Infrastructure News: Nokia acquisitions; small cells in London

Nokia Networks announces two acquisitions
Nokia Networks said today that it will buy Nice Systems’ 3D geolocation business to enhance the planning and optimization of mobile networks. “The evolution of small cells and LTE necessitates more accurate 3-D geolocation capabilities,” Nokia said.
Israel will be the hub of Nokia’s geolocation service. Nokia said it wants to offer these services to operators whether or not they are using Nokia’s equipment in their networks.
Nokia is also buying distributed antenna systems specialist SAC Wireless in response to its customers’ growing demand for contractors who can “self-perform.”
“Operators want more direct control over their network deployments. Through this acquisition, Nokia Networks addresses these challenges head-on,” the company said in a statement.
SAC Wireless, based in Illinois, offers turnkey DAS solutions, including engineering, design, construction, integration and maintenance. The company builds both indoor and outdoor DAS systems and employs roughly 450 people. Nokia did not disclose the purchase price, but did say that the deal should close in the third quarter.
Nokia Networks CEO Rajeev Suri has said that he is interested in growing the business through acquisitions. Nokia named Suri as its top executive when former CEO Stephen Elop went to Microsoft along with the Nokia device business.
Small cell backhaul: millimeter wave solution deployed in London
UK Broadband has been using Siklu 70-80 GHz E-Band millimeter wave equipment to backhaul small cell traffic in downtown London. The service provider has built a LTE network across central London that uses a combination of macro and small cells, many of which are mounted on street lights. Siklu’s compact millimeter wave solution was a better fit for the street light small cells than standard microwave links.
UK Broadband’s network in London uses fiber as the primary backhaul medium and microwave backhaul connects the macro cell sites and the fiber drop points. UK Broadband intends to use the Siklu solution, called EtherHaul, across all of its street light column sites where there is line of sight and a transmission distance less than one kilometer. EtherHaul can be powered by Ethernet or by direct 48-volt power from the small cell.
Ericsson, Verizon deny network management talks
Ericsson manages telecom networks that serve more than a billion subscribers worldwide, and this week word got out that the infrastructure giant might be trying to add more North American networks to its portfolio. Ericsson and Verizon Wireless were both quick to deny a report that they were in talks about a network management deal.
Ericsson has more than 300 contracts to manage infrastructure on behalf of carriers, including a seven-year, $5 billon contract to manage Sprint’s network that was signed in 2009. The deal was the first of its kind for a major U.S.-based operator, and included the transfer of more than 6,000 employees from Sprint to Ericsson.
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