COMPACT BASE STATIONS: TAKING LTE WHERE YOU NEED IT

Scalability, low power use, and compact packaging increase flexibility in base station deployments and coverage, enabling innovative high-bandwidth network topologies

White Paper

Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

Contents
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................... 3 More data traffic, smaller base stations ....................................................................................................... 4 Data traffic growth creates the need for a new network topology.............................................................. 4 Getting off the groundthe compact base station ....................................................................................... 7 Offering more than high-density coverage................................................................................................... 8 The value proposition of compact base stations ........................................................................................ 10 Interphases application-ready 4G module for compact eNodeB base stations ........................................ 11 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................... 12

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Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

Executive Summary
Fourth generation (4G) technologies like Long Term Evolution (LTE) will usher in a new way to meet the exploding demand for wireless data applications. Not only does LTE provide higher data rates, it enables mobile service providers to adopt a new network topology that gives them the flexibility to meet subscriber demand where it is high and to pack more traffic into their spectrum bands. Compact base stations are the nimble new entrants that bring scalability and cost savings to the 4G network topology. They are designed to deliver: High capacity, through deployment of smaller base stations with a smaller coverage area. Base stations that are closer to subscribers, and small enough to be installed on a variety of assetse.g., lampposts, outdoor building walls, or indoor locations. Low cost-per-bit, driving lower CAPEX and OPEX for a lower total cost of ownership (TCO). The emergence of compact base stations has been driven by system-on-a-chip (SoC) technology that makes it possible to combine the functionality of layers 1 to 3 on a single chipset with multiple cores digital signal processing (DSP), reduced instruction set computing (RISC), applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC)plus hardware accelerators. Compact base stations with a single multicore SoC chipset can support up to three sectors.

Why compact base stations?

Baseband, power amplifier, and radio equipment in a single ruggedized enclosure. Small footprint, light form factor (10 kg for a three-sector base station; 500 g for an eNodeB module). Low installation and equipment cost. No need for ground equipment or active cooling. Low power consumption (26 W to 36 W). Flexible choice of installation sites. Multiple base station form factors and configurations, from multisector macrocells, to microcells, picocells, and femtocells. Same performance as traditional ground-based or distributed base stations. Highly scalable through system-ona-chip technology, and single card additions in the field.

Interphases flexible LTE compact base station module is a highly integrated, application-ready solution that leverages SoC technology to combine a small footprint and low power consumption with advanced performance. The module is fully compliant with LTE standards and includes the control processor, baseband, storage, and switch, along with APIs, drivers, and stacks. Support for multiple standardsbased form factors and customized designs allow vendors to develop broad product lines and application-specific solutions while minimizing development costs and time. The tightly integrated hardware and software architectures allow for efficient scalability, achieved with the combination of baseband cards to increase capacity.

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Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

More data traffic, smaller base stations

Fourth generation (4G) technologies like Long Term Evolution (LTE) offer more than higher data rates and capacity; they address rapidly evolving market conditions that require a new approach to network planning and deployment. New, flexible small-cell architectures, including microcells, picocells, and femtocells, are set to become prominent elements in the new network topologies. Increasingly, these devices will be seamlessly added to networks to increase spectrum efficiency and capacity density, and to keep costs under control. As mobile service providers are pressed to increase capacity under tight time and budget constraints, they can no longer afford to rely exclusively on traditional, expensive, and bulky ground-based macrocell base station equipment to expand their networks. Now they can start out with compact, small-cell equipment that is easier and cheaper to deploy, and incrementally build out the network as traffic increases and a higher density of base stations is needed. Compact base stations combine the performance of ground-based base stations with a smaller footprint and a lower price tag. They allow carriers to increase the capacity in the network in direct response to subscriber and revenue growth on an as-needed basis.

