The Key to Better Cell Service: On the Road With Kathrein

Building out networks that deliver wireless services able to meet the demands of wireless users is necessary in the current landscape. People are willing to pay for more mobile data, so it is up to the mobile operators to invest in increased capacity. This is part and parcel to the mobile trends we’re seeing these days, according to Kathrein, a company whose mission is to provide for our data-driven society.

Kathrein’s history doesn’t just begin with the advent of mobile devices; the company has been around since 1919, pioneered by founder and engineer Anton Kathrein, Sr. who developed optimized radio antennas.

We’ve come a long way since the days of radio antennas. How and when we share information is more complex, more intricate, relying on service providers to share data in various ways, from SMS to email to video.

How are providers meeting the need for our data-hungry society? One way is small cells. A small cell is a box that can broadcast licensed cellular radio frequencies, boosting the coverage and capacity in the immediate surrounding area.

The past decade dictates our need for mobile devices; they have become the preferred means of communications. Carriers are now deploying wireless solutions powered by Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) and small cells to address the need for better coverage and increased capacity.

“One of the main drivers going on in the marketplace today is ‘densification’ of the network, which is a fancy way of saying they (data carriers) need more bandwidth,” said Jim Nevelle, president and CEO of Kathrein USA, in an interview with MobilityTechzone CEO Rich Tehrani for the On the Road, Dallas series.  

How is Kathrein playing in this market space?

“We’re handling that a few different ways; one is adding more multi-band, using all this frequency that they now purchased through auctions to use. So, they’re having to put more complex antenna designs. Two, they’re utilizing small cells approaches, so where they might be able to put a very large macro cell – large tower, inside maybe a city – they will put in multiple small cells. That is a big driver in many of the CapEx space,” said Nevelle.

Check out this episode of On the Road to hear more about how Kathrein has taken its century-old company and evolved to stay current with emerging technologies: