Japan’s NTT DoCoMo pushes the envelope of 4G with mini-cell sites that deliver blazing speeds

The frequency bands that carriers use around the world can differ greatly, despite some of the common bands that most devices are able to use (like 900, 1800 and 2100MHz) and NTT DoCoMo is no different, operating its mobile network on the aforementioned frequencies plus 700, 1500, 1700 and 2000MHz. When it comes to developing mobile technology, DoCoMo is among the leaders in the field.

LTE-A service is in the works, and while the actual deployment schedule has not been arranged, we can expect it to be amongst the first carriers to roll it out. Downstream speeds are expected to exceed 225Mbps.

While those technological challenges are worked out, DoCoMo has started deploying indoor multiband small cell sites that are compatible with the 1.5, 1.7 and 2.0GHz range, three out of four bands the carrier delivers LTE service with. These small indoor cell sites have the ability to deliver download speeds up to 150Mbps and are also LTE-A compatible.

According to DoCoMo, the technology is enabling a single antenna to deliver the throughput that might otherwise be achieved with a four-antenna system. Such scales allow the carriers to reduce cost, take advantage of limited physical space and use spectrum more efficiently.

The space reduction element will certainly be of interest to other carriers around the world that operate in congested cities with limited spectrum.