small cell strategies

8/9/2019 Small Cell Strategies

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Small Cell Strategies

FierceWirelessAn eBook from the editors ofDecember 2014

share:

2 Editors Note

3 Small cell reality check

6Sponsored Content:Ensuring High Quality

Subscriber Experience in

Small Cell and DAS

Deployments

7Deploying Small Cells is Not

an Easy Task

10Wi-Fi Gives Small Cells More

Bandwidth and Operators

More Flexibility

13Preparation the Key When

Backhauling Small Cell Traffic

16Traffic, Bandwidth and

Emerging Applications All

Impact Small Cell Management
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Small Cell Strategies // December 2014

Editors Note

Small cell reality check

Sponsored Content:

Ensuring High Quality

Subscriber Experience

in Small Cell and DAS

Deployments

Deploying Small Cells is

Not an Easy Task

Wi-Fi Gives Small

Cells More Bandwidth

and Operators More

Flexibility

Preparation the Key

When Backhauling Small

Cell Traffic

Traffic, Bandwidth and

Emerging Applications

All Impact Small Cell

Management

FierceWirelessAn eBook from the editors ofshare:

Editors Note

By Sue Marek

Editor-in-Chief /// FierceWireless

Small cells are certainly not the first technology in the

wireless industry to take longer-than-expected to cometo fruition. I still recall the endless discussions of 3G andits commercial reality.

Weve been talking about small cells since at least 2012and many industry experts predicted that 2014 wouldbe the year that small cells would finally get deployed incritical mass. That hasnt really happened at leastnot yet.

Like many things, the challenges associated with small

cell deployments were likely underestimated. Backhauland power availability are a big obstacle and one thatoperators must look at on a case-by-case basis. Inaddition, siting challenges have been numerous asoperators typically run into obstacles like jurisdictionalissues and local regulations.

But these obstacles are getting resolved, slowly andsurely. In fact, analyst Richard Webb of Infonetics is

estimating that operators will place more than 20 percent

of their traffic from the macro network to the small cellnetwork by 2018.

Interestingly, the focus on small cells has brought abouta renewed appreciation for Wi-Fi. Although operatorsremain concerned about some of Wi-Fis disadvantageslike security, they are using Wi-Fi hotspots to offloada lot of their traffic. Of course, one reason this isbecoming so popular is that most devices now have Wi-Fi capability and operators have the quality of service in

their networks to determine which traffic must be on thelicensed spectrum and which can safely be transmittedover the best-effort Wi-Fi.

In this ebook fromFierceWireless, we take an in-depthlook at small cells both the obstacles and the demand.We explore some of the challenges with backhaulingsmall cell traffic as well as look at the latest developmentsin network management to help small cells flourish. n


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Sponsored Content:




Deployments


Not an Easy Task

Wi-Fi Gives Small


and Operators More

Flexibility

Preparation the Key


Cell Traffic




Management


Small Cell Reality CheckIndustry experts were a little off the mark with their predictions that small celldeployments would be rampant in the 2013-14 timeframe. Several issues (cost being justone) slowed initial adoption of the technology, and pundits now say 2015 will be the year of

the small cell.

By Debra Baker

Like many predictions, those of a booming small cellmarketplace in 2014 didnt quite materialize. However,many analysts are now eyeing 2015 as the year theindustry will see the critical mass of small cells getdeployed.

Weve pointed out before that the small cell market which was slower to take off than a lot of folksanticipated has at times punished early movers.Vendors best plans have been frustrated whenoperators werent ready to roll out small cells orwhen operators simply changed their minds aboutcertain solution requirements, wrote Ed Gubbins,senior analyst, mobile access infrastructure at CurrentAnalysis, in a recent blog posting.

Almost every major vendor that was talking aboutsmall cells in early 2012 was telling a very differentstory in early 2014. Small cell backhaul vendors havehad it particularly rough, as many of them are smaller

companies and have had to find creative ways toconserve cash while they wait for the market to pickup, Grubbins added.

