Improving reliability of coverage and performance for enterprise wireless communications.
Enterprises care far less about the technology (Wi-Fi vs cellular; 4G vs 5G) than they do about how predictable the coverage is, and how reliable the performance is. That was the clear conclusion from independent wireless experts Real Wireless in their recent report [read more here] which included a survey of how enterprise decision makers value and perceive several key performance indicators. Marked out of 10, Predictable Indoor Coverage scored 8.3 for importance but only 5.4 for being well supported. Meanwhile, Predictable QoS was scored 8.2 vs 4.9 and Critical Availability scored 7.1 vs 4.5. Clearly current solutions are not delivering against today’s Enterprise needs.
So, how to fix this problem? When a cellular radio access network is deployed inbuilding verses its usual outdoor mode of deployment, things change. The capacity of the system is now focussed on a relatively small geographic area and the number of users or devices is counted in hundreds, not hundreds of thousands. The type of cellular architecture that serves well in outdoor deployments is generally not suited to the specific needs of indoor environments. An optimized version of a radio access network is needed.
Antevia are addressing enterprise indoor deployments by employing a new “Shared Cell” architecture, recently defined in the O-RAN Alliance standards. Antevia’s O-RAN compliant solution delivers more predictable performance and QoS due to less co-channel interference. In a Shared Cell architecture, each user or device can be served by multiple radio heads simultaneously. This means more predictable coverage which is robust to failures of radio units. Furthermore, if the radio environment is changing, due to people or equipment moving around and consequently, a device cannot hear one radio, then it will be able to hear another radio nearby. This type of resiliency in the RF environment means that connectivity remains seamless with no need for handover or interruption of the data stream.
Antevia’s solutions rethink the deployment of cellular technology inside buildings so that Enterprise use-cases are better served. The reduced complexity of the radio environment also means reduced costs in design, planning, deployment and ongoing optimisation and maintenance. Simply put, you get a better radio access network and user experience for a lower total cost.
Resource Contributors: Alex Smith VP of Product Management https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-d-smith/
Would you like to learn more?
If you would like to find out more about designing products from the ground up to match the requirements of small and medium enterprises, contact us at info@antevianetworks.com