Blue Danube Systems, a provider of intelligent wireless access solutions that help mobile operators address the challenge of explosive data growth, introduced its second-generation 5G-ready Massive MIMO system, the BeamCraft™ 600 series.
An industry first, BeamCraft 600 supports simultaneous beamforming over multiple frequency bands and across multiple cellular standards, allowing operators to deliver increased capacity through a single compact system.
Leveraging powerful embedded software extensible via cloud-based intelligence, BeamCraft systems can dynamically direct radio frequency (RF) beams where mobile traffic is high and unlike competing Massive MIMO products, they require no change to existing cell sites and are compatible with today’s smartphones.
With mobile video driving ever increasing traffic demand, operators have needed to add more cell sites, acquire and deploy additional spectrum, and support multiple wireless standards resulting in more equipment per site and contributing to significant OPEX and CAPEX increases.
BeamCraft 600 allows operators to gain an immediate capacity boost using existing network assets by replacing 3G/4G radio and antenna systems with a single unit thereby reducing the equipment on site – in some cases by as much as 66%. For operators with broad spectrum holdings, BeamCraft 600 can enable Massive MIMO deployment where it may not have even been possible before.
Based on Blue Danube’s innovative HDAAS™ Hybrid Massive MIMO technology, the 96-element BeamCraft 600 supports up to two active mid bands using 16 software configurable beams, double the capacity of the company’s previous generation but still within the same light weight 14” wide form factor. Additionally, an integrated passive low-band option is also available to further conserve antenna mount positions.
Blue Danube has deployed active solutions in 3 mid bands to date (AWS, PCS, DCS) and will trial the multi-band BeamCraft 600 in 2Q’18. Additional products supporting higher frequency bands including TDD will be available in 2H’18.
“Blue Danube’s portfolio of Massive MIMO products enables operators to flexibly customise RF energy to optimise capacity, coverage and cell edge performance.” said Mark Pinto, CEO & president of Blue Danube Systems. “Our 5G-ready architecture allows beam-based network management leading to virtualisation of the network RF functions. By avoiding the rigidity imposed by other radio architectures, we are enabling a completely flexible RAN ecosystem.”
“With FDD representing at least 85% of the global commercial networks, mid band FDD Massive MIMO solutions will be critical as operators transition to 5G.” said Julian Bright, analyst at Ovum. “The vast majority of the world’s leading operators have multiple 3G and 4G LTE bands in this frequency range. Blue Danube’s multi-band solution offers a compelling upgrade option for current networks, unlocking the potential of operators’ most valuable FDD spectrum asset.”
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