Cellular Enterprise Architecture Solutions

© 2014 ThinkSmallCell Ltd.

Cellular Enterprise Solu<ons

In-‐Building Wireless Architectures from Small Cells to DAS

Editorial Webinar

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Agenda

•  Defining the problem •  In-‐Building Wireless Architectures •  Related issues and trade-‐offs •  Summary


Why is it geKng worse?

Increasing Demand Growing technical barriers

Greater usage of smartphones Increasing data requirements for Apps Growing uptake of mobile video

Building construc<on materials Use of higher RF frequencies for capacity 3G cell breathing

Increasing Demand

Customer dissa7sfac7on

Developing Business Case


Perhaps its no surprise?


Moving the signal indoors

•  Adding extra antenna indoors – Lower RF power = longer baXery life

•  Crea<ng new cells/sectors indoors – Higher quality RF channel to devices = speed/quality – High frequency reuse = greater capacity – Less interference with outdoor network

•  Devices typically moving slowly – Require fewer resources than for fast mobility – Signalling demand peaks at <mes (start, lunch, end)


Wide variety of Use Cases

Coverage

Capacity

Stadium

Warehouse

Shopping Mall

Conference

Larger Office

Hotel

Hospital

Examples for illustra<on only and will vary widely on individual basis Impact of Wi-‐Fi service also has a strong bearing on traffic demand

Small Office

Exhibi<on


Confusing range of choices


Repeaters – a popular/quick fix? Network Independent (Out of spec) Lower quality Low cost Impact network quality, service for others

Network Independent (Spec compliant) Higher quality Medium cost Lower impact but may affect network quality, service for others

Network Specific (Remotely managed) Higher quality Medium cost Low impact on other users. Best for remote loca<ons with no wireline broadband ILLEGAL

Enforcement ac<on applies

LEGAL IN SOME COUNTRIES

LEGAL IN MOST COUNTRIES

Repeaters don’t add capacity. Useful in remote/rural areas but counter produc<ve in congested high-‐traffic zones. Most operators replacing own repeaters with small cells.


Basic Building Blocks


Three broad categories

Small Cells

Distributed Radio Systems (DRS)/Cloud RAN

Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS)


Centralised vs Distributed Antennas at edge

Antennas centralised

Baseband Centralised

Baseband at Edge

Standalone Small Cells

Small Cells local controller

Distributed Antenna Systems

Distributed Radio Systems/ Cloud RAN

Macrocells

Remote Radio Heads


Where is the processing located?

Base Sta<on

Antenna

High speed backhaul 1Gbps-‐10Gbps

Local Controller

Small Cell

Group Controller

RF Head

Base Sta<on

RF Head

Remote Head

RF baseband processing

Small Cell

Low speed backhaul (10-‐100Mbps)

TO CORE NETWORK


Enterprise Small Cells •  Standalone – Complete cellular basesta<on func<onality

•  Peer-‐to-‐Peer – Direct nego<a<on between nearby cells

•  Local controller for 10 to 100 small cells – Co-‐ordinates between mul<ple small cells – Virtual cell: Smartphones don’t need handovers in-‐building

Baseband located within the Small Cell

All func<ons embedded within Small Cell

Radio Head located within the Small Cell


Typical Enterprise Small Cells

•  Similar to residen<al femtocells, except – Higher RF power, providing wider area coverage – Higher traffic capacity, typically 16-‐64 user – Powered via Ethernet (PoE) – Wall mounted, usually neutral and unobtrusive

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Cisco’s Snap-‐On Upgrade Cisco’s USC 5310 “snap-‐on” for Aeronet 3600 series

•  Upgrades exis<ng Wi-‐Fi access point to 3G –  Full 3G small cell, 16 user, 14 Mbps –  Single Ethernet cable powers en<re unit – Minimal impact, straighkorward upgrade –  Typically only needed for a subset of Wi-‐Fi hotspots


•  Mul<-‐Standard : W-‐CDMA, LTE and Wi-‐Fi in a single box –  Single, shared site, backhaul, power and OA&M

•  Somware Defined 3G/4G Technology and RF Band – Migra<on Flexibility from 3G to 4G –  Remote RF Configura<on

