WiFi Femtocells Pradeep de Almeida Dialog LTEWS 2012

Pradeep De Almeida Group Chief Technology Officer – Dialog Axiata PLC

22nd ~24th May 2012 CCIB, Barcelona, Spain

OTT service

Providers

The Mobile Operator

Telecom Industry Landscape (As of now…)

Smart devices & OTT services

leveraging on Telco networks has

changed industry dynamics

Increased demand on operator

infrastructure in a high bandwidth

data network

What is the role of Wi-Fi and

femtocells in the present

ecosystem?

Are they conflicting or

complementary?

Content

1

Overview of femtocells and Wi-Fi From the perspective of current Telco landscape

2

Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi Conflict or Complement?

3

Prospects in emerging markets Selecting the “right” technology

4

Trending……. Hotspot 2.0, Data off-loading, The connected home…….

Overview of femtocells

Small cells (femto/pico/micro/metro) are low-power wireless access points that operate in

licensed spectrum, are operator-managed and feature edge-based intelligence. They provide

improved cellular coverage, capacity and applications for homes and enterprises as well as

metropolitan and rural public spaces.

Source: www.smallcellforum.org

Demand for data

Need for more base stations

Increase the number of small cells

Operator expenditure (intentions) on small cells (Research by small cell forum)

Overview of Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called 802.11 to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless

connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can be used to connect electronic devices to each other, to the

Internet, and to wired networks which use Ethernet technology. Wi-Fi networks operate in the

2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, with some products that contain both bands (dual band).

Source: www.wi-fi.org

Source: Agilent Technologies

Can the current capacity gap be met by cellular technologies alone?

Spectrum & Capacity issues? Is there a

cheaper alternative?

Deployment of Wi-Fi

Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi – A Technology Overview

Femtocells Wi-Fi

Frequency Band

• 2.1 GHz – WCDMA/HSPA

• 700MHz,800 MHz, 1.8 GHz,2.6 GHz….- LTE /

LTE-Advanced

• 2.3 GHz – mobile WiMAX (WiBro) /LTE

• 2.4 GHz – IEEE 802.11 b/g/n

• 5 GHz - IEEE 802.11 a/n/ac

System Bandwidth

• 3G – 5 MHz per carrier

• 4G – Up to 20 MHz per carrier

• 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 20 MHz

• 40 MHz (IEEE 802.11n)

• 80 MHz, 160 MHz (IEEE 802.11ac)

Data Rate

• WCDMA – 384 kbps, HSDPA – 14.4 Mbps (DL)

• LTE – 100 Mbps (DL, 2X2 MIMO)

• WiBro (802.16) – 50 Mbps (DL, 2X2 MIMO)

• LTE-A & WIMAX 802.16m – up to 1 Gbps

• Up to 450 Mbps (IEEE 802.11n)

• Up to 7 Gbps (IEEE 802.11ac)

Communication Range

• 10 – 30 m • Up to 100 m

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Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi Key Aspects

Coverage

Spectrum Availability

Indoor coverage

Interference issues

Network Planning

Capacity

Data Rates

Data Offloading

Seamless Communication

Handoff support

Quality of Service

Device Support

Deployment Aspects

Total Cost of Ownership

Key Aspect Femtocells Wi-Fi

C o

v e r a g e


• Licensed band. • Must re-use operator’s available spectrum

allocation. Therefore mainly used for coverage extension (as well as capacity improvement)

• Un licensed band. • Operator need not concern with spectrum

related issues as with femtocells

Indoor Coverage

• Up to 10-30 m (transmit power of 1mW to 100 mW).

• Power level will depend on the macro network to avoid/mitigate interference.

• Up to 100m (transmit power of up to 1W) • Power levels of most Wi-Fi APs are higher

than femtocells.

Interference Issues

• Co-channel interference with macrocell. • Interference avoidance and management

techniques (Self Organized Networks - SON) will be necessary .

• interference cancellation features in Wi-Fi (Cognitive Radio)(though interference from non Wi-Fi unlicensed band devices can be a problem)

Network Planning • Operator effort is needed for careful frequency

planning and interference avoidance, which is also complicated by mobility of femtocells

• No special effort needed on network planning

C a p

a c I t y

Data Rates

• WCDMA – 384 kbps, HSDPA – 14.4 Mbps (DL) • LTE – 100 Mbps (DL, 2X2 MIMO) • WiBro (802.16) – 50 Mbps (DL, 2X2 MIMO) • LTE-A & WIMAX 802.16m – up to 1 Gbps

• Up to 450 Mbps (IEEE 802.11n) • Up to 7 Gbps (IEEE 802.11ac) • Possibility to provide LTE like data services

in a 3G environment

Data Offloading

• Data offloading is inherently supported, making it possible to uniform data plan throughout the network

• Data off loading is not inherently supported. However 3GPP is currently standardizing aspects such mobility management, policy control and charging seamless interworking with mobile networks

Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi – Coverage & Capacity

Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi – Other Considerations

Key Aspect Femtocells Wi-Fi

S e a m

l e s s

C o

m m

u n

I c a t I o n

Handoff support • Use the same technology as macro cells. Easy

for hierarchical handoff.

