Indonesia’s XL Axiata, after launching LTE services this year in many cities, is already trialling LTE-Advanced licence assisted access (LAA) technology in collaboration with Ericsson.

LAA combines a frequency in a licensed band (1.8GHz in XL’s case) with a frequency in the unlicensed 5GHz band, which is also used for Wi-Fi service, to boost theoretical peak speeds to 300Mb/s.

The trial used Ericsson’s RBS 6402 base stations, which are expected to be available commercially in the first quarter of next year, while compatible handsets will be launched around mid-2016.

The use of LAA technology fits with XL’s deployment of 4G base stations at hotspot locations, both indoor and outdoors, said XL chief service management officer Yessie Yosetya (pictured).

“We expect consumption of video services to increase with the launch of 4G, and we want to make sure our internet service is really super fast and stable,” she said.

XL, the country’s third largest player with a 14 per cent market share in Q3, has rolled out 4G service in Medan, Bogor, Yogyakarta, Mataram, Denpasar and Surabaya, with plans to launch in Bandung and Jakarta in the coming months.

The majority of its network infrastructure is ready for the implementation of LTE-Advanced using carrier aggregation, the company said.

More Ericsson wins
Ericsson also announced equipment deals this month with Indonesia’s top two mobile players – Telkomsel and Indosat.

The country’s number two operator, Indosat, selected Ericsson to upgrade its network in greater Jakarta to LTE. The deal covers the operator’s 2G and 3G networks as well as performance optimisation.

Market leader Telkomsel also awarded the vendor a contract to upgrade its network in the country’s Kalimantan region. The project will see the installation of Ericsson’s RBS 6320, a low-cost, main remote enclosure product, developed for tropical climates.