TI to collaborate with UK firm on ‘intelligent’ small cells

Designed to meet the strong growth in mobile data consumption, these dual mode WCDMA/LTE metro cells will combine TI's carrier grade infrastructure solutions with Ubiquisys' self organising capabilities, based on commercially proven small cell networks. According to Ubiquisys' ceo Chris Gilbert, pictured, they will provide 'maximum performance and capacity' with 'minimum cost of ownership'. "Mobile service providers are preparing for sustained and unprecedented growth in mobile data consumption, driven by smartphones, tablets and dongles," noted Gilbert. "Macrocell augmentation, spectrum additions and LTE provide some of the extra capacity, but most of the load will be shouldered by a major proliferation in public small cells. By creating a much denser mobile network closer to the point of use, users will experience data performance that approaches headline rates." Brian Glinsman, general manager, communications infrastructure, Texas Instruments, added: "This partnership will fuel a new range of dual mode WCDMA/LTE small cells for public space and metro environments, such as base stations designed for mounting on walls or street furniture, with performance up to 150Mb/s LTE plus 64 calls/84Mb/s WCDMA. Through our collaboration with Ubiquisys, we are creating the blueprint for the small cell revolution." Due to launch in the first half of 2012, the cells will compliment the macro network and use commodity internet connections to reach the mobile core network. Designed to provide a smooth migration to LTE, whilst providing the near term need for WCDMA capacity and maintaining support for voice services, Gilbert claims they will offer significant power consumption and Capex advantages over separate systems. "Today we mark the true start of the small cell era," he concluded.