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Interference Degrades
LTE Networks
Remove it Before it
Damages Performance
Interference is Real and Impacts Performance
SAL-15-22 REV 1

As LTE networks roll out, interference in the 700 MHz band

is often found that disrupts the customer experience. LTE
measures and schedules around inter-cell interference, but
the LTE network cannot control interference sources that
originate outside the network. Sources such as television
broadcasts, cable television amplifiers, narrow-band radio
transmissions, industrial equipment, public safety, wireless
microphones, and other products can all cause noise in the
LTE signal and are difficult to find with traditional detection
methods. The wide variety of sources combined with the
dynamic nature of the LTE signal makes interference trouble
resolution challenging.

Interference appears within the 700 MHz LTE band

and in an adjacent channel reducing network performance

Performance Degrades Quickly and Significantly

Interference reduces coverage area by desensitizing the receiver and
increasing the noise floor. Throughput rate also suffers when interference
lowers signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), preventing the use of higher modulation
coding schemes and efficient resource block allocation as the scheduler
attempts to avoid impacted spectrum. In one case a co-channel interferer
reduced coverage by one mile and reduced throughput by over 1Mbps.
Measurements show LTE is resilient up to a point, but then the impact of
interference is immediate and dramatic, making it difficult to effectively
recover network performance. The drop-off point is hard to predict; even low
power interferers are harmful at the outer edge of the coverage area.

Throughput drops off quickly when

interference hits a certain level

Spectrum Conditioning with Proteus Improves

SNR and Throughput
The sophisticated interference detection algorithms of ISCOs

Proteus with PurePass are specifically designed to identify

unwanted narrow-band signals even under the dynamic
conditions of LTE. Proteus deploys multiple digital filters to
effectively remove the interference from the incoming uplink
signal, providing the eNodeB receiver with an optimized signal
free from external interference. Field deployments have shown
that with Proteus in the network optimal uplink throughput is
maintained, even enabling a robust data connection on a link
that had previously been completely jammed by an interferer.
SAL-15-79 REV 3

Confirmed through
real-world tests
Interference can
seriously impact
throughput and
coverage of an LTE
network

Proteus identifies and

eliminates interference
in LTE networks,
protecting performance
and improving user
experience

Performance improvements
shown at various ranges with
Proteus activated

Increasing the Value of Our Customers Wireless Networks

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