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DEPLOYING SMALL-CELLS: HOW TO MAKE ROLLOUT COMMERCIALLY VIABLE

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Page 4 Executive summary

Page 5 Section 1 Advancing network planning tools for small- cell proliferation

Page 10 Section 2 Simplifying small-cell network deployments

Page 13 Section 3 Small-cell success depends on automation and inventory management

Page 15 Section 4 Conclusions and recommendations

Page 18 Sponsored feature Amdocs



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To satisfy mobile users’ seemingly unquenchable desire for bandwidth, network operators increasingly are turning to small-cell technology to increase coverage and provide better data transmission speeds. The idea is that small-cell coverage can help improve the customer experience, and happy customers translate to steady, or even increased, revenue.

Traditional mobile networks are based primarily on macro-cellular designs, which deliver umbrella coverage and capacity across large geographical areas. Macro-cells are not well suited to deliver localized capacity and coverage that is increasingly needed for mobile broadband services. As a result, service providers have been ramping up small-cell deployments.

Small-cell technology has been deployed for several decades under the guise of micro- and pico-cells. However, since legacy small-cell network architectures are too expensive and complicated to be applied at mass-market scale, they have only seen modest market adoption, representing just 10 to 15 percent of currently deployed base stations.

As small-cells proliferate, they create a variety of operational challenges for service providers:

In Section 1 of this report we delve into the network design and planning issues operators need to consider when installing small-cells.

We look at the differences between deploying macro-cell networks and small-

cell networks, and we look at the planning requirements network operators must consider. For example, they must address integration with existing networks, backhaul requirements and what kind of role network optimization plays in deploying small-cells.

In Section 2, we begin to turn the focus to automation and how self-optimizing networks (SON) are being used in small-cell deployments. With network operators planning to roll out 1,000 small-cell sites per month, automation will be essential for such an aggressive plan to be economically viable and that includes simplify installation of small-cells so that lower-skilled workers can be hired to install them.

In Section 3 we dig deeper into automation and SON with a look at how operators can use it to manage backhaul options. When new small-cells are deployed, for example, SON algorithms can interrogate available wireless links, determine the best link for each small-cell site and then configure the backhaul accordingly.

We also look at how small-cell deployment will affect inventory-management. To deploy 1,000 sites per month, inventory-management systems must be integrated end-to-end with network planning and workflow functions.

Finally in Section 4 we offer some conclusions and recommendations to help network operators transition smoothly to networks that will be dominated by small-cells.

Executive summary

“The small-cell revolution has been fueled by the success of femto-cells (low-cost, self-contained base stations) to address coverage and capacity demands for residential indoor environments.”



Macro-cells cannot deliver the localized capacityand coverage needed for mobile broadband services

Advancing network planning tools for small-cell proliferation

Section 1

Traditional mobile networks are based primarily on macro-cellular designs (see Figure 1-1), which deliver umbrella coverage and capacity across large geographical areas. Macro-cells are not well suited to deliver localized capacity and coverage that is increasingly needed for mobile broadband services. As a result, service providers have been ramping up small-cell deployments.

Small-cell technology has been deployed for several decades under the guise of micro- and pico-cells. However, since legacy small-cell network architectures are too expensive and complicated to be applied at mass market scale, they have only seen modest market adoption, representing just 10 to 15 percent of currently-deployed base stations.

Figure 1-1: Overview of radio network provisioning and management

Traditional radio engineering operations

Radio NetworkProvisioning

Planning

New SiteDeployment

TechnologyOverlay

SiteExpansion

Capacity andCoverage Forecasting

Network Planning Tools

The small-cell revolution has been fueled by the success of femto-cells (low-cost, self-contained base stations) to address coverage and capacity demands for residential indoor environments.

Femto-cells continue to see market adoption, and since they’re deployed indoors, they benefit from being somewhat isolated from macro-cellular interference. Outdoor small-cells, on the other hand, tend to be more challenging to implement. They must be placed carefully relative to macro-cells to coordinate radio resources and maximize capacity without causing undue network interference.

