Ericsson’s AIR Brings the Radio and Antenna Closer - but Does it Bring Ericsson Closer to the Small Cell?

| Feb 9, 2011 | Mobile Access Infrastructure | Analyst: Daryl Schoolar

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Event Summary

February 8, 2011 - Ericsson announced the launch Ericsson AIR – an antenna integrated radio unit. Ericsson AIR combines the antenna and radio together into a single unit. The vendor claims AIR can help mobile operators introduce new technologies and frequency bands with the addition of new (active) antennas while enjoying power consumption and install cost savings. The vendor developed this new solution through a strategic partnership with antenna vendor Kathrein.

Quick Take

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Moderate on Ericsson’s antenna integrated radio (Ericsson AIR) launch. Ericsson AIR promises features that are sure to attract mobile operators – ease of installation thanks to the antenna and radio being a single unit, and power savings thanks reduced signal loss and simplified radio cooling. Sourcing an antenna partner (Kathrein) along with a commercial launch target of H2 2011 signals AIR’s promise of being a near-reality – not a long-term vision. At the same time, however, Ericsson’s linking this announcement to a broader small cell strategy remains unclear, with no data provided around the size of the AIR unit and, more importantly, no suggestion of integrated baseband for added deployment flexibility.

• Vendor Importance: Moderate to Ericsson, because while AIR’s introduction makes the vendor’s multi-standard story stronger and promises important operator benefits around deployment and power, it is merely and incremental improvement to the company’s portfolio. AIR is not an introduction of a new base station portfolio platform or even a new class of base station though synergies with its baseband assets of the RBS 6601 are clear. The vendor’s positioning of this introduction as part of a small cell strategy should not be confused with the actual introduction of a small cell or an explanation of that strategy.

• Market Impact: Moderate on the wireless infrastructure market as Ericsson’s new integrated radio antenna unit is not the first infrastructure offering to put active electronics, in the form of the radio, on the tower, near the antenna. Distributed base station configurations are not new. Furthermore, AIR does not offer near as radical of an integrated antenna radio solution as Alcatel-Lucent’s lightRadio. At the same time, AIR does address some real operator concerns in how to simplify deployments and lower power consumption that Ericsson’s competitors cannot ignore.

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Current Perspective

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