Sequans Communications recently announced that it has added Sequans AIR ,Active Interference Rejection, to its LTE (News - Alert) chip platforms. Designed to enhance throughput up to 3.5 times for cell edge users and double network capacity, Sequans AIR, which is an interference mitigation algorithm, is deployed on the company’s chips for LTE end user devices. ArrayComm, leading expert in multi-antenna signal processing, partnered with Sequans Communications (News - Alert) over the development of Sequans AIR.

In a release, Bertrand Debray, Sequans CTO, said, "LTE spectrum is limited and interference is becoming an issue for operators as network traffic increases. Although network-based interference mitigation techniques are specified in future releases of the LTE standard, these are not available today plus these are limited in how much interference they can remove. We designed Sequans AIR in response to this, and have developed a powerful interference solution that can be implemented on today's LTE networks for significant benefits to end users and network operators."

Sequans AIR can function in virtually any LTE network (TDD or FDD), irrespective of conditions such as eNode B, carrier frequency, and/or channel bandwidth. The new technology solution works on LTE Release 8 and 9 networks and offers scalability in functionality for future Release 10 and 11 networks.

Bertrand Debray said that, "Sequans AIR has been tested and proven at the system level and at the link level. It has been tested in numerous interference scenarios, using the various transmission modes of LTE, and even in the most challenging situations where there are numerous interfering signals to be rejected by only two UE antennas, the Sequans AIR receiver shows a significant gain, rejecting in some cases twice as much interference as the default receiver."

Designed into the latest LTE Sequans platforms, Sequans AIR supports Andromeda for LTE handsets and tablets as well as Mont Blanc for hostless USB dongles, and CPE, M2M devices, and mobile hotspots. Developed as the latest in interference mitigation techniques, Sequans AIR creates a receive beam toward the useful signal, and spatial nulls in the path of interfering signals.