YOU ARE AT:Mobile MinuteSmall cells hit the streets (RCR Mobile Minute)

Small cells hit the streets (RCR Mobile Minute)

Alcatel-Lucent, currently ranked as the leading vendor of small cell equipment, has a new partnership that will put more small cells on urban “street furniture,” such as bus stops, benches and billboards. Alcatel-Lucent has partnered with its neighbor in Paris, JCDecaux, which calls itself the “number one outdoor advertising company worldwide.” Together, the two companies will develop connected street furniture to boost cellular capacity in dense urban areas.
JCDecaux has been part of Alcatel-Lucent’s Metro Cell Express Site Certification Program, through which Alcatel-Lucent helps mobile operators identify locations and backhaul solutions for small cells.
“We’re pulling together all the new non-tower ecosystem partners — advertising companies, they own infrastructure, street furniture, backhaul, and installers … what we’re doing is training all of them to be deployers of carrier-grade equipment,” said Mike Schabel, Alcatel-Lucent’s VP of small cells, speaking to RCR Wireless News when Alcatel-Lucent launched the small cell site certification program. “We have access to all of their inventory and their assets, so we’re able to cross the street furniture assets with the backhaul assets.”
Other top stories:

White House funds wireless training programs
Federal funds will help wireless infrastructure companies fill the pipeline with trained workers, and could lead to college degree programs in wireless. … Read More

Anritsu combines PIM and sweep testing in one instrument
Anritsu has combined the two primary types of field testing, sweep testing and testing for passive intermodulation (PIM), into one instrument. … Read More

EMEA: Russia’s attempt to block the Internet
Vladimir Putin wants to take Russia off the global Internet in case of an emergency, according to recent reports. Could it happen elsewhere in Europe? … Read More

ABOUT AUTHOR

Martha DeGrasse
Martha DeGrassehttp://www.nbreports.com
Martha DeGrasse is the publisher of Network Builder Reports (nbreports.com). At RCR, Martha authored more than 20 in-depth feature reports and more than 2,400 news articles. She also created the Mobile Minute and the 5 Things to Know Today series. Prior to joining RCR Wireless News, Martha produced business and technology news for CNN and Dow Jones in New York and managed the online editorial group at Hoover’s Online before taking a number of years off to be at home when her children were young. Martha is the board president of Austin's Trinity Center and is a member of the Women's Wireless Leadership Forum.