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February 18, 2014

Kathrein Debuts New Solution for In-building Mobile Communications

Kathrein, a communications technology manufacturer based in Germany, recently announced that it has developed a new Micro C-RAN system called K-BOW to meet the growing demand for mobile data traffic in buildings and across campus-wide environments. The company will launch the solution at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month.

K-BOW aggregates data traffic with a centralized RAN platform and transmits multiple combinations of signals to individual radio units (RUs). It is remotely-controlled over a network monitoring system so that capacity in any area within the building can be increased or decreased.

“With mobile communications continuing to change dramatically, K-BOW is setting the standard for mobile data transmission in buildings by simultaneously overcoming multiple technological challenges,” CTO Dr. Michael Weber said in a statement. “We provide network operators with the flexibility they need to respond rapidly to their customers’ demands. We are opening up exciting new possibilities for indoor network optimization, providing users with the best possible signal quality at all times.”

According to the company, K-BOW drastically reduces energy in addition to cost and time when compared conventional static indoor cell architectures because signals from individual frequency bands can be switched on and off based on demand from every small cell.  After the solution makes its debut in Barcelona it will become commercially available in early 2015.

Kathrein is more well-known in the antenna industry, although competition in that area has been getting fierce. While the company has dominated the market along with CommScope, Huawei has now entered the market through base station relationships in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Kathrein is perhaps looking to blaze a trail in the C-RAN sector to compensate for that stiff competition. Frank Oehler, head of business development at Kathrein, recently told Rethink Wireless that although it will be challenging for the company to enter the in-building sector, it is hoping that K-Bow’s energy efficient model will impress potential clients. 




Edited by Cassandra Tucker


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