Nokia touts dual-band radio antenna system that 'slims down' base stations


Nokia debuted its Flexi Radio Antenna System, a dual-band radio system that seeks to streamline the base station by combining the antenna and radios into a single enclosure. This effort "slims down the design of cells which saves site space, reduces feeder losses and simplifies installation and maintenance," Nokia said in a blog post.

The system provides 4x4 MIMO capabilities, but operates multiple frequency bands over one antenna. This reduces the number of antennas deployed. Nokia also said that the radio head is integrated into the antenna, so there is no need for cables to connect the antennas, thereby reducing signal attenuation.

Nokia claims that other benefits of the system include spare ports for future upgrades, passively cooled radios, instantaneous bandwidth up to 65 MHz and a wideband antenna covering more than 25 different 3GPP bands. Blog