Everybody is very excited about LTE and the capacity boost that is possible thanks to MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) antenna systems. But not everyone knows how important it is to watch MIMO system performance carefully, especially for in-building applications. High data rates in LTE can only be achieved under certain conditions due to its underlying physics. Key electrical parameters such as EVM (Error Vector Magnitude) and SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio) significantly impact channel capacity.
CommScope is a leader in studying MIMO in regards to in-building propagation models and scenarios. Our distributed antenna system (DAS) research and product teams work in cooperation with multiple universities and wireless operators. We understand how critical it is to have a DAS in place that scales cost-efficiently without performance degradation.
The CommScope ION DAS platform supports not only transport of multiple, full-band frequencies on one single fiber-link but also n:m MIMO for those services. (In MIMO parlance, n = the number of receive antennas and m = the number of transmit antennas.) Using fiber optic cable as the transport link ensures very high signal integrity. Single-band fiber allows for upgrading to more bands and higher MIMO schemes without touching the basic infrastructure—the fiber plant—at the head-end or at the antenna site.
Modern active DAS have to include self-organizing network (SON) features as part of ensuring optimum network performance. Our ION platform has multiple procedures and algorithms running in the background that are constantly checking various parameters to keep the system at maximum performance amidst changing network traffic conditions.
Intelligent features for easy upgrade and optimized operation are key elements for modern DAS in an LTE and MIMO world. CommScope has covered all kind of venues all over the world with itsION platform. We understand how important scalability and signal integrity are. These parameters were central to the design of our high performance ultra wideband optical link and our monitoring and diagnosis system.
