Small
Cells - For Metro Cellular and 5G Networks
Objectives:
From this self-study program you should learn:
- What
is a "small cell"?
- How
small cells affect telco network architectures
- How
small cells are integrated into city infrastructure
- What
kind of fiber network is needed to support small cells
- Issues
Introduction
Wireless
traffic is growing at a phenomenal rate. AT&T
says their cellular data traffic grew more than
80,000% (that's 800 times) between 2007 (the
introduction of the iPhone) and 2017. The landscape
is covered with cellular towers but the capacity of
these systems is inadequate for planned traffic
levels, especially as cellular service providers
move to 5G. The plan for increasing capacity
involves several technical advances, but the key is
moving toward "small cells" in metropolitan
areas.
Small cells go by other names
including micro-cells. They are small, low-power,
integrated radios and antennas intended for small
geographic areas.
Small
cells are basically outdoor versions of DAS active
antennas used indoors. They cover very small areas,
typically a few blocks in a city instead of miles typical
of regular cellular antennas. Because small cells cover
smaller areas than regular cellular antennas, they have
fewer users connecting to them to increase the bandwidth
available per user.
Small
cells are
intended to be be mounted on typical urban fixtures –
walls, street lights, traffic lights, bus stops,
whatever gets them slightly up off the ground. They
only need a single fiber and power to operate. The
electronics to control them is in a CO or head end,
connected to them by fiber.
The
photo above is a small cell and street light in Los
Angeles, CA, with the LED street light by Philips and the
hidden small cell antennas in the wider part of the pole
near the top provided by Ericsson.
Assignments
You
will be instructed to read the references or watch videos
and take the quiz (Test Your Knowledge) to complete the
"classroom" part of the course.
Get
Started
Read
The Online FOA Reference
FOA
Reference Guide, Small Cells
Test
Your Knowledge - Small
Cell Cabling - Quiz
Lesson
Plans
Read
the materials or watch the videos linked on each lesson
plan and take the quiz.
Lesson 1:
Overview - How Wireless Networks Use Fiber Optics
Lesson 2: Fiber
To The Cell Site And
Fiber To The Antenna
Lesson 3:
Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS)
Lesson 4: Small Cells
Lesson
5: WiFi - Enterprise, Urban and Rural
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