6924 alcatel lucent metro cells bigger picture

8122019 6924 Alcatel Lucent Metro Cells Bigger Picture

httpslidepdfcomreaderfull6924-alcatel-lucent-metro-cells-bigger-picture 110

METRO CELLSTHE BIGGER PICTUREADDRESSING THE KEY CHALLENGES OF BUILDING A METRO CELL NETWORK

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Mobile network operators (MNOs) need cost-effective solutions to deal with the predicted exponential

growth in mobile data traffic on their networks in order to maintain their subscribersrsquo quality of experience

(QoE) Metro cells which are less costly macro cells are widely seen as a leading solution to enable MNOs

to build a heterogeneous network or HetNet to overcome capacity and coverage constraints HoweverMNOs have many questions concerning deployment of metro cells which by their nature must be deployed

in far greater numbers than traditional macro cells To help MNOs successfully introduce metro cells into their

networks Alcatel-Lucent offers two papers that address both the radio planning challenges and those beyond

the radio This executive summary presents a brief overview of both papers



TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Introduction 3

2 Overview 3

3 Why consider metro cells 4

4 When to deploy metro cells 5

5 Where to use metro cells 5

6 Dedicated or shared carrier 6

7 Overcoming metro cell deployment challenges 7

8 Conclusion 9

9 Alcatel-lucent lightradiotrade metro cell express solution 9

10 Acronyms 10



Metro Cells ndash The Bigger Picture

ALCATEL983085LUCENT BROCHURE

3

1 INTRODUCTION

Mobile data is growing at an unprecedented rate Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs predicts that

mobile data will increase 25 times by 2016 It is widely understood that a traditional

macro-only solution cannot provide the capacity needed to satisfy demand in the long

term either economically or operationally This is because spectrum is limited spectral

efficiency improvements are close to exhaustion as we get closer to the theoretical limits

predicted by Claude Shannon and it will be impossible to put macro cells everywhere

capacity is needed due to regulatory and cost constraints Rather the solution for provid-

ing massive capacity is the effective segmentation of radio frequency (RF) into smaller

geographical ldquosectorsrdquo or coverage areas There are a number of ways to do this from

deploying active array antennas (AAA) to small cells with one of the main solutions

being the densification of the mobile network with metro cells small cells that are

owned and managed by the MNO to create a heterogeneous network or HetNet

2 OVERVIEW

Metro cells a vital component of any HetNet appeal to MNOs for a number of reasons

They enable MNOs to strategically and cost-effectively add capacity to traffic hotspots toimprove the quality of experience (QoE) for end users In addition they extend network

coverage to indoor locations that have traditionally been challenging to cover with a

macro-only solution (see Figure 1)

Figure 1 Metro Cells places capacity and coverage wherever needed

However MNOs have many questions concerning the deployment of metro cells

both within existing 3G networks and within LTE networks

bull Why and when should metro cells be deployed

bull Where do metro cells make the most sense

bull Should dedicated or shared carrier be used for metro cells

Furthermore a large deployment of metro cells poses a number of challenges that

must be addressed to keep costs low





4

To help MNOs successfully introduce metro cells into their networks Alcatel-Lucent

offers two papers on this topic The first Metro Cells Part I ndash Why When Where

and How to Deploy Them describes the challenges of building a metro cell network

underlay The second Metro Cells Part II ndash How to Guarantee a Successful Deployment

looks at the challenges beyond the radio including power backhaul installation

commissioning provisioning configuration network optimization site selection and

acquisition mdash and regulatory and policy compliance This executive summary presents

a brief overview of both papers

3 WHY CONSIDER METRO CELLS

Metro cells small cells deployed by operators in public or open access areas provide

more capacity at a lower cost place capacity and coverage directly where they are

needed and improve the QoE for subscribers

ldquoI think people expect to be on the grid all the timehellipIf it was a known

fact that this venue didnrsquot have reception I donrsquot think that wersquod

keep them on our list of optionsrdquo

Sarah-Jane Semrad

Events Director KXT 917 FM Dallas

As small low-power access points metro cells offer a lower total cost of ownership

(TCO) than a macro-only solution To determine the savings metro cells can provide

Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs compared the TCO of a macro-only solution to that of a macro

and metro cell solution with and without the early introduction of LTE The Bell Labs

study showed that a W-CMDA macro and metro cell solution provides a 38 percent TCOsavings compared to a W-CDMA macro-only solution (see Figure 2) When LTE macro

cells are deployed with W-CDMA and LTE metro cells the ve-year TCO is reduced by

45 percent compared to deploying W-CDMA macro cells only (see Figure 3)

Figure 2 Five-year TCO for W-CDMA macro-only and

W-CDMA macro + metro cells capacity upgrade

W-CDMAMacro-only

W-CDMA Macroand Metro Cells

100

120

80

60

40

20

0

38 TCO Savings

E u r o s ( i n m i l l i o

n s )

69

112


LTE macro + W-CDMA and LTE metro cells capacity upgrade

W-CDMAMacro-only

LTE Macro and W-CDMAand LTE Metro Cells

100

120

80

60

40

20

0

45 TCO Savings


n s )

62

112





5

4 WHEN TO DEPLOY METRO CELLS

When to deploy metro cells depends on whether metro cells will be used for capacity

or coverage

As a capacity solution metro cells are usually deployed in high-traffic locations to

offload traffic from heavily loaded or saturated macro sites To better understand when

high-density W-CDMA networks will become saturated with and without the launch

of LTE Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs conducted a five-year network simulation with a tier 1

MNO in Western Europe The simulation showed that approximately two percent of

all W-CDMA macro cell sites are already saturated Therefore MNOs with high-density

networks who are planning on launching LTE late would benefit from deploying

W-CDMA metro cells as a capacity ofoad solution right now If LTE is to be launched

early the MNO can start to deploy metro cells now on a more selective basis then

increase the volume of deployment in 2013 or 2014 as the macro sites begin to saturate

LTE metro cells on the other hand should be incorporated into the LTE network design

from the onset especially for high traffic-density zones that are expected to saturate

quickly after service launch

As a coverage solution metro cells are usually deployed in areas with poor ornon-existent macro coverage These include both in-building locations and outdoor

locations such as the edge of suburban (coverage-limited) cells or small rural towns

Such coverage holes are very expensive to fill using conventional macro sites Therefore

the time to deploy W-CDMA metro cells for coverage and cost-effective QoE is now

5 WHERE TO USE METRO CELLS

Metro cells are used to provide capacity for urban hotspots improve coverage in indoor

locations and extend network coverage and capacity to rural locations When used to

provide capacity to urban hotspots metro cells are deployed in selected high-traffic

locations such as city centers train stations or shopping malls

When used to improve coverage for indoor locations metro cells are deployed within

indoor locations such as event and convention centers hotel lobbies or office buildings

to deliver superior voice and packet data services to areas with poor or non-existent

macro coverage In summary metro cells can be deployed where they offer a lower

TCO than other methods of extending coverage to in-building locations

ldquoThe problem with introducing more and more mobile masts is mainly

the vision impact London is a protected skyline and wersquore governedby a lot of restrictionsrdquo

Andy Sherrin

Building Services Director





6

For coverage and capacity extension to rural areas metro cells are deployed in villages

and other rural areas to deliver cost-effective voice and packet data services to locations

with poor or non-existent macro coverage

6 DEDICATED OR SHARED CARRIER

The economic return of a metro network is driven by the percentage of traffic that it

offloads from the macro network mdash and this percentage is heavily influenced by whichfrequency is allocated to the metro layer Metro cells can be deployed using a dedicated

frequency or by sharing a frequency with the macro network (see Figure 4)

Figure 4 Coverage area of metro cell deployed with dedicated and shared carrier

With dedicated carrier the MNO reserves a carrier for the exclusive use of metro cells

in geographies that have been specifically targeted as needing extra capacity In all

other areas macro cells can use this same carrier The use of a dedicated carrier avoids

interference with the macro cell which enables metro cells to cover wider areas and

therefore to absorb a larger amount of traffic off the macro network greatly improving

the TCO

With shared-carrier deployments metro cells use one of the same carriers assigned to

the macro layer which would normally have one or more additional dedicated carriers

The coverage range and offload effectiveness of metro cells deployed with shared carrier

are lower than those using dedicated carriers Also with this type of deployment metro

cells cannot be placed too close to high-power macro cells However shared carrier

deployments offer MNOs effective capacity and coverage solutions for some use cases

and it can be especially effective for indoor locations like office buildings and shopping

malls where a macro-only network struggles to penetrate Furthermore for operators

that have low-spectrum holdings shared carrier is the only option available for the

deployment of metro cells Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs simulations provide guidance on

the approach to take here as described in Metro Cells Part I ndash Why When Where and

