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BladeRRU: Innovation for Meeting Growing & Changing MBB Network Demands

February 15, 2013 |
Exponential increases in smart device penetration has led to a need for better ways to exponentially increase network capacity while simultaneously supporting multi-band and multi-radio access technology (RAT) networks.

By as early as 2016, Huawei predicts that sites supporting two or more bands will account for more than 70% of all sites in Europe. The number of types of radio units used at any given site will double, invariably leading to more complex site constructions supporting multi-band combinations. Without deploying the right solution, this will lead to increasing deployment and operations and management (O&M) costs.

Huawei’s deep insights into these mobile network trends and how they will affect operators’ needs have driven the innovative design and development of BladeRRU, a new industry standard for MBB network RRUs.

A New MBB Network Standard

To support smooth evolution toward multi-band and multi-RAT networks, Huawei recognized the need for RRUs to adopt a modular design. This means RRUs will shrink in size but will grow by leaps and bounds in terms of efficiency and performance. Blade RRU utilizes a high-availability, high-density style of modularity to maintain a standardized set of dimensions while supporting different RAT, band and carrier configurations. The RRU installation process is thusly made remarkably simple and easy thanks to BladeRRU’s support for seamless and flexible assembly. Due to breakthrough design advances, the total volume of a single BladeRRU is a mere 12 L, whereas other RRUs models are typically 18 L or 24 L. New highly integrated power amplification (PA) technologies allows its maximum power output to reach 2×60 W. Output power per volume ratio can reach an astounding 10 W/L to reduce average site power consumption by an industry-leading 30%.

Blade RRU also meets 3GPP’s Multi-Standard Radio standards by utilizing software alone to add or change to supported RATs. Its coverage, capacity, RAT and frequency resources are all efficiently coordinated so operators are able to build the best networks for meeting MBB challenges now and for the future.

Operators that deploy BladeRRU are assured of meeting the growing and changing needs of MBB networks to ensure the continuing success of their commercial business.

Highest Value for Multi-Band, Multi-RAT

Put simply, Huawei’s BladeRRU is the industry’s highest value RRU solution for operators looking to build multi-band, multi-RAT MBB networks:

Modular Design for Seamless Assembly—BladeRRU’s standardized dimensions allow for seamless assembly and flexible combinations of several RRUs supporting different bands and RATs. This greatly reduces site space requirements and rental costs, and fulfills operator demands for capacity- and service-centric network development.

Industry’s Smallest and Lightest Radio Unit—A single BladeRRU is a mere 12 L and 14 kg with 30% higher integration over other RRUs. A lone engineer can assemble three BladeRRUs in only five minutes, allowing operators to quickly deploy networks and expand capacity like never before.

Industry-Best RF Module Performance—BladeRRU benefits from Huawei base stations’ industry-leading radio frequency (RF) performance and PA efficiency. The instantaneous bandwidth of BladeRRU’s PA is capable of reaching 60 MHz, sharply reducing a site’s number of required RRUs and dramatically decreasing site power consumption.

BladeRRU Timeline

  • In 2004, Huawei introduced the first distributed base station solution with a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) that separated its baseband unit from its radio unit. The RRU was redesigned to be installed near the antenna to sharply cut down on feeder loss and makes base station deployment much simpler.
  • In 2008, when wireless networks began evolving toward supporting multiple technology standards, Huawei introduced the first SDR-powered mRRU to support GSM, UMTS and LTE via software upgrades.

  • In 2010, Huawei launched three types of small and easy to install mRRUs that greatly reduced installation and maintenance costs. By the end of 2012, Huawei had delivered more than six million of these RRUs to more than 100 telecom operators worldwide.

  • In August 2012, Huawei introduced the Blade RRU solution to enable the even more rapid and reliable deployment of multi-band and multi-RAT MBB networks. BladeRRU has since been successfully deployed on a large scale by operators in China, Thailand and Bulgaria

  • In 2013, Huawei will continuously strive to innovate and develop its BladeRRU solution for meeting operators’ growing and changing multi-band, multi-RAT MBB networks.



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