In a groundbreaking event in Bangkok, ZTE Corporation, alongside Thailand's prestigious mobile operator AIS and tech giant MediaTek, unveiled an innovative UE Aggregation technology designed to enhance 5G capabilities. This live demonstration took place at the A-Z Innovation Center and showcased how this new technology can transform user experiences in the digital landscape.

Breaking Through 5G Limitations with UE Aggregation

As applications like extended reality (XR), 4K live broadcasting, and immersive metaverse experiences gain popularity, the limitations of single user equipment (UE) become increasingly evident. With constraints in power, spectrum, and channel capacity, the need for a breakthrough technology is clear.

Enter UE Aggregation: a revolutionary solution allowing Remote UEs to synergize with adjacent Relay UEs. This collaboration maximizes resource usage, significantly improving uplink performance and overcoming the limitations of individual devices.

Three Pillars of Cooperation: Power, Bandwidth, and Channel Aggregation

The UE Aggregation technology integrates three essential aspects that create an efficient uplink transmission chain:

1. **Power Aggregation:** Relay UEs enhance signal forwarding, resulting in better connectivity even in areas with poor coverage.

2. **Bandwidth Aggregation:** By sharing unused spectrum resources, Relay UEs substantially boost the uplink throughput of Remote UEs.

3. **Channel Aggregation:** This feature enables simultaneous communication links between Remote and Relay UEs, providing multi-path transmission that enhances reliability and redundancy.

Live Testing Delivers Stellar Results

The live trial, conducted using AIS's commercial 5G network and powered by ZTE's advanced gNodeB and core network equipment, illustrated the impressive capabilities of UE Aggregation. MediaTek contributed prototype terminals equipped with the new aggregation features, simulating real-world scenarios that pitted aggregated setups against conventional single-device deployments.

The results were astounding: uplink speeds for edge users improved by up to threefold with UE Aggregation activated. In contrast, single-device configurations struggled with 4K live streaming, often leading to frustrating stuttering and frame drops. With aggregation, however, users experienced seamless, high-quality 4K streaming with consistent performance.

The Future of UE Aggregation in 5G Technology

UE Aggregation is not just a fleeting innovation; it has already been incorporated into the 3GPP Release 18 specifications, with plans for further advancements in Releases 19 and 20. Future iterations will include multi-path routing, multi-relay architecture, inter-DU/CU coordination, and intelligent low-latency optimization.

This technology lays a robust foundation for diverse applications, including industrial IoT, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, and enhanced XR experiences, heralding a new era in 5G connectivity.