How to Deploy Them

Coverage area of metro cells deployedwith dedicated carrier

Coverage area of metro cells deployedwith shared carrier

Lowefficiency zone

Moderateefficiency zone

Exclusion zone

Hi h efficienc zone





7

7 OVERCOMING METRO CELL DEPLOYMENT

CHALLENGES

Metro cells cover much smaller areas than macro cells and they need to be deployed

in much larger numbers in non-traditional locations including at street level Because

of these differences metro cell deployment poses a number of challenges that the MNO

must address to ensure a quick and cost-effective deployment Top challenges include

site selection and acquisition and backhaul For information on others refer to MetroCells Part II ndash How to Guarantee a Successful Deployment

ldquoThe complication comes in with site acquisition power and backhaul

Those three are the key elements of putting in small cells and a

heterogeneous networkrdquo

Frank Favichia

Field Services

Bell Labs Alcatel-Lucent

The selection of sites is a familiar process for MNOs but the established models and

tools used to plan and design macro networks are not effective in determining where

to place metro cells This is because metro cells provide coverage and capacity in much

smaller areas or hotspots within the larger macro network Optimal placement of metro

cells necessitates the development and use of new models tools and methodologies

Operators know how to acquire sites for macro cells and many also have long-standing

relationships with tower companies Metro cells however are not placed on towers or

rooftops Rather they are deployed in large numbers in non-traditional locations suchas lampposts utility poles and on the interior and exterior walls of buildings To deploy

metro cells quickly while keeping costs low the MNO has to find many suitable sites

with low rental fees readily available power and access to backhaul Forming strategic

relationships or partnerships with municipalities utilities and other companies that

own or have access to infrastructure suitable for the deployment of metro cells offers

an effective means of meeting these objectives (see Figure 5)





8

Figure 5 Optimal site acquisition requires a rich ecosystem of partnerships

Metro cell backhaul presents a number of challenges to mobile operators Metro cells

will substantially increase the number of sites and the cost of backhaul can make orbreak the business case Therefore it is essential for the backhaul network to take

important planning factors into consideration such as the required availability through-

put and latency of the network while also enabling fast efficient installation and turn

up of metro cells In addition it must be scalable for quick cost-effective growth that

keeps pace with the deployment of metro cells mdash and it must be easy to maintain to

reduce the number of required site visits and keep operational costs low The combina-

tion of backhaul performance availability maintainability and scalability all factor into

the overall metro cell backhaul TCO which must be kept to a minimum to support the

successful deployment of a HetNet

Operators face a potentially daunting implementation burden when deploying newmetro cell networks To help MNOs deploy these new networks to reduce deployment

and operational risks and speed time to market Alcatel-Lucent is pooling all itrsquos capa-

bilities across competencies including site selection and acquisition backhaul power

regulatory compliance and others into a single comprehensive service With the Build

Operate Assist and Transfer service Alcatel-Lucent provides consulting on business

operations and systems infrastructures mdash and designs integrates tests and assists

with operations and knowledge transfer of the metro cell network to the operator

eliminating all the complexities of launching a new network and ensuring an optimized

metro cell network

WI-FI

SERVICE

PROVIDERSCABLE COMPANIES

MUNICIPALITIES

RETAIL

COMPANIES

WIRELINE

SERVICE

PROVIDERS

ALTERNATIVE

FIELD FORCES

UTILITIES

BILLBOARD

COMPANIES

Many sites aquiredat one time

Optimal locations formetro cell deployment

Guarenteed availability of sitesfor quick deployment

Low site rental fees





9

8 CONCLUSION

Metro cells provide capacity and coverage at a lower TCO than macro-only solutions

and enable MNOs to meet subscribersrsquo increasing expectations for a high QoE no matter

where they are As a capacity solution metro cells should be deployed in traffic hotspots

today to ofoad W-CDMA sites that are already saturated Metro cells should also be

incorporated into LTE networks from day one especially in extreme traffic-density

zones such as sports stadiums as these locations are expected to saturate quickly after

service launch MNOs would also benefit from deploying metro cells today for coverage

particularly for in-building locations that traditionally have been challenging to cover

with a macro-only network and for rural areas where macro cells are cost prohibitive

