Alcatel-Lucent WiMAX - Manual (Page 6)

6 Alcatel-Lucent WiMAX • Making Universal Broadband a Reality
Business Benefits: Advanced Antenna Technology
Makes the Difference
Fewer Radio Sites and Better Capacity thanks to Advanced Antenna Technology
The acquisition and operation of radio sites represents the huge portion of
an operator’s investment. It is also a major source of deployment constraints.
With Advanced Antenna Technology, WiMAX performance can be signif-
icantly improved thereby helping you offer better service with fewer base
stations. Beam forming and MIMO are standardized features of Alcatel-
Lucent’s Advanced Antenna Technology.
Beam forming
ensures that radio power is concentrated where
the terminal devices are located and the beam is automatically adjusted as
the terminal moves. This means, as compared to a single antenna system,
equipment and site acquisition costs are substantially reduced.
Beam forming also provides significant coverage and capacity gains in macro
cellular environments. By helping achieve coverage similar to GSM/UMTS
networks, mobile operators can reuse existing radio sites.
Table 1: Beam Forming Capacity and Coverage Gains
BEAM FORMING CAPACITY GAIN (AVERAGE) COVERAGE GAIN (AVERAGE)
Macrocell + 50% + 50%
WiMAX base stations
and antennas