That sentiment was echoed by Stphane Tral,principal analyst, mobile infrastructure and carriereconomics at Infonetics Research. As we anticipated,the great small cell ramp did not happen in 2013as many in the industry had hoped. Testing activityremained solid, but actual deployments were modest,Tral said.

But early issues that plagued small cells like cost andsiting issues are starting to get resolved. Iain Gillott,president and founder of market-research firm iGR,expects the number of in-building LTE small cells(picocells) deployed in the United States to growsignificantly in the coming years due to enterprisesneed for quality mobile data coverage inside theirbuildings. In fact, IGR predicts that over the next five


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Deployments


Not an Easy Task

Wi-Fi Gives Small


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Preparation the Key


Cell Traffic




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>>Small Cell Reality Check

years, the number of picocells that are actually deployedwill grow at a compound annual growth rate of 192percent.

Trals colleague Richard Webb, directing analystfor microwave and carrier Wi-Fi at Infonetics, also

believes small cells are getting ready to take off afterbeing impacted by things like site acquisition, powerand connection sourcing and cost models. Specifically,Webb said that operators participating in the companys

small cell backhaul survey said that they are expectingto offload more than 20 percent of their traffic from themacro network onto small cells by 2018.

Webb added that Infonetics expects the small cellmarket to grow 65 percent by years end, when it willreach $1.3 billion. Although North America started outas the small cell leader, Webb thinks the top rankingsin small cell deployments will shift to Asia Pacific andEMEA by 2017.

Making A DealWireless providers, of course, have small cells factoredinto their growth plans, but the cable and satelliteindustries also are making strides when it comes topartnering in small-cell deployments to create newrevenue streams. Deals between traditional wirelesscarriers and non-traditional players could be a win/winto overcome the deployment gap.

According to Charles Chambers, managing consultantwith U.K.-based consultancy, Real Wireless, thereis a business case for cable companies and satelliteoperators to partner with wireless carriers to help easethe small cell deployment challenges. They havevaluable skills and experience that can be applied tosmall-cell deployments, and wireless operators arelooking for these skills, Chambers said.

A metro cell deployed on a l ight post.


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Deployments


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Wi-Fi Gives Small


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Cell Traffic




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>>Small Cell Reality Check

According to a Real Wireless report, cable companiesand satellite providers already know how to handlethe installation and maintenance of small boxes in thefield, and they know how to negotiate with others to

get the coverage they need. These partnerships bodeparticularly well for cable companies because thesurvey found approximately 15 percent of them areconsidering offering small-cells-as-a-service to bolsterrevenues.

Real Wireless also found 70 percent of wireless carriersare prepared to use small cell networks rolled out byor owned by cablecos or satellite operators. Some 45percent of wireless providers polled that said they were

open to partnerships confirmed they would use cableor satellite providers for backhaul, and 20 percent saidthey would use them for full-service small cells.

One glitch: Because 85 percent of cable and satellitecompanies perceive a marked difference betweenbuilding out their native systems and building out smallcells, only 40 percent had plans to support small cell

deployments in 2014 (even though 70 percent eitheralready have launched or plan to launch public Wi-Fi).

The End GameDespite failed predictions and deployment delays, thereis light at the end of the small-cell tunnel. InfoneticsWebb remains optimistic on the market. Boosted byenterprise small cell adoption kicking in to help mobileoperators support enterprise-specific voice and dataofferings, we believe 4G femtocell and enterprise small-cell revenue will climb to $2.3 billion in 2018.n

As we anticipated, the great

small cell ramp did not happen

in 2013 as many in the industry

had hoped. Testing activity

remained solid, but actualdeployments were modest.

STPHANE TRAL, PRINCIPAL ANALYST, MOBILEINFRASTRUCTURE AND CARRIER ECONOMICS ATINFONETICS RESEARCH


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Small cell networks and distributed antennasystems (DAS) introduce new technical obstacles toachieving a high quality subscriber experience, suchas validation of signal propagation and managementof interference between the small cell and macrolayers. They also introduce new operationalchallenges. To get the business case right,deployment must achieve the targeted coverage andperformance levels without the need for more time

on site than is absolutely necessary, making accurateand efficient testing crucial to achieving both costand subscriber QoE objectives.

