LTE-U and Wi-Fi: What Carriers Need to Know

Some wireless carriers including Verizon have big plans for LTE- Unlicensed (LTE-U), also known as licensed assisted access (LAA). What do network operators need to know about this technology?

The most important thing is that the technology uses a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. Initial plans focus on using the same unlicensed spectrum in the 5 GHz band where some Wi-Fi equipment operates. So what does this mean for Wi-Fi? And why use LTE-U rather than just using Wi-Fi? A white paper from Signals Research Group titled “The Prospect of LTE and Wi-Fi Sharing Unlicensed Spectrum” aims to answer these questions and also provides a good primer on LTE-U technology.