Mobile Broadband is now a Reality
Mobile broadband is now a reality. Data rates of up to 100 Mbps are already possible with fourth generation networks and the deployment of mobile communication networks is advancing rapidly due to the explosion in mobile data volumes. Remote radio systems have established themselves as a standard solution on the wireless infrastructure market and have taken the place of conventional base stations with corrugated coaxial cables.
Remote radio systems reduce the energy consumed by the network by up to 30%, depending on the system configuration, and improve network quality and network coverage respectively as signal losses have been eliminated in the corrugated cables.
A further advantage of remote radio systems is the use of optical data connections, referred to as FTTA (fiber-to-the-antenna), to link the remote radio head (RRH) to the base station. In conventional systems, the distance between the base station and antenna is limited to approx. 100 m due to the analogue signal losses. This means that expensive telecommunications rooms have to be leased near the antenna or costly containers installed on flat roofs or other outdoor areas and supplied with high-voltage current.
Optical Ethernet transmits the digital data between the base station and RRH virtually loss-free and permits distances of up to 20 km. Consequently, base stations can be centrally housed in more inexpensive telecommunications rooms (e.g. base station hotels) and network planning is rendered more flexible and modular.
