Operator Telma Madagascar and vendor Ericsson say they have deployed Ericsson’s Radio 6626 three-sector dual-band radio across five major sites in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo.
First launched in April 2021, Radio 6626, says Ericsson, helps operators increase their frequency division duplex (FDD) 5G frequency capacity, even where their site towers already have 2G, 3G and 4G radios.
Radio 6626 provides multi-standard and multi-band coverage while lowering costs and reducing footprint. It combines two frequencies and six ports in one unit; this ability enables one radio to power all three sectors on a tower. The 6T6R radio supports 2G-to-5G mobile standards.
There’s up to 18 percent lower energy consumption on every site configuration in the case of Telma. Radio 6626 will also enable a 67 percent reduction of radios in Telma Madagascar’s towers. In addition a 20 percent reduction in weight and higher capacity in contrast to current installations is promised.
Available in a 900MHz and 800MHz dual-band version, as well as 1800MHz and 2100 MHz dual band, and powered by Ericsson Silicon, the Ericsson Radio 6626 can provide 720W of output power. It weighs under 45kg.
Ericsson says that Radio 6626 will arm Telma Madagascar with added support to boost capacity while enabling efficient site upgrades and accelerating the time to market of various 5G services.
Telma describes itself as the leading operator in the Indian Ocean area with (in 2020) five million subscribers in Madagascar and 200,000 in Comoros, though thse figures may include both Telma’s fixed and mobile services.
