Selecting 4G antennas

Interestingly, selecting a 4G antenna in Europe is not going to be as straightforward as selecting a 3G antenna has been. Due to 4G services being offered on a variety of frequency bands, customers will need to be aware at what frequency their 4G service is operating and what frequencies their antenna supports. Broadly speaking, 3G operates at the 2100 MHz across the whole of Europe which has made antenna selection quite straightforward.

For example, quite a number of operators across Europe have licences to run 4G services between 2500-2700 MHz otherwise known as the 2600 MHz band (countries such as Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden for example).  Not many 2G/3G antennas operate at 2600 MHz meaning that new antennas are required for customers migrating to 2600 MHz 4G services and antenna manufacturers have to otpimise their antennas to cover 2G/3G/ and 4G in one antenna. Currently, 2600 MHz antenna options for SOHO (small office/home office) are quite limited though vendors are moving quickly to plug this gap.

Alternatively in the UK, Everything Everywhere (formerly Orange & T-Mobile) has been given the go ahead by Ofcom to offer 4G services at 1800 MHz. This means that current European 2G/3G antennas already support the required frequency band for this 4G service. So customers have a wide choice of antenna solutions available to them.

Other frequency bands being considered for European 4G services include 800 MHz whilst the USA has LTE services operating in the 700 MHz.

In conclusion, customers will need to be sure of their frequencies or purchase a very wideband antenna to facilitate operation of their devices with 4G antennas.

Images of cables assembled by EAD/SAS

Here are couple of marketing images of RG58 RF cables with SMA-Male and TNC assembled by EAD.

New images of the WCO Waterproof Compact Omni Antenna

Here are some new images of EAD's waterproof compact omni antenna the WCO.

Family shot including the original connectors in the family:

We have since added TNC-Male RA, RP-TNC RA, RP-SMA Straight and RP-SMA Right Angle.

Here is a new marketing shot of the WCO bracket mounted.

The WCO antenna can support Pentaband Cellular/GSM/3G frequencies, 2.4 GHz, 868 MHz or 915 MHz frequencies and there are options to mount on metal or non-metal surfaces.

We can also offer a 433 MHz groundplane dependent WCO to mount either on a wall bracket or on a groundplane.

For more information, please contact us.

Antennas for GPS repeaters

Ofcom has recently opted for light licensing approach on GPS repeaters to provide indoor coverage for GPS applications. Specialist Antennas has a range of high quality, low noise permanent mount GPS antennas to complement GPS repeater applications.

The application looks as follows:

For environments such as aircraft hangars, emergency services locations, underground garaging, GPS repeaters enable GPS devices to maintain a satellite lock and keep location-based applications running.

The most recent version of the Ofcom Statement on Authorisation Regime for GNSS Repeaters describes the following headlines:

·         Licence fee set at £75

·         Licence applies to any of the three frequency bands: 1164-1215MHz, 1215-1300MHz, 1559-1610MHz

·         Permit the inclusion of multiple installations for GNSS repeater radiating elements at one address provided they are set out on the licence

·         Allow GNSS repeater installations in defined fixed locations only (mobile use will not be authorised)

·         Only permit GNSS repeater use indoors (as defined in the licence)

·         Use the ETSI standard as the compliance assessment baseline for GNSS repeater devices manufactured or assembled from component parts.

·         Allow licences to be traded on an outright or concurrent basis (partial trades split geographically or by frequency will not be permitted)

·         Set an indefinite licence term and ensure we have an archive database of all sites that are or have been licensed

For more information about the licensing situation, it is worth taking a look at the latest news and article sections at www.gps-repeaters.com for more information.