This calls for advanced network design and planning techniques that enable small-cells to be an integral part of the overall network

Backhaul &Core IntegrationEF&I

TowerFabrication

Civil WorksArchitecturalEngineering

SiteAcquisition

RadioEngineering

Backhaul &Core IntegrationEF&ICivil Works

ArchitecturalEngineering

LeaseModification

RadioEngineering

EF&ICivil WorksArchitecturalEngineering

RadioEngineering

Radio NetworkManagement

Network Configuration Data

Parameter Optimization Algorithms

PerformanceReports

ExceptionReports

Other Network andBusiness Intelligence

CallTraces

Network Measurement Reports

Network Parameter Optimization

Engineering Reviewand Analysis




design and to anticipate interference challenges and isolation strategies between high and low powered sites.

As small-cells proliferate, they create a variety of challenges for operators:

n How to ensure that network designs are optimized with overlaid and heterogeneous architectures that incorporate both small- and macro-cell – Traditional network planning tools are designed primarily to support macro-cellular implementations. While these tools are capable of incorporating small-cells in network designs, the optimal integration of small-cells generally requires manual intervention on the part of design engineers.

n Solutions for service providers to deploy and provision small-cells without incurring the overhead associated with conventional deployment approaches – These conventional approaches have been refined primarily for macro-cellular deployments, which involve protracted and costly network design, site acquisition, provisioning, integration and optimization activities. Different approaches are needed to meet the cost structures demanded for small-cells.

n Strategies to ensure small-cell backhaul networks can be efficiently provisioned and deployed – Generally the most challenging and costly backhaul hops are the lateral connections to cell sites. In the case of macro-cells, these lateral connections normally consist of dedicated microwave radio, copper or optical fiber point-to-point links. In the case of small-cells, it is necessary to lower the cost of backhaul and anticipate that many more connections will be needed. As a consequence, service providers are being more opportunistic and

are choosing from a wider range of backhaul technologies, including point-to-point and point-to-multipoint microwave, millimeter wave, digital subscriber line (DSL) and free-space optics.

n Introducing processes to ensure that theongoing operational requirement for small-cells be adequately managed, to ensure that large scale deployments remain economic – In typical network operations, service providers are likely to have one operational staff member on average for every 50 to 100 macro-cell sites. The number of small-cell deployments is likely to dwarf that of macro-cell, and they still incorporate many of the functional capabilities of macro-cell, albeit on a smaller scale. To achieve the necessary economics, it is crucial that the operational overhead for small-cells be dramatically reduced.

n Upgrades to inventory management systems to meet the scalability and extensibility demanded by small-cells – Small-cells introduce a variety of inventory management challenges for service providers as a consequence of the massive increase in the number of network elements that must be monitored, the additional information needed to reflect pertinent configuration information and capabilities to enable operational automation.

The underlying objective for network planning is to evaluate alternative network configurations and expansion strategies and to identify designs that have the most positive impact on overall network performance based on forecasted traffic demands. Sophisticated network planning tools are used to identify the location and configuration of cell sites and their associated backhaul requirements.



Planning tools must enable careful site placementand radio spectrum resource planning for small-cells

Most planning tools have been designed primarily for the purposes of macro-cellular network architectures and require extensive enhancements to adequately support small-cell planning requirements. Small-cell planning tools must address issues surrounding the availability of network configuration data, radio performance modeling, integration with overlaid and heterogeneous networks (HetNets), and backhaul and Wi-Fi offload options.

Network configuration dataMacro-cells incorporate key radio configuration data, such as the height, orientation and transmission power, and antenna patterns to enable engineers to optimize radio network performance. This is also a key objective for small-cells, but in deploying small-cells service providers are likely to find many more alternative implementation strategies and a broader range of trade-offs to consider.

Given their closer proximity and the large number of small-cells associated with individual planning processes, there are typically greater trade-offs among individual sites. This optimization requires more granular network information, such as the configuration and availability of alternative backhaul links, site access and acquisition considerations, the proximity relative to utilities, and ease of site installation. In addition, small-cell optimization requires schemas that span broad technical, commercial and financial considerations and as a consequence will draw upon inventory information from many organizations within a service provider’s business.

Radio-performance modelingModeling algorithms combine geographical information system (GIS) data with sophisticated radio propagation models and

measurement data to predict the impact of potential configuration changes and expansions. The modeling resolution of typical radio networks is calibrated for macro-cells that cover several kilometers or more using GIS data with granularity of up to 100 meters, which is inadequate for small-cells.