Data traffic growth creates the need for a new network topology
Subscribers are adopting wireless broadband data services at an unprecedented rate, causing mobile traffic to grow exponentially. This growth limits the number of users and their individual traffic loads that a carrier can serve with its existing spectrum allocation. New technologies like LTE are designed to provide additional capacity and higher data rates to relieve network congestion, but a new approach to network deployment and expansion is required to address the demand for high-bandwidth applications in a limited-spectrum environment: Higher density. A higher density of base stations placed in closer proximity increases the overall network capacity while utilizing the same amount of spectrum in a more efficient manner. More base stations in a smaller radius allow more traffic to be transported within the same geographic area. Base stations closer to subscribers. In an environment with a high cell density, it is preferable to place base stations as close as possible to the subscribers to avoid self-interference and to improve indoor coverage. Lower per-bit cost. Average revenues per user (ARPUs) are not expected to grow in line with the increase in traffic generated by subscribers, so service providers need to lower the per-bit cost of transmissionfor both CAPEX and OPEX itemsto continue to operate a sustainable business. Traditional ground-based macrocell base station equipment was designed to provide maximum power and coverage, and to minimize the number of base stations installed (Table 1, Figure 1). All the hardware, with the exception of the antennas, is placed in an air-conditioned enclosure at the bottom of the cell tower. This well-established macrocell equipment design is expensive in terms of equipment, installation and operation costs, and has demanding ground space requirements, but it will undoubtedly retain a crucial role in cellular networks for the foreseeable future. The traditional macrocell will remain cost effective for providing wide-area coverage in environments where traffic levels are manageable.
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Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

However, this deployment model will struggle to remain viable where a dense concentration of users demand high bandwidth wireless access. Distributed base stations leave the baseband and power amplifier within the ground enclosure, but move the radio frequency (RF) equipment to the cell tower to be close to the antenna (Table 1, Figure 1). This approach reduces the power dissipation due to the use of coaxial cables in traditional, groundbased base stations, increasing the energy efficiency and providing some limited reduction in the size and weight of the equipment on the ground. While providing a reduction in cost and size, distributed base stations still rely on ground equipment, which limits the flexibility of deployment and incurs the cost of installing and operating the ground-based equipment.
Architecture Ground-Based Distributed Design Baseband and power Baseband, PA, and RF are in a single amplifier (PA) enclosure which can be inside the antenna Traditional base equipment in a shelter enclosure (zero footprint), have a small station, installed in a on the ground. stand-alone enclosure, or be added as a shelter on the ground Radio equipment on blade in a multifunctional system. No ground the mast, near the equipment. antenna Same throughput, latency, and coverage area, assuming they use the same spectrum and transmission power Macrocell, microcell, picocell Macrocell: 1 to 8, typically 3 Microcell, picocell: typically 1 to 3 Equipment Baseband PA RF Antenna Connection to backhaul Cooling Power consumption* Weight Comparable to ground-based base stations * Base station, excluding cooling system and radio components ** Total depends on specific form factor and number of sectors Cost
Table 1. Comparison across base station architectures

Compact

Description

Performance Form factor Sectors

Macrocell, microcell, picocell, femtocell 1 to 3 sectors

Ground enclosure

Ground enclosure

Passively cooled unit Can be integrated with base station unit CAT-5 or fiber None needed

Passively-cooled unit Usually in cell tower or on rooftop, not integrated Coaxial cable Fiber

Temperature-controlled ground shelter Other metrics 100 W

2636 W** 15% to 25% of ground-based base station weight** 25% of ground-based base station**

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Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

Figure 1. Ground-based, distributed, and compact base stations

Both ground-based and distributed macrocell base stations are poorly suited for dense, high-capacity 4G network topologies where high power and wide range are unnecessaryand often not desired, as they may cause self-interferenceand where building new cell towers is difficult due to space and permitting restrictions. In dense deployments, microcell and picocell base stations will become more widely used in the 4G network topology, complementing or replacing macrocells in at least two situations. One is downtown environments where tall buildings make it difficult to establish good indoor and outdoor coverage. The new small-cell topology enables service providers to create a dense network of cells installed close to the subscriber and to increase capacity density. Another is providing fill-in coverage for macrocell areas that have zones with limited or no cellular coverage, often in rural areas or environments with complex RF propagation. Compact base stations enable mobile service providers to extend coverage to these areas in a cost-effective way. Microcell and picocell base stations that use a ground-based or distributed architecture have been available for a long time. Even though they have a smaller footprint than ground-based macrocells, they still require ground equipment and, as a result, are expensive to install and operate, use high levels of power, and have demanding site requirements. As a result, micro and pico base stations still account for a small percentage of installed base stations. To enable high-capacity and dense deployments, service providers need access to equipment that is small, can be installed on non-telecom assets, and is cost effective to purchase, install, and operate.

