This Blog has a *** NEW *** Address

This blog started when I was running Metrocells Workshop a long time ago. Since then this has evolved to look at all small cells, infrastructure innovations, Wi-Fi, etc. It made sense to expand the scope of this blog to look at all kinds of Infrastructure as a whole.

As a result, I have created a new blog and exported all the posts there. The new blog is called "Telecoms Infrastructure Blog" and the new address is:

https://www.telecomsinfrastructure.com/

5G Small Cells at Home

Last year, NGMN published a whitepaper on '5G Small Cells at Home'. The whitepaper is available here. The summary on the website states:

The first objective of this white paper is to explore the potential technologies that could help improve the performance of local connectivity at home.

In addition to this, the second objective is to look for solutions of radio resources management at home that would be controlled by the network. The current situation is that the local connectivity is selected by a connectivity manager embedded in the operating system of smartphones that may not have a complete view of what happens, for instance in terms of traffic on cellular networks.

The global objective for operators is then to keep home users connected wirelessly to their local – fixed access network based – connectivity (delivered e.g. by Wi-Fi, a “small cell at home”) with a “premium” quality of service instead of adding pressure on the Radio Access part of the mobile macro network. Challenges for mobile macro networks are for example a lack of (licensed) spectrum that can cover efficiently indoors from outdoor macro network (e.g. low bands spectrum), cost of the radio sites, incl. equipment.

The abstract from the whitepaper as follows:

It is observed that traffic offload - from cellular networks to indoor local Wi-Fi connectivity - takes place when users are at home, but tends to decrease, due to increasing cellular data volumes and due to sometimes better user experience (coverage, throughputs) offered by 4G compared to Wi-Fi 5 (mainly available today at home).

In order to reverse the current trend, this white paper proposes to consider 5G New Radio- Unlicensed (NR-U) technology (that will be part of the future 3GPP Release 16 – Dec. 2019) as a potential (additional) candidate for future small cells deployed at home.

It is expected that small cells at home using NR-U technology will provide – at least – radio performance as good as what Wi-Fi 6 could do, will enable the optimization of the management of radio resources as NR-U could be connected to operators’ core network. Furthermore, the deployment of small cells at home can ensure that the traffic generated at home will be transported via the fixed network, regardless if the Wi-Fi interface of the device is switched on or off.

It's available here.

Related Posts:

• The 3G4G Blog: 5G and Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC)
• The 3G4G Blog: Introduction to 5G ATSSS - Access Traffic Steering, Switching and Splitting
• The 3G4G Blog: Exploring Network Convergence of Mobile, Broadband and Wi-Fi
• Operator Watch Blog: BT's Converged Core to Launch in 2023
• 3G4G Small Cells Blog: Malaysia Looks at Small Cells for 5G
• 3G4G Small Cells Blog: 5G CrowdCell: World's First 5G OpenRAN Small Cell
• 3G4G Small Cells Blog: SK Telecom's In-building 5G NR Repeaters and 'Layer Splitter'

Malaysia Looks at Small Cells for 5G

(Click on the picture for larger version)

Malaysia will soon be auctioning 5G Spectrum but their National 5G Task Force Report, "5G Key Challenges and 5G Nationwide Implementation Plan" has identified that 5G will require small cells along with macros.

Quoting from the report:

These relatively new approaches have the benefit of lower cost and less visual impact, but the downside is that the potential for passive sharing (multiple Telcos using shared tower and power facilities) at a site is lower than more traditional structures. New 5G small cells (aimed to alleviate load on macro cells) will cause a further shift towards these lower impact facilities.

These new structures such as bus stops, smart poles, etc. can also be used for CCTV, security cameras, Wi-Fi hotspots, digital advertising, and different types of sensors. Street furniture is more suitable for small cell deployment due to limited space. Figure 4.8 (next page) depicts an example of Street Furniture suitable for 5G deployment:

Today, there are few 4G sites that deploy Street Furniture. However, Street Furniture may become significant for 5G deployment with the right design and deployment strategy. This is more important in supporting uRLLC use cases outlined in above sections such as Automated, Autonomous and Connected Vehicle (AAVC), unmanned aerial vehicles, and Smart Cities. However, there could be limits on Street Furniture’s ability to accommodate 5G deployment due to constraints on space and loading capability. The 5G Task Force expects that future generations of 5G equipment will more easily integrate with the natural environment and be more compact so that more types of this structure can be used, following technological advancements.

You can read the complete report here.

Related Posts:

• Operator Watch Blog: Malaysia Decides on Innovative Approach for 5G Spectrum
• 3G4G Small Cells Blog: Vodafone UK improving coverage with Phone Boxes, Mini-masts & Manhole Covers
• 3G4G Small Cells Blog: Underground Small Cells
• 3G4G Small Cells Blog: JCDecaux - Small Cells in the Bus Stop
• 3G4G Small Cells Blog: Small Cells in the Lamp posts
• 3G4G Small Cells Blog: Small Cells in BT Phone Boxes

Ubicquia Touting Streetlight-powered Small Cells for Densification

We have seen a fair number of small cells on lamp posts and poles on this blog. Here is another one that I became aware of through Fierce Wireless. The following from the article:

The startup Ubicquia is touting its streetlight-powered small cell as a relatively easy way to deploy small cells for LTE densification and for 5G because streetlights are already permitted with municipalities. In addition, streetlights come with electricity, and they’re often in close proximity to fiber for backhaul.

