Ericsson said Netherlands-based operator KPN inaugurated a C-RAN small cell in an Amsterdam bus stop that will offer subscribers seamless coverage when moving in and out of the cell's coverage area.
KPN is utilising Ericsson's new Radio 2203 product, which the vendor said utilises a centralised baseband to offer full coordination with the operator's macro network. Ericsson added that the C-RAN small cell solution positions KPN to better meet subscribers' demands for capacity and performance, particularly in 'hot spots' such as bus stops where large numbers of customers gather.
Valter D'Avino, head of Ericsson Western and Central Europe, said the company's 2203 radio "is small and light and evolves the micro part of Ericsson's portfolio making it easier than ever to deploy small and efficient single- and multi-band micro radio installations."
That ease of deployment "enables our customer to respond quickly to the growing demand for capacity from the consumers," D'Avino added.
Ericsson stated that the common baseband processor used in Radio 2203 optimises the coordination between the macro network and the small cell. The vendor added that the approach also delivers the best possible total cost of ownership (TCO), performance and spectrum utilisation.
The company said inter-site carrier aggregation is added between macro cells operating on 800MHz and small cells on 1800MHz. The company also claimed a best-in-class design for its Radio 2203 product when measured in terms of radio performance and power efficiency for medium-range 3GPP-compliant radio products.
Ericsson last week announced it had signed up its 100th operator customer for its Radio Dot indoor small cell system since its launch in the final quarter of 2014. The majority of sales (44 per cent) have been to operators in EMEA territories, with Asia Pacific carriers accounting for the next-largest market on 39 per cent.
For more:
- see Ericsson's KPN announcement
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