As a result, planning tool providers have begun incorporating high-resolution 3D data with less than 5-meter resolution in their platforms. While this high resolution data enables operators to derive first order estimates for small-cell performance using advanced radio propagation techniques such as ray tracing, additional granularity is needed. This granularity comes directly from network measurement data, which will form an increasingly important role in the overall planning process.

Network integrationIntegrating small-cell deployments with overlaid and heterogeneous networks is necessary as small-cell technology adoption grows and small-cells carry an increasing proportion of the overall mobile network traffic. Full-fledged HetNet architectures cannot be realized with current 3G and LTE technologies, which depend on advancements in interference management that enable high-powered macro-cell sites to coexist in the vicinity of low-powered small-cells.

Interference management advancements include enhanced Inter-cell Interference Coordination (eICIC), a technique that changes power and frequency to mitigate interference from neighboring cells, and innovative radio resource-scheduling techniques. In the absence of these enhancements, network planning tools must be capable of enabling careful site placement and radio spectrum resource planning to ensure that small-cells




can be deployed reliably and optimized with existing macro-cells.

Network operators should look for planning tools that incorporate enhancements like eICIC, while at the same time supporting legacy network requirements. They should pay particular attention to the actual as opposed to theoretical performance improvements enabled by the techniques, which will require live network measurements so that network planners can calibrate modeling assumptions.

Backhaul and Wi-FiBackhaul is challenging for small-cells because of the large number of links required and the need to capitalize opportunistically on available backhaul technologies, such as digital subscriber line (DSL), point-to-multipoint microwave and gigabit passive optical network (GPON).

Since most network planning tools have been designed primarily to address macro-cell deployment, they lack functionality needed for small-cell backhaul planning, both from the perspective of integrating versatile backhaul configurations into the network design and incorporating backhaul network considerations as part of the radio network optimization process.

For small-cell designs, it might be necessary to handicap different radio network designs based on the implied backhaul requirements

and the associated technical, commercial and financial implications.

Some network operators also are offloading to Wi-Fi to manage mobile network traffic. The mobile industry generally resisted the insurgence of Wi-Fi into the mobile broadband market, regarding it as substandard and incapable of meeting the performance demands of mobile broadband.

However, in recent years they’ve adopted it, which means it has to incorporated in planning strategies. This is particularly the case for small-cells which commonly have dual-mode wireless mobile and Wi-Fi technology capabilities.

Changes on the horizonOver the next 24 to 36 months, service providers are expecting technologies like Access Network Discovery and Service Function (ANDSF) and Hotspot 2.0 to enable the intelligent use of Wi-Fi as part of their overall networks and ultimately integrated as part of HetNet architectures.

Network planning tools must be capable of accounting for Wi-Fi as part of their overall network architecture. This can be expected to ultimately span public, residential and enterprise Wi-Fi access points and Wi-Fi-enabled small-cells. While network planning tools will leverage static information regarding the location and configuration of Wi-Fi access

“Backhaul is challenging for small-cells because of the large number of links required and the need to capitalize opportunistically on available backhaul technologies”.



Planning and optimization are convergingas network designs become more dynamic

points, it is likely that they will become increasingly reliant on information gleaned from mobile broadband devices to identify and model the availability of available Wi-Fi network resources.

Advancing network planningSoftware vendors are aggressively advancing their network-planning capabilities to incorporate many of the requirements for small-cells. These requirements will evolve as small-cells become more popular. In addition, as small-cells drive increased network complexity and advanced architectures such as software-defined networking (SDN) start to gain traction, it will become necessary for network-planning tools to provide a means of simplifying network complexity to make planning easier.

It will also be necessary for tools to provide a way to integrate with automated functions such as self-optimizing networks (SON) and create standardized blue-prints to make it easier for lower-skilled workers to install small-cells. We will discuss this in more detail in Sections 2 and 3.

