EUREKA project develops new remote control system for mobile phone base stations

Brussels, 08 May 2003

A EUREKA project has developed a new control system that allows network operators to manage, from a distance, the increasing number of mobile phone base stations or antennas.

As the number of mobile phones in circulation grows, more and more base stations are needed to ensure call coverage. However, keeping all the stations up and running at all times is not an easy task. With a budget of over 800,000 euro, the SAEB98 project sought to tackle this maintenance problem.

The project ran for two years and involved Amper Soluciones, a Spanish company with expertise in telecoms network management systems and a German specialist in power plants for the industry, Ascom energy systems.

By pooling its resources, the team developed a power cabinet with an inbuilt control system that is small enough to fit in the most awkward and isolated places. The cabinet also boasts of generating at least 25 per cent more power than other existing models. Increasing the range covered by a base station is essential according to Juan Carlos Galilea, technical and technological support director at Amper Soluciones.

'Base stations for mobile phone networks are normally located in places where access is quite difficult,' said Mr Galilea. 'With our system, the operator can remotely determine the real problem in the base station and monitor other systems such as alarms and communication lines as well as air conditioning, an external beacon, and even whether the door is open.'

Not only does the new system monitor problems as they occur, it is also capable of detecting operational mishaps in advance. The project partners believe that such proactive methods of monitoring and alerting solutions will help ensure a more stable and reliable communication quality for mobile phone users. In light of their convictions, the project consortium is aiming to supply the new cabinet to network operators across Europe.

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