SuperPico™

As cellular growth continues around the world, the landscape of users with access to cellular services is changing. Historically, such services have been predominately available in metro and suburban markets in developed regions. New growth is focused on rural markets within many developing nations. Reaching these unserved populations can be challenging on many levels.

The locations themselves can be geographically challenged due to remoteness of base station facilities. In these areas there may be connectivity challenges which result in the need for a satellite connection. Power sources can be limited and/or unreliable, while travel to these destinations can be hindered on a routine and even emergency basis.

The financial implications of serving these markets caused by their remoteness, is only worsened by the low ARPU of these sites. A smaller addressable market combined with relatively low expectations for monthly recurring revenue charges creates a tough business proposition for operators. As operators begin to serve these markets, the need for a non-traditional solution becomes apparent.

In order to meet the needs of operators migrating into these locations, Vanu is partnering with STM to deliver the STM SuperPico™ GSM Base station. Vanu's GSM software radio is an integral part of the STM base station solution. The use of software radio enables the challenges of a remote location to be minimized due to the ability to remotely maintain and upgrade the SuperPico software.

The SuperPico product was developed with extremely rural markets in mind. Allowing operators to extend their existing macrocell infrastructure into these regions requires an alternative solution to the traditional base station model. Key areas of differentiation include:

  • Coverage models tailored to a rural village where a large area of coverage isn't a key requirement
  • Reduced power consumption compared to a traditional solution
  • Purpose-built for a smaller total user requirement
  • The options to have 1 to 3 TRXs
  • Pole mountable alternative