Zinwave forms part of new EU funded R&D project to optimise coverage for 4G services

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. - July 4, 2013 - PRLog -- Zinwave, a global provider of unique future-proofed active distributed antenna systems (DAS) for in-building wireless coverage, is pleased to announce it has been invited to form part of a European R&D consortium, “Quaternian”, to further advance next-generation photonics and optimised MIMO (multiple-input-multiple-output) systems to enhance coverage for 4G LTE services.  

This €1.1M project, launched in May 2013 and due to be completed in 2015, is being substantially funded by the European Union 7^th Framework Programme under the “Research for the benefit of SMEs” programme. Zinwave has been awarded a grant of €270K to carry out research into the optimum photonic architecture for the implementation of MIMO networks over distributed antenna systems (DAS).  

Commercial organisations involved in the project are; Eblana Photonics (laser designers from Dublin, Ireland), Innolume (quantum dot laser manufacturers from Dortmund, Germany), Constelex (photonic amplifiers from Attiki, Greece) and Zinwave (developers of wideband active DAS technology from Cambridge, UK). Academic partners include research teams from the world-leading Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics at Cambridge University, with whom Zinwave has a strong affiliation and one of Europe’s leading centres for ICT R&D, the Tyndall Institute, University College Cork.

Zinwave was originally founded in 2002 as a joint spin-off between professors Ian White and Richard Penty of Cambridge University’s Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics, and Professor Alwyn Seed of University College London. The company maintains strong connections with both establishments and has been involved in a number of collaborative projects relating to photonic technologies, antenna development and RF transmission.

Zinwave is the only provider of wideband active DAS technology globally and its in-building coverage system, (the Zinwave 3000) is capable of supporting legacy public safety and cellular services as well as any variant of the new LTE services, including multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) on a single hardware layer.

Its low component count (comprising a hub, a service module, an optical module and a remote unit) removes the need for complex multi-layer infrastructures, making it the most economical wireless coverage solution on the market.

Zinwave 3000 supports any combination of services, regardless of protocol and modulation scheme between 150MHz and 2700MHz and eliminates the need for expensive and disruptive upgrades to existing infrastructures to accommodate new 4G LTE frequency allocations and/or migrations. This unique flexibility makes Zinwave 3000 an attractive business proposition to building owners and operators alike, delivering the lowest cost of ownership per installation.

Says Andy Bell CTO of Zinwave; “We are really pleased to be associated with such a prestigious project. The collaborative expertise and experience of the organizations involved will facilitate the development of next-generation wireless coverage technologies needed to satisfy the growing demand for high speed data services. In addition, the knowledge gained from the project will enable Zinwave to further simplify the architecture of its active DAS, making it accessible to an increased number of market sectors in both the developed and developing worlds.”

Zinwave was recently identified by ABI research in their annual in-building research report as “part of the next-generation of DAS vendors” and one of the “new companies to watch out for” as the DAS market evolves.