PRESS RELEASE: The Anhui branch of China Telecom Corporation Limited (China Telecom Anhui) and Huawei completed China’s first commercial use case verification of 1.8 GHz + 2.1 GHz dual-band 8T8R RRUs in the Tongling section of the Hefei-Fuzhou High-Speed Railway, as part of their efforts to build premium 5G networks for high-speed railways. With the deployment of 5G on 2.1 GHz and 4G on 1.8 GHz, 5G and 4G networks are on a single device, achieving dual-band and dual-RAT coverage.

Test results show that compared with conventional 4T, 8T8R improves 5G and 4G coverage by 5 dB and 2.6 dB, respectively, increases average 5G downlink and uplink rates by 18% and 43%, respectively, and boosts the total traffic along the tested route by 42%. All these mean that users on high-speed railways can enjoy optimal network experience regardless of whether they are accessing 5G or 4G.

As key national infrastructure, high-speed railways play a critical role in the development of the national economy. Anhui has a large network of high-speed railways and therefore is a key target province for wireless network construction. Construction of Anhui high-speed railway networks faces four major challenges. First, fast-moving trains cause signal frequency shift, which affects network performance. Second, carriages and tunnels block the propagation of signals. Third, the coverage of each base station only lasts for a few seconds. Fourth, the complex terrain and tunnels in mountainous areas in Anhui make it difficult to plan networks. This is very much the case with the Tongling section, which has high requirements on network coverage due to its location on a viaduct and the numerous tunnels along the section.

To address these challenges, China Telecom Anhui chose the 1.8 GHz + 2.1 GHz dual-band 8T8R RRU solution to build a 5G network for the Tongling section of the Hefei-Fuzhou High-Speed Railway. The solution has the following benefits:

  1. The solution employs FDD 8T8R and other cutting-edge technologies such as high-gain array, precise beam sweeping, and high-resolution MU pairing. Compared with conventional 4T4R base stations, the solution achieves wider coverage, better user experience, and lower power consumption through 3D multi-antenna beamforming.
  2. The solution uses the industry’s only true-wideband power amplifier to implement millisecond-level power sharing between the 1.8 GHz and 2.1 GHz frequency bands, thus effectively avoiding power wastage and improving user experience and performance.
  3. The solution achieves low-carbon network deployment by enabling 4G and 5G networks to be built at the same site to improve network engineering while reducing energy consumption.

After the solution was deployed, the performance of 5G and 4G networks has been significantly improved, allowing users on trains to enjoy smooth entertainment services such as live streaming, HD video, and New Calling, as well as remote work and office services such as video and voice conferencing.

Next, China Telecom Anhui plans to deepen its exploration of advanced 5G high-speed railway network technologies to find new solutions that will further improve user experience.