Metawave implements technologies to allow sharing of antenna towers for leading tower company
Metawave Announces Letter of Intent with Leading Tower Company for Purchase of New SmartShare Solution
biz.yahoo.com
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2001--Metawave® Communications Corp. (Nasdaq:MTWV - news), a global provider of smart antenna solutions that increase voice and data capacity for wireless carriers, today announced the signing of a letter of intent with a leading tower company to enter into a purchase agreement for Metawave's new smart antenna sharing solution, called SmartShare(TM).
SmartShare, which is designed to support all major air interfaces operating in the 800 MHz and 1900 MHz frequencies, will allow multiple operators to share a single set of antenna panels at a cell site. Wireless carriers benefit from this arrangement because it will provide access to more cell sites in areas where tower space is limited. SmartShare will provide carriers the flexibility to independently optimize antenna patterns to fit their particular needs without being constrained by the fixed patterns of conventional antennas.
``With SmartShare, we're breaking new ground,'' said Bob Hunsberger, Metawave's chairman and chief executive officer. ``It will enable tower providers to take advantage of shared antenna economies while allowing wireless service providers to control the performance and optimization of their network. Further, SmartShare utilizes our new Cell Sculpting(TM) technology, which will allow improved performance in terms of capacity, coverage and quality compared to conventional antennas.''
The letter of intent stipulates that Metawave will develop the hardware and software for SmartShare. Testing of the product is set to begin in Q1 2002, with commercial availability expected during the summer of 2002.
Poster comments: Spectrum is scarce but building more cell phone towers is a difficult proposition as people like to use the cell phone but nobody wants a tower in their backyard. This technology will allow tower sharing between multiple cell phone operators and at the same time allow each operator to sculpt its own sectors. |
