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To: engineer who wrote (18887)	11/28/1998 3:47:00 PM
From: SKIP PAUL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

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.