LTE-U 對於電信營運商相當重要,未來可以透過它提供更穩定的訊號。

在美國時間 1 月 29 日,FCC 允許 Verion 與 Qualcomm 進行 LTE-U(LTE Unlicensed, 未授權頻道)的相關測試。

LTE-U 一般是指 Wi-Fi 用的 5GHz 頻段,不同於現有電信商所使用的頻段與頻寬,全部均需要由政府主管機關核准使用。一般來說,LTE-U 訊號接收與發送與 Wi-Fi 相差不大,但不需要競標與核准的前提下,具有相當大的發展空間。

lte-u

但,這需要取決於各國主管機關對 5GHz 的態度。

畢竟,過去 Wi-Fi 的 5GHz 頻段在未來需要讓電信商進行商業應用,在一些制度與法規上可能會有部分牴觸。

雖然 Verizon 與 Qualcomm 聲稱 LTE-U 信號測試頻段將不會干擾到現有用戶,但 Google 卻有有不一樣的觀點。Google 認為使用 LTE-U 頻道將會排擠掉原先在該頻段的 Wi-Fi 用戶,只是這一些說法仍有待實際測試數據來證實。

“The Wi-Fi Alliance, working together with advocates of LTE-U, is developing a test plan to evaluate the coexistence of LTE-U with Wi-Fi and other devices operating in the unlicensed spectrum. A draft of the plan is expected to be released early next month. Qualcomm and Verizon have agreed to participate in subsequent laboratory and real world co-existence testing of LTE-U. The Wi-Fi Alliance recently submitted a letter expressing appreciation for Qualcomm’s continued engagement in the Wi-Fi Alliance’s coexistence work and expressing that it had no objection to the grant of an STA for equipment testing at Verizon facilities, with the assurance of continued cooperation in the separate co-existence evaluation and testing process.”-FCC

根據 FCC 的條款,Qualcomm 與 Verizon 將會針對 LTE-U 進行測試,以確保使用 LTE-U 的情況下,不會對其他裝置進行干擾。