Cable group looks at picocells for cellular backhaul
Wi-Fi vendors like BelAir extend their reach into licensed bands, LTE and cableco infrastructure
Published: 24 March, 2011
READ MORE: BelAir Networks | Cable | Standards | Backhaul
Cablecos have been eyeing the cellular backhaul explosion as a business opportunity for some time, and now they could boost their chances by riding the small cell wave. The CableLabs consortium of operators has issued an RFI (request for information) on options such as strand-mounted picocells, which could be wholesaled to cellcos for backhaul or extra capacity.
According to sources quoted by Light Reading Cable (http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=206013&site=lr_cable&), the RFI is investigating various options for cable providers to offer mobile backhaul. One is a picocell strand-mounted to HFC (hybrid fiber coax) networks and capable of supporting 3G, Wi-Fi and LTE - the kind of product already developed by BelAir and Ruckus. CableLabs is also interested in Ethernet-to-coax and Ethernet-to-fiber solutions.
Although some individual operators are already testing picocell approaches - BelAir claims to have a live customer for its strand-mounted 3G/Wi-Fi product - the CableLabs activity is likely to signal a bid to create standard interfaces and allow cablecos to gain economies of scale through a common technical approach.
The reports also highlight how the companies that made their names in metrozone Wi-Fi are heading towards the licensed bands now. Firms like BelAir and Cisco have already repositioned their architectures, away from the somewhat discredited municipal mesh sector and towards carrier data offload. Now they will not just take data off the 3G or 4G system, but support the cellular standards too. At CTIA Wireless, BelAir announced a new version of its picocell, adding LTE to Wi-Fi and 3G. As the highly integrated and miniaturized base station pioneered by home femtocell vendors shifts outdoors and into public access networks, a new way of building cellular networks is evolving - one in which players from the home femto or metro Wi-Fi sectors have a hope of playing alongside the traditional base station makers.
BelAir hopes to be in that group with its 100LP LTE Picocell, which it says can be installed and activated within 15 minutes. "In live network trials with tier one operators, we've proven that combining licensed and unlicensed wireless technologies in a small cell base station is a very effective way to handle growing mobile data traffic," said CEO Bernard Herscovich in a statement. He added that the product "leverages patented innovations that address the installation challenges - including backhaul, power and mounting - that have impeded widespread picocell adoption to date."
Mounting options include poles, walls or strand-mounting via aerial, pedestal, cabinet or vault HFC infrastructure, and backhaul can be via BelAir's own switched mesh or by fiber, Ethernet or HFC. The product features the firm's beamsteering technology combined with chip-based beamforming to improve range and throughput, while virtual access point functionality allows multiple operators to share a network.
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