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Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

Compact base stations have been specifically designed to address this challenge and give service providers the tools to evolve to more flexible network topologies as they move to 4G.

Getting off the groundthe compact base station

In a clear departure from the traditional base station architecture, compact base stations eliminate the need for ground equipment (Table 1, Figure 1). They strive to maximize traffic capacity and reduce the costs of building and operating a network by being small and flexible, thus reducing both CAPEX and OPEX. The compact architecture can be used for macrocells, microcells, picocells, and femtocells, but all compact base stations share some key features: Compact, lightweight form factor. Base stations can be installed on virtually any vertical surface or pole. They can be installed on cell towers as well, but it is not required. No ground equipment. If solar power and wireless backhaul are used, there is no need to have any connection from the base station to the ground. Otherwise, only an Ethernet connection (typically using CAT-5 or fiber) to the ground is needed to provide backhaul connectivity and power over Ethernet [PoE]. System on a Chip (SoC) chipset. A single multicore chipset can support multiple sectors, and it is fully compliant with the air interface standards. Same performance as traditional equipment. Data rates for compact base stations are comparable to those for ground-based or distributed base stations with similar configurations (e.g., spectrum band or channel size). Single ruggedized enclosure for baseband, PA, and RF. In some configurations, antennas may also be integrated within the same enclosure; this is called a zero-footprint configuration. Low power consumption. Passive cooling. Compact base stations include baseband, control, PA, and RF in a single low-power, passively cooled package. They enable antenna placement in convenient, existing locations, whether mounted on an existing cell tower, a lamppost, a building, or even a mobile vehicle. These small, powerful base stations can be made in a variety of form factors: a zero footprint, a small stand-alone enclosure, or even a blade where it makes sense to include the small cell application within existing server equipment for a multifunctional system. Zero-footprint base stations, the ultimate in compact size, reduce the base station to a module that is mounted inside the antenna enclosure, similar to a femtocell but with the performance of a picocell or microcell. Depending on expected user density, these extremely cost-effective base stations can support from one to three sectors. Stand-alone compact base stations can come in a variety of enclosures to suit the application, including a ruggedized casing suitable for pole or building mounting, a ruggedized chassis for vehicle mounting, and a standards-based, small-footprint chassis such as MicroTCA. These compact base stations can be configured to handle picocell, microcell, or macrocell applications in this single enclosure, supporting one to three sectors. They can even be configured to be a self-contained evolved packet core (EPC), as well as a base station.

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Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

The small form factor and low power consumption that sets compact base stations apart from traditional equipment is enabled by the latest highly integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC) technology. SoC multicore chipsets combine physical (PHY) layer (layer 1), media access control (MAC) sublayer in the data link layer (layer 2), and, optionally, network layer (layer 3) functionality to support the computationally intensive processing of 4G wireless interfaces. A compact base station SoC chipset has multiple coresdigital signal processing (DSP), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) and applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC) coresand hardware accelerators. A single SoC chipset can support up to three sectors with 2x2 multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology. Furthermore, the tight integration of PHY, MAC, and layer 3 functionality within the same chipset minimizes the endto-end latency, which is crucial to real-time applications such as voice, video, or gaming. The RF can be part of the base station or in a separate housing. Since compact base stations are typically placed close to the antennas or inside the antenna enclosure, this arrangement limits the power loss due to the coaxial cable used to connect the ground equipment to the antennas, and substantially reduces the power requirement of the entire base station. A three-sector compact base station, including the antenna, can weigh as little as 10 kg. Interphases eNodeB module itself can be less than 0.5 kg. Because they do not require a shelter on the ground or active cooling, compact base stations can be installed in virtually any locationfrom cell towers to lampposts and vertical walls, and from rural assets to corporate campuses and indoor locations. The only requirements to operate them are power and backhaul. However, energy consumption is sufficiently low (26 W to 36 W for the processor core in a zero-footprint configuration) to allow solar panels to power the base station or to use PoE. Furthermore, wireless backhaul can be used to further reduce the size of the equipment and allow more flexibility in the positioning of the base station. As a result, compact base stations present strong advantages for remote locations where power and wireline connectivity are not available. Crucially, however, compact base stations do not compromise on performance. Assuming the same spectrum bandwidth and the same transmission power, performance of a compact base station is comparable to that of ground-based or distributed base stations.

