Community Connect GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network

The smallest, lightest, lowest power consumption carrier grade GSM/EDGE outdoor base station.

Vanu enables mobile network operators to profit in off-grid markets that cannot be covered profitably by using legacy telecommunication equipment and traditional business models. Currently, 1.2 billion people lack connectivity. Vanu helps mobile network operators profit by serving this market.

Off-grid markets require special solutions to profitably and sustainably address this opportunity – an opportunity that is around $5 billion, annually. Vanu’s pioneering software radio equipment lowers capital and operating expense to make the off-grid market addressable.

Vanu offers turnkey solutions that include deployment and operations services in addition to towers, transport, and radio access network equipment that is highly optimized for this market. For example, tower solutions are easy to ship and deploy in remote markets. The battery solution not only monitors the health of the system but heals the battery to increase its overall lifetime.

GSM/EDGE is still the dominant cellular standard to serve the off-grid markets. There are a few key reasons that drive this.

  • GSM handsets are affordable and widely available in these markets.
  • A GSM handset can last much longer on a single charge, this is of huge value where power is scarce and charging (even for GSM feature phones) costs more than usage charges on a monthly basis

Any solution deployed to serve off-grid markets must include GSM to serve the market profitably. Profitable service is essential to achieve the scale and sustainability necessary to address this large market opportunity.

Description

The Community Connect GSM solution from Vanu offers unique market opportunities with its deployment potential. Our solution is powered by Vanu GSM software which utilizes a latency and jitter tolerant packet-based IP backhaul.  This enables the infrastructure to use a wide variety of media for backhaul including microwave, wireless broadband, cable modem, DSL, and satellite connections. The general purpose processing (GPP) based architecture allows for seamless expansion of existing RAN networks and migration to the cloud. The Vanu BSC interworks with all major core network vendors and the Vanu EMS delivers a multitude of monitored KPIs and alarms.

Vanu Community Connect GSM/EDGE base station is a dual TRX system, designed to support up to 10W per TRX in the GSM 900 MHz and DCS 1800 MHz bands. Operating at 48VDC, the base station (BTS) consumes very low power. The BTS is enclosed in an IP67 rated enclosure and weighs just 9.6kg.

The modular nature of Community Connect BTS design allows for daisy chaining to increase addressable capacity. It can be configured as a sustainable solar powered alternative to the current macro rural BTS.

 

Highlights

Technical Specifications