ZTE has launched what it says is the industry’s first LTE BeamHop Solution and demonstrated the LTE A8808 Active Antenna System (AAS) product based on this technology.
Based on the LTE BeamHop Solution, the A8808 product consists of both active and passive antennae. The passive part replaces operators’ existing 2G and 3G antennae, while the active part is used for the newly added LTE network. Since the LTE radio unit is integrated into the existing antenna, the new LTE network can be deployed without purchasing any additional antenna site space, reducing installation costs and maximizing existing resources.
“The new ZTE LTE BeamHop AAS solution enables ‘one deployment, two networks and flexible coverage,'” said ZTE Vice President Wang Shouchen. “This solution increases the transmission power of the base station and the sensitivity of the receivers, which significantly boosts network capacity and coverage. This BeamHop solution will help operators smoothly transition from 2G and 3G to LTE, without adding new antenna space. In turn, that will greatly reduce construction costs and accelerate commercial progress.”
The company added that its product is especially beneficial to operators competing in developed markets where the cost of renting antenna site space is high.