Ericsson today announced the release of three new solutions in their indoor wireless product portfolio targeting telecom operators.
ABI Research forecasts that indoor wireless revenue will grow from US$13.6 billion in 2021 to US$34.3 billion worldwide by 2026.
The latest solutions include the new wideband 800 MHz mmWave indoor small cell solution (AIR 1279), the new generation of radio access units known as indoor connect 8855 that enable multi-operator indoor deployments, and the new C-band radio DOT (DOT 4459) solution that features a smaller form factor and reduced power consumption.
Jessey Huang, Head of Ericsson’s Indoor Product Line, said: “The quality of 5G service indoors is equally important to Ericsson as the user experience outdoors.”
Features
Ericsson’s Indoor AIR 1279 and Ericsson Radio Dot 4459 small-cell radio will be initially targeting the U.S. market.
Mid-band and millimeter Wave (mmWave) spectrum deliver higher speeds, ultra-low latency, and support massive numbers of IoT devices and mission-critical use cases requiring the highest levels of reliability and security.
Ericsson Indoor AIR 1279, as the world’s first indoor 800MHz Antenna Integrated Radio (AIR), brings mmWave 5G to small, medium and large venues with double the performance of any solution currently on the market.
Indoor AIR 1279 offers beamforming capabilities and advanced software features plus optimized total cost of ownership (TCO). It is designed to minimize the need for new cabling to limit site footprint. Indoor AIR 1279 will be available in the third quarter of 2021.
Ericsson Radio Dot 4459 is the latest addition to the Ericsson Radio Dot System. It is designed to support Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) New Radio (NR) – the 150MHz wide broadcast band of 3.5GHz in the country – as well as the C-Band spectrum for indoor deployment in the U.S. market.
Radio Dot 4459 marks the beginning of Ericsson’s full support for indoor 5G mid-band rollouts as well as the introduction of new options for communications service providers (CSPs), non-CSPs, or new entrants in the indoor 5G market.
Ericsson Radio Dot System products, powered by Ericsson Silicon, are in operation in venues around the world, including hotels, hospitals, shopping malls, offices, stadiums and residential buildings. The Radio Dot 4459 will be available in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Ericsson has launched Ericsson Indoor Connect, a multi-operator, multi-vendor mobile indoor solution in which one Radio Dot System enables several CSPs to deliver 5G indoors on sub-6GHz bands.
The solution enables CSPs to deliver cost-effective indoor coverage with high performance 4G and 5G, as well as legacy 2G and 3G. It simplifies deployment while lowering total cost of ownership.
Ericsson Indoor Connect enables faster deployment of indoor connectivity, particularly in places where multi-operator support is required such as malls, stadiums, train stations, and larger offices. Ericsson Indoor Connect is available now.
Dominik Fischer, Product Manager, 5G & Inhouse Services, Swisscom, says: “Providing the best possible and reliable customer experience is always top priority for Swisscom. Our early deployments of the new multi-midband, multi-operator Radio Dot System proves the performance and cost effectiveness of the new 4G and 5G indoor solution by Ericsson.”
Benefits
These solutions enable mobile network operators (MNOs) to cut TCO when addressing 5G in-building wireless deployments in three distinct ways, says Johanna Alvarado, Research Analyst at global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research.
Firstly, MNOs will be able to utilize the full spectrum allocated to the 39 GHz frequency band, reducing deployment complexity due to the baseband pooling configuration of the solution, while enhancing user experience in high-density venues such as stadiums, train stations, and airports, among others.
Secondly, with the new indoor connect solution, MNOs will jointly be able to deploy different radio access technologies including 5G leveraging the same infrastructure as opposed to legacy Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) that require overlaid in-building wireless equipment to deploy 5G in C-band.
Finally, the new C-Band radio DOT will facilitate the installation in challenging areas while reducing the power consumption and keeping the aesthetics of the building due to its small form factor.
