Trevor GillTrevor Gill

Small Cells for Urban Connected Communities?

Trevor Gill

Trevor Gill

About me…

• Career spent in R&D in Vodafone

• Retired as Chief Scientist in 2013

• Now an independent consultant

• Currently working part-time in DCMS 5G Trials and test-beds team

Trevor Gill

Small Cells - A Long Time Coming?

Like the end of oil and nuclear fusion – always 30 years away?

Widespread outdoor small cells – always 5 years away?

Trevor Gill

Peak small cell – c 1995?

• GSM 900 only

• Traffic growing fast

• Vodafone installed small antennas at 250m intervals in central London. Suitcase sized BTS in basement

Trevor Gill

What happened since?

• Macro-cell life extended (over and over again) by:

– New generations, each with greater spectrum efficiency

– Each generation brought more spectrum

– Conservative operators stick with what they know

– Barriers to small cells

• Will 5G be different ?

Trevor Gill

But cells have got much smaller

Trevor Gill

Though NOT faster to build

• 2 ½ years from first planning application to live service

• Local councilors and MP engaged by objectors

My local cell

Trevor Gill

Barriers to small cells

• Planning

• Backhaul

• Streetworks

• Visual acceptability

• Cost

• . . . . . . .

Much more about this later…

Trevor Gill

Chicken and egg problem

Too expensive to deploy, so little demand for products.

Little demand, so no incentive to develop cheap high volume product.

Available products are visually unattractive and cumbersome

No common view on suitable form-factor for mass deployment

Trevor Gill

What about indoors?

• Many more products• More innovative

solutions• More challenging if

multi-operator coverage desired

• Suitable models for infrastructure ( and spectrum ?) sharing ?

• What about 5G?

Trevor Gill

DCMS 5G Trials and Testbeds Programme

● Accelerate the deployment of 5G networks

● Ensure that the UK can take early advantage

of the applications those networks can enable

● Maximise the productivity and efficiency

benefits to the UK from 5G

● Create new opportunities for UK businesses at

home and abroad, and encourage inward

investment

“UK to be a world leader in 5G so that we can take early advantage of its potential”

Trevor Gill

Urban Connected Communities

• Large scale urban project• Local authority (population > 500k) to host trial to be

chosen in July.• Substantial funding for infrastructure and trials, to be

sustainable after the trial• c 2 years programme to March 2021• How should infrastructure be built?• Are there good (new) models for shared infrastructure?• Can we help to crack the chicken and egg problem?

(Rural project to follow shortly)