The document outlines the critical role of small cells in enabling 5G networks, which promise to transform various aspects of life and work through ultra-fast connectivity and low latency. It emphasizes the need for ultra-dense heterogeneous networks (UDNs) to handle the expected 2.5 billion 5G users by 2025, highlighting their importance in supporting smart cities and advanced technologies. Additionally, it discusses how small cells improve network performance, drive down costs, and facilitate innovative applications like IoT and e-health services.

1. Enabling a Big Vision
for 5G with Small Cells
5G promises to transform the way we live and work,
offering extremely low latency of less than
10 milliseconds coupled with ultra-high-speed
broadband networks. And small cells are an
indispensable component of next-generation networks.

2. 2
Communications | Whitepaper
CONTENTS
Abstract 01
Small Cells: Powering 5G and Smart Cities 01
Why 5G Small Cells Now? 02
Leapfrog with Beamforming 03
Are We There Yet? 04
The Cyient Thought Board 05
About Cyient 06

3. 01
Communications | Whitepaper
Small Cells: Powering 5G and
Smart Cities
Industry reports suggest that there will be
approximately 2.5 billion 5G users by 2025,
i.e., around 40% of the world’s population.
Needless to say, the need to create an agile,
robust, and scalable network that connects
billions of people and things worldwide and
allows businesses to leverage the latest
technologies to increase efficiency cost-
effectively cannot be understated.
The present-day, largely macrocell networks
need to evolve into dense and ultra-dense
heterogeneous networks to deliver on the
promise of 5G. Soon, these ultra-dense
heterogeneous networks or UDNs will cover
both indoor and outdoor areas in urban centers
to provide pervasive coverage and reliable
services. Infrastructure such as towers, street
lights, traffic lights, utility poles and, in some
locations, even street utilities such as kiosks,
dustbins, and manholes will end up becoming
a part of 5G UDNs, in turn, speeding up the
deployment of smart city networks.
While the initial focus of 5G is on Fixed
Wireless Access (FWA) and faster consumer
data services, it is only a fraction of what the
technology can achieve. As UDNs become
prevalent and as city infrastructure becomes
part of 5G heterogeneous networks, 5G
will be able to undertake real-time critical
communications as well. The technology will
also play a crucial role in transforming public
safety infrastructure and making it easier to
provide eHealth services and education in
remote and rural areas.
To move toward 5G, networks need to be
virtualized, interoperable, and hyper-dense.
A key component of UDNs is small cells, which
help in enhancing network capacity, coverage,
and density, especially indoors. Small cells are
inherently compact base units that are installed
every few hundred feet and are crucial to
offering mobile 5G customers with dependable
data services and seamless data handoff.
Communications service providers (CSPs)
have already started deploying small cells to
move towards UDNs. According to the Small
Cells Forum, nearly 80% of mobile network
operators plan to have a dense heterogeneous
network by 2020, and of this, 30 % have already
planned migration to 5G.
Abstract
Unlike any other previous communications technology, 5G is not just about
improved speed—it is set to digitize all aspects of our lives and promises to change
the world profoundly. To gear up for this momentous shift, communications
service providers must upgrade and modernize networks and prepare them for
the 5G era. Powered by small cells, Ultra Dense Networks (UDNs) are going to be
the cornerstone of a 5G network. UDNs will help not just in providing ubiquitous
coverage, but also help enable extremely low latency of less than 1 millisecond and
high broadband speeds, driving a number of 5G use cases including smart cities,
Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), augmented reality (AR), virtual
reality (VR) and more.

4. 02
Communications | Whitepaper
Why 5G Small Cells Now?
Apart from being crucial to delivering reliable, consistent services to subscribers, 5G small cells also
help in better spectral efficiency, and enhance network performance and subscriber experience.
We believe that 5G will be the catalyst that will take small cell deployment mainstream.
Here are a few compelling reasons why small cells are all set to dominate the 5G networks:
Leveraging mmWave With Small Cells
Millimeter Wave (mmWave) spectrum holds
massive potential for speed, capacity, and
low latency for the 5G network. Utilization of
mmWave is going to be critical to the success
of a 5G network, and this is not possible via the
macro network. Lower frequencies, used for
LTE services, have more signal range. However,
many smart city applications such as IoT
demand dense networks. mmWave spectrum
can be used for this with the help of small cells.
Small cells make dense deployments possible,
especially indoors where most of the data
is actually consumed. They will also allow
service providers to meet the mounting data
traffic demand with superior speed and cost-
effectiveness.
Accurate network planning also reduces the
number and length of physical site-surveys.
LiDAR-based 3D digital surveys to generate
highly precise terrain and obstacle models for
use in RF planning can bring down the time
spent on site surveys. It allows extracting
features and 3D derivative objects such as
poles, trees, terrain models, and buildings.
LiDAR site survey inputs that can be fed
to a site selection solution for an accurate
estimate of offload potential are critical and
are calculated based on geographical location
and volume of traffic demand. It’s essential to
identify these traffic hotspots accurately.
At Cyient, we use LiDAR-based 3D digital
surveys to provide a new level of precision.
Smart Networks for Smart Cities
5G will drive the growth of smart cities,
which promise to offer a more sustainable
and better quality of life overall. Several
futuristic applications such as vehicle traffic
management and electrical grid smart city
applications will assist city administrations
in improved management. A smart city
requires a vast ecosystem of sensors, mobile
devices, data centers, and reliable and robust
communications networks.
Many smart city applications and use cases
will require best-in-class communications
network in the indoor environment, which is
usually an issue in the macrocell environment.
Small cells help in providing ubiquitous
coverage and in amplifying the signal in the
indoor setup, making it possible for many
important use cases to function.
Several CSPs have already started testing and
deploying 5G-FWA across the United States
to leverage the potential and opportunities
offered by smart cities. Smart city applications
of 5G IoT technology have the potential to
revitalize local economies by improving the
livability of communities and bringing down
the operating costs for local infrastructure.
The benefits of these investments are long-
lasting. A 2017 industry report suggests that
vehicle traffic management and electrical grid
smart city applications alone could produce
$160 billion in savings by reducing energy
usage, traffic congestion, and fuel costs.

