A critical link for rural military deployment as well as civilian use is that line of communication to the rest of the world. Helping connect these areas is the STM Group with their break-through SuperPicoTM GSM base stations. This patented technology is an integrated satellite-cellular system that provides low cost subscriber services using single hop connectivity and local routing. The product is targeted for rural deployments where all-solar installations are now preferred. Marine, military, suburban infilling, and emergency services are also expected to drive demand for this rugged GSM equipment.

“With the SuperPico system, STM can deliver a complete GSM base station that consumes less than 35 Watts of power,” said Rick Forberg, STM’s VP of Marketing and Strategy. “Yet, these small light-weight products provide very good coverage, with a range of up to 15 km and scaling to multiple TRXs.” The SuperPico system employs advanced digital radio technology developed in Norway combined with proven software-defined radio functionality. Satellite and/or terrestrial backhaul links are supported using the Internet Protocol (IP) with built-in support for IP routing. Local calls and calls between two BTS sites can be connected directly, with only call control and accounting passing back to a central switching location; all traffic is compressed. Thereby, backhaul traffic is greatly reduced.

The SuperPico family of GSM base stations will produce much needed savings on OPEX and CAPEX for cellular operators as they deploy sites to serve the next billion subscribers. STM has provided cellular backhaul solutions for operators in emerging markets for many years and delivers cost-effective solutions for low to medium density requirements. With these products STM can extend the Radio Access Networks of cellular operators to many new locations not previously viable. STM’s SuperPico base stations will be formally unveiled at the Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona Spain, February 2009.