Nokia has struck a deal to acquire Eta Devices, a move that the company said will help enhance base station energy efficiency even beyond its current “Zero Emission” solution.
In a Wednesday announcement, Nokia noted that the Massachusetts-based startup offers a power management technology called ETAdvanced that allows base stations to reduce heat waste drastically. As a result, it has achieved 70 percent efficiency in base stations, a big improvement over current base stations that typically fall between 20 and 45 percent efficiency.
“This translates to savings for operators that can be invested as 4.9G and 5G approach. Eta Devices' technology reduces the need for backup power, translating into smaller base station cabinets and reduced equipment breakdown rates, and supporting Nokia's target to continuously strengthen the base station power efficiency of its products,” Nokia said in a release.
Of course, Nokia already offers such a solution. Its so-called “Zero Emission” base station solution reduces site energy consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 70 percent.
That being said, Nokia did not elaborate on the distinctions between the two solutions, so it’s certainly conceivable that their innovations don’t overlap much.
This isn’t Nokia’s first base station innovation this year. In June, the company announced that it had created a miniaturized base station, promising that the kit would be the size of a backpack.
The announcement did not contain financial details of the acquisition, but it did note that the deal includes fixed assets, employees, intellectual property rights as well as lease and supplier agreements.
Eta Devices is a private startup founded in 2010. It is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a research and development office in Stockholm, Sweden. It currently employs around 20 people.
For more:
- read the announcement
- see Eta Devices’ website
Related articles:
Nokia Bell Labs uses drone to deliver ‘breakthrough’ F-Cell to office rooftop
Nokia, Ericsson separately announce successful operator trials of portable 4G base stations
Parallel Wireless partners with Intel for RAN base station