With the aim of reducing installation and maintenance cost, risk and time at the top of cellular network towers, CommScope has introduced “The Andrew SiteRise
Standard Interface”. The company advises this is intended to simplify the interface between the base station antenna and virtually any remote radio unit (RRU) technology.
The company unveiled its Andrew SiteRise, in 2013, which it claims is the world’s first pre-assembled tower top solution, bringing factory assembled quality and consistency to the field assembly environment of a wireless network cell site. This is claimed to facilitate the rapid implementation of RRU technology in close physical proximity to the antenna connectors, which can reduce losses and improve network performance.
The company highlights that, The Standard Interface allows operators to use multiple RRU technologies and frequency bands in a simplified plug-and-play arrangement. Key to this solution is a connector technology that is said to provide an essentially passive intermodulation (PIM)-free, blind mate connection.
This latest version has the potential to offer lower risk and higher quality assurance as it moves the complex connecting work at the top of the tower into a more controlled environment. It can reduce the risk of craft related errors due to the harsher and more complex working conditions at the top of the tower. The company also adds that, the easy accessibility enabled by the Standard Interface makes upgrading RRUs for changing frequency and technology requirements a plug-and-play feature. Ultimately, SiteRise Standard Interface is claimed to reduce the time installers spend working on the tower, saving operating costs and creating faster site turn ups, critical for operators’ time-to-market competitive advantage.
“Our antenna/RRU Standard Interface combines the best features of putting remote radios close to the antenna for reducing signal loss and energy consumption, but maintains a level of independence between the radio and antenna for flexibility and ease of support,” said Cardwell.
The company adds that, The SiteRise Standard Interface introduces a new connector technology that can provide an essentially PIM-free, blind mate connection. PIM is known to be a major concern with today’s interference limited technologies such as LTE. With blind mate connection capability, upgrading and maintaining radio technology can be done without affecting the antenna’s position. This functionality could reduce the time and cost associated with radio maintenance, and, even more importantly, reduce the risks associated with technology obsolescence.
The company also adds, combining multiple frequencies is also common in today’s cell sites. The Standard Interface includes an optional filter integration that reduces potential sources of interference and the need for more complex solutions internal to the RRU technology.
As part of its evolution of solutions at the top of the tower, CommScope has also announced that it is also introducing new approaches for fiber cable connectivity and protection. Available now, the company’s HELIAX FiberFeed Direct cabling solution can enable quicker installations by mating hybrid fiber and power cable to any RRU model, reducing the number of overall connections and cutting installation time by half.
CommScope
