Vodafone, Ericsson test feature to make rural mobile coverage cheaper

April 08, 2013

Ericsson and Vodafone in Egypt have successfully tested a new way to build more energy-efficient networks in rural areas, and make it possible to build networks where they previously could not be built, according to the vendor. In parts of the world where electricity isn’t readily available and diesel generators are relied on, any improvements in energy efficiency are seen as interesting, according to Anders Lindblad , president of the Middle East and Africa region at Ericsson. The feature which Ericsson calls Psi-Coverage was successfully tested in Vodafone Egypt’s 3G network uses one radio unit that connects to three antennas, instead of one for each antenna. The end-result is a 40 percent drop in power consumption, according to Ericsson. The drawback is that base stations with the new antenna configuration don’t have the same capacity. But in rural areas, the capacity of a traditional configuration is not necessary. Also, the removal of two out of three radio units doesn’t equate to the capacity dropping by two-thirds, thanks to a booster used on the uplink, Lindblad said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2033435/vodafone-ericsson-test-feature-to-make-rural-mobile-coverage-cheaper.html#tk.rss_all