While network planning has traditionally been regarded as somewhat distinct from network optimization, the roles of planning and optimization are converging as network designs become increasingly dynamic, small-cells become more widely adopted and advanced

interference management techniques become more common. In addition, conventional network planning tools are generally focused toward achieving optimal engineering performance as opposed to optimizing the total cost of ownership of alternative network designs, which will be required in the future.

In the case of macro-cell network design, the financial justification and prioritization of cell sites usually can be made independent of the network-planning process. As small-cells are deployed on a large scale, service providers will be confronted with trade-offs among configurations that achieve comparable radio performance, but have different deployment requirements and cost implications.

For example, a network operator might consider two comparable network configurations, one relying primarily on DSL backhaul and another that uses wireless links to fiber connections. The relative benefit of each solution depends on a variety of technical, commercial and financial factors, such as the cost of the wireless links, radio traffic expectations and site deployment costs.

To enable service providers to adequately assess the trade-offs between solutions requires network planning tools that incorporate optimization algorithms spanning technical, commercial and financial considerations and that enable analysis of various scenarios.

“Software vendors are aggressively advancing their network-planning capabilities to incorporate many of the requirements for small-cells.”




Electronic infrastructure accounts for 20 to 30 percent of the overall cost of a typical macro-cell implementation. The remaining costs are associated with deployment activities such as site acquisition, radio engineering and design, architectural engineering, civil works, and engineering furnish and installation (EF&I).

The mass-market success of small-cells depends on innovation that cuts costs by increasing automation and making it easier for lower-skilled workers to install cell-site equipment.

In a typical North American or Western European market, site acquisition for each macro-cell costs about $30,000 to $50,000 for a green-field site and $5,000 to $10,000 for lease amendments on collocated sites. The acquisition process involves a variety of activities including negotiations with landlords (and possibly municipalities in the case of microcells) and in many cases zoning approvals.

Site acquisition costs are dramatically reduced in cases where equipment is collocated and in cases where landlords and service providers have master lease agreements in place. The site acquisition process for small-cells is easier because of the miniaturization and standardization of equipment, but landlord negotiations are still necessary, and in the case of outdoor small-cells, zoning approval might still be necessary.

To reduce the costs of small-cells further, we believe it will be necessary for landlords and municipalities to package suitable sites into clusters or zones under master lease agreements with umbrella zoning approval. In addition, it would be advantageous if landlords and municipalities could create standardized site configurations with pre-provisioned utilities and backhaul to ease the design process.

Given the small-cell density service providers

are contemplating, it is likely that many of the pre-provisioned sites will have multiple collocated small-cells, similar to today’s practice of tower outsourcing.

Existing public Wi-Fi sites also provide potential venues for small-cells. Service providers in the U.S., for example, are well positioned to capitalize on their established public Wi-Fi access point installations, which can be easily upgraded to support mobile technologies.

In future, the public Wi-Fi itself will become more strategic as technologies like ANDSF and Hotspot 2.0 are introduced. These technologies will enable Wi-Fi to be integrated as part of the mobile broadband networks (as opposed to an offload technology).

Engineering small-cellsIn macro-cell networks, architectural engineers design the physical layout of cell sites to ensure that they meet the engineering code and zoning bylaws of the particular market where the base station is being installed. In some markets like the U.S., state certification is required, so operators must often turn to local engineering companies for help.

The architectural engineering requirements for small-cells are dramatically reduced with integrated small-cell equipment installed on existing structures such as lampposts and building walls. Service providers can further reduce these requirements by adopting standardized architectures that conform to specific regional codes.

With streamlined site selection/acquisition and architectural engineering processes, a variety of alternative small-cell designs will emerge, such as those with different backhaul or those that require stealth antennas. These design considerations must be incorporated as part of the network planning and design

Simplifying small-cell network deployments

Section 2



Self-optimizing neworks reduce deployment cost by enabling unskilled workers to install small-cells

process to ensure that sites are not only optimized based on performance, but also based on cost and deployment complexity. This broadens the demand of network planning tools and also increases the scope of inventory management, which we will discuss further in Section 4.

The EF&I activities associated with macro-cell involve installing electronic equipment, programming site parameters and integrating with the live network. In a typical U.S. market, EF&I activities for a macro-cell cost about $5,000 to $10,000 per site depending on the complexity of the installation and require the specialist support of trained technicians. When femto-cells were introduced, the equivalent EF&I operational activities were essentially eliminated with self-optimizing networks (SON), which enables automated ‘plug-and-play’ functionality for femto-cells so that consumers can install the units in their homes.

