Idea Cellular Ltd., India’s third largest wireless operator, announced that it has selected CommScope’s smoothwall RF feeder coaxial cable product to replace most use of traditional corrugated copper cabling in its network. Idea will now employ the company's Heliax FXL smoothwall coaxial cable in its cellular base station sites in India.
Competition for subscribers is intense in the rapidly expanding Indian wireless marketplace, notes CommScope, raising the stakes for local operators as they balance the need for high performance in their networks with keeping costs low. CommScope contends that the FXL smoothwall cable, already installed in more than 100,000 sites throughout India, is delivering a new level of benefits in wireless network performance and reliability compared to its corrugated copper predecessor Heliax VXL.
“The smoothwall cable is built to ensure the operator receives a consistent quality connection, plus it offers a significant immediate cost savings over corrugated copper cable,” comments Stan Catey, senior vice president and general manager, Cable Products, CommScope.
In response to its discontinuation of the previous Heliax VXL product, CommScope also reports that it has made significant investments to localize FXL cable production at its manufacturing center in Goa, India. Additional production facilities supporting the FXL product are strategically located in North America and China.
According to CommScope, featuring a patented microcell dielectric and foam-filled inner conductor, the Heliax FXL cabling offers the advantages of: lighter, stronger and flexible cable for faster and easier deployments; less tower loading for lower freight costs and maintenance; lower attenuation, helping data move faster and more efficiently across networks; and field proven weather resistance. When compared with traditional all-copper cables, CommScope asserts that Heliax FXL is more energy-efficient, durable and has greater flexibility; requires less electric power and fuel to manufacture and transport; and, with its aluminum outer conductor, is less prone to theft than network components made entirely from copper.
With more than 100 million feet already deployed worldwide, CommScope contends that the Heliax FXL cable is paving the way for an eco-friendly communications infrastructure in India and around the world. The company notes that the smoothwall cable product recently won the Golden Award for Green Communication Energy-Efficiency Technology in China.
“Throughout our relationship, CommScope has always produced quality, durable cables that help us reach out to our customers with the latest and most innovative technology,” concludes Anil Tandan, chief technology officer, Idea Cellular Ltd. “Deploying HELIAX FXL smoothwall cable enables us to evolve our wireless networks while remaining conscious of its energy footprint.”
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