how wi-fi and femtocells complement one another to optimise coverage and capacity
TRANSCRIPT
Pradeep De Almeida Group Chief Technology Officer – Dialog Axiata PLC
22nd ~24th May 2012 CCIB, Barcelona, Spain
OTT service
Providers
The Mobile Operator
Telecom Industry Landscape (As of now…)
Smart devices & OTT services
leveraging on Telco networks has
changed industry dynamics
Increased demand on operator
infrastructure in a high bandwidth
data network
What is the role of Wi-Fi and
femtocells in the present
ecosystem?
Are they conflicting or
complementary?
Content
1
Overview of femtocells and Wi-Fi From the perspective of current Telco landscape
2
Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi Conflict or Complement?
3
Prospects in emerging markets Selecting the “right” technology
4
Trending……. Hotspot 2.0, Data off-loading, The connected home…….
Overview of femtocells
Small cells (femto/pico/micro/metro) are low-power wireless access points that operate in
licensed spectrum, are operator-managed and feature edge-based intelligence. They provide
improved cellular coverage, capacity and applications for homes and enterprises as well as
metropolitan and rural public spaces.
Source: www.smallcellforum.org
Demand for data
Need for more base stations
Increase the number of small cells
Operator expenditure (intentions) on small cells (Research by small cell forum)
Overview of Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called 802.11 to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless
connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect electronic devices to each other, to the
Internet, and to wired networks which use Ethernet technology. Wi-Fi networks operate in the
2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, with some products that contain both bands (dual band).
Source: www.wi-fi.org
Source: Agilent Technologies
Can the current capacity gap be met by cellular technologies alone?
Spectrum & Capacity issues? Is there a
cheaper alternative?
Deployment of Wi-Fi
Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi – A Technology Overview
Femtocells Wi-Fi
Frequency Band
• 2.1 GHz – WCDMA/HSPA
• 700MHz,800 MHz, 1.8 GHz,2.6 GHz….- LTE /
LTE-Advanced
• 2.3 GHz – mobile WiMAX (WiBro) /LTE
• 2.4 GHz – IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
• 5 GHz - IEEE 802.11 a/n/ac
System Bandwidth
• 3G – 5 MHz per carrier
• 4G – Up to 20 MHz per carrier
• 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 20 MHz
• 40 MHz (IEEE 802.11n)
• 80 MHz, 160 MHz (IEEE 802.11ac)
Data Rate
• WCDMA – 384 kbps, HSDPA – 14.4 Mbps (DL)
• LTE – 100 Mbps (DL, 2X2 MIMO)
• WiBro (802.16) – 50 Mbps (DL, 2X2 MIMO)
• LTE-A & WIMAX 802.16m – up to 1 Gbps
• Up to 450 Mbps (IEEE 802.11n)
• Up to 7 Gbps (IEEE 802.11ac)
Communication Range
• 10 – 30 m • Up to 100 m
Content
1
Overview of femtocells and Wi-Fi From the perspective of current Telco landscape
2
Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi Conflict or Complement?
3
Prospects in emerging markets Selecting the “right” technology
4
Trending……. Hotspot 2.0, Data off-loading, The connected home…….
Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi Key Aspects
Coverage
Spectrum Availability
Indoor coverage
Interference issues
Network Planning
Capacity
Data Rates
Data Offloading
Seamless Communication
Handoff support
Quality of Service
Device Support
Deployment Aspects
Total Cost of Ownership
Key Aspect Femtocells Wi-Fi
C o
v e r a g e
Spectrum Availability
• Licensed band. • Must re-use operator’s available spectrum
allocation. Therefore mainly used for coverage extension (as well as capacity improvement)
• Un licensed band. • Operator need not concern with spectrum
related issues as with femtocells
Indoor Coverage
• Up to 10-30 m (transmit power of 1mW to 100 mW).
• Power level will depend on the macro network to avoid/mitigate interference.
• Up to 100m (transmit power of up to 1W) • Power levels of most Wi-Fi APs are higher
than femtocells.
Interference Issues
• Co-channel interference with macrocell. • Interference avoidance and management
techniques (Self Organized Networks - SON) will be necessary .
• interference cancellation features in Wi-Fi (Cognitive Radio)(though interference from non Wi-Fi unlicensed band devices can be a problem)
Network Planning • Operator effort is needed for careful frequency
planning and interference avoidance, which is also complicated by mobility of femtocells
• No special effort needed on network planning
C a p
a c I t y
Data Rates
• WCDMA – 384 kbps, HSDPA – 14.4 Mbps (DL) • LTE – 100 Mbps (DL, 2X2 MIMO) • WiBro (802.16) – 50 Mbps (DL, 2X2 MIMO) • LTE-A & WIMAX 802.16m – up to 1 Gbps
• Up to 450 Mbps (IEEE 802.11n) • Up to 7 Gbps (IEEE 802.11ac) • Possibility to provide LTE like data services
in a 3G environment
Data Offloading
• Data offloading is inherently supported, making it possible to uniform data plan throughout the network
• Data off loading is not inherently supported. However 3GPP is currently standardizing aspects such mobility management, policy control and charging seamless interworking with mobile networks
Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi – Coverage & Capacity
Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi – Other Considerations
Key Aspect Femtocells Wi-Fi
S e a m
l e s s
C o
m m
u n
I c a t I o n
Handoff support • Use the same technology as macro cells. Easy
for hierarchical handoff.