Today SON is being enhanced to eliminate EF&I activities for both indoor and outdoor small-cells, and ultimately macro-cells. In the case of small-cells, SON enables equipment to be installed by less highly-skilled personnel, requiring only equipment mounting and termination of backhaul and utility connections. (A more detailed explanation of how SON

supports automation is provided in Section 3.) In many cases, installers may not even be employed by the network operator, rather they could be municipal workers who maintain street lighting, for example.

Operators generally find few surprises when installing macro-cells, meaning the ultimate configurations are generally a relatively close reflection of the original design. In the case of small-cells, however, installers commonly face conditions unforeseen in the planning process, which results in the potential for significant design changes upon installation.

Tools for unskilled workersA variety of tools are needed to enable unskilled installers to adapt small-cell configurations, including tools to analyze the deployment location at the time of installation and possibly make adjustments to improve the overall outcome. For example, the installer could be equipped with an intelligent handheld spectrum analyzer to refine and optimize the location of the small-cell. The analyzer might use a color-coding scheme to indicate to the installer whether a location is desirable.

The same tool might account for the placement of the small-cell relative to backhaul network resources. Mapping technology could

“The mass-market success of small-cells depends on innovation that cuts costs by increasing automation and making it easier for lower-skilled workers to install cell-site equipment.”




be used to ensure that the site is located in close proximity to fiber or copper backhaul, or signal strength measurements could be used to ensure the site has adequate coverage to wireless backhaul connection points, in cases where microwave, millimeter wave and free-space optic systems are used.

Alternative approaches that use SON techniques to automate backhaul configuration and deployment could also be included in the analysis tool. This type of solution has yet to be developed and creates opportunities for test-and-measurement equipment vendors.

While the intention is for small-cell deployments to be handled by lower-skilled workers, some operators also are considering camera technology to supervise installations remotely. The camera could be as simple as a handheld device operated by the installer, or it could be mounted temporarily at the site (or on the cell itself) and operated remotely by supervising engineers. In addition, the video information collected from the site could be tagged to the associated site and stored in network planning and inventory management systems.

Disruptive changesOverall, the operational changes required for small-cell deployments are disruptive to established operational models, and network operators must keep that in mind when

planning rollouts. A couple of potential trouble spots are worth noting:

n In some cases the new operational models may be in conflict with established employee union agreements, particularly in cases where automation eliminates the need for skilled workers. Service providers bound by union agreements are likely to be slower to adopt automation and should aim to negotiate solutions that pre-empt conflict.

n Given the rate at which operators expect to deploy small-cells and the changes in processes and procedures needed, the potential for operational errors increases, particularly as operators begin ramping up small-cell deployment. To reduce the potential for deployment errors, detailed auditing processes must be developed.

n Finally, network planning tools, remote surveillance and supervision solutions, and inventory management systems will require significant enhancements. For example, each deployment should be packaged with workflow charts summarizing the deployment processes, site access guidelines, health and safety requirements, and implementation diagrams, along with photographs and barcode or RF-ID tagging technology to orchestrate the installation process. (We explore changes to inventory management systems further in the next section.)

“While the intention is for small-cell deployments to be handled by lower-skilled workers, some operators also are considering camera technology to supervise installations remotely.”



Automation is necessary for operatorsto roll out large numbers of small-cells

The success of small-cells hinges on automation to ensure that service providers can operate large numbers of them without incurring excessive costs. This automation spans all the major operational processes, including provisioning and configuration management; performance monitoring and optimization; fault management; maintenance; site capacity expansions; and forecasting and inventory management.

Since service providers already have well-established operational models, automation cannot be introduced without phased implementations and change-management initiatives. In an effort to standardize, network operators and their vendors are working on the self-configuration, self-optimization and self-healing aspects of self-optimizing networks (SON).

Self-optimizing nework technology heats upGiven the wide variety of service providers’ operational models, SON has many potential use cases. Therefore, rather than defining a strict standard, it essentially provides a framework through which service providers can introduce automation capabilities. At first, there likely will be myriad SON use cases, but over time, they will become refined as the SON capabilities mature.

