Combiners Making Site Sharing Easier for Ooredoo Tunisia

Introducing a passive unit in the RF path usually leads to an insertion loss that reduces the available power for coverage and capacity. To minimize this power loss, CommScope developed a new type of in-band combiners. Because of their flexibility, CommScope low loss combiners are ideal for site-sharing applications where the antenna, jumpers and feeder cables are shared between two or three operators. Learn how CommScope’s low loss combiners are helping Ooredoo Tunisia by reading today’s blog post.

Tunisia-compressedOoredoo Tunisia is Tunisia’s largest mobile network operator and one of the most recognized brands in the country. Each day, Ooredoo’s national wireless network delivers a range of prepaid and postpaid voice and data services to more than five million individuals and businesses across the country. To meet increased connectivity demand, Ooredoo has implemented site-sharing strategies with other carriers. These strategies often involve sites where rooftops are already full of antennas or overloaded towers have serious stability and wind-load issues.

One way to rectify these issues is to use same-band combiners that put two base stations on the same band into a common port to reduce the number of antennas required. There is one problem with that—introducing a passive unit in the RF path usually leads to an insertion loss that reduces the available power for coverage and capacity. To minimize this power loss, CommScope developed a new type of in-band combiners designed to deliver only 0.5 dB of insertion loss—compared with traditional one-size-fits-all hybrid combiners that lose 3 dB and essentially waste most of the power available.

Because of their flexibility, CommScope low loss combiners (LLC) are ideal for site-sharing applications, where the antenna, jumpers and feeder cables are shared between two or three operators. CommScope LLCs can help reduce CapEx and overcome site acquisition difficulties by enabling more rapid deployment of new networks.

In a recent success story, we explain how Ooredoo Tunisia completed a successful trial of CommScope’s 900 MHz LLCs for site sharing between Ooredoo and another carrier, swapping out a hybrid 3-dB combiner with the LLC 900 unit. Drive test and statistic counters analysis indicated that site traffic was increased by 50 percent and the received total wideband power (RTWP) was reduced by 20 percent after the LLC 900 installation. The solution also increased site revenue by 50 percent and improved network performance and the quality of experience, while delivering cost reductions because of cost sharing between operators. The trial was so successful that Ooredoo is planning to use our LLC solution with a 12-port antenna for a three-operator shared site.

If you want to learn more, then download our success story “CommScope low-loss combiners deliver site sharing solutions to Tunisia’s largest wireless carrier.” If you leave me a comment below, then I will be happy to reply.