CommScope has introduced new 3.5 GHz-capable antennas for macro and small cell densification to help increase network capacity and migration to 5G. Customers deploying newly licensed spectrum bands will be able to increase capacity in existing LTE networks and prepare for future 5G networks with CommScope’s 3.5 GHz-capable base station antennas.

The new CommScope 3.5 GHz-capable antennas:

• Support 3.5 GHz for macro cell and outdoor small cell deployments with a variety of single band and multiband options available, including beamforming.
• Enable spectral efficiencies with carrier aggregation, higher-order MIMO, interference management and beamtilt capabilities.
• Are future-ready as part of the path to 5G and compatible with LTE and earlier radio technologies.

“There are limited number of RF products, including base station antennas, combiners, and tower mounted amplifiers, available to the market for 3.5 GHz bands,” said Iain Gillott, president of iGR. “3.5 GHz-capable base station antennas and RF path equipment for macro cell upgrades and outdoor small cell deployments will be critical for operators that are strained on network capacity.”

New antennas and filter products now available include:

• Sector antennas for macro cells with 2.3 GHz beamforming
• Multiband antennas and combiners for macro cells with 1400 MHz support for use in the European Union
• Both 65° sector and quasi-omni small cell antennas
• Combiners and tower mounted amplifiers supporting 3.5 GHz macro cell and small cell deployments

“Network capacity is pushed to its limits, particularly in densely populated urban areas where additional sites are difficult or impossible to secure,” said Farid Firouzbakht, senior vice president for Mobility Solutions at CommScope. “Supporting 3.5 GHz spectrum with antenna designs that additionally offer spectral efficiency are two ways CommScope’s 3.5 GHz-capable antennas open up new avenues of capacity to these overburdened networks.”

Additional antennas and combiners for multiband will be available in the coming months. You can see these solutions and more at the CommScope stand at Mobile World Congress 2019 in Hall 2, stand 2J30.