For many service providers, small-cells are a good opportunity to incubate operational automation based on SON. Many have already used SON to automate the basic configuration of small-cells during deployment by building on solutions that have been developed for the femto-cell market.

Here’s how self-configuration works today in many vendor implementations: When a new small-cell is deployed and powered on

Small-cell success depends on automation and inventory management

Section 3

for the first time, the network recognizes and registers it. The cells neighboring the small-cell are identified and their parameters adjusted to account for its presence.

The parameters of the small-cell are also adjusted to include handover relationships and thresholds and radio resource allocations. This self-configuring functionality will continue to evolve, particularly as new radio technologies and features are introduced and as vendors roll out their own proprietary features to differentiate their solutions.

Backhaul automationNetwork operators also are using SON to address the complexities of small-cell backhaul, both during deployment and in failover conditions when self-healing capabilities are needed. When new small-cells are being deployed, the SON algorithms interrogate the available wireless links, determine the best link for each small-cell site and then configure the backhaul accordingly.

This self-configuration approach is particularly pertinent to small-cell backhaul networks that have overlapping point-to-multipoint configurations. Once the small-cell backhaul connections are established and operational, SON self-healing features enable the small-cells to fail-over and reconfigure their backhaul links to bypass points of failure as necessary.

While SON is capturing tremendous market attention and is crucial for mass-market small-cell implementations, service providers are taking a measured approach to its adoption because of the disruptive impact automation can have on organizations within a service provider’s business.

It has the potential to be particularly disruptive to existing technical organizations,




but in many cases these are the groups deciding on its adoption, which is stifling progress. To overcome this challenge, it is important that service providers establish strategies to phase the adoption of automation and to introduce suitable employee incentives.

Inventory managementSmall-cells also place new demands on inventory-management systems in terms of the increased volume and dynamic nature of inventory information that must be stored. As small-cells reach mass-market scale, their numbers will dwarf macro-cell, which means that inventory-management systems must be capable of scaling to meet the increased data capacity demanded.

As operators employ more unskilled workers to perform installations, detailed information such as site location and conditions, physical and logical network design information, and installation and configuration guidelines will be needed for SON automation. It is crucial that the underlying data schemas of the inventory management systems are highly extensible and scalable to support this.

It is conceivable that in the near future large Tier 1 operators will be deploying in excess of 1,000 small-cells a month. To achieve this rate of expansion, inventory-management systems also must be integrated end-to-end

with network planning and design tools, and with workflow, work-order and field-services functions. This integration must be streamlined to insure that information integrity can be maintained as small-cell rollout accelerates.

Finally, operators must address inventory forecasting. The forecasting of network resources becomes more complicated with the introduction of small-cells because of the alternative network-expansion strategies they offer.

For the purposes of forecasting, service providers require voice and data traffic estimates and the associated radio technologies and spectrum bands used to transport the traffic.

In the world of macro-cell expansion, strategies such as cell-splitting are well understood, and network planning tools provide relatively accurate estimates of the network elements needed and their associated configurations. In the case of small-cells, however, traffic profiles for individual cells are less certain and there are greater variations in how the cells are configured, particularly in terms of their backhaul architectures.

Tight integration between inventory management and network planning is important for enabling efficient scenario analyses for small-cell deployment.

“It is conceivable that in the near future large Tier 1 operators will be deploying in excess of 1,000 small-cells a month. To achieve this, inventory-management systems must be integrated with other OSSs.”



Small-cell deployment will outpacethat of macro-cells in the near future

After much anticipation, widespread deployment of small-cells is finally getting underway and will result in small-cells deployment dramatically outpacing macro-cell deployment in the coming years. Small-cells are needed to address the relentless growth in mobile data traffic, but implementing them creates a variety of challenges for mobile service providers, whose operations are geared primarily to macro-cell implementation.

Small-cell deployment challenges span all facets of network operations from planning to inventory management. Following is a brief recap of the some of the major operational impacts of small-cell deployment and our recommendations for how to address them.

