Alcatel-Lucent Expands 3G W-CDMA/HSPA Portfolio
Alcatel-Lucent has launched a new distributed base station product, the fanless 60-watt remote radio head (RRH) node B for WCDMA networks. The company says that the new base station enables a 50% increase in available output power over the previous generation of equipment and offers similar improvements as compared to competitors' products currently on the market.
Alcatel-Lucent is introducing the technology to extend the range of deployment options for RRH-based solutions and provide its customers with higher power products as they need them.
"The core value of remote radio heads - improved RF performance and simplified siting - has been understood for years," notes Peter Jarich, Research Director with Current Analysis. "More important, however, is the availability of high-power offers, which can support operator demands ranging from broad coverage to support for carrier scalability either for a single operator or across operators interested in a RAN-sharing approach that can distribute the cost of a network over different owners".
Remote radio heads are part of a distributed base station (known as a "Node B" in W-CDMA networks) in which all radio-related functions are contained in a small single unit that can be deployed in a location remote from the main unit. This provides exceptional flexibility for operators that face deployment constraints based on site acquisition challenges or physical limitations with different sites.By successfully integrating this innovative 60-watt remote radio head, Alcatel-Lucent confirms its leadership in W-CDMA distributed Node B solutions.
"The distributed Node B concept significantly improves service availability while at the same time optimizing our customers' capital and operating expenditures," said Patrick Plas, President of Alcatel-Lucent's W-CDMA activities. "Most mobile operators are now looking at extending the use of remote radio head-based solutions into additional types of locations and applications, and are looking at higher output power in particular. The capability offered by this new RRH adds to the value of our portfolio and proves once again Alcatel-Lucent's focus on having its customer benefit from the very latest technological developments ahead of the rest of the market."
Posted to the site on 7th March 2008
