A new way to build 3G - Nokia launches new WCDMA base station

The small and modular Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station makes site selection more flexible than before. Not only can it be installed both indoors and outdoors, but the Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station also supports a distributed base station architecture.

Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station allows for an easy technology evolution to multiradio networks, as its modules can also be fitted inside existing Nokia UltraSite EDGE Base Station cabinets. Currently, according to the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), 55 operators are deploying both WCDMA and EDGE. Nokia supplies either or both technologies to over half of the commercially launched WCDMA/EDGE networks.

The Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station is also an investment for the future. It supports WCDMA and High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technologies, and its modular architecture, compatible with Open Base Station Architecture Initiative (OBSAI) specifications, will later also allow operators to rapidly deploy new technologies, including WiMAX. Further flexibility comes from the easy capacity upgrades that Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station allows as traffic increases. The Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station will be available in the latter half of 2006.

"We believe that this open, modular base station offers all our customers a new and easier way to build 3G networks, now and in the future," said Robin Lindahl, Vice President, Radio Networks, Nokia. "The small size and flexibility of the Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station will make a real difference to our customers' operating and capital expenditure since existing and new sites can be used in a very efficient way. In addition, this new platform will make it easy for operators to deploy new radio technologies."

Source: Nokia