Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm wants wireless carriers to set up new technology that would offer cellphone users better reception in places like subway tunnels and shopping malls, as per reports. Qualcomm will start selling components this year featuring LTE (Long-Term Evolution ) technology adapted for a smaller scale than traditional cellphone base stations mounted on metal towers bristling with antennas and other electronics.
LTE is the increasingly common modem technology that cellphones use to communicate with carrier networks. The newer LTE Unlicensed or LTE-U, adapts that technology to be used over short distances by sharing radio spectrum that is used by Wi-Fi.
LTE-U base stations, which look similar to a Wi-Fi router, could be set up in buildings and out-of-the-way places to alleviate poor phone reception and relieve strained carrier networks as people use smartphones to download more and more video and other media.