Alcatel-Lucent's new 9238 Base Station Macro platform architecture enables CDMA and/or LTE baseband units to be mixed and matched in the same cabinet supporting a variety of technology combinations.]
CTIA WIreless 2009, Las Vegas -- Alcatel-Lucent has expanded its wireless networking portfolio to enable mobile service providers to offer both 3G CDMA and Long Term Evolution (LTE) services using a common network infrastructure. Alcatel-Lucent's innovative "Converged RAN" (radio access network) offerings support the delivery of a wide variety of new wireless broadband services while simultaneously reducing power consumption - and attendant carbon footprint -- and lowering operating costs.
Alcatel-Lucent's Converged RAN offerings build on Alcatel-Lucent's long-standing commitment to support multiple technology standards in a common base station platform, helping ensure that investments made today will be protected in the future as networks evolve. One of the key elements of the Converged RAN is the software defined radio (SDR) technology which has been available on the current Alcatel-Lucent base stations for a number of years already. The SDR enables CDMA service providers to deploy one technology today and then upgrade smoothly to a more advanced standard, such as LTE, in the future, or even introduce both technologies in the same existing base station simultaneously. The latest addition to Alcatel-Lucent's Converged RAN portfolio is the Alcatel-Lucent 9238 Base Station Macro, a new platform that relies on the SDR which is integrated with the amplifiers to provide optimal power efficiency. The architecture enables CDMA and/or LTE baseband units to be mixed and matched in the same cabinet to support a variety of technology combinations. Multiple frequencies and frequency combinations will be supported in a single footprint, making the 9238 Base Station Macro an extremely flexible product that is ideally suited to help operators refresh and/or renovate their networks. In addition to its flexibility and performance benefits, the new platform can dramatically reduce operational expenses. Through a combination of improved reliability, greatly reduced power consumption -- nearly 75 percent over earlier generations of equipment -- and use of common components to minimize the need for spares, the platform offers an array of cost benefits. "With the newest additions to our CDMA Converged Base Station portfolio, Alcatel-Lucent has demonstrated once again our unwavering commitment to giving our customers optimum flexibility as they expand and evolve their wireless broadband service offerings," said Sandy Motley, head of Alcatel-Lucent's CDMA/EV-DO activities. "By providing a smooth evolution path to LTE, ensuring maximum re-use of equipment and dramatically reducing energy consumption, we also are helping our customers lower their carbon footprint while at the same time returning cash to their bottom line through reduced operating costs." Key elements of Alcatel-Lucent's CDMA Converged Base Station portfolio are being demonstrated in the company's booth #6714 at the CTIA Wireless Tradeshow and Exhibition at the Las Vegas Convention center from April 1 - April 4.