Nokia Networks

Flexi Zone Outdoor

Micro & Pico BTS

Flexi Zone Solution

Flexi Zone Micro & Pico Base Station (BTS)

Flexi Zone is the most cost effective and highest performing

solution for adding capacity to existing macro networks, using
an underlay of coordinated small cell clusters.

Finding new sites for traditional macro cells is increasingly

complex and expensive. Small cells will play a critical role in
providing operators a solution which can be easily and quickly
deployed in strategic locations to add capacity. These smaller
radius sites will be characterized by light deployment principles
involving low-cost, easily available locations such as light poles,
traffic lights, building walls, and street level shelters. The critical
enablers for these lighter deployments are base station size,
low power consumption, wireless backhaul, and all in one box
solutions.

Flexi Zone uses LTE (& optional Wi-Fi) to offload, add capacity,
and boost subscriber experiences in both the indoor (public/
enterprise) and outdoor hot zone environments within a
heterogeneous network.
Award Winning Flexi Zone features a novel zone-based
architecture comprised of multiple low power access points
coordinated by a localized zone controller that enables the
operators to offer very high user experience while offloading
unwanted data traffic from their macro & core networks. Flexi
Zone solution goes beyond the box to offer a holistic approach
and innovation to solve street level and indoor capacity small
cell underlay challenges.
Additional information concerning Zone Controllers can be
found in the separate Flexi Zone Controller data sheet.

Flexi Zone Micro & Pico

Enabling Future Proof
Hot Spot deployments
S/w migration to Zone
Architecture when
densication/expansion
to Hot Zones

Leading Form Factor and Power Consumption

Flexi Zone Micro & Pico Base Stations use state of the art
System-on-Chip (SoC) and RFIC technology, to create an
industry leading compact form factor with low power consumption.
This integrated all-in-one product provides a cost effective
solution that can handle capacity growth, without the
deployment complexity and cost of traditional macro cells.

LTE & WiFi Pico Cluster Underlay

Offload Low Value
Traffic Before Cost
Impact

Wireless
NLOS links

AP

AP

Macro Layer
Integration &
Coexistence
Enterprise

Controller
Transport
Core

Highly Scalable
Capacity for
Best User XP

AP

AP

AP

Offload

Simplied backhaul,
Install & Operation
paradigm Shift
Public
Hot Zone

Macro Capacity and Full Macro parity

Hot Zone & Hot Spot Evolution

Flexi Zone Micro & Pico BTS Macro like processing power
allows the use of the same software as Nokias macro base
stations making them very easy to integrate into Hetero
geneous Networks (HetNets). Operators can enjoy identical
features available in macro cells, such as easy software upgrade
to LTE-Advanced and support by the same NetAct Operations
and Support System (OSS) & iSON. In addition, they offer the
same capacity as Nokia macro, run the same industry acclaimed
Smart Scheduler1 and associated interference mitigation
capabilities, bringing the highest subscriber performance in
dense urban areas.

The Flexi Zone Micro & Pico BTS can be operated stand-alone
initially and then evolve via software upgrade into a full Flexi
Zone architecture as hot spots grow into larger hot zones or
when more cells are needed to increase coverage. This enables

Ease of Deployment
Deployment and operation of complex heterogeneous networks
requires all involved network entities to be efficiently well
configured with respect to their particular role and location
within the network, and to be context-aware. Self configuration,
often referred to as plug-and-play or no touch, is a crucial
feature to reduce network implementation and operational
costs in macro networks, and this is obviously even more
important in heterogeneous networks.
Integrated Bluetooth functionality in the Flexi Zone Micro & Pico
BTS eases initial staging and allow for faster deployment. In
addition, it supports troubleshooting in the field from ground
level (i.e. no bucket truck needed) and using the Nokia No Touch
Troubleshooting handheld application.
1

operators to scale up capacity virtually without limit and with

limited impact to deliver a superior customer experience while
leveraging the small cell installed base.
Design and Capabilities
The Flexi Zone Micro & Pico BTS features a compact single
enclosure, designed for Light installations, whether they are
pole, or wall mounted. The advanced modular design enables a
faster time to market for the many variations of technology and
bands expected for outdoor small cell deployments.
The Outdoor Flexi Zone Micro & Pico BTS supports a single band
2Tx/2Rx MIMO (LTE-A capable) LTE module capable of multiple
carriers. An integrated filter-diplexer combines transmit and
receive antennas so only a single set of cellular antennas are
required to be connected to the unit. An integrated RF-GPS
antenna provides for synchronization when 1588v2 is not
available or planned. Since site requirements vary, the Flexi
Zone Micro & Pico utilizes external antenna connectors should
site specific remote or integrated directional antennas be
required.

 mart Scheduler is a unique Nokia LTE scheduler that assigns blocks of frequency
S
spectrum to users every millisecond, according to their required Quality of Service
and the demands of the application in use.

Product specifications
Product1

Outdoor Flexi Zone Micro BTS

4G Support

Antenna Configuration
Power Output
4G Bandwidth Support

Up to 5W per TX branch,
power down to 250mW

Up to 1W per TX branch,
power down to 250mW

Up to 20MHz (TD-LTE up to 40MHz)

5kg (weight up to 6.5kg for some frequency variants)

Volume

5L (some frequency variants have a 7.2L volume)

Power Input
Synchronization4

2Tx/2Rx MIMO

Weight

Temperature3

Outdoor Flexi Zone Pico BTS

1 FDD LTE or TD-LTE band

-40C to +55C
90-264VAC
RF GPS, IEEE1588v2, SyncE

Backhaul

100/1000Base-T or Fiber

Mounting

Pole or wall

Antennas5

Integrated directional snap-on panel antennas or omni stick antennas

 roduct specifications and features supported are subject to change. 2 Bands supported is dependent on market prioritization. 3 Temperature assumes solar loading.
P
Hardware supports phase 1588v2. Commercial support requires market prioritization. 5 Integrated directional antenna specifications and volume/weight impact under
investigation and subject to market prioritization.

Product code
C401-01045-DS-201408-1-EN

Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy

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Finland

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ESPOO,
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Switchboard
+358 71 400 4000

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Nokia Solutions and Networks 2014

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