Huawei Technologies in close association with Vodafone, said Wednesday that it has set up a 2G base station (BTS), designed particularly for rural communities in developing markets of the world.

Named “EasyGSM BTS”, the BTS is believed to be the industry’s first All IP-based compact BTS. It is developed at the common Radio Mobile Innovation Centre of Huawei and Vodafone, in Madrid, Spain

The new base station offers quick and easy site deployment, easy maintenance (including radio self-planning and self-optimization functions), optimized transmission and consumes low power, keeping in mind the ecology demands, said the company.

With a volume of just 12 litres and weighing just 12kgs, it provides IP transmission and local switching, saving on the transmission Bandwidth, claims the company.

As compared to GSM products, the new BTS is more economically viable when extending wireless coverage to rural communities.

Commenting on the tie-up, He Gang, President of Huawei’s GSM & UMTS Product Line, said, “Huawei is pleased to have collaborated closely with Vodafone to deliver innovation to Vodafone’s emerging markets, making mobile communications affordable to rural communities.”

Additionally, Andy MacLeod Network Director of Vodafone Group said, “Vodafone is pleased to have played a role in developing this innovative new network solution that aims to extend wireless coverage in rural communities across emerging markets.”

The BTS can also be mounted on a pole, wall, or tower, making installation quick and easy and has already passed tests with Vodacom in South Africa using only solar power.