CommScope Introduces New ‘Era’ for In-building Wireless

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CommScope Era is an all-digital C-RAN antenna system that leverages wireless operators’ initiatives to centralize and virtualize baseband radio assets, a foundational design concept for 5G networks.

According to a recent release from CommScope, Era enables operators to deploy a centralized headend that serves multiple buildings, or even to tap capacity from the operator’s existing centralized radio access network (C-RAN) hubs. Era’s innovative Wide-area Integration Node (WIN) resides in the C-RAN hub and routes baseband capacity to a distribution point within the served building or campus. Era allocates baseband capacity where it is needed, while reducing the amount of onsite headend equipment and the amount of fiber needed for signal transport by up to 90 percent.

“We have invested heavily to create an all-digital platform architecture that upends the economics of in-building wireless and ushers in a new era and standard for distributed antenna systems,” said Matt Melester, senior vice president, Distributed Coverage and Capacity Solutions, CommScope. “CommScope Era will be a key enabler for network densification in LTE Advanced, Gigabit LTE and 5G.”

Capacity re-allocation, soft re-sectorization, system setup and diagnostics are all software functions in Era, capable of being changed with a few clicks of a mouse. Era also transports Gigabit Ethernet backhaul to each remote node, which can be used for separate WiFi networks, IP security systems or to support a small cell overlay needed for future network expansion.

Era features a new family of access points that are available in a range of power levels, with copper and fiber connectivity and outdoor and plenum ratings, to serve a wide variety of venue types. It supports interleaved MIMO (multiple input/multiple output) using patented technology that can offer up to 80 percent of co-located MIMO speeds over a SISO (single input/single output) infrastructure. Era uses IT-standard copper and fiber-optic infrastructure and allows for the sharing of existing fiber networks, significantly reducing fiber costs.

February 14, 2018

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