• Needs a user triggered mechanism. Aspects of seamless mobility (PS) are currently being standardized

Quality of Service (QoS)

• As the license band is managed by the operator QoS is carefully managed

• Operator may not have control over QoS unless the Wi-Fi network is managed by the operator

Device Support • No special considerations on the device • Device needs to have Wi-Fi (which most

smart phones do..)

D e

p l o

y m e

n t

A s p

e c t s


• Deployed by the operator. And may be paid for by the consumer.

• There is a possibility of partnering with third parties for Wi-Fi access. Numerous Wi-Fi deployments improve operator reach

Femtocells vs. Wi-Fi – Summary

• Mainly deployed to improve network coverage and at the same time

improve on capacity as well. (closed femtos)

• There is considerable planning effort from the operator in deploying a

femtocell network.

• However in the coming years it is predicted that there will be more small

cell deployments compared macro cells (Open femtos)

Femtocells

Vodafone – To improve on 3G coverage Source: www.vodafone.co.uk

Sprint Airave – To enhance CDMA coverage

Source: http://www.sprintenterprise.com/airave/tellMeMore.html

• Seen as a cheap alternative for data offloading

• Availability of Wi-Fi networks, High data rates and lower cost of

ownership has made it attractive for catering to increasing data demand

• However seamless interworking of Wi-Fi and mobile networks are still

under consideration with more developments planned in coming years

Wi-Fi


AT&T – Wi-Fi hotzones

Source: http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=5949

SK Telecom – Hybrid LTE + Wi-Fi femtocell

Source: http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/20048/skt-attracts-global-telcos%E2%80%99-attention-innovative-lte-technology

Femtocells Wi-Fi

Coverage


Indoor Coverage

Interference Issues

Network Planning

Capacity

Data Rates

Data Offloading

Seamless Communication

Handoff support

Quality of Service (QoS)

Device Support

Deployment Aspects



Coverage Extension Data Offloading

Small cells (outdoor femtos) can be

deployed to improve on macro network coverage

Wi-Fi can be deployed as a pure

data offloading option and in

situation where spectrum is limited

Femtos can use outdoor Wi-Fi mesh networks as

backhaul

Hybrid femto + Wi-Fi

devices (best of both)

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Prospects in emerging markets

Limited fixed broadband

connections in the developing world

Closed Subscriber Group (Home Zone) tariff plans are no longer applicable due to

already low tariff

Interference with macro cells has been challenging

Femtocells have been difficult to deploy ………

Operator deployed open subscriber group (OSG) femtos/small cells in outdoor /

public areas that are used as coverage gap fillers as well as capacity enhancers

instead of more and more macro cells…..

The New Paradigm

?

Prospects in emerging markets

The case for Wi-Fi has been reinvigorated by smart phones………

•Offers an immediate solution to the data crunch experienced by operators

•More hotspots Operators can partner with third party Wi-Fi service

providers to improve on reach

• In the immediate future Wi-Fi is more attractive Until Voice over LTE

becomes a reality , data demand can be met by an expansive Wi-Fi network

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Trending…….

Hotspot 2.0 and 3GPP standardization on integration of non-3GPP access networks

The Future Home - The place of Wi-Fi and femtocells in home networking

Extending the footprint – The operator strategy

3G like end user experience to Wi-Fi authentication and roaming Hotspot 2.0 EEE 802.11u, Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2)-Enterprise and standards-based Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) 3GPP Non 3GPP IP access to EPC, Mobility management mechanism s for IETF Networks

Connected home – The digital revolution happening at home Wi-Fi capable consumer electronics devices and technologies such as DLNA/UPnP has made Wi-Fi a prominent technology How can the operator be part of this? – bundling of Wi-Fi and cellular services

Sharing of end user backhaul connectivity for Wi-Fi (e.g. BT FON) as well as femtos. Partnering with third party providers on Wi-Fi etc

Conclusion

Femtocells Will serve as a strong solution for coverage extension (3G / 4G) Predicted there will be more small cells deployment by operators in future compared to macrocells (4G data networks) Can also become a strong data offloading solution But yet to materialize

Wi-Fi Is becoming a strong solution for data offloading! With planned developments (Hotspot 2.0 etc) may evolve to become an integral part of operator network and solution offering

Femtocells

Wi-Fi

In the long run…………

Combos

Documents

WiFi Femtocells Pradeep de Almeida Dialog LTEWS 2012