New Optimizer CELlite Base Station Antenna
New Optimizer CELlite Base Station Antenna
5th March, 2009
US : Radio Frequency Systems is unveiling its new family of high-performance Optimizer CELlite base station antennas. The series centers on a slim line dual-polarized range designed to complement RFS' popular vertically polarized CELlite variant, providing carriers with an extremely stable and lightweight antenna solution.
"With integral support for all services between 806 and 960 MHz, the Optimizer CELlite antenna family exhibits the same superior performance seen in the rest of our Optimizer antenna range," said David Kiesling, global product manager for Wireless Infrastructure Solutions at RFS.
"These features include upper side lobe suppression of typically better than 18dB across the entire frequency range, together with high gain, a six-degree downtilt and an impressive front-to-back ratio of typically 28dB," he added.
According to Kiesling, the aim of the new base station antenna is to assist carriers when solving the headache of supporting multiple standards and multiple frequencies in today's increasingly fast-moving standards-oriented industry.
No more simplistic usage models The wireless industry, he explained, has moved on from the traditional tree-and-branch approach of base station installs, with microwave hop-linked minor base stations in rural areas parented on to primary base stations and then into the main carrier network.
The latest high user penetration cellular usage patterns, he says, have brought the end to that simplistic model, with a couple of 3G/HSPA-driven mobile broadband users now being capable of fully loading a minor 'country' base station and its relatively limited microwave backhaul in the main network.
This fast-evolving landscape now means that carriers must install flexible network capacity in even the most rural of areas, to capture incremental revenue from mobile broadband and, increasingly in many countries, mobile TV users.
"These extra revenues can mean the difference between a carrier making a modest return on investment (RoI) on their new network builds and giving them the extra profits they need to invest in new technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), which carriers the world over are now preparing to trial," he said.
The new Optimizer antenna suite features a robust micro stripline power feed system constructed from monolithic aluminum, in place of the traditional cabled feed system.
This, coupled with the antenna's one-piece panel construction and a reduced number of weld joints, means the antennas are capable of supporting advanced Passive Intermodulation (PIM) performance, a feature that assists carriers in maximizing call quality and avoiding dropped calls, which Kiesling says is a crucial requirement in high-capacity networks.
"The new Optimizer CELlite antenna series also gives carriers new levels of deployment and operational flexibility, since it has been designed to accommodate the rapid roll-out of wireless networks in densely populated regions," he explained.
"Its lightweight construction makes it quick and easy to install, while its advanced RF performance makes it ideal for providing coverage in high-capacity wireless networks," he added.
Setting the scene for LTE's introduction Kiesling said that RFS is showing its latest range of CELlite Optimizer base station antennas in Barcelona, to help set the scene for the industry's migration to LTE which is due to take place in the next few years.
High performance, he says, is now a key component in carrier's strategy for what is certain to be an explosive growth period in network rollouts.
"Carriers must not lose sight of the fact, however, that there is still a need to support legacy 2G as well as 3G services for users, some of whom are using technology such as fleet tracking and telemetry systems that will rely on older cellular services until their financially useful lifetime ends in the middle part of the next decade. "Just as carriers need a healthy return on their investment, so do their end-users as well. This is why we are always mindful of the need to improve the more routine aspects of base station technologies," he said.