Small cell and DAS installations are part ofheterogeneous networks, in which lower-powercells coexist with the macro cell overlay, and mayalso coexist with Wi-Fi networks. This creates anumber of interference and handoff scenarios thatmay impact deployment, in addition to challengeswith propagation in indoor and metropolitan

environments.

For example, coverage in any network combiningsmall and macro cells may differ between the uplinkand downlink. Due to the difference in transmissionpower, terminals do not necessarily connect to thecell showing lowest path loss (the small cell), butrather to the strongest downlink signal strength(often the macro cell), creating a transitionalzone around the small cell where the small cell

is preferred for good uplink performance but isoverwhelmed by the macro cell on the downlink.The 3GPP strategy for achieving high data rateson the uplink in this scenario is based on the CellRange Expansion (CRE) feature, relying on biasingthe cell selection mechanism by addition of an offsetto the downlink signal strength received from thelow-power node, expanding the low-power nodesuptake area without increasing its output.

Unless dedicated frequencies for the small cell andmacro cell layers are used, it is crucial for smallcell deployments to intelligently share bandwidthwith the overlapping macro cell layer. Largecapacity gains can ultimately only be achieved byimplementing LTE Advanced features, includingcarrier aggregation and complex interferencecoordination techniques such as enhanced intercell interference coordination (eICIC) orcoordinated multipoint (CoMP) to direct traffic

to underutilized cells.

Wi-Fi introduces an additional set of requirementsto ensure connectivity and clean handovers withminimal radio coordination, authentication issuesand service interruptions.

Examples of terminal-based test cases that canensure a high quality subscriber experience in smallcell in DAS deployment, using test and analysis

tools such as Ascoms TEMS suite, include:

Quick antenna health checks (RF validation) foremission of the correct carriers and expectedsignal strength

Evaluation of signal propagation, signal tointerference ratio, throughput and neighbor cellinterference across the site using walk testing

Correlation of MIMO rank with the geographicaldistribution of MIMO performance

Comparison of signal strength and throughputof Wi-Fi and cellular networks using lockingfunctionality to isolate each signal and automatedpost-processing to compare results

Validation of balanced carrier strength in a carrieraggregation scenario

For more information on opportunities andchallenges in deployment of small cell andheterogeneous networks:

Downloadour Ascom Network Testing HetNet/Small Cell Opportunity and Challenges WhitePaper, or

Visit www.ascom.com/ntn

Ensuring High Quality Subscriber Experience inSmall Cell and DAS Deployments

By ASCOM NETWORK TESTING
http://www.ascom.com/nt/en/index-nt/nt-about-us-resources/tems-white-papers.htmhttp://www.ascom.com/nthttp://www.ascom.com/nthttp://www.ascom.com/nt/en/index-nt/nt-about-us-resources/tems-white-papers.htm


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Deployments


Not an Easy Task

Wi-Fi Gives Small


and Operators More

Flexibility

Preparation the Key


Cell Traffic




Management


Deploying Small Cellsis Not an Easy TaskOperators have always had to deal with restrictive siting issues when it comes toerecting a tower, but they now are facing similar issues with the construction androllout of small cells.

By Debra Baker

Like most wireless installations, deploying small cellshas its challenges, including finding and negotiating forthe best siting locations for large numbers of devices.Theres good news and bad news when it comes to thesiting of small cells in America. First, the bad news.

Small cells were expected to be deployed in greatquantity in 2013 but that ramp didnt occur as manyin the industry had hoped. Its no picnic out there foroperators. Costs are higher than anticipated, and manychallenges remain difficult to solve, including siting,

jurisdictional issues, unsettled local regulations, poweravailability, copper and fiber availability, said MichaelHoward, Infonetics co-founder and principal analyst/carrier networks.

