A prototype LTE micro base station

Feb 9, 2010 17:41 GMT  ·  By

Kyocera Corporation announced on Monday that it aimed at showcasing the first Long Term Evolution (LTE) micro base station in the world at the upcoming Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, between February 15 – 18. According to the company, its prototype LTE micro base station is expected to prove the world's smallest, lightest and most efficient LTE base station, and should be seen as a great tool for carriers looking to enhance their coverage in certain areas.

The new micro base station from Kyocera weighs under 26.5 pounds (12 kg) and sports a volume of 12 liters, while being capable of delivering 8 watts of transmit power, only a fraction of what a typical macro base station needs. The solution has been developed as a tool for filling gaps in coverage, as they can turn into “hot spots.” Kyocera has built the base station upon its expertise in the development of interference-mitigation technology, the company added.

Kyocera also announced that it did not plan only to display the new solution at the MWC show, but that it would also demonstrate its ultra-efficient macro base station at the event. This solution weighs 39.7 pounds (18 kg), has a volume of 20 liters, and has been designed to use only 211 watts or less of power. The company also notes that its base stations have been developed using state-of-the-art RF technology, and that they can offer significant reductions in both capital and operating expenditures to wireless carriers out there.

“LTE networks are capable of offering rich content and amazing features, but only if coverage is consistent and provides reliable multi-megabit-per-second speeds for all consumers,” said Junichi Jinno, executive officer & general manager of Kyocera's Corporate R&D Group for Equipment and Systems. “Kyocera's micro and macro base stations are the industry's best, most cost-efficient tools for operators to implement and fine-tune a network that delivers on this promise.”