Small cells improve indoor and outdoor network coverage

·       Small cells have emerged as a promising option to ensure ubiquitous indoor and outdoor connectivity.

·       They are low powered radio access nodes with a network range of 10 meters to 2km and can work on both licensed and unlicensed spectrum.

·           These cells have all the basic characteristics of a conventional base station and are capable of handling high volumes of data traffic.

·     Small cells offer several advantages over macrocells such as improved network coverage, increased capacity in densely populated urban areas and extended the battery life of handsets.

·       Key factors driving small cell demand

·       As per industry estimates, the global small cells market is expected to grow from $12.5 billion in 2017 to $58.7 billion in 2024.

·       The key demand drivers for small cells are:

o   Increasing need for seamless indoor connectivity

o   Increasing adoption of outdoor small cells

o   Surging demand for smartphones and wireless devices

o   Proliferation of IoT and M2M communication

o    

o   Enabling role in 5G roll-out

§  The small cell 5G network market size  is expected to increase from $528 million in 2019 to $3,509 million by 2025 at a compound annual growth rate of 37.1%

§  However at a later stage of 5G deployment post-2021 the adoption of small cell network for mmWave is expected to increase with the adoption of IoT and M2M communication.

·       Operator initiatives in India

o   Vodafone Idea  Ltd has partnered with Nokia to roll out its next-generation LTE network across multiple service areas.

o   Under this agreement Nokia will deploy small cells and roll out single radio access network (RAN) and massive multiple inputs multiple output technology for the operator

o   Bharti Airtel too is investing in small cells to improve network coverage in cities.

o   In order to create a hyper-dense network for 5G, small cells will need to be deployed at every 200-250 meters on-street infrastructure such as electricity poles, streets lights, metro pillars, rooftops of public buildings and traditional macro towers.

o   The increasing uptake of in-building solution, particularly small cells has given an opportunity to tower companies to diversify their business operations from pure-play tower services to managed services.

Issues and Challenges

·           Backhaul development

·       The most promising solutions for meeting backhaul requirements for small cell deployments are mmWave technologies including E-band(70-80 GHz) and V band (60GHz)

·    E-band is suitable for high density and high capacity wireless backhaul applications and is ideal for small cell links of 300-500 meters.