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A wide range of advanced wireless services— including smart phones, high-speed Internet and video streaming—are now readily available via implementation of 3G technologies. Unfortunately, 3G implementation often compromises signal consistency. It results in reduced coverage patterns within existing coverage footprints, which can produce coverage holes throughout the network.
Service providers must meet the demand for more bandwidth-intensive services within the limited spectrum available to them. As a result, they will need to promote maximum frequency re-use in their networks.
Macrocell towers are popular options to increase coverage and capacity within specific locations. Unfortunately, they are not feasible in many areas where a lack of coverage affects a large number of subscribers (e.g., municipalities), because they are deemed unflattering on the local landscape. In addition, city centers are too congested; subways and tunnels are too restrictive; and campuses and government buildings have prohibitive zoning regulations. As a result, service providers have had to seek alternative options, including distributed antenna systems (DAS).
ADC’s FlexWave™ digital Universal Radio Head (URH) offers service providers a flexible, small-form-factor solution to extend coverage and capacity in previously hard-toreach locations. The URH distributes coverage from a centralized radio suite and offers unmatched scalability and compatibility for the growing number of protocols and frequencies in today’s demanding wireless networks. Plus, it allows more comprehensive, defined coverage areas, which enables operators to manage the network more efficiently. As a result, the URH minimizes the number of dropped calls and provides more consistent call quality to increase minutes of use (MOU) and reduce customer churn.
The Flexible URH is the Ideal Backbone for 3G and 4G Networks.
With a centralized distributed architecture, service providers can collocate base transceivers stations (BTS) together and feed multiple remote radio transceivers from a common location. From a common BTS location, service providers can combine and distribute their RF spectrum to multiple radiating points. As a result, service providers can reduce capital expenditures and annual operating costs.
The FlexWave URH uses patented RF digitization technology to distribute RF signals. The entire designated RF spectrum is digitized to a digital bit stream and transported via fiber or millimeter wave (MMW) links. Then, the signal is reconstructed—regardless of modulation technology—with full bandwidth at the remote location link. RF signals are replicated at full dynamic range for improved data throughput. Dynamic range is similar to bandwidth—more is better. As a result, the flexible URH is the ideal backbone for 3G and 4G networks with highdata rate broadband services.
Applications
Designed to improve capacity and coverage compared to traditional distributed antenna systems (DAS), the costeffective FlexWave URH is the ideal solution for the most prevalent antenna architecture of today—as well as the microcell and CPRI/OBSAI remote radio head architecture of tomorrow. (Figure 1.) ADC’s URH offers unmatched flexibility for virtually any application including:
- Next Generation DAS: Manages multiple frequency bands, scalable RF bandwidth and transport rates seamlessly and cost-effectively via all-digital Serial RF (SeRF) transport
- Remote Radio Head: Uses industry standards, including CPRI and OBSAI, to reduce BTS expenses and provide distributed coverage
- Base Station Hotel: Centralizes radio resources and distributes them to scalable, remote radiating points - IP-ready platform: All-digital platform promotes scalable functionality to ensure seamless integration to IP front/backhaul networks
- Millimeter Wave (MMW) compatible: All-digital platform can use MMW as a fiber alternative The FlexWave URH comprises a host unit and a remote unit that work in conjunction with one another. The host unit is located at the base station hotel; the environmentally sealed remote enclosure is located at a service provider’s designated radiating point (antenna) and supports up to three frequency bands.
Host Unit
The URH host unit receives RF or baseband signals from the BTS. It digitizes the RF inputs and multiplexes multiple digital RF and baseband inputs for transport via a fiber or MMW link to a remote unit. On the reverse path, the host unit receives the signal from the remote unit and conditions the signal back to the BTS.
The URH host unit’s modularity enables technicians to add, remove or replace all major modules—including the digital/analog radio transceivers (DART) cards, system board and fan—without shutting down the entire unit. As a result, subscribers experience minimal service interruption during service or band additions. It supports up to eight BTS interfaces via the DART cards. Plus, it features up to eight pluggable optical transceivers, which enables the URH host unit to simulcast multiple bands to as many as eight remote units.
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