London, UK - June 12th, 2013. With up to 80 percent of data traffic already being consumed indoors, Ranplan has launched iBuildNet® and iBuildNet-Fi® for in-building wireless network design, simulation, optimisation and deployment. The new Ranplan tools revolutionise the design of 2G/3G/4G(LTE) and Wi-Fi networks, along with Tetra and PMR systems for single buildings such as hotels, offices and shopping centres, as well as combined indoor-outdoor facilities including campuses, CBDs (Central Business Districts), stadiums, airports and stations. With powerful 3D modelling, advanced algorithms and highly-automated processes, Ranplan delivers a 50% increase in productivity for system integrators compared with using currently available tools and typical CAPEX/OPEX savings for operators of 20-30%.
RF planning for indoor installations is far more complex than outdoor deployments and has to take into account issues such as signal distribution throughout complex building structures made of different materials and possible interference from outdoor cells. With fast and accurate 3D modelling and signal coverage prediction techniques, iBuildNet® can be used to design and simulate a wide range of wireless networks from microcells, repeaters and distributed antenna system to heterogeneous networks with femtocells and Wi-Fi. It also supports passive, active and hybrid signal distribution as well as multi-standard and frequency band solutions.
Ranplan’s iBuildNet-Fi® is a powerful carrier grade Wi-Fi network planning and optimisation tool designed especially for high-capacity, combined indoor/outdoor venues. It features advanced 3D modelling techniques; automatic allocation for Access Point (AP) sites, Tx power and channel for Wi-Fi networks with thousands of APs; intelligent interference control; throughput distribution and capacity analysis; along with joint Wi-Fi and LTE network deployment.
“In the 2G era, operators have traditionally designed networks using outdoor cellsites to penetrate into buildings, believing this to be more cost effective than installing separate, independent indoor systems,” said Professor Jie Zhang, Principal Consultant at Ranplan and Chair in Wireless Systems at the University of Sheffield. “But as we move to higher frequency bands with 3G and 4G, penetrating walls becomes more difficult, while at the same time the volume of indoor traffic is predicted to grow exponentially. This means that in-building solutions become more important, to serve high bit rate services and reuse spectrum, particularly for high capacity venues. iBuildNet® and iBuildNet-Fi® represent a new generation of highly-automated tools to deliver optimised in-building networks with advanced 3D building modelling, intelligent algorithms for cell location, antenna and channel optimisation and the ability to work alongside small cell SON (Self Organising Networks) technology. ”
The Ranplan tools can be used to assess where problems may arise such as handover failures due to signal leakage from in-building systems; and where antennas and trunking are hidden inside ceilings, below floors or other less accessible places, the design can be validated before installation to avoid costly modifications. Ranplan tools also co-ordinate between indoor and outdoor environments such as campuses, stadiums and airports with high resolution – typically within 20 cubic centimetres – along with interference analysis and control, user throughput and network capacity analysis as well as optimisation for 2G, 3G and LTE.
About Ranplan: www.ranplan.co.uk
Ranplan is a wireless technology company that produces world leading software tools for in-building wireless network design, simulation, optimisation, radio propagation modelling, and 3D building modeling, for complex structures in particular. Ranplan also provides consulting and training services and is at the forefront of research and development for indoor-outdoor radio propagation, femto/small cell, automatic RAN planning and optimisation, 3D building modelling, smart building and heterogeneous networks (HetNets).
Ranplan has participated in many research projects in these areas that have been funded predominantly by EU FP7 and TSB. The company employees have also contributed to some of the earliest and/or most widely cited work in interference control and SON for femto/small cell and HetNets.
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