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December 05, 2013

Broadcom Announces New Platform Well-suited for Small Cell Deployment in Emerging Markets

Broadcom has announced a gateway platform which will make small cell deployment simpler especially in emerging markets, such as Brazil.

The integrated platform combines the BCM61630 single-chip with Alcatel-Lucent's small cell software for ultra-broadband access.

The new femtocell gateway platform is currently available and is being produced.

Among its features, the platform has a digital baseband processor and RF transceiver. It also features a single-box approach. With the platform, wireless and wireline voice, as well as video and data services can be found in every part of a house, including those portions where there are wireless blind spots.

Original Device Manufacturers, using the new platform, will be able to integrate small cells into many products, especially those found in homes.

"Our continued relationship with Broadcom will increase the availability of a wide variety of high quality small cells to residential customers in emerging markets," Mike Schabel, vice president of Small Cell Business, Alcatel-Lucent, said in a statement. "This will allow operators to meet the needs of their customers while also optimizing their networks to be highly efficient."

"Operators now have the option to deliver advanced connectivity to customers in emerging markets," agreed Greg Fischer, vice president and general manager, Broadband Carrier Access, when speaking about the platform and the partnership with Alcatel-Lucent. "Together, we are driving the next generation of converged, flexible and smarter networks."

The news comes as small cell deployments are seen as increasingly lucrative in established and emerging markets. Of special interest is recent news that Brazil plans to regulate small cells. In October, Anatel, Brazil’s telecom regulator, approved regulations on small cell technology, including femtocells.

The attraction of small cell technology is seen by operators in many other locations, too. "Operators consider small cells to be a fundamental ingredient to increase end user quality of experience for voice and mobile broadband in residential and in-building locations in the deployment of next generation (3G/4G) wireless network infrastructure," Michael Howard, an analyst at Infonetics Research, said in a statement. "Small cell deployment allows wireless operators to cost-effectively improve both coverage and capacity, especially in areas where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable."

In a related topic, Alcatel-Lucent now plans to increase small-cell mobile network coverage. It will match mobile carriers with sites for small-cell mobile technology under a plan called the “Metro Cell Express Site Certification Program.” The sites may include billboards, roof-tops, advertising structures, and fiber network installations, according to a report from The Register. In total, the company is looking for some 600,000 deployment sites, particularly in more densely population locations.




Edited by Ryan Sartor


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