Network planning

n Network planning systems must evolve to incorporate detailed network configuration and cost estimates to enable alternative small-cell implementations to be evaluated and optimized according to technical, commercial and financial considerations.

n Radio planning systems must evolve to integrate high-resolution 3D Geographical Information System data with advanced propagation modeling techniques, such as ray tracing, in conjunction with granular measurement data from the field.

n Predictions must account for technology advancements in radio resource management and scheduling and interference management techniques such as enhanced inter-cell interference coordination. Ultimately, they must enable the efficient modeling of HetNet architectures.

n Planning tools must explicitly account for the varied backhaul configuration and optimization requirements for small-cells and the implications of Wi-Fi, particularly when technologies like ANDSF and Hotspot 2.0 or their equivalents are introduced.

Network deployment

n Implementation must be simplified so that lower-skilled workers can install sites, and network operators must supply them with onsite tools and detailed deployment instructions to reduce the likelihood of errors. This could also be complemented with remote video surveillance and supervision.

n Site selection and acquisition processes must be streamlined, with landlords and municipalities pre-packaging sites with utility (and possibly backhaul) resources, master lease agreements and umbrella zoning approvals.

n Once the physical sites have been installed, SON self-configuration management functionality plays an important role in configuring the parameters for the small-cells and their neighboring sites and possibly the backhaul circuits.

Network operations

n Automation will be necessary for large scale small-cell implementations.n In an effort to standardize, network operators

and their vendors are working on the self-configuration, self-optimization and self-healing aspects of SON.

Conclusions and recommendations

Section 4




n Automation has the potential to be particularly disruptive to existing technical organizations, so service providers should establish strategies to phase the adoption of automation and to introduce suitable employee incentives.

Inventory management

n Inventory management systems must scale to support the increased data demands for small-cell inventory.

n They must be streamlined to support deployment of at least 1,000 or more sites per month, and incorporate the added physical and logical inventory that is needed to enable automated operations.

n Small-cells complicate network infrastructure forecasting by creating greater uncertainly in terms of the quantity, configuration and traffic demands of the cells. This necessitates tight integration between inventory management and network planning systems to enable efficient scenario analyses.

Making progress on standards for asset management

TM Forum is undertaking work in the area of asset management. In October 2012, a team led by individuals from Deloitte Consulting developed a Fixed Asset Lifecycle ManagementGuidebook (GB950) www.tmforum.org/assetlifecycleman1, which outlined a holistic approach to aid communications service providers who are faced with the complex task of managing numerous fixed assets distributed over a vast coverage area.

Currently, there is interest among the TM Forum membership to continue this work and document the impact digital services are having on asset management. A nomination has been made for a new project lead to form a team that will get underway in early October 2013.

For more information, please contact Steve Cotton, Director, Business Assurance Programs, via [email protected].

Inventory management is part of asset management, which is becoming an increasingly important issue as of service providers strive to compete by cutting costs and reducing risk, without affecting customer service. TM Forum is undertaking a program of work in this area (see panel below).

Although small-cell adoption will be stifled early on in many markets as a consequence of operational complexities, the ultimate shift in network architecture and operations to embrace them is inevitable. Service providers who aggressively pursue the operational changes needed will reap the long-term benefits of improved network efficiencies. And the changes incubated with small-cells will ultimately drive operational automation within macro-cells, particularly as heterogeneous networks are adopted.



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In recent years, network operators have been hard pressed to keep up with the massive explosion in traffic spurred by subscribers using an increasingly diverse set of mobile devices for business and social networking. The exponential growth shows no signs of stopping, and by many estimates, global mobile data traffic is expected to increase 20- to 30-fold during the next five years.

To keep up, mobile operators are increasingly turning to small cells to fill in coverage gaps and provide faster transmission rates, to improve customer experience. According to research conducted by Rethink Technology Research, more than 80 percent of operators globally believe that small cells will be the first or second most important factor in meeting their capacity needs between 2012 and 2017, and almost two-thirds of operators expect to see at least a 10-fold increase in the total number of cell sites by 2017.

Many operators are planning aggressive deployment schedules of more than 1,000 small cells per month. One North American operator has even said it intends to install up to 10,000 small cells per month. With such huge volumes, operators recognize that existing back-offices systems and

Planning and process automation crucial for mass small cell deployment

processes are not scalable and in need of significant overhaul.