• Needs a user triggered mechanism. Aspects of seamless mobility (PS) are currently being standardized
Quality of Service (QoS)
• As the license band is managed by the operator QoS is carefully managed
• Operator may not have control over QoS unless the Wi-Fi network is managed by the operator
Device Support • No special considerations on the device • Device needs to have Wi-Fi (which most
smart phones do..)
D e
p l o
y m e
n t
A s p
e c t s
Total Cost of Ownership
• Deployed by the operator. And may be paid for by the consumer.
• There is a possibility of partnering with third parties for Wi-Fi access. Numerous Wi-Fi deployments improve operator reach
Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi – Summary
• Mainly deployed to improve network coverage and at the same time
improve on capacity as well. (closed femtos)
• There is considerable planning effort from the operator in deploying a
femtocell network.
• However in the coming years it is predicted that there will be more small
cell deployments compared macro cells (Open femtos)
Femtocells
Vodafone – To improve on 3G coverage Source: www.vodafone.co.uk
Sprint Airave – To enhance CDMA coverage
Source: http://www.sprintenterprise.com/airave/tellMeMore.html
• Seen as a cheap alternative for data offloading
• Availability of Wi-Fi networks, High data rates and lower cost of
ownership has made it attractive for catering to increasing data demand
• However seamless interworking of Wi-Fi and mobile networks are still
under consideration with more developments planned in coming years
Wi-Fi
Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi – Summary
AT&T – Wi-Fi hotzones
Source: http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=5949
SK Telecom – Hybrid LTE + Wi-Fi femtocell
Source: http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/20048/skt-attracts-global-telcos%E2%80%99-attention-innovative-lte-technology
Femtocells Wi-Fi
Coverage
Spectrum Availability
Indoor Coverage
Interference Issues
Network Planning
Capacity
Data Rates
Data Offloading
Seamless Communication
Handoff support
Quality of Service (QoS)
Device Support
Deployment Aspects
Total Cost of Ownership
Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi – Summary
Coverage Extension Data Offloading
Small cells (outdoor femtos) can be
deployed to improve on macro network coverage
Wi-Fi can be deployed as a pure
data offloading option and in
situation where spectrum is limited
Femtos can use outdoor Wi-Fi mesh networks as
backhaul
Hybrid femto + Wi-Fi
devices (best of both)
Content
1
Overview of femtocells and Wi-Fi From the perspective of current Telco landscape
2
Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi Conflict or Complement?
3
Prospects in emerging markets Selecting the “right” technology
4
Trending……. Hotspot 2.0, Data off-loading, The connected home…….
Prospects in emerging markets
Limited fixed broadband
connections in the developing world
Closed Subscriber Group (Home Zone) tariff plans are no longer applicable due to
already low tariff
Interference with macro cells has been challenging
Femtocells have been difficult to deploy ………
Operator deployed open subscriber group (OSG) femtos/small cells in outdoor /
public areas that are used as coverage gap fillers as well as capacity enhancers
instead of more and more macro cells…..
The New Paradigm
?
Prospects in emerging markets
The case for Wi-Fi has been reinvigorated by smart phones………
•Offers an immediate solution to the data crunch experienced by operators
•More hotspots Operators can partner with third party Wi-Fi service
providers to improve on reach
• In the immediate future Wi-Fi is more attractive Until Voice over LTE
becomes a reality , data demand can be met by an expansive Wi-Fi network
Content
1
Overview of femtocells and Wi-Fi From the perspective of current Telco landscape
2
Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi Conflict or Complement?
3
Prospects in emerging markets Selecting the “right” technology
4
Trending……. Hotspot 2.0, Data off-loading, The connected home…….
Trending…….
Hotspot 2.0 and 3GPP standardization on integration of non-3GPP access networks
The Future Home - The place of Wi-Fi and femtocells in home networking
Extending the footprint – The operator strategy
3G like end user experience to Wi-Fi authentication and roaming Hotspot 2.0 EEE 802.11u, Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2)-Enterprise and standards-based Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) 3GPP Non 3GPP IP access to EPC, Mobility management mechanism s for IETF Networks
Connected home – The digital revolution happening at home Wi-Fi capable consumer electronics devices and technologies such as DLNA/UPnP has made Wi-Fi a prominent technology How can the operator be part of this? – bundling of Wi-Fi and cellular services
Sharing of end user backhaul connectivity for Wi-Fi (e.g. BT FON) as well as femtos. Partnering with third party providers on Wi-Fi etc
Conclusion
Femtocells Will serve as a strong solution for coverage extension (3G / 4G) Predicted there will be more small cells deployment by operators in future compared to macrocells (4G data networks) Can also become a strong data offloading solution But yet to materialize
Wi-Fi Is becoming a strong solution for data offloading! With planned developments (Hotspot 2.0 etc) may evolve to become an integral part of operator network and solution offering
Femtocells
Wi-Fi
In the long run…………
Combos