Aug 28, 2018

Ericsson has successfully deployed a unique three-technology (2G, 3G and LTE), rural coverage site that uses three frequency bands and runs on less than 1 kilowatt of power.

The deployment in a rural part of Myanmar uses the ground-breaking Psi solution to keep total power consumption per site below one kilowatt (kW). Ericsson’s rural coverage solution eliminates the need to have several radios in a coverage area, and instead uses one radio unit that connects three antennas together and provides high-quality coverage.

The radios in this scenario handle one access technology each and connect to a triple-band antenna. This maintains voice services and enables new mobile broadband over LTE where these services were not previously available. The solution name, Psi, comes from a Greek alphanumeric charter in the shape of a fork with three teeth, representing the one radio-three antenna set up.

Ericsson’s solution for rural coverage brings down the number of radios on a network and significantly reduces capital expenditure. Moreover, the solution reduces total power consumption, further reducing the cost of operation – an essential feature for rural and low-capacity deployments.

In remote areas like the countryside of Myanmar, power grid supply often remains the biggest challenge in maintaining coverage. This leads to heavy dependence on unreliable diesel generators. The Psi solution provides a more reliable and cost-efficient alternative.