In addition, according to Howard, outdoor small celldeployments have turned out to be a little pricier thananticipated for many operators. In a February 2014study conducted by Infonetics, many respondents

reported that they expected the total cost of ownershipratio for small cells to be 25 percent of a typicalmacrocell deployment. This was an increase over a totalcost of ownership ratio of 10 percent in a 2012 study byInfonetics.

No two deployments are alikePart of the reason for the high cost of deployingsmall cells is that no two deployments are alike. Inan Analysys Mason report released in mid-2014,the analyst firm said that the deployment challengesincrease as the number of sites rise and that the bestpractices for deploying a small cell at one locationmay not be the same as another location. Thisunpredictability makes it difficult for operators tostreamline their deployments.

Add to that the fact that small cell sites typically havedifferent landlords with different regulations. Smallcells are a problem because of where we have to deploy


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Deployments


Not an Easy Task

Wi-Fi Gives Small


and Operators More

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Preparation the Key


Cell Traffic




Management


>>Deploying Small Cells is Not an Easy Task

them, said Jim Cocito, general manager, wirelessbusiness services unit at Alcatel-Lucent. And thelandlords all are different. Its a complex scenario.

Not only is it complex, it is costly. The biggestdifficulty is making sure all the players landlords,operators, backhaul providers and financiers canmake the money they want to make, Cocito said. Wewant to make this a win-win-win situation: the operatorimproved total cost of ownership, the real-estate agentscan make money and the customers get better coverage.

To help streamline the costs, Alcatel-Lucent introduceda site certification program last year to help partnerswork together on small cell deployments. Partnersinclude Crown Castle, EdgeConneX, KnightEnterprises and Zayo.

FCC gets involvedThe FCC recently made some steps toward involving

itself in the small cellprocess as a way to helpstreamline deployments.The commission said

that it was necessaryto get involved in theprocess to ensure thatconsumers get bettercapacity and coverage.On Oct 17, the FCCapproved a report andorder that will take athree-pronged approachto encourage the sharing

of resources in the smallcell space. Specifically,FCC 14-153 establishesthe following:

That a shared use approach that leverages existingresources and facilitates provider efforts be used toexpand both coverage and capacity more quickly.

That sharing wireless infrastructure -- whether

towers, other support structures, or transmissionequipment to reduce costs and promote access tosuch infrastructure be used and thus reduce a notablebarrier to deployment.

That sharing resources -- rather than relying on newbuilds -- safeguards environmental, aesthetic, historicand local land-use values.

Its no picnic out there for

operators. Costs are higher than

anticipated, and many challenges

remain difficult to solve,

including siting, jurisdictional

issues, unsettled local regulations, power

availability, copper and fiber availability.

MICHAEL HOWARD, INFONETICS CO-FOUNDER ANDPRINCIPAL ANALYST/CARRIER NETWORKS


9/18


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Deployments


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>>Deploying Small Cells is Not an Easy Task

The Order is not yet set in stone. Some municipalitiesmay file a Petition to Reconsider to request that certainparts of the Order be changed, and some states maychallenge the Order on states-rights issues.

However, groups like the PCIA praised the FCCsOrder. This Order smooths the way to the promise ofhetnets, DAS and small cells, said Zac Champ, PCIAsgovernment affairs counsel. What was fixed weretiming and the legal wrangling over uncertainty.

According to Champ, the commissions rules forcollocation by right on tall towers now apply to

operators that want to deploy DAS and small cellgear on utility poles. What lies ahead for PCIA iseducating communities about DAS and small cells,and the differences between the two, along withupdating federal and state regulations to allow for easierdeployment.n

Small cells are a problem because of where

we have to deploy them.

JIM COCITO, GENERAL MANAGER, WIRELESS BUSINESSSERVICES UNIT AT ALCATEL-LUCENT


10/18


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Deployments


Not an Easy Task

Wi-Fi Gives Small


and Operators More

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Cell Traffic




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Wi-Fi Gives Small Cells More Bandwidth and Operators

More FlexibilityWi-Fi offloading is becoming even more desirable with the latest Wi-Fi specification 802.11

a/c, which will provide better security and less interference.By Jim Barthold

The advantages of adding Wi-Fi to small cellssignificantly outweigh the disadvantages of deploying atechnology that some believe is suspect for its reliabilityand security.