5. 03
Communications | Whitepaper
Site selection combines various inputs such as
3D digital site survey, call traces, MDT server
data, social network data, leasing weights,
leasing cost, backhaul cost, availability of
power, RAD center, friendliness of owner,
crowdsourcing data, and more with the goal
of enhancing user experience while allowing
engineers to focus on solutions and maximize
CAPEX and OPEX.
Leapfrog with Beamforming
The overall capacity of small cells can be
enhanced by using techniques such as
beamforming, which are going to play a crucial
role in 5G networks. Similar to the 4G world,
there will be a significant number of two-three
sector deployments (two 180-degree sectors
or three 120-degree sectors) in beamforming.
These are discrete beams that pick an element
in an antenna, whether facing the customer
or the multi-path. Energy is focused on that
one element within that one sector and cuts
off transmission on all other elements in the
sector. It is formed based on the feedback it
gets from the UE.
A significant advantage is that the signal
is not sprayed over the 120-degrees, and
interference is greatly reduced. When the
interference is reduced, the gain of the carrier
increases because the signal is focused. Link
budget can also be improved, which helps
with millimeter wave. An improved link budget
equates to an improvement in signal quality and
coverage distance.
Smart city apps will
require next-gen
telecom networks—
traffic management
and electrical grid apps
alone could help save
$160 Bn by reducing
energy and fuel costs.

6. 04
Communications | Whitepaper
Are We There Yet?
There is little doubt that 5G networks will
need to include small cells as a key component
of their strategy given how crucial they are
for delivering reliable coverage and high-
speed connectivity, and making 5G use
cases possible. It will also improve network
performance and capacity. Small cells will be
indispensable in providing a dependable, ultra-
fast, and low latency 5G services in the near
future.
At Cyient, our track record of providing leading-
edge solutions has helped global CSPs to
achieve their operational and business goals.
We have helped telecom service providers
develop sophisticated data sets that support
their network systems and ensure operational
efficiency leading to significant cost savings as
well as an increase in subscriber satisfaction.
Our proven expertise in technologies, including
GIS, networking, RF systems and engineering,
analytics, and automation makes us uniquely
positioned to simplify your next 5G/smart city
deployment. Further, our unique methodology
of Plan-Build-Operate allows us to deliver
solutions designed to meet the unique
requirement and goals of our clients.
Small cells will be
indispensable in providing
dependable, ultrafast, and
low latency 5G services.

7. 05
Communications | Whitepaper
The Cyient Thought Board
Small Cells: Powering 5G and Smart Cities
5G is an enabler of which futuristic technologies?
How are small cells critical to the 5G rollout?
How do small cells help realize the smart city vision?
How is Cyient uniquely positioned to help with seamless 5G rollout?
What technologies are essential for an effective 5G deployment?
Industrial IoT
Network slicing
Ubiquitous
coverage
Augmented
reality
Small cells
Help CSPs with data
offload
Industry 4.0 Smart city
mmWave
Better indoor
coverage essential
for many use cases
Virtual reality
Massive Multiple Input
Multiple Output
Comprehensive
solution set for 5G
Add density to
the network
Helped deliver cost
efficiency and increased
subscriber satisfaction
Better indoor
coverage
Proven expertise in
technologies such as GIS,
networking, engineering,
and automation
Allows using spectrum
from higher frequency
band without affecting
quality
Unique solution and
service across the
Plan-Build-Operate
framework
Ensures that CSPs
provide superior quality
while keeping costs
under control

8. 06
Communications | Whitepaper
Contact UsAbout Cyient
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Cyient (Estd: 1991, NSE: CYIENT) is a global
engineering and technology solutions
company. As a Design, Build, and Maintain
partner, for leading organizations worldwide,
we take solution ownership across the value
chain to help clients focus on their core,
innovate, and stay ahead of the curve. We
leverage digital technologies, advanced
analytics capabilities, and our domain
knowledge and technical expertise, to solve
complex business problems.
With over 15,000 employees in 20 countries,
we partner with clients to operate as part of
their extended team in ways that best suit
their organization’s culture and requirements.
Our industry focus includes aerospace and
defense, healthcare, telecommunications, rail
transportation, semiconductor, geospatial,
industrial, and energy.
For more information, please visit
www.cyient.com
© 2019 Cyient. Cyient believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date; such information is subject to change
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