Getting further integration between HSPA and LTE with carrier aggregation

[rmwambu]

LTE networks are expanded and upgraded with the more advanced HSPA+ features in order to cater to the ever increasing appetite for wireless data. Due to the major investments in the HSPA+ infrastructure and the vast and rapidly increasing HSPA+ based mobile broadband device penetration the two networks can be foreseen to coexist in parallel for years to come. The evolution of both HSPA+ and LTE standards has introduced aggregation of carriers for higher data rates, better load balancing and increased spectrum utilization, and since the dawn of LTE, the standard support for radio level interworking for HSPA and LTE radios has been included. A natural continuation of such development is to tighten the interworking even further and introduce similar aggregation of carriers between the two radio access technologies. FOR FURTHER INSIGHT GOTO: http://trends-in-telecoms.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-further-integration-between.html