Wi-Fi has something that most operators want andneedspectrum. Wi-Fi can handle increasing datatraffic loads that are overwhelming conventional macronetworks and forcing the deployment of small cellswhich, even themselves, do not quite cover all theanticipated demand. Wi-Fis unlicensed spectrum maybe prone to interference and it may be less than secureat all times but those are acceptable risks for operatorsdesperately serving the needs of a bandwidth-hungrycustomer base.

Operators just do not have enough spectrum and arealready at the maximum limits of what can be done withthe air interface, said Stephan Daeuble, global productmarketing manager for Nokia Networks. Wi-Fi plays

a key role. It opens up an area where they can deploysmall cells with Wi-Fi and not have to ask for additionalspectrum because in most places the Wi-Fi spectrum isfree.

Wi-Fi is keyAT&T estimates that its data traffic has grown two-and-a-half times in just the past two years. Small cells will helphandle future growth by providing more access pointswithin reach of mobile devices and blanketing congestedareas with more bandwidth. Depending upon licensedspectrum to handle all the data traffic is no longerfeasible.

If things continue at that pace, the flexibility of havingWi-Fi allows you to still manage the different typesof traffic between licensed and unlicensed access,said Gordon Mansfield, AT&Ts AVP of small celloperations.


11/18


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Deployments


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Wi-Fi Gives Small


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>>Wi-Fi Gives Small Cells More Bandwidth and Operators More Flexibility

Mansfield said that adding Wi-Fi to devices is relativelyeasy and is now universally available.

Its up to the operator and the operators network to

determine which traffic requires the QoS that onlylicensed spectrum can provide and which can be safelypassed over to best-effort Wi-Fi. Its also anticipated thatfuture Wi-Fi specifications will improve the reliabilityand security of that wireless transit mechanism as well.

The biggest downside of Wi-Fi today is that its moresusceptible to interference that causes signal dropoutsand loss. Those issues, however, should be overcomewhen devices with Wi-Fi specifications such as 802.11a/c

with MIMO become widespread.

[Wi-Fi] ends up giving you a homogeneous way toreach all different devices and phones and computerswithout being limited to the carrier youre with and thespectrum that youre stuck in, said Derek Peterson,CTO of Boingo.

There are new devices that let operators steer consumertraffic to the best available spectrum.

You could imagine an operator providing LTE and Wi-Fi and 3G and keeping the LTE and 3G networks for thehigher paying users while keeping the ones that only wantcheap data service on the Wi-Fi network, Daeuble said.

Those devices, however, are just making their way intothe market.

Certainly cellular devices by themselves and Wi-Fi devices by themselves have been available, but anintegrated solution serving both the chips that supportcellular and Wi-Fi within the same silicon has just within

the last nine to 12 months started to come to marketacross multiple different silicon providers, Mansfieldsaid.

Adding Wi-Fi to small cellsWi-Fis value within a small cell networkwhetheroutdoors, part of an indoor/outdoor enterprise or evenin a residencewill be enhanced by the advent of voice-over-Wi-Fi, said Kashi Shakil, head of small cells andWi-Fi solutions at Ericsson.

Voice-over-Wi-Fi is an alternative where the home isreally isolated and you dont have good [mobile] coveragebut you still have a good fixed broadband connection,Shakil said. In the enterprise it would be a bit morechallenging. In enterprises when you do voice-over-Wi-Fi you dont always have a good quality of service and3GPP will be more suitable to do voice and other types ofconnected services.

The flexibility of having Wi-Fi allows you

to still manage the different types of traffic

between licensed and unlicensed access.

