Repeaters are used by Network Operators to cost effectively redirect capacity from low usage areas to congested regions.

Repeaters are linked back to the base station in various ways. Unity’s repeater line offers the broadest set of link options in the industry including licensed microwave, unlicensed microwave, fiber, analog free space optics, fully digital free space optics, and radio frequency. Our repeaters are also offered across a wide selection of industry frequencies including CDMA, GSM, iDEN, WCDMA 3G

Once the network has been rolled-out, the operator must address various inefficiencies and specific problems, which include: dark areas, coverage gaps, wasteful coverage of rural areas or highways, or poor in building coverage. Although these weak points in the carrier’s network must be addressed, they are often not large enough to cost justify the deployment of a full base station. It is in these situations where a “Repeater” is used.

A repeater is a two way amplifier that is linked to the base station, taking part of the base stations capacity “repeating” and amplifying the signal, and often directing it in a very specific manner to cover straight down a highway, in behind a shaded building, or into a specific area that suffers from congestion and needs greater capacity.

Repeaters are used to enhance network coverage in areas where full base station deployment is cost prohibitive.

A growing use for lower power repeaters is for in-building applications. As the use of cell phones increases and people use them more as their primary line, the use of cellulars inside buildings has increased and the inherent weakness of network signals failing to penetrate tinted windows, interior rooms, elevator shafts, or the floors of a skyscraper that extend above the coverage umbrella, becomes more evident and concerning for the network operator. Unity’s low cost, high quality In-Building repeater line delivers the enhanced coverage and air time revenues that today’s trend towards increased in-building cellular use demands.

• Improving call and data quality
• Increase power and sensitivity
• Reduces dropped calls

A tower mounted amplifier (TMA) kit consists of:

The Tower Mounted Amplifier – The TMA is mounted at the top of a cellular tower and amplifies the weaker signal coming from a subscriber’s cellular hand set, thereby extending the range of a base station, improving call quality, reducing the power usage on the cellular hand set, and reducing dropped calls. Unity offers a full line of TMAs for CDMA, GSM, iDEN, WCDMA and 3G. On a typical base station, there are three sectors, each of which uses 2 TMAs. As a result, each typical 3 sector base station uses 6 TMAs.

The Bias T – The Bias-T is the method of supplying DC power up through the coax to power the TMA on the tower. This way, no extra wires, which could deteriorate and short out, need to be run. One Bias-T is required for each TMA.

The Power Distribution Unit – When the manufacturer’s Base Station does not offer a power supply source for the TMA, a Power Distribution Unit (PDU) is required. This is basically an alarmed power supply that can support up to 6 TMAs, or enough for a three sector base station.
The cable and bracket kit used to hook up the full TMA system.

TMA kits are usually described and priced in one of two ways:

Per 3 sector Base Station - 6 TMAs, 6 Bias-Ts, 1 PDU, 6 cable kits

Per sector – 2 TMAs, 2 Bias-Ts, 1/3 of a PDU (with the assumption that a full 3 sectors will be purchased, as no 2 port PDU is available), 2 cable kits.

HPAs are the single most expensive subcomponent in a Base Station. Base Station manufacturers such as Flarion, Lucent, and ZTE subcontract the production of these components to companies like Unity.

At the heart of any base station is the high power amplifier (HPA). The HPA takes the signal from the radio in the base station and amplifies it to a usable level, maximizing the reach of the base station’s signal. Each HPA is a custom design to the particular specification and frequency that the Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM) is designing their base station to. As the entire base station depends on this subcomponent, the reliability and accuracy of the HPA is paramount. Unity’s line includes single & multi carrier high power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers (LNA), duplex / LNA modules, and Up/Down Converters. As with the rest of our products the amplifier line is offered across a wide selection of industry frequencies including CDMA, GSM, iDEN, WCDMA 3G Flash-OFDM.

Integrated Front Ends include, in addition to the High Power Amplifier, a much larger set of sub components in the radio frequency send/receive chain. These components are all integrated by Unity, into a finished, rack mountable front end unit with a face plate, level indicators and controls.