Ericsson looks to operators to join the Dots for indoor coverage
1 min read
Ericsson has announced a cellular radio that is small enough to fit the hand and expects the device, called the Radio Dot System, to be available towards the end of 2014. The disk shaped device is said by the company to address a range of issues related to indoor provision of mobile broadband and voice services.
Johan Wibergh, head of Ericsson's networks business unit, said: "With the Radio Dot System we are lowering the threshold to building indoor coverage. The dot is the most cost effective, no compromise solution to the indoor coverage challenges expressed by our customers. It is ultra small, but can scale to virtually unlimited capacity; it is easy to install, future proof and it is 100% integrated with existing mobile networks."
The compact device, which weighs 300g, has been developed over the last two years and features 14 patents. In particular, it introduces a revolutionary antenna element – the 'dot' – which delivers mobile broadband access.
More of a booster device than a basestation in itself, a Dot will connect to an indoor radio unit and receive power over Cat 5, 6 or 7 cables. The radio units will then link to a basestation.