GORDON MANSFIELD, AT&TS EVP OF SMALL CELLOPERATIONS


12/18


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Deployments


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Wi-Fi Gives Small


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Preparation the Key


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>>Wi-Fi Gives Small Cells More Bandwidth and Operators More Flexibility

The enterprise presents the most lucrative opportunityfor small cells and Wi-Fi because small cells can bestrategically located throughout the enterprise andbusiness campus, tapping existing fiber connections

throughout the building for reliable backhaul. Wi-Fi isalready in place in most companies so a Wi-Fi feed couldbe seamlessly added using dual-capability mobile-Wi-Fiadapters.

Mansfield said that small cells will improve the typicalWi-Fi network found in an enterprise because the smallcell can provide a larger coverage area throughout thebuilding.

You can build an architecture within an enterprise thatstarts with your small cells so you have good cellularcoverage throughout the building and then you can goin and augment that with standalone Wi-Fi access pointsand create an ubiquitous Wi-Fi grid, he said. Youdont have to have multiple boxes for everywhere thatyou need both cellular and Wi-Fi. You can use common

wiring from a LAN and powering perspective, commonantennas. It just makes sense.

This, again, opens the door for voice-over-Wi-Fi in a

business environment; something that has been triedbefore and, with the advent of iPhone 6, is rapidly gainingstrength now.

If you have Wi-Fi in an enterprise today and you cancarry the voice-over-Wi-Fi in a decent manner andcontrol the experience, maybe you wont need to deploy3G anymore, Daeuble said.

The business model worksThat is a lot of ifs and maybes but its an enticingenough model to make small cells integrated with Wi-Fi realistic for operators dissecting and enhancingbandwidth availability in crowded urban markets, servinglarger venues such as convention centers and stadiumsand arenas with broadband wireless connectivity, orenhancing the wireless broadband experience forenterprises and residences.

There is one other reason for adding Wi-Fi to a smallcell site: its politically correct because a service providerneeding access to municipal infrastructure can barter offWi-Fi connectivity for municipal employees.

You can go to a town and say youd like to use theirpoles and would pay for it, but in exchange youll giveall the municipal workers access to free Wi-Fi,Daeuble said. n

If you have Wi-Fi in an enterprise today and

you can carry the voice-over-Wi-Fi in a decent

manner and control the experience, maybe

you wont need to deploy 3G anymore.

STEPHAN DAEUBLE, GLOBAL PRODUCT MARKETINGMANAGER FOR NOKIA NETWORKS


13/18


14/18


Editors Note


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Deployments


Not an Easy Task

Wi-Fi Gives Small


and Operators More

Flexibility

Preparation the Key


Cell Traffic




Management


>> Preparation the Key When Backhauling Small Cell Traffic

enable and what constraints they have. It makes thingsmore interesting, Yaron said.

Small cell challengesFirst, operators have to understand that small cells aredifferent in almost every way from macro deployments.

Initially people thought [deploying small cells] wouldbe easier than macros. What were struggling withright now is finding a model where it is very simpleto deploy small cells. There are a lot of tradeoffs, alot of possibilities, said Monica Paolini, founder andpresident of Senza Fili Consulting.

Operators want to build a cost-effective network byusing the least expensive components and the mosteffective transport method but the kinds of coststhat you might be willing to accept to bring fiber to atower are not acceptable to bring it to a small cell. If thehardware is cheap and the backhaul is hugely expensive,then the whole business case falls apart, Paolini said.

Fiber is king, but not convenientFiber provides the best backhaul medium, but fiber israrely convenient to the small cell.

You might have fiber or copper along the street, butjust bringing it to the lamppost or other small cell POPis a problem, Paolini said. The cost and time/effortto bring any wireline solution to the small cell is a realproblem.

Wireless also has its limitations, even if it is moreconvenient. Availability and quality of licensed andunlicensed spectrum leaves open a number of questionsthat are complicated by whether that spectrum affords

line-of-sight or non-line-of sight connectivity to themacro or other traffic aggregation point.

Paolini prefers line-of-sight where available becauseyou can use higher frequencies [and] you have morecapacity and spectrum available, she said.

On the other hand, Salea said, Its very complicated tobuild a reliable network with line-of-sight technology forvarious reasons, including [interference from] double

decker buses, new construction, foliage and temporaryobstructions.

