Alcatel-Lucent launches lightRadio™ to replace mobile masts and
towers
The looming global gridlock in mobile communications promises to
be averted following the launch of pioneering technology which
will remove the bottlenecks constraining mobile networks and help
deliver universal broadband coverage.
Alcatel-Lucent, the leading network technology group, has joined
forces with industry partners to develop lightRadio™, a new system
that signals the end of the mobile industry’s reliance on masts
and base stations around the world.
Ben Verwaayen, Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel-Lucent, said:
“Today’s and tomorrow’s demands for coverage and capacity require
a breakthrough in mobile communications.”
He added: “lightRadio will signal the end of the basestation and
the cell tower as we know it today.”
Governments and regulatory bodies are expected to welcome the
technical development, which will help meet targets for universal
broadband access by laying the foundation to address the so-called
“digital divide.”
Other major benefits from lightRadio™ include:
• Shrinking the carbon footprint of mobile networks by over 50%
• Reducing the Total-Cost-of-Ownership of mobile operators by up
to 50%
• Improving end user services by significantly increasing
bandwidth per user thanks to the deployment of small antennas
everywhere
Wim Sweldens, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s Wireless Division
said: “lightRadio will help mobile operators evolve their networks
to address the mobile broadband deluge.”
lightRadio represents a new approach where the base station,
typically located at the base of each cell site tower, is broken
into its components elements and then distributed into both the
antenna and throughout a cloud-like network.
lightRadio also shrinks today’s clutter of antennas serving 2G,
3G, and LTE systems into a single powerful, Bell Labs- pioneered
antenna that can be mounted on poles, sides of buildings or
anywhere else there is power and a broadband connection.
The innovation coincides with growing demand for third-and-fourth
generation mobile networks and devices, involving the mass
adoption of wireless television services and other forms of
broadband content. The total addressable market for the radio
technology necessary to serve such networks and devices is
expected to exceed €100bn over the next seven years.
Alcatel-Lucent announced the lightRadio™ technical specifications
and launch timetable at an industry event in London today. Visit
www.alcatel-lucent.com/lightradio for product press release
and link to event replay (available at 2:30 GMT).
