US-based Parallel Wireless announced this week a partnership with SOLiD, a provider of Distributed Antenna System (DAS) indoor mobile telecommunications systems. This new partnership will allow service providers to reduce their solution footprint and operating costs by decreasing complexity, price, required real estate, and power consumption, which can now be reduced by more than 80 percent.
Also Read: Parallel Wireless Deploys Over 1,500 Open RAN sites in Africa
Complexities in Indoor Wireless Deployment
Parallel Wireless said deploying indoor wireless sites constitutes the most intricate and costly aspect within any network operator's infrastructure. The sheer scale of deployment results in complexities, necessitating the deployment of numerous high-power RRHs and vBBUs for the indoor sites, occupying substantial real estate within the building, consuming significant power, and requiring air conditioning to cool down the equipment inside the room.
Open RAN-Powered DAS Solution
To address these issues, the partnership between Parallel Wireless and SOLiD provides customers with an Open RAN-powered DAS that operates with each antenna resembling a small base station equipped with multiple transmitters. Using an Open RAN interface, the active DAS solution is connected through fiber optic to a data centre vBBU.
Partnership Benefits
According to the joint statement, this partnership eliminates the need for high-power radios (RRHs), saves on real estate in closed venues, and reduces cooling system requirements, thereby resulting in a significant reduction in power consumption and footprint.
Parallel Wireless said, "Using Parallel Wireless' joint solution with SOLiD's DAS, vBBU servers can be installed tens of kilometres away from the site in an edge data center without compromising signal quality or capacity parameters."
"SOLiD recently introduced a new Open RAN interface unit that bridges between its traditional existing DAS system and Open RAN technology using the standard e-CPRI ORAN interface for the fronthaul. This allows operators to continue expanding their network in indoor sites without the costly overhead often associated with covering high-density areas," SOLiD said.
Also Read: Verizon to Upgrade Network at MetLife Stadium With New DAS System
Expanding Coverage in Rural Nigeria
In another development earlier in January, Parallel Wireless partnered with Hotspot Network, a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) provider, to extend 2G and 4G coverage to previously unconnected 500 rural sites throughout Nigeria. Parallel Wireless said this partnership has expanded its footprint in the region to over 1,500 sites.
About Technology Partners
Parallel Wireless is a US Headquartered Open RAN provider offering platform-independent 2G/3G/4G/5G Macro RAN solutions, while SOLiD is an active DAS solution provider with hundreds of live deployments in Europe. Hotspot Network is a Nigerian-based Infrastructure Sharing and Colocation and ISP company headquartered in Abuja.
