Small Cell Backhaul Requirements

Small cells are unobtrusive and can be installed in just a couple of hours.

Small cell backhaul requirements.

Piggybacked on macro cells. From the beginning optical fiber has been a favored method of backhaul for small cell deployment at least in the u s. These numbers are expected to grow as multiple radio access technologies and additional spectrum become available for small cells. Due to the dense small cell deployment and heavy traffic cells in 5g 5g backhaul network will need to support hundreds of gigabits of traffic from the core network and today s cellular backhaul.

To analyse the requirements and provide suitable recommendations the small cell forum scf set up a special interest group sig on small cell backhaul. Fiber has longer range than the previously used ethernet as well as greater capacity larger bandwidth and lower latency. Backhaul fiber optic cable or microwave for transmission to the core network and a permitted space for installation. Security small form factor and low installation cost.

Due to the dense small cell deployment and heavy traffic cells in 5g 5g backhaul network will need to support hundreds of gigabits of traffic from the core network and today s cellular backhaul networks are infeasible to meet these requirements in terms of capacity availability latency energy and cost efficiency. Enterprise wi fi and small cells typically use 1gbps ethernet backhaul over standard cat5e cable but that s insufficient for the latest 802 11ac wi fi and lte u small cells. Each small cell installation requires three simple things. This results in increased capacity requirements onto the backhaul links currently feeding the macro cell especially as more and more small cells are deployed.

Plus the existing infrastructure is strong. Coverage down to street level sites with sufficient qos. Aquantia has designed chips that achieve up to 5gbps over existing cable using a new technology called nbase t which should be more than enough to meet demand. Small cell backhaul requirements differ from those of macrocells in terms of capacity requirements use cases and economics.