Ian Aaron, CEO of Ubicquia, said there are 360 million streetlights around the world that have a common electric socket. This socket, known as the ANSI C136 (or NEMA) socket, “has been around for 55 years,” said Aaron. “It’s a common socket whether in Australia, Germany, USA, or Brazil. We build products that plug into that socket.”

One of Ubicquia’s products is its Ubimetro small cell, which can be mounted onto existing streetlights. Aaron claims the Ubimetro for streetlights is a better option than deploying small cells onto new cellular poles or onto cable strands.

Municipalities have already been complaining about the new 30-foot-or-higher poles that are sprouting up in their cities for the deployment of wireless small cells. One alternative to erecting new poles is to deploy small cells on existing cable strand. Some cable operators, such as Comcast and Charter, are looking into the possibilities of strand-mounted small cells. And Altice USA has already deployed some strand-mounted small cells in partnership with Sprint.

But Aaron says that not all cable aerial infrastructure is strand-mount. He said that strand-mount refers to a specific type of cable that is reinforced with an internal metal wire in order to support devices that could weigh up to 30 pounds. “Only a small amount of the cable infrastructure is strand,” said Aaron. “They use strand for areas where they have to hang the large splices. It’s not universal.”

Conversely, streetlights are pervasive, and they’re conveniently located near homes, businesses and cars. Aaron said, “The issue around small cell densification is not about the technology; it’s about getting permits and persistent power.”

“If you look at a small cell deployment today you would see a big box that converts the power on the pole from AC to DC; another box that does the metering so utilities can bill you; then you’ve got the radio; and then you’ve got multiple antennas,” said Aaron. “We’ve integrated all that into a device when plugged in you can’t see it from 25-35 feet.” 

The 4G Ubimetro device dimensions are about 8 inches by 15 inches by 3 inches. Ubicquia’s patented small cell device plugs into the streetlight, and clamps on to create a secure mounting. It has omni-directional antennas. Its 5G small cell is roughly the same size.

In terms of the radio antennas for the small cells, Ubicquia designed those itself using in-house talent from a team of C-suite executives that previously worked for Motorola.


Ubicquia doesn’t have any named customers, yet. The company is planning its first commercial product and first live small cell deployments for early 2020. It could potentially work with carriers that are densifying their networks. Aaron said utilities are also interested in participating in the rollout of small cells because it offers them a new revenue opportunity.

Grateful for our innovative partners! Read how Ubicquia and @Qualcomm come together to connect the smart city ecosystem. https://t.co/MvA6kpIifZ #innovationage #Ubicquia

— Ubicquia (@ubicquia) November 16, 2019

At MWC last year, they announced that they are working with Qualcomm. Quoting from their press release:

Ubicell can replace the photocell on more than 360 million streetlights worldwide, and delivers advanced light control, ANSI 12.20 power metering and tilt/vibration sensing. Integrating the Qualcomm® SDM845 processor from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. brings high-performance edge processing and advanced smart city services that take advantage of the processor’s integrated hardware-accelerated neural network inferencing for edge AI, IoT security, media processing for video analytics, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and enhanced WiFi range and performance.

They also recently announced partnership with Altiostar to accelerate Rural Broadband. From their press release:

Ubicquia®, the global leader in simply smart, simply connected network and IoT platforms for smart cities, and Altiostar, the pioneer in open virtualized radio access network (vRAN) technology, today announced an expansion of their partnership that will integrate Ubicquia’s new Ubimetro™ streetlight-powered small cell for CBRS spectrum with Altiostar’s Open vRAN software. The Open vRAN-integrated Ubimetro small cell is compatible with more than 50 million existing streetlights across the US allowing municipalities, utilities, wireless internet service providers (WISPs) and mobile network operators (MNOs) to expedite service deployments with the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership (TCO).

Today’s news follows last week’s announcement by Ubicquia that its Ubimetro suite of small cell products will also offer Citizens Broadband Radio Services (CBRS) capabilities. The Ubimetro portfolio of small cells are designed to support the network of the future, including 4G/5G, millimeter-wave spectrum, CBRS, and now Altiostar’s Open vRAN. Ubimetro provides a network-agnostic architecture with integrated MIMO antennas, a wide range of radio frequency front ends, and Ethernet, fiber and DOCSIS backhaul options.


More info on Ubicquia:

• The story of Ubicquia
• Advanced Lighting Controls
• IoT World Innovator Spotlight: UBICQUIA, Broadband Connectivity for Cities with a Stackable Module System

Related Blog Posts:

• Small Cells on Hong Kong Lamp Posts
• 5G Small Cells on 'Smart Poles' in Denver
• Vodafone UK improving coverage with Phone Boxes, Mini-masts & Manhole Covers
• Small Cells and Neutral Host Networks
• BSNL bringing 'Smart Telecom Poles' to India with help of Nokia
• Vodafone Portugal's “streetlamp”
• Ericsson's Invisible Sites: Urban Case Studies
• ZTE's 4G / 5G Street Lights
• KDDI to test 5G with base stations built in Street Lights
• Small Cells in the Lamp posts
• Small Cells on the Lamp posts and other street furniture