OSC innovation doubles GSM voice capacity with standard handsets

For the first time in the world, four calls have been carried in one GSM radio timeslot. This significant step in GSM evolution path was taken on January 21 by Nokia Siemens Networks who successfully completed a drive test for the Orthogonal Sub Channel (OSC), that doubles the voice capacity of GSM radio network.

OSC is a powerful feature that enables operators to double the voice channel capacity in GSM radio networks by upgrading the software. To ensure immediate gains, OSC tecnology - which is based on Quaternary modulation and multi user MIMO - can be applied to typical GSM handset that support Single Antenna Interference Cancellation (SAIC). The technique, jointly with the AMR half rate, allows 4 users to be served simultaneously within a radio time slot. OSC is expected to reduce operator's CAPEX and OPEX by up to 50%.