Sequans and Huawei collaborate to advance LTE broadcast technology

PARIS — 4G chipmaker Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE:SQNS) is collaborating with leading LTE infrastructure supplier, Huawei, to advance eMBMS (evolved multimedia broadcast multicast service) technology. eMBMS, also known as LTE Broadcast, is an advanced mobile data delivery technology that enables mobile operators to significantly reduce the cost of delivering high-bandwidth content such as video and audio to multiple users at one time over LTE networks.

Huawei and Sequans have conducted successful interoperability tests of eMBMS technology using Huawei’s LTE infrastructure equipment and end user devices based on Sequans’ eMBMS-capable LTE semiconductor solution. The two companies successfully demonstrated the delivery of live video and audio broadcast using both TDD and FDD and observed excellent performance during several testing sessions.

“LTE Broadcast will become vitally important to mobile operators in the very near future and we are pleased to collaborate with Sequans on advancing this important technology that will enable the delivery of new and exciting services to mobile users around the world,” said Timon Tian, President of MBB Video Solution, Huawei.

“Our LTE platform provides a robust eMBMS solution and our productive cooperation with Huawei demonstrates that our solution works end-to-end and is commercially viable,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO. “eMBMS technology enables excellent efficiency in delivering broadcast services over LTE networks, allowing mobile operators to maximize ARPU as never before.”

Sequans’ current LTE platforms support eMBMS as defined in 3GPP, including the enhancements specified for LTE-Advanced. Sequans’ eMBMS technology supports multiple concurrent sessions for multicast traffic along with unicast traffic on both TDD and FDD LTE networks. Sequans’ solution also provides a standardized interface to third-party eMBMS middleware.

The eMBMS testing with Huawei was done using Sequans’ Mont Blanc LTE platform. Mont Blanc is a member of Sequans’ StreamrichLTE™ product family for high performance mobile and portable LTE devices. It supports TDD and FDD for global compatibility and delivers category 4 throughput of 150 Mbps in the downlink.