Targeting high-value customersSmall cells typically provide coverage that range from just 10 meters in the case of residential femtocells to a few hundred meters for public access pico- and metro-cells. Most operators are focusing on public access small cells deployed in high-value ‘hotspot’ areas such as shopping malls, apartment buildings and office complexes, wherever there is a concentration of ‘high-value’ users.

High-value customers require a high-quality customer experience, and operators know they cannot afford to lose such customers by delivering unacceptable quality of service. Public-access small cells supporting 16 to 32 or more simultaneous calls can be installed on buildings or street furniture, such as lamp posts, every few hundred meters in areas where high-value users cluster together. This provides better coverage and higher data rates. Identification of the high-value users and accurate location of the small cells is key to successful deployment.

Overcoming the backhaul challengeInstallation of small cells can be an

arduous and expensive process. Today, it costs around $7,000 to $12,000 to deploy a small cell, which includes the cost of hardware and backhaul from the site. If you multiply that by the thousands of sites operators say they need to deploy monthly, it’s clear how quickly the proposition breaks down. It also takes too long to deploy small cells today. By the time a network operator identifies the site, gets permission to build, gains access, sends out technicians and arranges third-party backhaul agreements, it can take weeks to deploy a single cell.

Typically there are several backhaul options to get traffic from a small cell site to the aggregation or core network. The operator might need to pull new fiber, use a digital subscriber line (DSL) or install a microwave link. If the operator doesn’t have any of its own network infrastructure near the proposed small cell location, it might be needed to negotiate with a third-party provider.

Operators need network planning and provisioning solutions that industrialize the process, providing high-levels of automation. Using an automated system with predefined business rules that can intelligently auto-select the preferred option and/or guide the planning engineer to quickly select the best option based on

30x more mobile data traffic overwhelmingcurrent cells

1000s of small cells to deploy per month

10x increase in cell sites



time and cost estimates can significantly reduce deployment time.

Who will install small cells?Another challenge for service providers lies in finding the right workforce to install the small cells. Sending out teams of highly trained telecommunications technicians is too expensive, so operators are looking to utilize lower-skilled workers, often by outsourcing. These may be local field force for a municipality who are trained to install street lighting or signage.

The goal for service providers or professional services companies is to be able to supply contractors with an easy-to-follow installation guide for setting up small cells. In some instances the

operator may supply the contractor with an application that can run on a tablet that gives them a task list to follow with step-by-step instructions for how to install the unit, where to place it, which direction it should point, and how it should be secured and powered. The app would synchronize with a workforce management and inventory system in an operator’s back-office to provide up-to-date information such as equipment details, weather and site location maps for the technician as well as to track progress and update the project plan in real time.

Key to successUltimately, the decision to deploy small cells is all about improving the customer

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SMALL CELLS, BIG ISSUE?

So what’s the big issue about small cells? Only that operators will need to shrink conventional cell site rollout costs by up to 5 times to make them viable. And that means a whole new level of end-to-end management and control.

Amdocs provides the means to automate and accelerate complex planning processes required for small cell rollout.

Amdocs OSS. Design once, deploy many times.

To learn more, visit:www.amdocs-marketing.com/oss/small-cells/

experience to reduce churn. Operators know if their high-value customers are happy, they will continue to subscribe to existing services and may even buy new services or promote the company with family, friends and colleagues, which could pave the way to more revenue opportunities.

Operators need to move faster to compete effectively in the mobile services market. Small cells offer a solution but network rollout has to meet stringent time, cost and quality targets to make the business case work. The key to success is end-to-end process automation in planning, project management and small cell network rollout.


Everything that can be digital will be.We’ve seen the future. And it’s digital. In just ten years, the way we communicate, consume information and entertainment has been changed forever. And that’s just the start.

The Digital Revolution is transforming our personal and professional lives. We demand simplicity, but the complexity behind our interconnected digital lives is only growing.

TM Forum’s Digital Services Initiative focuses on overcoming the end-end management challenges of complex digital services, enabling an open, vibrant digital economy.

There are five core principles of the Initiative:

For more information on the TM Forum Digital Initiative visit www.tmforum.org/digital

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