05 October 2023
Yisrael Nov, EVP, Head of Sales, Parallel Wireless
Mobile networks are becoming a lifeline for consumers, businesses and, in the case of remote, rural areas, communities. Mobile carriers have a commercial and perhaps a social imperative to expand their coverage in order to serve all these constituencies. While the industry is buzzing with discussion about the fantastic capabilities of 5G, for many carriers it still makes much more financial sense to deploy 2G and 4G networks, in other words introducing voice services to new rural areas with 2G/4G and delivering high-speed data in urban/dense areas with 4G. This will allow them to tier their offer in order to target a realistic ARPU while providing services that are truly in current demand.
The only drawback of this approach is forward-compatibility; how does an operator ensure that future upgrade opportunities are not limited because relatively new 2G and 4G equipment is not seamlessly compatible with next generation 5G equipment. This means that the selection of a vendor must take into account the flexibility to eventually deploy 5G in a variety of scenarios while continuing to leverage previous investments. This is where Parallel Wireless comes in.
When it comes to urban areas, Parallel Wireless All-G solutions give you the flexibility to grow while maintaining control over the pace of innovation and equipment costs. Solutions that support 2G, 4G and 5G networks allow carriers to deploy the most advanced solution regardless of the RUs. The result is a smoother path for an eventual 5G upgrade and a homogeneous software stack across a heterogeneous network. Parallel Wireless’ solutions help you to expand coverage and control costs while maintaining vendor independence and preparing for the future.
Controlling the power of your transmission
One of the main challenges of mobile networks in the coming years will be power consumption and, as a result, energy costs. As more equipment will be deployed to provide more capacity, combined with the upward trend of energy prices, the bloated line item of energy costs in an operators’ budget has risen to account for 20%-40%** of their entire OPEX. This is why adopting a power saving agenda immediately is so critical for operators. On such a massive scale, reducing the power consumption across a mobile network cannot simply be solved by a “turn the light off when you leave the room” mentality. This requires built-in, power saving features and energy conservation features.
This includes smarter software solutions, such as:
- Adaptive transmission power- 4G LTE antennas apply an egalitarian approach to individual users within the cell service area, so each device receives the same “energy attention” from the antenna, regardless of factors such as distance from the cell, current traffic, interference and overlap with adjacent cells. Smarter RAN equipment allows adaptive transmission power, ensuring that the correct energy level is applied to each transmission.
- Micro-sleep - Existing network components operate in “Always-on” mode, regardless of the demand or circumstances. This creates massive inefficiencies when it comes to power consumption in 2G and 4G networks. Furthermore, the 5G standard allows gaps in transmission up to 20 ms for 5G Standalone and 160 ms in 5G Non-Standalone mode, which are 100 to 800 times longer than what is allowed in LTE. This means that components can be put in power-suspension, or sleep mode, more often and for longer durations. These micro-improvements, which occur millions of times a day, have the potential to significantly reduce overall energy consumption.
By implementing such features and more, Parallel Wireless expects to achieve dramatic reduction in power consumption within the next 24 months.
Ultimately, maintaining, upgrading and expanding your mobile network involves an increasing degree of flexibility. Starting with site construction, equipment sourcing, installation and all the way to establishing RF equilibrium between the sites, operators are faced with many tasks that require specialized resources that they don’t always have. To ensure a fast, efficient project, Parallel Wireless offers end-to-end solutions including RAN equipment, transmission, power, infrastructure, delivery and deployment.
Whether your focus is on rural or urban service areas, whether you are rolling out 2G, 4G or 5G networks, whether you are deploying standalone or non-standalone 5G, Parallel Wireless has the solutions that will help you expand your capacity, control costs and prepare your network for the future.