Non-line-of-sight is an option as long as operators acceptless capacity.

Amid all the questions there is one definite: small cell

What were struggling with right now is

finding a model where it is very simple to

deploy small cells. There are a lot of tradeoffs,

a lot of possibilities.

MONICA PAOLINI, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF SENZAFILI CONSULTING


15/18


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Deployments


Not an Easy Task

Wi-Fi Gives Small


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Preparation the Key


Cell Traffic




Management


>> Preparation the Key When Backhauling Small Cell Traffic

backhaul is a different beast than a macro backhaul soit must be handled differently. There is no historicalknowledge because its brand new, Paolini said.

Probably the closest comparable design is a Wi-Fi

hotspot. Small cells are more complex because they mustconnect to the macro network.

Security concernsThe backhaul that youre going to use for small cells isgoing to be very different than the backhaul for macro,said Natasha Tamaskar, vice president of global solutionsat Genband who inserted yet another element into thebackhaul conundrum: security.

You need to provide a layer of security between the enddevices, the small cells, and the core network, she said.

Genband, she said, aggregates the small cell traffic to acentral POP then uses IPsec to tunnel between the smallcell and the core network.

All the traffic is encrypted and encapsulated withinthat, she said.

Perhaps the biggest issue with small cell backhaul is nothow its going to be accomplished but when. Small celldeployment itself is so new that theres no guaranteedmethod to deploy the cells and certainly no guaranteed

way to backhaul what promises to be a mix of voice anddata traffic.

There are a lot of dimensions where there is room foroptimization but were just learning by trial and error.Its not that you just plug in all the numbers in Excel andthen you know whats cheaper, said Paolini. Im notsaying thats useless but thats not the whole story; thats

just the beginning.n

Its very complicated to build a reliable

network with line-of-sight technology for

various reasons, including [interference

from] double decker buses, new construction,

foliage and temporary obstructions.

NATASHA TAMASKAR, VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBALSOLUTIONS AT GENBAND

A small cell being i nstalled by workers.


16/18


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Deployments


Not an Easy Task

Wi-Fi Gives Small


and Operators More

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Cell Traffic




Management


Traffic, Bandwidth and Emerging Applications All Impact

Small Cell ManagementOperators must carefully manage small cell networks so they can deliver best in class

service at a reasonable price.By Jim Barthold

Small cells demand new approaches to networkmanagement that transcend the methods long used to

manage macro networks. At the very basic level, a smallcell must be configured so it doesnt interfere withthe macro network or cause confusion among devicesseeking out the best signal from different sources.

The majority of small cells are being located inmetro areas where bandwidth demand for high usagebroadband services such as rich data and video isoutstripping the capabilities of macro cellular networks.But operators must be careful because the presence of a

badly placed small cell can complicate the problem itssupposed to correct.

The highest interference is between the strong signalof the macro and the strong signal of the small cell ifthey use the same frequency, said Rami Yaron, co-chairof the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) mobile backhaulfocus group and VP of strategy for Telco Systems.

A Self-Optimizing Network (SON) can adjust thestrength of the signal from the macro tower to and give

small cells precedence in clustered areas. SON alsolets the operator decrease the macro signal during thework hours when small cells are in use and reverse theprocess later in the day when the urban area has lesstraffic.

Interference is only a first issue when it comes tomanaging a small cell network. Another is identifyingthe content demand within the small cell and handling

The highest interference is between the

strong signal of the macro and the strong

signal of the small cell if they use the same

frequency.RAMI YARON, CO-CHAIR OF THE METRO ETHERNETFORUM (MEF) MOBILE BACKHAUL FOCUS GROUP AND VPOF STRATEGY FOR TELCO SYSTEMS


17/18


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Deployments


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Cell Traffic




Management


>>Traffic, Bandwidth and Emerging Applications All Impact Small Cell Management

it appropriately. Broadband data comes in many flavorsand only one of themvoiceis vanilla. Small cells, ofcourse, arent being used to deliver better voice service.

