Comba Telecom to Present Cost-Effective Small Cells, DAS and HetNet Solutions at LTE MENA

According to wireless solutions provider, surge in smartphones and projected IoT growth will scale up UAE’s in-building connectivity needs

With smartphone penetration scaling up, a projected large-scale uptake of the Internet of Things, and the increasing proliferation of mobile devices, the UAE is gearing up for a hyper-connected future. This, according to Comba Telecom Systems Holdings Limited, a global leading wireless solutions provider, will significantly scale up the nation’s need for cost-effective, high-capacity and seamless in-building wireless infrastructure.

“When you think about the amount of time the UAE’s population spends in indoor public hotspots each day – structures such as office towers, malls, hotels and restaurants – the need for efficient indoor coverage becomes non-negotiable. Unfortunately, many commercial indoor areas still rely on heavily congested macro networks to provide coverage to their visitors, often resulting in poor speeds, dropped calls and disgruntled users,” explains Eldynero Santos, general manger for the Middle East region at Comba.

Add to this the UAE’s mounting tourist traffic – Dubai alone is set to draw over 25 million visitors during the Expo’s six-month run in addition to the projected annual international visitor traffic of 20 million by 2020 – and it’s clear that the region’s network providers have their work cut out for them.

“In-building wireless solutions capably offload traffic in high-density indoor hotspots such as high-rise towers, crowded malls and sprawling stadiums – essentially, the areas where spectrum scarcity is felt the most,” notes Santos.

Comba Telecom will therefore highlight solutions for building effective indoor networks for LTE and future technologies at the upcoming edition of LTE MENA. This will encompass the benefits of embracing complex Hetrogeneous Networks – more commonly known as HetNets – for indoor coverage and the shift to digital distributed antenna systems and ‘smarter’ small cells.

“DAS and small cell solutions are highly effective in providing multi-protocol 2G, 3G or LTE cellular coverage in most commercial indoor areas. DAS solutions, in particular, allow maximum scalability without the need for replacing existing fiber and antenna systems, thereby allowing the system to easily accommodate growing capacity and coverage demands,” notes Kwan Fui Hiew, senior manager of the technical marketing solutions department at Comba.

He further adds: “Today’s market is driven by the user’s need to have an anywhere-anytime connection or, rather, an always-on connection. As users we want voice and data coverage delivered to us instantly and in the most seamless manner possible – this is what the region’s mobile operators need to achieve.”