2. Introduction to IS-Wireless
2
● COMPANY FACTS
● Ownership: Privately held
● Proud SME Member of:
● Location: Piaseczno (near Warsaw), Poland
● Industry
● Wireless communications
● Product groups:
● NFV-compatible & standard-compliant RAN
protocols ready for 5G
● Experimentation solutions supporting research
and education on 4G and 5G
● Active EU R&D projects participant
www.is-wireless.com
3. Thesis
3
Cellular infrastructure for the coming mobile revolution
can lower the cost of network deployments.
This is especially important in the light of coming 5G deployments.
6. 5G technical KPIs
6
5G requires completely redefined RAN infrastructure.
Transition to 5G will be far more disruptive than introduction of GSM.
Higher system capacity:
1000 x capacity / km2
Energy savings and
cost reductions
Reduced latency:
< 1 ms
Higher data rate:
100 x typical data rate
(even for high mobility)
Massive device connectivity:
100 x connected devices
(even in crowded areas)
5G
TARGETS
7. 4G base station software current situation and problems
7
Base station software
Why not to address the new challenges
and solve current problems at the same time?
eNB scheduler
3GPP stack
• locked to particular hardware
(chipset)
• underperforming and overpriced
• does not use radio resource
efficiently
• poorly scalable (lack of virtualized
components)Physical resources
„bare metal” SoC, DSP,
FPGA, GPP
LTE eNB
8. Network architecture transition
8
EPC cabinet
base station cabinet base station tower
Networks of the past Networks of the future
MEC server (COTS) including:
vRAN, vEPC, possibly applications
Share among many base stations
Small cell base stations: RRH, DAS, femto, pico
databases
9. Indoor coverage requires special attention
9
Signal from macro cells doesn’t
penetrate roofs/walls/windows well
Small Cell Forum forecasts that in
2025 67% of new deployments and
upgrades will be indoor non-
residential, 33% outdoor
Small Cell Forum “Small cells market status report”,
December 2018, doc 050.10.03
Without an in-building solution
With an in-building solution
11. Base station elements - few words on terminology
● Radio Frequency part
● Antenna
● Remote Radio Head (RRH)
● Baseband part
● L1 (PHY)
● L2 (MAC, RLC, PDCP)
● L3 (RRC)
● Active elements
● RRH
● Baseband
● Passive elements
● Repeaters, etc
RF L1
L2 L3
RF L1 L2 L3
RRH
Baseband
RF L1
Internet
Macro cell
Small cell
SD-RAN
[C-RAN/
vRAN/]
RF L1 L2 L3
RF
Macro cell
with DAS
12. Macro cells | DAS | Small cells | SD-RAN
12
Macro cell DAS Small cells SD-RAN
Enhanced indoor
coverage, expensive
installation
Enhanced
capacity
Further enhanced
better capacity,
lower cost
Poor indoor
coverage
Active elements
Passive elements
Ethernet installation
Backhaul (i.e. Fiber Optic)
14. SD-RAN - highlights
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● Light RF and L1 at the small cell site
● Very low power radiated
● Light, low-cost modules close to the user
● Flexible placement of access points
● L2/L3, Core – virtualized and centralized e.g. located
in a basement
● Use COTS, GPP hardware
● Scalable baseband - easy addition of new cell
● Functionality defined in software
● Centralized Radio Resource Management increases
spectral efficiency
SD-RAN
15. Benefits of SD-RAN
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High performance/resource utilization
•On radio interface: improved spectral efficiency, improved interference handling
•On baseband: multiplexing gain, resources sharing for several cells
Low cost
•Savings on infrastructure: RF, usage of COST hardware for the infrastructure
•Lower site setup and maintenance cost
•Energy savings
High flexibility
•Radio technology neutrality
