South Korean operator LG U+ announced toward the end of February a partnership with Huawei for LTE Pico Cell (pico eNodeB) deployment to strengthen the capacity of existing macro cell sites. The deployment began at the beginning of this year in six major South Korean cities, including major parts of metropolitan Seoul, and is planned to expand to the rest of South Korea.
LG U+’s collaboration with Huawei on LTE pico cells began in December 2012. Pico cells provide connections for up to 200 simultaneous users within a range of 100 to 200 meters and a wider coverage area than femto cells (one femto cell base station supports 20 simultaneous user connections and a 10-meter coverage area). In large buildings, shopping centers, as well as densely populated hotspot areas, pico cells increase LTE network capacity and enhance quality and stability of network services to ensure a top user experience. Pico cells are small (equivalent in size to one-third of an industry-average RRU) and consume substantially less power than macro base stations.
Choi Taek Jin, Director of LG U+’s Technology and Strategy Department, said it is difficult to utilize macro base stations alone to meet the explosive growth of LTE traffic demands. LG U+ reportedly choose to deploy pico cells and other small cell base stations to provide more stable LTE services and user experience in addition to traditional macro cell deployment.