first to have carried out successful, live broadcast of a sports event over wireless networks while using LTE Broadcast (eMBMS) technology. Plus was also the first operator in Poland to have successfully tested voice calls in LTE technology (VoLTE).
