Tag: Small Cell

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5G Deployment Options for Wireless Networks

Modern 5G Deployment options for Wireless Networks will include Macro Cells, Small Cells, Beamforming, mmWave and more

5G Deployment Diversity

Greater Deployment Diversity will be necessary to meet user demands for high speed networking in urban, suburban and rural locations.

5G Deployment using mmWave, Beamforming, Small Cells, millimeter wave

– 5G NR mmWave – offers nx10 Gigabit 5G
– 5G NR Sub-6 GHz and LTE coverage – offers nx1 Gigabit 5G
– Ubiquitous LTE: Gigabit LTE, VoLTE, ULL

Accelerating network densification:

5G Deployment using mmWave, Beamforming, Small Cells, millimeter wave

– Existing LTE deployments
– Automotive -(C-V2X)
– Enterprise
– Industrial

Key challenges for 5G include achieving consistent and uniform speeds to users across all regions of metro, suburban and rural. Otherwise “hot zones” with high speed rapidly drop off in capacity as users move away from base stations.

Small Cells and 5G Deployment

Small cells are integral to new 5G network architectures and 5G deployment. 5G Small Cells may operate in sub-6GHz (FR1) or mmWave (FR2) bands depending on coverage and capacity demands

5G Deployment using mmWave, Beamforming, Small Cells, millimeter wave

More distributed baseband processing vs More centralized baseband processing for newer Cloud RAN / VRAN / ORAN type architectures

Some graphic elements reproduced courtesy Ericsson

Private 5G Network Deployments

The rise of industrial & warehouse applications of 5G will necessitate “private 5G” deployments with 5G Core “NextGen Core” installed on the premises, for ultra high availability and low latency.

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5G Disaggregated Network Topology Split Options

Functional Split Options for gNodeB 5G-NR Base Stations

A major benefit of 5G for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) is the prospect of migrating from custom network nodes to a far more flexible approach that enables network nodes to be implemented in software running on generic hardware platforms. In the core network, this process is in an advanced state, with virtualisation and orchestration techniques from the IT world now being used to deploy network functions automatically at a large scale. The functional “split” is key to achieving efficiency gains.

The process is significantly more difficult in the RAN and backhaul network, and the prize for MNOs is greater here as these functions typically account for 70-80% of Capex. In Release 15, the 3GPP identified various functional splits in the 5G NR RAN gNodeB (base station) that would facilitate this process, identifying eight possible places where the gNodeB function could be split into separate functional units. The most popular of these “split” options are:

Split 0 – gNodeB Integrated Small Cell

The gNodeB is a traditional integrated 5G NR with the RF, PHY and stack layers integrated into a single unit, with an NG interface to the 5GC Core Network.

Split 2 – 3GPP F1

The 3GPP defines this disaggregated RAN with separate (gNodeB-)CU and (gNodeB-)DU units with a high level split 2 using the 3GPP defined F1 interface. Split 2 is sometimes used in conjunction with a lower level splits 6, 7.2 and 8. This new 3GPP 5G RAN architecture introduces new terminology, interfaces and functional modules.

Split 6 – Small Cell Forum (SCF) nFAPI

The split 6 interface protocol is the Network FAPI (nFAPI), specified by the Small Cell Forum, where the MAC and PHY functions are physically separate.

Split 7.2 – O-RAN Open Fronthaul

A split 7 interface has been specified by the O-RAN Alliance, which has adopted the eCPRI interface as its basis. Whereas CPRI passes antenna samples using a proprietary protocol, eCPRI uses Ethernet.

Split 8

The split 8 interface is mainly being considered where there are legacy systems and existing hardware and cabling/fibre can be reused.

Industry Body Backed Split Option Definitions

3GPP specified the higher layer F1 interface, but additional interfaces at lower layer splits have also been specified by other industry bodies, and offer different relative advantages and disadvantages.

  • The Split 6 interface protocol is the Network FAPI (nFAPI), specified by the Small Cell Forum, where the MAC and PHY functions are physically separate.
  • The Split 7 interface has been specified by the O-RAN Alliance, which has adopted the eCPRI interface as its basis. Whereas CPRI passes digitised RF signals to the antenna using a proprietary serial protocol, eCPRI uses Ethernet. Moreover, in O-RAN fronthaul, it is frequency domain samples that are transported between the upper PHY and lower PHY, which leads to advantages.
  • The Split 8 interface is mainly being considered where there are legacy systems and existing hardware and cabling/fibre can be reused.

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