For LTE networks especially those being deployed in the higher bands metro cells

should be deployed for in-building coverage from the onset

Because metro cells are quite different from macro cells a large deployment of metro

cells presents the MNO with a number of new deployment challenges that must be

addressed before their full benefits can be realized To accomplish this MNOs must not

only rethink how they plan design and implement their network but must also rede-

fine existing business relationships and partnerships as well as form new ones Only by

treating the deployment of metro cells in a holistic manner can operators fully unlockthe business benefits that metro cells offer

9 ALCATEL983085LUCENT LIGHTRADIOtrade METRO CELL

EXPRESS SOLUTION

Alcatel-Lucent continues to drive the evolution of small cells from a technology initially

envisioned for improving cellular performance at home and work to a technology well

suited for delivering increased mobile data capacity in public places As the need to

reuse spectrum intensifies metro cells are becoming the optimal means of delivering

higher capacity at a lower cost per bit and to help operators rise above the mobile datastorm To fully realize the benefits that metro cells have to offer MNOs require more

than just a box they need products and services specifically designed to simplify the

deployment of metro cells Alcatel-Lucent is pooling its experience and resource across

site selection and acquisition power and backhaul regulatory and municipal advisory

and many other areas to offer MNOs Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio Metro Cell Express Build

Operate Assist and Transfer service for the deployment of metro cells Our commitment

is to shoulder the burden of metro cell deployments by designing installing integrating

and testing metro cell networks and only transferring operations back to the MNOs

when the network is performing at a pre-agreed level of technical key performance

indicators (KPIs) This de-risks metro cell deployments for operators and gets them to

high capacity networks sooner simpler and at scale



wwwalcatel-lucentcom Alcatel Lucent Alcatel-Lucent and the Alcatel-Lucent logo are trademarks of

Alcatel-Lucent All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners The information presented

is subject to change without notice Alcatel-Lucent assumes no responsibility for inaccuracies contained herein

Copyright copy 2012 Alcatel-Lucent All rights reserved M2012073809 (July)

To date Alcatel-Lucent has 39 commercial deployment agreements and over 20 ongoing

trials of its end-to-end small cells solution Publicly announced customers include

Telefonica in Spain Etisalat and du in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) MegaFon and

VimpelCom in Russia Optus in Australia and the Vodafone Group which selected

Alcatel-Lucent as its preferred vendor for nationwide ldquoSure Signalrdquo femtocell services in

the United Kingdom and New Zealand ldquoBoosterrdquo in Italy and ldquoPrivate 3G Zonerdquo in the

Czech Republic

To learn how Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio Metro Cell Express can help you in

the successful deployment of metro cells please visit

wwwalcatel-lucentcomlightradio-metro-cell-express

10 ACRONYMS

3G Third Generation

HetNet heterogeneous network

KPI Key performance Indicator

LTE Long Term Evolution

MNO Mobile Network Operator

QoE Quality of Experience

TCO Total Cost of Ownership

UAE United Arab Emirates

UK United Kingdom

W-CDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access



TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Introduction 3

2 Overview 3

3 Why consider metro cells 4

4 When to deploy metro cells 5

5 Where to use metro cells 5

6 Dedicated or shared carrier 6

7 Overcoming metro cell deployment challenges 7

8 Conclusion 9

9 Alcatel-lucent lightradiotrade metro cell express solution 9

10 Acronyms 10





3

1 INTRODUCTION













2 OVERVIEW

















4
















Sarah-Jane Semrad











W-CDMAMacro-only


100

120

80

60

40

20

0

38 TCO Savings


n s )

69

112



W-CDMAMacro-only


100

120

80

60

40

20

0

45 TCO Savings


n s )

62

112





5



or coverage






























Andy Sherrin






6














the TCO












How to Deploy Them



Lowefficiency zone


Exclusion zone

Hi h efficienc zone





7


CHALLENGES









Frank Favichia

Field Services



















8




















metro cell network

WI-FI

SERVICE


MUNICIPALITIES

RETAIL

COMPANIES

WIRELINE

SERVICE

PROVIDERS

ALTERNATIVE

FIELD FORCES

UTILITIES

BILLBOARD

COMPANIES









9

8 CONCLUSION



















EXPRESS SOLUTION




























Czech Republic




10 ACRONYMS

3G Third Generation








UK United Kingdom






3

1 INTRODUCTION













2 OVERVIEW

















4
















Sarah-Jane Semrad











W-CDMAMacro-only


100

120

80

60

40

20

0

38 TCO Savings


n s )

