With 5G due to be deployed in 2020, the breakthrough is thought to help networks migrate to the next-generation technology, as well as address growing traffic volumes.
The company has identified a number of areas within 4G networks that can be modified to enhance performance, including ports, terminals and interfaces.
It has already significantly invested in the development of 4G vector processing chipsets, which are said to be able to meet pre-5G requirements by modifying software instruction sets rather than changing hardware.
Developments in 5G have been coming thick and fast over the past few months, with the likes of Ericsson, Nokia and Huawei all making announcements, as well as significant support and investment from governments, most notably in Europe.
