An overview of the winners of the Small Cell Forum 2017 awards

1. Small Cell Forum
Outstanding small cell
innovation 2017

2. Small cell innovation 2017
• Each year Small Cell Forum assesses
the latest technical and commercial
developments through its awards
• These must be commercial
deployments to qualify
• The entries are judged not by SCF but
by independent analysts and industry
partners
• This deck is an overview of the 2017
winners
The Judges 2017
• Caroline Gabriel (Chair of judges), Research
Director, Rethink Technology Research
• Peter Jarich, Service Director, Current Analysis
• David Chambers, Founder and Senior Analyst,
ThinkSmallCell.com
• Prof. David Rogers, Founder & CEO, Copper Horse
Solutions
• Ken Rehbehn, Principal Analyst, Critical
Communications Insights
• Sue Rudd, Director Service Provider Analysis,
Wireless Networks and Platforms, Strategy Analytics
Inc.
• Keith Dyer, Editor, The Mobile Network
• Kyung Mun, Senior Analyst, Mobile Experts
• John Tanner, Editor, Disruptive.Asia
• Adrian Scrase, CTO, ETSI

3. Judges’ award: Open-nFAPI
© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2017
This open source
project aims to
accelerate the
adoption of SCF's
nFAPI defined
virtualized small cell
architecture.
This can significantly
reduce
infrastructure costs.

4. Outstanding Innovation in Small Cell
Technology or Architecture
One of the first commercial products to support
two innovations which will be important to new
small cell use cases:
• LTE-LAA for high speed indoor small cells
integrated with the main network; and
• Improved interworking with the macro
network by using a high layer functional split
which moves all the real time LTE processing
to the LAA radio unit in order to reduce
fronthaul traffic 10fold.
© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2017
SK Telecom's Cutting Edge Solutions for Small Cell Evolution: 5G
Innovations Delivered to Today's LTE Network

5. Excellence in commercial deployment
(Enterprise)
How small cells can outperform legacy DAS
in high demand context.
• The LA airport small cell deployment
highlights the challenges of servicing heavily
trafficked users in airport settings, and
increased downlink throughput capacity by
over 10x compared to a legacy indoor
system.
© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2017
SpiderCloud Wireless Los Angeles International
Airport

6. Excellence in Commercial Deployment
(Urban)
• JCDecaux Multi Small Cell Solution
© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2017
• This “multi small cell
solution” is about using
street furniture to drive cost
reduction for operators.
• Deploying multiple small
cells in urban environments
is tough.
• JCDecaux’s solution helps
carriers to overcome barriers
around site provisioning,
maintenance and even
liaising with local
authorities.

7. Excellence in Commercial Deployment of a
Dense HetNet
• Over the past three years China
Mobile has invested $66 billion
building the world’s largest 4G
network
• Nokia’s work with the China Mobile
Research Institute is about delivering
small cell density down to 10-15
meters, along with a MEC component
included for video orchestration.
• High levels of density without
sacrificing performance to
interference, and some moves
towards new added value services
enabled by proximity and edge
computing © Small Cell Forum Ltd 2017

8. Excellence in Commercial Deployment of
Rural/Remote Small Cells
Parallel Wireless and Gilat connecting
the unconnected
• Parallel Wireless and Gilat combined
state of the art small cell technology
with satellite backhaul to bring regular
cellular service to the outback of
Australia.
• This low footprint, low power, low cost
and easily deployed solution can
rapidly connect any remote corner of
the world.
© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2017

9. Commercial Small Cell Network Design and
Technology
Nokia Flexi Zone Mini-Macro BTS: Extending the Small Cell
Category and Use Cases with a High Power Small Cell
© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2017
Nokia’s Flexi Zone Mini-Macro adds to the options
available to an operator by supporting macro parity
within a small box, allowing a HetNet to target new use
cases with higher power requirements, and to combat
interference effectively.

10. HetNet management software and services
Parallel Wireless: Removing deployment constraints of small
cell vRAN and 5G HetNets
© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2017
• Parallel’s HetNet gateway performs
handoffs between different
technologies locally instead of at P/GW
and mitigates RAN interference across
X2s from small cells under its
management by learning the level of
interference , neighbors list for each UE
etc.
• The solution is deployed in many public
safety LTE networks and enabled a
public safety LTE network to be deployed
in 20 minutes at the US Football Super
Bowl by two FBI technicians.

11. Commercial Small Cell Backhaul Design
and Technology
Vodafone: CrowdCell: Using macro
radio network to backhaul open-access
small cells
By eliminating the need for macrocell
upgrades, and by centralising co-
ordinated SON control, Vodafone has
achieved an implementation of in-band
backhaul that overcomes a key barrier
to small cell deployments - access to
backhaul infrastructure.
© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2017

12. Outstanding innovation in small cell
business case
ip.access Neutral Host Multi-Operator Small Cell Solution – SUMO
© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2017
SUMO small cells, whether
delivered by MNOs or via a neutral
host, aim to reduce capex and opex
costs of indoor coverage, as well as
allowing MNOs to share active
infrastructure and spectrum,
without losing control of the
capacity each operator can offer its
customers.

13. Social Impact – Promoting Small Cells for
Social/Economic/Environmental Development
This project delivered the world’s first
meshed in-band backhaul, with LTE
small cells on a balloon, and the first
satellite backhaul of such technology
with a balloon and drone.
These capabilities mean that quick-
to-deploy LTE coverage is possible for
emergency services and in disaster
relief scenarios.
© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2017
BT & EE EE Air Mast using small cells