NSN introduces Liquid Radio for TD-LTE

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has introduced a Liquid Radio-based ‘6 pipes’ remote radio head that uses the company’s unique pipe approach to offer unprecedented flexibility in delivering TD-LTE.

''Our new, high-capacity 6 pipes remote radio head is a great addition to our TD-LTE RAN (Radio Access Network) portfolio and promises to take the TD-LTE experience to the next level,'' said Tommi Uitto, head of the LTE radio access business line at Nokia Siemens Networks.

In addition to enabling a more flexible approach to TD-LTE, the new product delivers much higher throughput and lower latency than other offerings, to enable higher data speeds.

By covering three sectors with a single radio head, operators can reduce site costs by up to one-third. It is the first remote radio head that can support a 6-sector TD-LTE site to deliver 80 percent more capacity and 40 percent more coverage as compared to traditional 3-sector sites. This enables higher data speeds, and reduces total cost of ownership by 40 percent.

Nokia Siemens Networks’ pipe concept offers a cost-effective, future-proof alternative to the current ‘path’-based approaches, allowing more flexible allocation of sectors, carriers and transmit and receive channels by a base station.

The product can do multiple configurations, starting with a simple, low-cost, 3-sector site configuration and scaling to a high-capacity, 6-sector site configuration, when needed.

Nokia Siemens Networks’ 6 pipes remote radio head is based on the company’s Liquid Radio architecture, which self-adapts coverage and capacity based on subscriber demand. The offering’s unique 6 pipes beamforming feature mitigates signal loss due to interference.

This helps deliver up to 50 percent higher data speeds and improved coverage, compared to 4 path radio heads, for subscribers in high-density areas, both indoors and outdoors. This feature also eliminates the need for additional sites, and reduces CAPEX, OPEX and site costs.