Globe turns to fiber optics to boost mobile phone signal

By KIM LUCES, GMA News

Published July 22, 2013 7:52pm

Globe Telecom Inc. on Monday said it launched a new alternative to the traditional cell site system of gigantic towers that provide signals to mobile phones—this time via fiber-optic cables to several “lampposts” that each cover a smaller area of 200-350 square meters.

The new technology called outdoor distributed antenna system (ODAS) will be first applied in upscale villages within Mega Manila and in high-rise condominiums.

This solves the problem of having 'unsightly' huge cell towers that some residents do not want in the vicinity of their villages. The lampposts of low height will also be disguised as palm trees to blend in to the village environment.

Moreover, they are expected to meet the sufficient cellular coverage required by these households, especially indoors.

Currently, Globe services are delivered to subscribers in exclusive villages through cell sites located around the village perimeter.

But the signals coming from these cell sites are not sufficient to meet their needs, especially indoors of households situated farther from the cell sites, Emmanuel Estrada, Globe head of network technologies strategy, told reporters in an interview.

“The advent of smartphone use has sharply increased bandwidth requirement in these exclusive villages and Globe Telecom is ready to implement solutions that would best address connectivity concerns in these exclusive villages,” he said.

The technology

Instead of having cell towers that emit a higher radio frequency to cover large areas, ODAS requires multiple low-power outdoor antenna systems or lampposts installed in nominal locations inside residential subdivisions.

A subdivision, for instance, that needs four cell towers each emitting 20 watts of radio frequency to cover its entire area will require 30 lampposts each distributing less than one watt of frequency for every 200 to 350 meters.

Electromagnetic frequency from the base station is first converted to light energy and is distributed to the lampposts through fiber optic cables.

Once distributed, each lamppost's radio unit then converts this energy into radio frequency of less than one watt.

In effect, the ODAS allows a more evenly distributed mobile coverage to the village area, unlike cell towers where areas farther from them receive less radio frequency, and therefore, less signal.

It also brings the radio signals closer to the homes and streets so strong network coverage can still be received indoors.

Globe already applied ODAS as a pilot project in Dasmarinas Village in Makati.

Upgrades are expected to be done in more than a hundred subdivisions including Forbes Park and condominiums across the metro, said Estrada.

ODAS is one of the new technologies being deployed by Globe to bridge connection gaps in 300 zones in major areas in Mega Manila after the completion of its $700 million network modernization and transformation project. — VS, GMA News

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