Here's an interesting PCS twist from LG. Although Nextwave would need a fibre trunk alliance, it could significantly reduce the cost of their PCS infrastructure build-out?
The technology may be more appropriate for Mexico. Will Qualcomm's Nextwave interests be included in their "considered spinoff"?
Could such technologies compete (or complement) W-CDMA 3G initiatives?
01-22-98 LG Telecom Develops PCS-over-Fiber System
New architecture cuts network construction costs, improves transmission and reception
LG Telecom, one of Korea's three personal communications services (PCS) carriers, has developed a PCS-over-fiber system that improves call quality and cuts the cost of building a mobile network.
The new system uses fiber optic cable networks and small transceiver units called remote radio frequency (RF) heads to complement the traditional tower-based network architechture.
A typical PCS-over-fiber installation features three or four RF heads connected to a PCS hub through optical fiber cables. These RF heads receive optical signals from a PCS hub into PCS air frequencies for transmission to subscribers' handsets. Equipped with antennae, the heads can also receive calls from subscribers and convert them into optical signals for transmission to a PCS hub, which then delivers the calls to their destinations through telephone networks.
The main advantage of this PCS-over-fiber system is that installation of the small RF heads and their antennae is very easy and flexible.
''The installation of the RF units doesn't require those high steel towers needed to deploy base transceiver systems. They can be installed on electrical poles, buildings or other structures,'' said Lee Hyo-jin, an engineer who developed the system.
This means that the time and costs to build PCS networks can be reduced significantly, since the construction of steel towers involves leasing land, costly and time-consuming.
''Currently, it takes a month or so and 500 million won to set up a [base tranceiver system]. The new PCS-over-fiber takes just a few days and less than 100 million won,'' Lee said. He added that three or four RF heads equal a base station in terms of coverage.
Lee said the new system also improves call quality since it can be located closer to subscribers.
LG Telecom plans to deploy the new architecture in areas where base stations are difficult to install. In Korea, such areas abound, with mountainous regions accounting for some 70 percent of the territory. In addition, there are green belts and military-related areas where construction of towers is restricted.
The company will also use the new system in areas where call traffic falls far short of the capacity of a base transceiver station.
According to the company, the PCS-over-fiber system is deployable in 3,000 cells out of the 4,000 where it plans to install base stations. When the conventional tower-based architecure is used in 2,000 cells, the cost is estimated to reach one trillion won. In contrast, the new system requires just 120 billion won, offering huge savings.
The company said that its new architecture is also environment-friendly and does not impair the sky line.
''We plan to offer our new network architecture to our two competitors, KT Freetel and Hansol PCS, if they want,'' said Chung Jang-ho, company president. The two companies formed a common front against LG Telecom last December by concluding a roaming agreement. Under the accord, they are sharing their networks in areas other than Seoul and Kyonggi Province.
Chung said his company will develop expertise in PCS networks through the new architecture and try to export it to foreign PCS operators. ''We will be able to offer networking building service on a turn-key basis,'' he said.
Copyright 1998 Korea Herald. All rights reserved.
Link to article: koreaherald.co.kr |