Offering more than high-density coverage

Compact base stations have been primarily developed to meet the demands of 4G high-capacity, highdensity networks, but their flexible form factor, low power consumption, and affordability make them an ideal technological solution, also, for outdoor locations with multisector macrocell and microcells (often used in rural deployments) and for indoor coverage with single-sector picocell and femtocells (Figure 2). Compact base stations are also well placed to support vertical applications in marketssuch as safety, transportation, corporate, asset-tracking, and utilitieswhere equipment flexibility and affordability are key requirements (Table 2). Because the eNodeB module used in all these configurations can be the same, service providers can easily integrate and manage different form factors within their core network.

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Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

Location

Advantages In areas with a high data traffic concentration, micro and pico compact base stations may complement or even replace macrocells. A dense network of cells installed close to the subscriber improves coverage in downtown environments where tall buildings make it difficult to establish good indoor and outdoor coverage with macrocells. In areas where macrocells provide sufficient capacity, there are often zones with limited or no cellular coverage. In these areas, compact base stations can be installed at the locations where coverage is insufficient. Because of their low deployment and operating cost, compact base stations are typically a more costeffective solution than additional macrocells. The majority of data trafficfor some service providers up to 80%is generated at indoor locations, where weak coverage forces the adoption of modulation schemes that use a proportionally greater use of network resources than for outdoor traffic. Traffic at indoor locations can be off-loaded from the macro network to compact base stations, thus freeing macro resources for the more efficient transport of traffic from users located outdoors. Subscriber demand is typically very sparse in rural areas, and for this reason it is difficult for a wireless service provider to build a solid business case for rural deployments. With compact base stations, the financial proposition becomes more attractive, as service providers can deploy low cost equipment on the assets available to them in their coverage area. Compact base stations powered by solar panels and connected to the backbone through a wireless backhaul connection can cost effectively serve areas without power and wireline connectivity. Enterprises and public safety entities can benefit from compact base stations to cover a well-defined, contained area, with good coverage and high capacity density. They can create hot zones quickly and cost effectively to support operational and safety applications. The scalability of SoC solutions for compact base stations encourages vendors to develop additional products that use spectrum bands that are license exempt, or reserved for specific applications or users (e.g., bands reserved for safety applications or military use). Compact base stations are well suited for vertical applications such as asset management, mobile workforce connectivity, remote monitoring and control, metering, and other machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. For instance, in a public rail transport environment, a compact base stations small footprint facilitates trackside deployments along on the right-of-way, where space and power availability are especially tight. Compact base stations can also provide cost-effective coverage for locations with specific requirements, such as cruise ships, hospitals, prisons, mining sites, or warehouses.

High-capacity dense urban coverage

Fill-in underlay networks

Indoor coverage

Rural coverage

Remote locations

Enterprise and public safety applications

Vertical applications

Ad hoc mobile networks

For public safety, municipalities, and utilities, compact base stations can be used to create temporary networks that can be quickly moved to the location of an emergency and turned on.

Table 2. Where can compact base stations be deployed?

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Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

Figure 2. Moving toward smaller form factors and a compact base station architecture

