December 01, 1998, Issue: 314
Section: Products & Services
Nortel Fills the Gaps -- Minicell And Metro
Cell Help Wireless Users Hit Those
Hard-To-Reach Spots
Meg McGinity
Tried placing or taking a wireless call from a trade show
floor lately? If you've had problems, you're not alone.
When hundreds of pay-phone haters all try placing calls
from a single venue, the result is often hundreds of
frustrated customers. The same goes for areas where
signals can't penetrate, like a city subway platform.
Northern Telecom Ltd. says its CDMA Minicell wireless
system can help red-faced service providers that have to
take the heat for all those uncompleted calls.
CDMA Minicell uses code-division multiple access
(CDMA) technology, which many new entrants into the
wireless market, including Sprint PCS (Kansas City, Mo.),
are also employing. Slated to become available during the
first quarter next year, CDMA Minicell lets a wireless
service provider quickly build up another cell site to
handle wireless calls in crowded conditions or in areas
where it's tough for signals to get through. It consists of two
components: a small base station called the digital
enclosure and a wall-mountable, 40-pound box called the
radio enclosure, which acts as an antenna to the site. These
components are connected via a fiber optic line. The box
can be installed inside a building so that mobile phone
users can engage in uninterrupted talk on their wireless
handsets while inside. When the customer steps outside, the
call is handed off to a regular base station site (see "More
and Cleaner Air").
Wireless service providers have looked at in-building
wireless systems as a revenue enhancer for some time.
Nortel says Minicell is a different type of in-building
system because it acts as a minibase station that can pass
off calls to a larger base station on the provider's network.
Other systems have used picocells, which can only be used
within a building or campus environment, to send and
receive signals. Nortel's Minicell works for service
providers that want to operate CDMA networks but may
not have the space or budget for a full base station.
"Minicell has the ability to fill in gaps in different service
areas, either indoors, in crowded downtown areas or in
rural settings," says Terry White, an analyst at Phillips
InfoTech (Parsippany, N.J.). The system is also suitable for
service providers trying to build out service in developing
countries, which have little telecom infrastructure. Other
wireless solutions in these areas require that the service
provider invest in a macrocell system, which may provide
far too much capacity or could prove too pricey for smaller
providers that serve a limited number of subscribers.
Nortel has also introduced CDMA Metro Cell, a CDMA
base station. Because it is modular, service providers can
add capacity and update technology via software upgrades.
With Metro Cell, capacity can be added or components
upgraded remotely from a central location; most base
stations require sending a crew to the site to modify
existing gear or replace the entire base station.
"As carriers get more subscribers, they can expand as fast
as they want to grow" with Metro Cell, says Ken Hyres, an
analyst with Cahners In-Stat (Newton, Mass.). Nortel
designed Metro Cell for Sprint Corp. and claims that it is
ready for third-generation wireless technology (3G). Some
analysts dismiss this promise as meaningless, though. They
stress that 3G is far enough away that the details of its
deployment are still questionable.
Nortel would not disclose pricing for either Minicell or
Metro Cell, saying price is dependent on configuration and
volume purchased.
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