Antenna Systems & Technology - Spring 2012 - (Page 4)

EDITOR’S CHOICE New WiROI Tool Calculates the Financial Impact of Data Offloading to WiFi Wireless 20/20, LLC, a broadband wireless advisory group and the developer of the WiROI Business Case Analysis Tool, has released the newest version of their WiROI Tool, which now provides Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) a way to analyze the economic impact of offloading 3G/4G Data to WiFi. Wireless 20/20 developed the new WiROI 4G WiFi Offloading Business Case Analysis Tool as part of their latest study and business case analysis, which concluded that deploying WiFi offload networks could substantially mitigate 3G/4G traffic congestion in hightraffic areas. According to the study, the business case for WiFi offload is highly dependent on WiFi site rental and backhaul costs. When these costs exceed $100 to $150 per month, the business case becomes challenging. When these costs are less than $40 per month, WiFi offload becomes a highly attractive solution. By adding the capability to analyze the tradeoffs of deploying a WiFi offload network compared to deploying primary network hardware, the WiROI Tool enables MNOs to analyze the conditions where WiFi deployment can help the most, determine the investment required and optimize the configuration of the WiFi offload network to maximize ROI. The WiROI Tool can model all of the technical, financial and commercial parameters for an operator’s 3G and 4G network deployment. By modeling all CapEx, OpEx and revenues for a 3G/4G network, the tool outputs a complete 10 year income statement. The addition of the WiFi offload module enables the analysis of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) tradeoff between deploying a WiFi offload network and adding additional capacity into the 3G and 4G network. Further, the new version of the WiROI Tool allows operators to pinpoint the optimal WiFi coverage and access point density that will maximize the return for an operator. Wireless 20/20’s latest study analyzed the impact of deploying WiFi offloading from a 4G LTE network in New York City. To provide 4G LTE service in NYC, an operator needs 216 cell sites for adequate coverage. To keep up with the expected increase in demand for data over the next 10 years, the LTE coverage in NYC would have to be supplemented with an additional 1,879 cell sites. The study concluded that deploying a WiFi offload network in NYC will reduce the burden of data traffic carried by the 4G LTE network and results in 7.2 percent reduction in the TCO over the 10 year period. Ubidyne has released its new LTE 700 MHz active antenna solution. The uB700 Antenna Embedded Radio with flexible beam forming and tilting capabilities has just completed independent network trials with a leading US mobile operator, delivering double throughput at the cell edge and an increase of over 40 percent cell capacity with the same output power. The results show that before investing in costly small cells, operators can use active antenna technology to address the exploding demand for wireless data by maximizing coverage and capacity from their existing macrocells. In addition to the new uB700 that supports 4G (LTE) in the 700 Mhz digital dividend band for broadband mobile networks in the US, Ubidyne’s uB900 Antenna Embedded Radio supports GSM, UMTS and LTE in the 900 Mhz frequency band to address mobile networks in Europe, Africa, Oceania, Asia and the Middle East. Future products are also in development for the European digital dividend bands of 800 MHz and highband up to 2.6 GHz as well as multi-band solutions. By removing the need for bulky coaxial feeder cables, remote electrical tilt assemblies and additional amplifiers on antenna towers and masts, Ubidyne’s patented active antenna technology reduces installation costs and energy consumption while improving radio performance, deployment flexibility, coverage and network capacity. OPEX costs and outages are further reduced by Ubidyne’s Self-Healing mechanism that secures antenna coverage in the unlikely event of a system failure. “The US trials show that active antennas can increase cell capacity using vertical sectorization and double the uplink throughput at the cell edge as well as increase the coverage area with independent uplink and downlink tilting,” said Michael Fränkle, CEO of Ubidyne. “Active antenna technology offers end users a continuous service, while operators will save both CAPEX and OPEX costs; we have the potential to dramatically change the radio architecture and operations of mobile communications without migrating to small cells at tremendous cost. Active antennas have arrived and we are seeing increasing interest and demand from operators around the world.” Ubidyne Releases Active Antenna Solution for 700 MHz 4G 4 ANTENNA SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGY SPRING 2012 WWW.ANTENNASONLINE.COM http://WWW.ANTENNASONLINE.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Antenna Systems & Technology - Spring 2012

Antenna Systems & Technology - Spring 2012
Editor’s Choice
Next-Gen Networks Call for the Re-Architecture of Antenna Systems
Wireless Infrastructure Cable and Antenna Testing Using the Next-Generation in Handheld Measurement Tools
Antenna Upgrade Challenges in Concealed Cell Towers
Antennas
Components
Wireless Communication
Test & Measurement
Industry News
Marketplace
Efficient Design and Analysis of an Ultra Wideband Planar Antenna with Band Rejection in WLAN Frequencies

Antenna Systems & Technology - Spring 2012