Sprint recently took the opportunity this week to officially introduce Magic Box, which is an LTE Advanced User Equipment (UE) Relay tool built by AirSpan, a company that specializes in small cell wireless technology. Simply put, Magic Box is a product that is created to improve LTE coverage for mobile users, especially those availing of Sprint’s wireless plans.
John Saw, the chief technical officer of Sprint, explained however that the Magic Box is not a repeater. Repeaters typically try to amplify the signals of macro towers, and in the process, also amplify noise and interference, which makes for a somewhat inconsistent quality of coverage. What the Magic Box does instead is take full advantage of various dedicated channels in order to minimize noise as well as reduce interference.
Saw also pointed out how the Magic Box is designed to make the network more efficient, provided that the tool is properly connected to the macro cell. Basically, it will function with any Sprint handset that uses 2.5 GigaHertz. Despite the fact that the backhaul channel utilizes 2.5 GigaHertz or 1.9 GigaHertz, the Magic Box places more priority to using 2.5 GigaHertz because that is capable of increased capacity.
Minimizing the noise level while enhancing the system’s overall capacity is sort of tricky, but the Magic Box makes this possible because of its self organizing network (SON) features. It also helps that it operates on its own channel in Sprint’s spectrum. This is the key advantage that the Magic Box brings as compared to regular repeaters, as pointed out by Guenther Ottendorfer, the chief operating officer of Sprint.
Unlike femtocells, the Magic Box also needs no implementation, labor, or rental charges. Femtocells have received some flak in the industry because they are really just a way to improve inconsistent service that not only do mobile users are required to install, but also in certain occasions even spend money for. With Magic Box, customers can just put it by a window as long as there is a power outlet nearby.
While it is true that Sprint has offered its customers other indoor small cell solutions before, it certainly has not provided a product as innovative as its Magic Box offering. The major US wireless carrier even claims that in optimal settings, the Magic Box can enhance network coverage, including improving download and upload speeds on average by 200 percent. Moreover, the Magic Box can provide average coverage of 30,000 square feet indoors, and can even serve Sprint mobile users inside adjacent buildings.