69

112



W-CDMAMacro-only


100

120

80

60

40

20

0

45 TCO Savings


n s )

62

112





5



or coverage






























Andy Sherrin






6














the TCO












How to Deploy Them



Lowefficiency zone


Exclusion zone

Hi h efficienc zone





7


CHALLENGES









Frank Favichia

Field Services



















8




















metro cell network

WI-FI

SERVICE


MUNICIPALITIES

RETAIL

COMPANIES

WIRELINE

SERVICE

PROVIDERS

ALTERNATIVE

FIELD FORCES

UTILITIES

BILLBOARD

COMPANIES









9

8 CONCLUSION



















EXPRESS SOLUTION




























Czech Republic




10 ACRONYMS

3G Third Generation








UK United Kingdom






4
















Sarah-Jane Semrad











W-CDMAMacro-only


100

120

80

60

40

20

0

38 TCO Savings


n s )

69

112



W-CDMAMacro-only


100

120

80

60

40

20

0

45 TCO Savings


n s )

62

112





5



or coverage






























Andy Sherrin






6














the TCO












How to Deploy Them



Lowefficiency zone


Exclusion zone

Hi h efficienc zone





7


CHALLENGES









Frank Favichia

Field Services



















8




















metro cell network

WI-FI

SERVICE


MUNICIPALITIES

RETAIL

COMPANIES

WIRELINE

SERVICE

PROVIDERS

ALTERNATIVE

FIELD FORCES

UTILITIES

BILLBOARD

COMPANIES









9

8 CONCLUSION



















EXPRESS SOLUTION




























Czech Republic




10 ACRONYMS

3G Third Generation








UK United Kingdom






5



or coverage






























Andy Sherrin






6














the TCO












How to Deploy Them



Lowefficiency zone


Exclusion zone

Hi h efficienc zone





7


CHALLENGES









Frank Favichia

Field Services



















8




















metro cell network

WI-FI

SERVICE


MUNICIPALITIES

RETAIL

COMPANIES

WIRELINE

SERVICE

PROVIDERS

ALTERNATIVE

FIELD FORCES

UTILITIES

BILLBOARD

COMPANIES









9

8 CONCLUSION



















EXPRESS SOLUTION




























Czech Republic




10 ACRONYMS

3G Third Generation








UK United Kingdom






6














the TCO












How to Deploy Them



Lowefficiency zone


Exclusion zone

Hi h efficienc zone





7


CHALLENGES









Frank Favichia

Field Services



















8




















metro cell network

WI-FI

SERVICE


MUNICIPALITIES

RETAIL

COMPANIES

WIRELINE

SERVICE

PROVIDERS

ALTERNATIVE

FIELD FORCES

UTILITIES

BILLBOARD

COMPANIES









9

8 CONCLUSION



















EXPRESS SOLUTION




























Czech Republic




10 ACRONYMS

3G Third Generation








UK United Kingdom






7


CHALLENGES









Frank Favichia

Field Services



















8




















metro cell network

WI-FI

SERVICE


MUNICIPALITIES

RETAIL

COMPANIES

WIRELINE

SERVICE

PROVIDERS

ALTERNATIVE

FIELD FORCES

UTILITIES

BILLBOARD

COMPANIES









9

8 CONCLUSION



















EXPRESS SOLUTION




























Czech Republic




10 ACRONYMS

3G Third Generation








UK United Kingdom






8




















metro cell network

WI-FI

SERVICE


MUNICIPALITIES

RETAIL

COMPANIES

WIRELINE

SERVICE

PROVIDERS

ALTERNATIVE

FIELD FORCES

UTILITIES

BILLBOARD

COMPANIES









9

8 CONCLUSION



















EXPRESS SOLUTION




























Czech Republic




10 ACRONYMS

3G Third Generation








UK United Kingdom






9

8 CONCLUSION



















EXPRESS SOLUTION




























Czech Republic




10 ACRONYMS

3G Third Generation








UK United Kingdom














Czech Republic




10 ACRONYMS

3G Third Generation








UK United Kingdom


6924 alcatel lucent metro cells bigger picture

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