•  Key Features – VoLTE with CSFB and SR-‐VCC, CMAS, MFBI, Priori<zed E911 –  CA and eMBMS HW Ready –  3G Somware feature parity with LR 14.2 –  SON, Secure Plug n Play, TR 069 management. –  Common Small Cell and Security Gateway Leverage 3G OA&M Systems

ALU 9962 Mul<-‐Standard Enterprise Cell

Preliminary casing


Picocells

•  Designed as scaled down macrocells •  Previously used more for outdoor than indoor •  Use Iu-‐b/RNC rather than Iu-‐h/Small Cell Gateway •  Higher capacity (100 – 400 ac<ve users) •  Marketed with seamless co-‐ordina<on with external macrocells (of same vendor)

•  Price?? •  Examples: Ericsson 6402, Huawei, NSN, ZTE


Extending coverage

Extended coverage can be achieved through addi<onal small cells. Use cases include a large warehouse, rela<vely low usage but coverage essen<al

Small Cell

Small Cell

Small Cell

Small Cell


Daisy Chaining/External Antenna

Alterna<vely, Comba offer a daisy chain repeater unit connected by Ethernet cable

Small Cell

External antenna can also be used -‐  Reduce visible footprint on wall/ceiling -‐  Achieve higher range/performance

Galtronics 700-‐2700MHz Dual Polarised MIMO antenna

Extender Extender Extender


Small Cells with Local controller •  Standard Ethernet within building •  Local controller/Services Node in basement


Distributed Radio System

•  Evolved from exis<ng basesta<on – Huawei Lampsite – Ericsson Radio DOT

•  Specifically designed – Airvana OneCell

Baseband located within Host Controller

Radio Head located near the antenna


Huawei Lampsite


Ericsson Radio DOT


Airvana OneCell Cloud RAN Architecture

Cloud RAN over Ethernet Standard switched Gigabit Ethernet front-‐haul All-‐IP (No CPRI, no analog) Power and <ming synchroniza<on over Ethernet

Baseband Controller

Radio Points

Ethernet Switch

Device Management System

Operator Network


Airvana OneCell Mul<-‐Operator

Baseband Controllers: 4 operators in 2U rack space

Shared Ethernet Infrastructure

Radio Points

Mul< Radio Point Enclosure (MRPE)

“Toaster Rack” hosts mul<ple radios connected to single antenna


Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS)

Major advantages – Mul<-‐vendor – Mul<-‐operator – Mul<-‐band – Mul<-‐technology (2G/3G/4G)

But – Doesn’t add capacity itself; can be very high traffic – Typically independent of Wi-‐Fi – Can be costly… $100Ks to >$1M not unusual

Baseband located within external Basesta<ons

Radio Head located next external Basesta<ons


Passive vs Ac<ve DAS architecture

Source: RadioAccess BV hXp://www.radioaccess.eu


Not all DAS is the same

•  Different DAS products for different purposes: – Highest capacity (e.g. Stadium) – Coverage and average capacity (e.g. Office)

•  Digital or analogue: Mul<ple op<ons – Older passive coax systems rarely installed today – Dark fibre RF analogue signal to antenna – Digitally encoded to closet – Digital end-‐to-‐end to radio head

•  RF Power: Can be up to 5W


Recent DAS improvements

•  Wide range of frequency bands –  300MHz of spectrum from ~700MHz to 2700MHz

•  CAT6 cabling within same floor –  Fibre to the closet, dedicated CAT6 to antenna

•  Simpler Installa<on – Guided cable connec<ons, planning tools…

•  Bypass inefficient RF stage –  Connect directly via CPRI

•  Configurable sectors –  Rou<ng RF to different zones per <me of day


Direct digital connec<on into DAS

Direct CPRI interface bypasses the need for basesta<on RF stage, downconverter and RF to digital encoding. Saves CAPEX plus less HVAC


Configurable Sectors

•  Mapping RF heads to basesta<on sectors – Manually, by (un)plugging cables at patch panel – Somware controlled, through “electronic switch” – “RF rou<ng” (e.g. Dali Wireless RF Router)

•  Can be used to reconfigure – Stadium for sport one day, concert the next

•  Unlikely to be frequent changes – Not at level of SON remote control yet – Who pays for engineering <me to manage it?


