One of the leading integrators of digital networks, STL on Tuesday has announced the launch of Firebird which is a path-breaking line of ORAN-based macro radios for dense and wide-area 5G coverage. The announcement from the company was made at the Mobile World Congress 2022 held in Barcelona. The company showcased its all-in-one 5G solution at the event.
More on STL Firebird
The all-new STL Firebird consists of multi-band 4G/5G macro O-RAN compliant radio units (O-RUs) which will be initially available in Band 1, 40, 41, and 78 among others. These software-defined radios have been developed on a platform architecture that promises full coverage of fluctuating 5G network and capacity requirements of global carriers. In addition to this, STL is also developing dual RAT (Radio Access Technologies) 4G and 5G radio products which will be specific to Band 40 and 78. For this, the company had also announced its partnership with Meta Connectivity and via the Evenstar program, it will work with the latter to accelerate the adoption of Open RAN solutions.
The newly launched STL Firebird comes with multiple unique features. It offers full compliance with O-RAN front haul specifications for vendor neutrality. It has carrier-grade hardware (IP 65 rating) and is robust enough for harsh outdoor conditions. Furthermore, it also provides lower power consumption and minimized physical footprint. STL Firebird is very simple to operate as it offers easy field setup and verification along with software diagnosis and CI/CD software feature upgrades.
The CEO of Access Solutions at STL, Chris Rice at the launch said that Firebird is a critical addition to the company’s line of open networking programmable access solutions for 5G-ready networks. He added that Firebird allows seamless integration with compliant O-RAN vendor RAN (CU/DU) products as it is built on industry-standard open interfaces which enables it to quickly deploy and ensure proper wide-area 5G coverage. He stated that Firebird is a key step towards delivering the company’s purpose to transform billions of lives with digital networks.