Alcatel-Lucent LightRadio: the death of traditional base stations?
In February, at the MWC in Barcelona, Alcatel-Lucent presented to the general public its solution for organizing metro cells in LTE networks. The solution was called lightradio. Unfortunately, there was already one post on the hub devoted to this event, and then focused more on the antenna complex that is used to operate several networks. Let's try to understand better what lightradio is and how it can affect the development of mobile access networks.
I think everyone has already come across a prediction from Cisco that over the next 5 years, the number of mobile traffic in the networks of telecom operators will increase 18 times. Of course, the rapid development of the market for mobile devices capable of consuming a large amount of traffic has long led to network congestion in the centers of large cities (and sometimes not only in the centers). The traditional way out of this situation is to build more base stations. But this process is expensive and long (you would see the number of permissions that you need to get to build one site). The solution was invented - metro cells. The equipment for the metro cell is a miniature, integrated base station, of small capacity, capable of being located anywhere in the city, and requiring only power and connection to any existing network (optics, DSL, Wi Fi). The idea itself is far from new, but in Barcelona Alcatel-Lucent showed the first commercial solution implementing this concept.
The size of the integrated base station has been drastically reduced compared to the traditional solution. Unfortunately I do not have accurate data regarding the dimensions, but visually the BS for external installation looks smaller than ordinary streetlights. There is no need to build more expensive sites, which are also very difficult to place in busy cities lately. The base station can be located both outside the building and inside (the dimensions then become even smaller).
This solution can have integrated antennas for simultaneous operation in GSM, WCDMA, LTE, Wi Fi networks. This allows you to organize a communication channel with the base station using point-to-point Wi Fi (in the unlicensed range), in those places where there is no access to cable infrastructure.
Managing Alcatel-Lucent data networks may well be a topic for a separate and fairly large article. Those who worked with SAM 5620 know that the company is striving to create a unified management, monitoring and configuration system for all types of equipment, including base stations. This management system can later be transferred to the cloud. All BSs, as well as any other equipment, are logically terminated on the 7750 SR gateway, which is a universal service router designed to build all types of networks, from Triple Play to Mobile Backhaul.
All metro cells are connected to the network by the principle of plug-and-play, and corporate solutions will allow you to connect the metro cell not only to the provider's network, but also to the corporate network (for example, to the PBX) thanks to the provided APIs.
There have also been successes. The total energy consumption of the radio access network is reduced to 40-50%, which in certain cases allows the use of only solar panels for power in the daytime, and batteries that charge during the day, for power at night.
The developers at Bell Labs claim that they developed antennas to get a gain of more than 10 dB in areas with dense urban areas. It seems to me that this is still a more marketing move, and it would be interesting to look at real tests in cities. The test network, although it was presented in a large pavilion filled with people, stands and equipment, still poorly simulates urban development.
Well, the most interesting
Here we must pay tribute to Alcatel, they really took the first big step not only towards more reliable, faster and cheaper LTE networks, but also began to move towards creating a unified network infrastructure.
Metrocells installed in the premises, and connected via optics or copper to the Internet, can provide access not only to 3G, 4G networks, but also to Wi Fi. Moreover, switching between networks is absolutely transparent to the user, does not require any additional configuration from him. The terminal switching algorithm is quite intelligent: it estimates the signal levels from all available networks, both 3G and wifi, their download, and selects the best. In addition, he evaluates the user's behavior: if the user moves past the access point, then there is no point in switching it to wifi, and he remains on the 3G network.
User authentication is carried out using a sim card, imsi / imei, pin code, login password, and can be configured as desired by the operator. Since the API is planned to be made available (I don’t know under what license), it is quite possible that several operators can simultaneously use the same point / base station.
In addition, since wifi uses an unlicensed range, it becomes possible to create your own small operators :). Of course, everything depends on the will of the operator, but at least such a technical possibility exists. The user will no longer need to buy various access cards, etc. All accounts will be issued to him by his operator, wherever he is.
Regarding coverage, Alcatel’s specialists declare a 4-fold increase in network capacity when using metro cells for access.
Personally, it seemed to me, if not a breakthrough, then he had a premonition of a breakthrough. I came across how difficult it is to find a place for a new site, or how expensive it is to expand an existing one. Well, each of you was faced with the fact that a particular network may not work in a place of mass crowds. Such a solution should help resolve these issues.
Well, in the end it will be very convenient to stay online and on the corporate network on your smartphone / tablet, leaving the office on the street, from there on the subway, and from there through the cafe and home.
