Vodafone and 5G

Vodafone has started rolling out a mobile network technology that has been described as one of the building blocks of 5G.

19:01 22 June 2017

Vodafone is the first in Europe to deploy “Massive MIMO” antenna panels that use beam-forming technology to improve coverage and speeds. The technology, which has already been installed in two cell towers in Newbury, is expected to be rolled out to another “30 or so” sites. It uses multiple radio transmitters and receivers to form “beams” of signal around individual users to reach devices at the very edge of a cell’s reach.

 

 

Kye Prigg, Vodafone UK’s head of mobile networks, said: “This is huge. Massive MIMO is what 5G is going to be all about.

 

“This is [one of] the building blocks of 5G. This brings you massive amounts of sensitivity because you’ve got all these receivers but it also brings you very powerful beam forming.”

 

"What we’ve seen in the trials is everyone gets a much higher average throughput,” said Mr Prigg.

 

“With 16 to 20 terminals all running HD video at the same time, a normal base station would really slow everyone down because it’s a shared resource but with this – because you’re creating this beam forming of spectrum around each person, like a private cell around each person – each person is getting 20-30Mb of throughput.

 

“Because you can channel the energy, you can give more power to an individual user.”