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Movement without moving means better mobile coverage
A unique device that enables mobile operators to improve network coverage without moving an inch is available from international infrastructure solutions provider AlanDick.Remote-controlled actuators optimise base station antenna beam patterns to boost signal strength, under precision software control from a network control centre possibly hundreds of miles or kilometres distant.Offered for immediate delivery and installation, the actuator mechanisms can recover their costs in as little as 12 months and by improving coverage dramatically, will increase operator revenues and reduce subscriber churn. The beauty of AlanDick's Remote Electrical Tilt solution is that the antennas move - but your technical staff don't have to. At the touch of a button, cellular base station antennas can be realigned and coverage optimised in an instant - day or night, rain or shine. No site visits, no callouts, no fuel bills, no vehicle mileage, no climbing, no risk. It’s all gain and no pain when you deploy Remote Electrical Tilt. Unique to Alan Dick’s product is an ingenious mechanism that as well as altering the direction of tilt, drives a ‘Trombone’ phase shifter to adapt the antenna’s performance in line with the changed electrical characteristics. By optimising power transfer from transmitter to antenna, overall efficiency is increased. Just as a searchlight can be focussed and directed to illuminate a precise field of view, remote controlled actuators can similarly vary the angle of tilt for cellular antennas. Coverage can be tailored to maximise capacity where required and minimise overlap into adjoining cellsite areas. This is a particular blessing for Third Generation network operators, for whom accurate handoff between cells and hence minimal overlap were critical. By optimising coverage pattern, operators can concentrate radio field strength where it is needed, reducing the risk of dropped calls (and user annoyance) to maximise income (and user loyalty).
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The benefits don’t end there either. Innovative operators can now reconfigure
their networks dynamically, for instance directing maximum power into a football
stadium while an international match is being played there. Coverage can also be
optimised in business areas during the daytime but into nearby residential
districts at night. Widespread introduction of additional new picocells would
require realignment of existing antennas and many visits to the base stations
affected—but not if they have been equipped for remote tilting. AlanDick's
calculations indicate that direct savings will produce payback within 12 to 24
months. 
