ZTE, AIS, and MediaTek Unveil Breakthrough UE Aggregation for 5G-Advanced

The joint demonstration by ZTE, AIS, and MediaTek showcased the transformative potential of UE Aggregation technology. Conducted at the A-Z Innovation Center in Bangkok, the live trial successfully achieved a remarkable threefold improvement in uplink speeds for users at the cell edge. This substantial boost in performance addresses a critical bottleneck for bandwidth-intensive applications such as 4K live broadcasting, extended reality (XR), and immersive metaverse experiences, which demand robust and reliable uplink capabilities.

Traditionally, single User Equipment (UE) devices face inherent limitations in power, spectrum utilization, and channel capacity, particularly in challenging network conditions. UE Aggregation offers a compelling solution by enabling 'Remote UEs' to leverage the spare resources of nearby 'Relay UEs.' This collaborative approach effectively bypasses the constraints of individual devices, paving the way for a truly enhanced mobile broadband experience.

The innovative UE Aggregation technology is built upon three fundamental dimensions of cooperation, forming a resilient and efficient uplink transmission chain. Firstly, Power Aggregation allows Relay UEs to assist with signal forwarding, significantly improving uplink connectivity in areas with weak or inconsistent coverage. This is crucial for maintaining stable connections in less-than-ideal environments.

Secondly, Bandwidth Aggregation enables Relay UEs to share their unused spectrum resources, thereby boosting the Remote UE's uplink throughput. This dynamic resource allocation ensures that available bandwidth is utilized to its maximum potential.

Finally, Channel Aggregation allows both Remote and Relay UEs to establish independent communication links simultaneously, facilitating multi-path transmission. This not only enhances overall reliability but also provides crucial redundancy, ensuring uninterrupted service even in dynamic network conditions.

This groundbreaking UE Aggregation technology is not merely a proprietary innovation; it has been officially incorporated into the 3GPP Release 18 specifications, marking a significant step in the evolution of 5G-Advanced. This standardization ensures interoperability and widespread adoption across the industry. Looking ahead, future iterations, as outlined in 3GPP Releases 19 and 20, are set to further enhance this capability.

These advancements will include support for multi-path routing, multi-relay architectures, inter-DU/CU coordination, and intelligent low-latency path optimization. Such developments lay a robust foundation for a wide array of future use cases, spanning industrial IoT, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, and increasingly sophisticated XR applications, all of which will rely heavily on high-performance uplink connectivity.