Innovative environmentally-friendly antenna solution for cellular towers introduced to SA
17 May 2006
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
"Good cellular telephone coverage is dependent on high quality antennas on cellular towers," says Dirk Coetzee, marketing manager for the Antenna Division of Saab Grintek.
"This is often in conflict with environmentalists and owners of sites who do not tolerate a large amount of mast-mounted equipment and the associated cables. With a combination of good coverage and less obtrusive installations in mind we explored new options. We came to an arrangement with the world leader in tower mounted technology, Powerwave Technologies, to introduce the 'Clean Site' concept to South Africa."
A conventional cellular tower has a number of elements including the antenna, filters, remote electrical tilt (RET) units, and amplifiers, all of which have to be interconnected with cables. This large amount of equipment makes these towers an aesthetic nightmare and increases the number of potential failure points. The Clean Site approach integrates all the equipment and the associated cables into a single unit. This integration not only improves the aesthetics of a tower, but also gives better performance leading to a more reliable service for subscribers. The inclusion of RET functionality allows operators to customise coverage by remotely controlling the tilt of the built-in antennas.
"While it is impossible to eliminate antenna structures, Saab Grintek's goal has always been to improve performance, minimise visual impact, and simplify the installation of cellular systems. I believe that with Clean Site we have made major progress in this direction," Coetzee said.
Integrating the various components into one unit has simplified installation and improved reliability by reducing the number of cables to be connected and waterproofed. The integrated product design and flexibility will enable co-siting of networks and systems, reducing space requirements and the number of masts and separate installations.
Powerwave Technologies' investment in research and development has brought about a number of innovations such as ultra-linear amplifiers, and high value concepts like the Clean Site and base station co-siting solutions.
For more information contact Linda Weaver, Saab Grintek Technologies, +27 (0)12 672 8216, [email protected]
Further reading:
Smart farming with LoRaWAN
Otto Wireless Solutions
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Real-time visibility is transforming modern agriculture, and Otto Wireless Solutions, together with Dragino, deliver this capability through a comprehensive suite of long-range IoT sensors and gateways designed for smart farming.
Read more...
RTK-enhanced GNSS and INS solution
Dizzy Enterprises
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
This latest XSENS MTi-8 Click provides high-accuracy positioning (RTK-supported) and orientation tracking in demanding outdoor embedded applications.
Read more...
High-performance double balanced RF mixer
RFiber Solutions
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The AM5008 from Mercury Systems is a high-performance, double-balanced MMIC mixer designed for wideband applications spanning 2 GHz to 24 GHz.
Read more...
Compact NFC antennas enable easy integration
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Leankon has expanded its 13,56 MHz NFC antenna portfolio with a comprehensive suite of nine off the shelf products designed for next generation IoT applications.
Read more...
Ultra-low jitter clocks
Altron Arrow
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Skyworks has introduced a new family of ultra-low jitter programmable clocks designed to meet the increasing demands of next-gen connectivity.
Read more...
Efficient Bluetooth SoC
Altron Arrow
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The EFR32BG29 wireless SoC from Silicon Labs is a highly efficient, high memory, low-power, and ultra compact SoC designed for secure and high-performance wireless networking for IoT devices.
Read more...
Minimal size, maximum flexibility
Würth Elektronik eiSos
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Würth Elektronik has introduced two highly compact radio modules that give developers maximum freedom in designing proprietary wireless solutions that go beyond standard protocols.
Read more...
Super Wi-Fi extends industrial connectivity
NEC XON
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Africa’s harshest mines, ports, and industrial parks are no longer bound by range, latency, and interference challenges.
Read more...
HackRF Pro advances Open SDR performance
IOT Electronics
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Designed for engineers, researchers, and radio enthusiasts alike, the HackRF Pro can transmit and receive signals across a wide frequency range of 100 kHz to 6 GHz, making it a versatile tool for testing and developing modern and emerging radio technologies.
Read more...
Deterministic high-speed Ethernet
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS has developed a new 10G TSN endpoint IP Core, enabling deterministic real-time communication at data rates of up to 10 Gbit/s.
Read more...
printer friendly version