Metro Small Cells
Few areas have attracted quite so much attention for so little commercial deployment to date. But with macro networks saturated in terms of available sites and spectrum, there is little doubt that networks will densify, as operators seek to re-use spectrum. The tool to allow them to do this is the small cell, aided by standards enhancements in LTE-A that manage aspects such as interference management and inter-layer control of the network.
The metro small cell may differ from the residential or enterprise small cell in its power output – allowing it to support more attached users – but most crucially in its integration into macro network management and control systems to create the heterogeneous network or Hetnet.
Key challenges for metro area small cells include the ability to find real estate or sites, and to be able to provide backhaul connections between cells and from cells to the mobile operator’s main sites and/or core network. These cost-related reasons have led some to believe neutral-host wholesale small cell models may be the way forward.
Small cells can be single mode – ie LTE only or 3G only, or may be multi-mode, supporting WiFi and LTE, or WiFi and 3G. Advances in chip technology will soon give manufacturers and operators more flexibility in design and network deployment.
USEFUL LINKS:
Small Cells content on The Mobile Network.
