Small Cell Evolution

- Evolution in Small Cells

To understand the future of the 5G network is, to some extent, to understand the future of small cells. Future mobile networks will need to meet an increasing and diverse number of use cases, from narrowband low-power IoT to Virtual Reality apps and automated cars, to very high throughput mobile broadband services.

The role of small cells is increasing with each “G”. The appetite for more data speeds and capacity is driven by consumers and businesses. These tiny base stations are the mobile network operators' (MNOs) go-to solution to ensure quality of service in the outer edge of the network is met. Today’s growth is also attributed to LTE-A Pro and 5G services. 

Small cells are a critical piece of all major communications service providers' (CSPs) network plan - both for existing 4G LTE network today and 5G network. Small cell deployment has shifted toward large-scale densification, which increases capacity in MNO networks across an array of locations and addresses rising consumer and enterprise mobile broadband needs. 5G will make the challenge of densification even more daunting due to the number of small cell deployments required to meet all 5G use cases effectively.

In addition to helping enhance 4G LTE coverage and capacity in locations where usage demands are highest - such as downtown areas, shopping centers and college campuses - their deployment on 5G network will help unleash innovation on a massive scale, delivering superior coverage and signal penetration in even the densest urban areas.

The majority of non-residential indoor small cells are public-facing in the enterprise environment supporting private enterprise activities. Outdoor small cells are servicing MNO (Mobile Network Operator) public networks in urban, suburban or rural environments. Most of these indoor small cells are driven by 2.4 GHz and below frequencies. In the 5G era, much of the small cell market growth will be related to industrial and Internet of Things services.

- Fiber Optics For Wireless - Small Cells

Radio Access Network (RAN) and core are obviously important but “none of that works without the fiber”. The role of physical network infrastructure is only going to grow as 5G rollouts continue. More and more small cell connections will call for an enormous amount of fiber optics.

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) connecting 3G and 4G cells, small and macro, via fiber are also laying the foundation for 5G. The access network, which includes the RAN, is the one part of the global network infrastructure that still has a significant amount of copper and wireless technology deployed, which will be a problem for 5G deployments, due to the promised speeds of this new technology.

[More to come ...]