Technology talk: Software-defined radio helps make more of spectrum

Spectrum is a scarce resource for most operators facing the challenge of rapidly rising traffic volumes in their networks.

It’s an issue addressed by the Nokia Siemens Networks Single RAN solution, which gives operators a highly cost-effective way to increase spectral efficiency without increasing network complexity.

The solution combines software-defined radio with advanced baseband and radio capabilities that can concurrently run more than one radio access technology in the same band and at the same time. Furthermore, the energy savings are significant with only one base station needed to run several radio technologies, instead of individual base stations for each technology.

This makes it possible to evolve to new base station and transport capabilities without the need for any new hardware. Through software upgrades alone, Flexi BTS sites can be upgraded from High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology to Long Term Evolution (LTE). Not only does this enable a operator to maximize its spectrum use, but it also helps to keep operational costs low, while speeding up the time to market for new technologies.