•New generations of technology or features introduced as software updates
High scalability
•Straightforward addition of new cells
•Scalable expansion of baseband resources
SD-RAN
17. RAN deployment: CAPEX and OPEX structure
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C/O Group Cost category Macro DAS Small Cells SD-RAN
CAPEX Infrastructure ● Site Acquisition $$$$ $$ $$ $
● Building Permit $$$$ $$ $$ $
● Infrastructure and Civil Works $$$$... $$ $ $
Antenna Systems
(and cabling)
● Antennas $$$$ $$ - -
● Cables / Fronthaul* $$$ $$$$ - $
Power Supply ● Power Supply and Battery $$$$ $$ $$ $
Base Station ● RRH $$$$ $$ $$ $
● Baseband $$$$ $$ $$ -
● Baseband/Server - - - $$$$
Backhaul ● Backhaul - Fiber Optic $$$$ $$ $$$ $$
OPEX --- ● Rental $$$$ $$$ $$ $
● Energy $$$$ $$ $$$ $
● Maintenance $$$$ $$ $ $
* Cables (ANT-RRH) / Fronthaul (RRH-Baseband)
per site per cell per cell per cell
18. Main assumptions
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● Deployment scenario: Indoor
● Area: 4 km2, Dense Urban
● Population: 10.000, Market share 50%, 500 MB/user@BH
● Options:
● Option 1: to deliver network coverage
● Option 2: to deliver network coverage and capacity
● One frequency band is used: 2.6 GHz
● Bandwidth: 20 MHz, FDD
● MIMO: 2x2
● Sectorization: 3-sectors for Macro sites, Omni for remaining solutions
● Building penetration loss: 20 dB for Macro sites, 3dB for remaining solutions
19. Deployment options: indoor
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Macro cell DAS Small cells SD-RAN
Active elements
Passive elements
Ethernet installation
Backhaul (i.e. Fiber Optic)
20. Option 1: results for the same coverage
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● Quantity/Capacity/TCO
Summary:
● Coverage: the same (4 km2)
● Capacity: 1,5-1,9x more capacity in SD-RAN
● TCO costs: 1,3-1,7x more expensive vs. SD-RAN
● Costs efficiency: 1,9-2,7x lower costs per Mbps
1,7x
1,4x
1,3x
1,5x1,9x
21. Option 1: Details
21
● CAPEX / OPEX split
Comparison to SD-RAN:
● Macro more expensive mainly due to infrastructure and rental (such density probably not
possible)
● DAS more expensive mainly due to antenna systems and Base Stations costs and rental
● Small Cells more expensive mainly due to heavier Base Station equipment and rental
22. Option 2: results for the same coverage & capacity
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● Quantity/Capacity/TCO
Summary:
● Coverage: the same (4 km2)
● Capacity: the same (5,4 Gbps)
● TCO costs: 1,9-2,7x more expensive vs. SD-RAN
● Costs efficiency: 1,9-2,7x lower costs per Mbps
2,7x
1,9x
2,5x
23. Option 2: Details
23
● CAPEX / OPEX split
Comparison to SD-RAN:
● Macro more expensive mainly due to infrastructure and rental (such density not feasible)
● DAS more expensive mainly due to antenna systems and Base Stations costs and rental
● Small Cells more expensive mainly due to heavier Base Station equipment and rental
24. Conclusions
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SD-RAN offers c.a. 2x higher capacity for the
same coverage comparing to macro cell
SD-RAN offers c.a. 3x lower cost per
Mbps comparing to macro cell
SD-RAN enables scalable network capacity
expansion, where macro base stations may
not keep up with capacity need increase
SD-RAN
31. Additional Conclusions
31
● Further SD-RAN benefits:
● Higher granularity of coverage/capacity (higher flexibility/scalability)
● Even higher cost savings for higher frequencies, e.g. for mmWaves (high network density)
● Could be implemented in multi-tenancy mode (to serve different MNOs in the area)
● Use cases
● Can extend coverage/capacity delivered by MNOs macro solutions
● Can be used to build private/enterprise networks