CONSIDERATIONS


Cabling Requirements Baseband Radio Head Antenna In-‐Building Cabling

Small Cell

Fully integrated in single remote unit (Op<onally, can use external adjacent antenna)

10-‐100Mbps Ethernet

DRS/ Cloud RAN

Centralised Distributed Fibre to closet ~2Gbps CAT6 to antenna

DAS Centralised Centralised Distributed Analogue or Digital RF 2-‐10Gbps

•  DAS and DRS require dedicated fibre, some<mes composite fibre/copper for power

•  Small Cells only need Ethernet, can share VPN within exis<ng IT infrastructure


3G vs 4G and Band-‐Plans

Architecture Capability

Small Cells Most products custom designed for 3G or 4G or both Some capable of remote config to 3G/4G and bandplan

DRS/Cloud RAN RF units (and antennas) usually designed for 3G or 4G Some capable of remote config to 3G/4G and bandplan

DAS Can support any technology na<vely, FDD or TDD Older systems designed for specific frequency bands

•  Demand today is 3G voice indoors •  Future expecta<on 4G VoLTE •  Many 3G products available Latest products are 3G/4G mul<mode, some 4G only

•  S<ll large market for 3G which will evolve to 4G


Applica<ons and Data caching

•  Some small cells offer local data caching – Significantly speeds up end-‐user performance when accessing common data

– Reduces backhaul boXlenecks •  Local in-‐building controller – Hosts Enterprise specific applica<ons


Co-‐existence with Wi-‐Fi

•  Combined Wi-‐Fi/Small Cell units common – Don’t interfere with each other – Dual band 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-‐Fi 802.11n or ac – 1Gbps Ethernet backhaul – Some are more integrated than others

•  DAS systems typically do not integrate Wi-‐Fi – provide IP connec<on for Wi-‐Fi access points – Wi-‐Fi Access Points and DAS radio heads separate


Neutral Host vs Single Operator

•  Building owners may prefer mul<-‐operator –  Venues serving guests, visitors –  Businesses encouraging BYOD

•  Operators may prefer single operator – Differen<ate higher quality service –  Lock-‐in enterprise contracts

•  Trade-‐offs –  Small cells and DRS typically single operator – DAS inherently mul<-‐operator – Wi-‐Fi technically neutral, but may be commercially locked-‐in


Operator’s Risk Percep<on

•  Same supplier for indoor/outdoor – Fewer compa<bility issues – Handover – Planning tools – Opera<onal processes, staff training…

•  Different suppliers indoor/outdoor – More innova<on – Greater compe<<on = lower prices – Greater scalability = faster growth


SUMMARY


Pros and Cons

Advantages Disadvantages

Small Cells Highly scalable Simple backhaul Very cost effec<ve

Extra nodes for mul<-‐operator Perceived new technology risks

DRS/Cloud RAN Very high capacity Not mul<-‐operator Dedicated fibre/cabling

DAS Mul<-‐Operator Mul<-‐Vendor Macro network compa<bility

Dedicated fibre and/or cabling High cost (CAPEX/OPEX)


Building size vs Architecture

10-‐49 employees

50-‐249 employees

250+ employees

<9 employees 8 User Standalone Femtocell

Mul<ple 16 User small cells

16 User Standalone Small cell

Distributed Antenna System

Group of small cells with local controller

10-‐49 employees

50-‐249 employees

250+ employees

50-‐249 employees

250+ employees 250+ employees

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Conclusion

•  The need for more radio units to increase coverage and capacity generally agreed –  Small Cell approach introduces new vendors, technology, processes and low cost

– DRS/Cloud RAN promises highest capacity, for single operator, requires fibre and power to every site

– DAS retains exis<ng vendors, shared infrastructure, sharing higher costs

•  Choice will depend on use case (esp building size) and importance of mul<-‐operator, Wi-‐Fi integra<on etc. vs budget


More informa<on

•  Comparison of DAS and Small Cell technology – ALU white paper on Enterprise In-‐Building Wireless

•  Vendor websites •  ThinkSmallCell.com


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