PS By the way, as it turned out, thanks to this product Alcatel-Lucent was included in the top 50 innovative companies in the world according to the version of MIT's Technology Review magazine.
I wonder if lightradio will kill traditional base stations?
I think everyone has already come across a prediction from Cisco that over the next 5 years, the number of mobile traffic in the networks of telecom operators will increase 18 times. Of course, the rapid development of the market for mobile devices capable of consuming a large amount of traffic has long led to network congestion in the centers of large cities (and sometimes not only in the centers). The traditional way out of this situation is to build more base stations. But this process is expensive and long (you would see the number of permissions that you need to get to build one site). The solution was invented - metro cells. The equipment for the metro cell is a miniature, integrated base station, of small capacity, capable of being located anywhere in the city, and requiring only power and connection to any existing network (optics, DSL, Wi Fi). The idea itself is far from new, but in Barcelona Alcatel-Lucent showed the first commercial solution implementing this concept.
Dimensions
The size of the integrated base station has been drastically reduced compared to the traditional solution. Unfortunately I do not have accurate data regarding the dimensions, but visually the BS for external installation looks smaller than ordinary streetlights. There is no need to build more expensive sites, which are also very difficult to place in busy cities lately. The base station can be located both outside the building and inside (the dimensions then become even smaller).
Antennas
This solution can have integrated antennas for simultaneous operation in GSM, WCDMA, LTE, Wi Fi networks. This allows you to organize a communication channel with the base station using point-to-point Wi Fi (in the unlicensed range), in those places where there is no access to cable infrastructure.
Control
Managing Alcatel-Lucent data networks may well be a topic for a separate and fairly large article. Those who worked with SAM 5620 know that the company is striving to create a unified management, monitoring and configuration system for all types of equipment, including base stations. This management system can later be transferred to the cloud. All BSs, as well as any other equipment, are logically terminated on the 7750 SR gateway, which is a universal service router designed to build all types of networks, from Triple Play to Mobile Backhaul.
All metro cells are connected to the network by the principle of plug-and-play, and corporate solutions will allow you to connect the metro cell not only to the provider's network, but also to the corporate network (for example, to the PBX) thanks to the provided APIs.
power usage
There have also been successes. The total energy consumption of the radio access network is reduced to 40-50%, which in certain cases allows the use of only solar panels for power in the daytime, and batteries that charge during the day, for power at night.
Coating
The developers at Bell Labs claim that they developed antennas to get a gain of more than 10 dB in areas with dense urban areas. It seems to me that this is still a more marketing move, and it would be interesting to look at real tests in cities. The test network, although it was presented in a large pavilion filled with people, stands and equipment, still poorly simulates urban development.
Well, the most interesting
Possible use cases
Here we must pay tribute to Alcatel, they really took the first big step not only towards more reliable, faster and cheaper LTE networks, but also began to move towards creating a unified network infrastructure.
Metrocells installed in the premises, and connected via optics or copper to the Internet, can provide access not only to 3G, 4G networks, but also to Wi Fi. Moreover, switching between networks is absolutely transparent to the user, does not require any additional configuration from him. The terminal switching algorithm is quite intelligent: it estimates the signal levels from all available networks, both 3G and wifi, their download, and selects the best. In addition, he evaluates the user's behavior: if the user moves past the access point, then there is no point in switching it to wifi, and he remains on the 3G network.
User authentication is carried out using a sim card, imsi / imei, pin code, login password, and can be configured as desired by the operator. Since the API is planned to be made available (I don’t know under what license), it is quite possible that several operators can simultaneously use the same point / base station.
In addition, since wifi uses an unlicensed range, it becomes possible to create your own small operators :). Of course, everything depends on the will of the operator, but at least such a technical possibility exists. The user will no longer need to buy various access cards, etc. All accounts will be issued to him by his operator, wherever he is.
Regarding coverage, Alcatel’s specialists declare a 4-fold increase in network capacity when using metro cells for access.
Personal impression
Personally, it seemed to me, if not a breakthrough, then he had a premonition of a breakthrough. I came across how difficult it is to find a place for a new site, or how expensive it is to expand an existing one. Well, each of you was faced with the fact that a particular network may not work in a place of mass crowds. Such a solution should help resolve these issues.
Well, in the end it will be very convenient to stay online and on the corporate network on your smartphone / tablet, leaving the office on the street, from there on the subway, and from there through the cafe and home.
PS By the way, as it turned out, thanks to this product Alcatel-Lucent was included in the top 50 innovative companies in the world according to the version of MIT's Technology Review magazine.
I wonder if lightradio will kill traditional base stations?