“Integrated End-to-End Architecture Represents a Major Step Towards Commercial Grade LTE Femtocell Deployment”
Airvana has today announced the “successful demonstration of the world’s first end-to-end LTE femtocell solution” in partnership with Hitachi Communications Technology Americas. Airvana said that the live demonstration was conducted for a Tier 1 Mobile Service Operator in September 2011.
The end-to-end solution used commercially available LTE terminals, the Airvana LTE femtocell, the Hitachi HeNB Gateway, and Hitachi’s commercially available Evolved Packet Core (EPC) solution. The demonstration included performance tests as well as live video streaming and internet browsing.
An LTE femtocell, also known as a Home eNode B (HeNB), provides LTE base-station functionality in a very small, cost-effective form factor to ensure maximum LTE performance to users inside businesses and homes. In wireless networks where data demands are constantly outpacing existing infrastructure, LTE femtocell solutions enable the efficient handling of LTE data traffic while minimizing the signaling load to the existing EPC elements in the core network.
“Airvana has a history of innovation, with the first 3G CDMA femtocell, the first IMS-based femtocell, and the first standards-based, open femtocell management system,” explained Michael Clark, Airvana’s General Manager for femtocells. “Being the first vendor to successfully complete an end-to-end LTE small cell demonstration is another tremendous accomplishment and proves the readiness of our LTE femtocell network architecture, soon to be introduced into commercial LTE networks,” added Clark.
Airvana and Hitachi have partnered in the past to provide end-to-end CDMA femtocell solutions; the partnership is now extended to LTE. “The HeNB Gateway leverages the Hitachi ER5000 MME’s proven subscriber and mobility management software and demonstrates the innovative architectural flexibility of Hitachi’s solution. We are pleased to provide this product as part of the end-to-end LTE femtocell solution with Airvana,” said Don Keeler, VP of PLM & Business Development, Hitachi Communication Technologies America, Inc.
“In addition to the LTE femtocell, Airvana provides a standards-based femtocell management system for automated configuration, radio interference management, and monitoring of both CDMA and LTE femtocells,” noted Michael McFarland, Airvana’s Senior Director of Product Management and Marketing. “This platform is already managing hundreds of thousands of multi-mode 1x/EVDO CDMA femtocells in commercial wireless networks and is being extended to support LTE.”