Partnering in U.K. for in-building small cells
Huawei jointly announced the launch of an in-building 5G system, dubbed a Digital Indoor System (DIS), to provide indoor cellular coverage at Istanbul’s new airport, and is partnering in the U.K. with neutral host provider Stratto to provide improved cellular service to the commercial real estate marketplace. Both announcements came out of the Chinese network infrastructure giant’s Global Mobile Broadband Forum held this week in London.
Istanbul’s new airport, expected to be one of the world’s largest in terms of passenger traffic, will use the in-building 5G system to cover 1.5 million square feet. Annual passenger traffic of nearly 150 million is expected; the in-building 5G system will be tasked with supporting a diverse range of international roaming services.
“We offer up to 1 Gbps speed, and we also provide 100% indoor 4T4R coverage in densely populated areas such as check-in counters, departure lounges, and tax-free shops, bringing world’s leading indoor coverage experience to our subscribers,” said Gediz Sezgin, chief technology officer of Turkcell.
Turkcell chose the Huawei’s small cell solution, LampSite Sharing to deploy a 4.5 G network at the airport for its adaptability to 5G and fast deployment capable of meeting the airport’s short construction schedule.
LampSite provides massive capacity with 4T4R and supports multimode, multi-band applications and co-construction and sharing among operators. These features enable LampSite to deliver improved coverage and eliminate coverage holes in airports, helping provide ubiquitous MBB experience to end-users.
Once the 5G spectrum is provisioned, a 5G network can be deployed without changing the positions of remote units or running new cables, the company stated.
Turkcell will serve as the host operator and share the network with two other local operators.
Huawei partners with UK’s Stratto to launch DIS
Huawei has also signed a multi-year framework agreement with Stratto to provide multi-operator mobile coverage service to the commercial real estate sector, industry verticals and large residential developments using the LampSite Sharing DIS solution.
“Poor in-building coverage remains a major headache for businesses and residents across the UK, and we look forward to continuing to work together to help solve this problem,” said Richard Bourne, CEO of Stratto in a statement.
Stratto provides in-building 3G and 4G mobile networks as a managed service to help building owners eliminate operational complexities that come with designing and managing networks using different radio signals in a confined area.
The LampSite Sharing DIS provides a higher quality mobile broadband experience with 3g and 4G indoor mobile coverage at a lower total cost of ownership, compared with legacy distributed antenna system (DAS) systems the companies say.
LampSite also avails flexibility to support multiple deployment options suitable for both mobile network operators and neutral host service providers.
The new agreement comes after a live trial of UK’s first multi-operator indoor digital network last year at Huawei’s flagship event MBBF 2017.
“With the growing demand of indoor mobile broadband and innovative applications such as 2K/4K video and mobile gaming, seamless, high-speed indoor broadband coverage is becoming more and more important in the UK and beyond,” said Mr. Ritchie Peng, president of Huawei Small Cell Product Line.