Ericsson’s antennas bring Massive MIMO for 5G mid-band while supporting low bands in same footprint
Vodafone UK has begun rolling out Ericsson’s new compact antenna to boost its 5G capacity and coverage without increasing the footprint of many of its masts. The Interleaved AIR 3218, combines a radio unit and an antenna in a single unit and can also transmit mobile data over all the radio frequencies – 900MHz, 3.4GHz and 3.6GHz 5G – that Vodafone currently uses in the UK, without needing additional antenna units as with previous models.
Last month Vodafone claimed it was the first to launch 5G Standalone in the UK – branded 5G Ultra – including in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff.
Combing the radio and antenna shrinks the footprint needed making it easier to mount on rooftops, towers, walls and poles. This simplifies Vodafone’s network site upgrades and installations, helping to speed up the rollout of 5G in areas previously constrained by building regulations or planning law.
The combined multiband, Massive MIMO design also improves network performance without increasing footprint. It also helps with managing the structural integrity of existing sites as less equipment means less weight.
“5G is the UK’s digital future, but we should never underestimate how difficult it is to deliver a future-proofed network at scale across the length and breadth of the UK,” said Vodafone UK head of radio and performance Ker Anderson. “Working in partnership with Ericsson, we are constantly exploring new ways to accelerate this transformation, and this is another example of where innovation is delivered through collaboration.”
Ericsson calculated a 30% reduction in site acquisition and build time, based on results from the first five sites where deployment has already been completed.
“This is a gamechanger for Vodafone and for the UK deployment of 5G Massive MIMO. Together, we are increasing 5G capacity without growing visual antenna footprint on site,” said Ericsson UK & Ireland CTO networks and managed services Evangelia Tzifa. “By being able to do more with less we are bringing the benefits of next-generation connectivity to more people in the UK, but also reducing any impact on the environment and continuing our journey to break the energy curve”.
Energy savings
Vodafone is keen to reduce network energy usage which it said is responsible for most the telco’s consumption so cutting down pieces of equipment is bound to help, although this may only be on a per site basis if more kit is deployed overall. Ericsson said the combined antenna transmits more gigabytes of data for each watt of energy used (Gbytes/Watt) compared with 4G.
The Interleaved AIR 3218 also utilises beam-through technology where an arbitrary active antenna can be placed behind the passive antenna reducing the overall footprint in terms of size, weight and wind load. Beam-through utilises frequency-selective surfaces tuned to serve as reflectors for the passive antenna, while being transparent for the underlying Massive MIMO radio.