Video apps are bandwidth hogsThe reality is video is the elephant in the room. Onceyoure dealing with video apps theyre taking so muchbandwidth operators are trying to figure out how to notdegrade everybody elses utilization, said Sue Rudd,Strategy Analytics director of service provider analysis.The operator has to be more concerned with notletting video hog all the bandwidth and take away fromtheir much more valuable services.

Much of the solution will hinge on the degree in whichautomation plays a part in the network managementscheme.

You have to move towards automation, said PhilMarshall, chief research officer for Tolaga Research.

From an operational standpoint, your planning andoptimization tools need to be modified because theyredesigned for a macro environment. Your machinery hasto be able to deal with that new kind of environment.

Your planning tools, optimization tools, reporting allneed to be modified so now you can deal with thesesmaller elements that are much more commonlydeployed.

While video might be the elephant in the small cellsroom, theres a hippo presence as well. Voice-over-Wi-Fi, now being popularized by the iPhone 6, addseven more complexity to network management andbandwidth allocation.

Voice-over-Wi-Fi adds complexityNow you can have a multi-caller voice-over-Wi-Fi callbased on the end users device. Wi-Fi and small cellshave to be seen through that light, said Suraj Shetty,vice president and general manager of Ciscos serviceprovider business.

Shetty said that VoWi-Fi is causing segmentation withinthe Wi-Fi portion of the network because operators

must choose between trusted Wi-Fi or untrustedWi-Fi. Untrusted Wi-Fi uses an electronic packetgateway (ePDG) which is built into iOS 8 and iPhone6 and to create an IPsec tunnel that can be used as acommon dialer. Trusted Wi-Fi, such as a residential Wi-Fi network powered by a service provider, uses a S2a-based Mobility over GTP Gateway (SaMOG).

You have to move towards automation.

From an operational standpoint, your

planning and optimization tools need to

be modified because theyre designed for a

macro environment.PHIL MARSHALL, CHIEF RESEARCH OFFICER FORTOLAGA RESEARCH.


18/18


Editors Note


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Deployments


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Preparation the Key


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Traffic, Bandwidth andEmerging Applications


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Shetty said he prefers trusted Wi-Fi because it letsservice providers do RF planning that includes 3G/4Gsmall cells and Wi-Fi rather than focusing on Wi-Fialone.

That gives the service provider more flexibility onhow to build the network while cutting costs byunderstanding the coverage and capacity requirementsfor each location, he said.

A final management point for any small cell deploymentwhether its standalone 3G/4G or includes Wi-Fi,is the use of SON technology to not only optimizetransmission delivery but to determine which frequency

best suits end users needs. SON, by optimizing allportions of the network, also removes the threat of deadspots in the coverage area.

SON is an important mechanism, as long as it isntexpected to move beyond managing the small cell,Rudd said.

There were people who said lets do (SON) atthe NOC and have the whole network optimized

automatically. It stopped dead in the water because itoverstepped the responsibilities of RF engineers whosejobs focused on network management, she said.

I think we have a lot of technology capable of doingdynamic assignment of bandwidth based on theapplications, Rudd said. Ultimately it should be the

user request that controls this and what the user iswilling to pay.

Those users are increasingly helped along by devicesthat can select the best network connectionevenbetween Wi-Fi and 3G/4G. The SON, in turn, can then

automatically offer up the best points in the small cellnetwork to connect and adjusts the power of the macroto accentuate the small cell connection.

Theres one problem that no amount of networkmanagement can serve because it comes down toperception.

If you ask people what class of service they wanteverybody asks for the best at the lowest price which

means that nobody gets what they asked for, Ruddsaid.

The best service providers can do, therefore, ismanage their small cell networks efficiently so they candeliver the best class of service for the best price thatconsumers are willing to pay.n

>>Traffic, Bandwidth and Emerging Applications All Impact Small Cell Management

That gives the service provider

more flexibility on how to build

the network while cutting costs.

SURAJ SHETTY, VICE PRESIDENT ANDGENERAL MANAGER OF CISCOS SERVICE

small cell strategies

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