The value proposition of compact base stations

Compact base stations profoundly change the value proposition of microcells and picocells to service providers. They make microcells and picocells cost-effective for much larger deployments, and provide a clear cost and performance advantage over ground-based or distributed macro base stations in highcapacity deployments. After building the initial macro network, service providers can use compact base stations to take 4G right where they need it, when they need it. As they move subscribers to their new 4G networks or sign up new ones, they will identify locations where additional capacity is needed, and place compact base stations there. Instead of wide-area RF planning, they can focus on ad-hoc deployment plans around well-defined areas with high demand. Increasingly, however, microcells and picocells are likely to become an integral part of network planning in early deployment phases of network planning and deployment. The smaller footprint and reduced power consumption have a major impact on the cost structure (Table 3). While the base station hardware costs less, the biggest savings to service providers come from the avoidance of ground shelters and ventilation systems, a more streamlined installation, and lower recurring rental costs. In addition to a favorable total cost of ownership (TCO) in comparison to ground-based and distributed base stations, compact base stations give wireless service providers an unprecedented flexibility that shortens the time to market. With the many options for where to mount compact base stations, permitting requirements are typically reduced, because there is no need to build new infrastructure to install the hardware. Low power consumption makes it possible to deploy base stations rapidly in underserved rural areas where electricity and wireline broadband connections are not available. A simpler installation leads to faster deployments and quicker training for installation staff.

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Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

Feature

CAPEX savings Lower cost for base stations

OPEX savings

Small footprint and weight

No need for expensive coax cables Faster, lower-cost installation Ground shelter and active cooling unit not needed Faster, lower-cost installation Lower recurring electricity bills More efficient spectrum usage, allowing higher financial return on spectrum assets Lower site rental due to smaller footprint and ability to install base stations in low-cost locations

No need for ground equipment Low power consumption High-density network

Table 3. The CAPEX and OPEX advantages of compact cells

Interphases application-ready 4G module for compact eNodeB base stations

To meet the demand from 4G service providers for flexible, high-capacity, dense deployments, Interphase has developed an application-ready compact eNodeB module that can fit multiple form factors, such as a card or a blade for the Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (AdvancedTCA) or MicroTCA chassis, as well as a zero-footprint card or customized design (Figure 3). The eNodeB module comes with integrated application-ready software: pre-integrated, fully compliant L1L3 LTE protocol layers, management tools, and third-generation Interphase iWARE application programming interface (API). This allows vendors to develop a complete product line that addresses the needs of different markets, using a single development platform and thus accelerating product availability and minimizing development costs. The module is compatible with leading EPC vendors, and supports optional clocking and global positioning system (GPS) options that enable the modules use in non-stationary deployment scenarios. When deployed in a single-card configuration, such as that for zero-footprint designs, it can be powered by a CAT-5 cable, an IEEE 802.3at PoE connection, or even solar power, thus removing the need for expensive power distribution to remote cell sites.

Figure 3. Interphases flexible compact LTE base station module: form factors

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Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

The flexible Interphase LTE base station module provides a compelling proposition for vendors: Low development costs and short time to market. The module is a turnkey, application-ready platform that includes the control processor, baseband, storage, and switch, along with preintegrated LTE eNodeB L1L3 LTE protocol layers and Interphases 3rd generation iWARE API. The modular approach facilitates the development of specific applications, and offers flexibility in choice of the desired radio and overall vendor packaging. Minimized footprint and low power consumption, coupled with advanced performance. The reduced size and weight (less than 500 g), low power consumption (26 W), and high performance (up to three LTE frequency-division duplexing [LTE-FDD] or time-division LTE [TD-LTE] sectors with 20MHz and 2x2 MIMO) are enabled by a SoC architecture that includes base station control, baseband, and the radio interface. Multiple form factors. The base station uses a modular, software-defined architecture that is highly scalable and facilitates the development of multiple form factors, from femtocell to microcell, using the underlying technology and API interface. Interphases in-house engineering design team has the extensive wireless design expertise needed to customize this solution to meet specific vendor specifications and their tight time-to-market deadlines. Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) version available. The iSPAN 36701 Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) provides off-the-shelf simplicity and flexibility, as well as cost efficiencies in product development, demonstration unit preparation, and ATCA or MicroTCA base station deployments. Standards and common interfaces supported. iSPAN modules support multiple standards-based and common interfaces (common public radio interface [CPRI], RJ45, Ethernet, Serial RapidIO, and Peripheral Component Interconnect [PCI] Express) to give mobile service providers more flexibility in their deployments.

Conclusion
The topology of wireless networks is rapidly evolving to meet the need to transport much larger volumes of data traffic, to keep the per-bit costs at a minimum, and to extract the maximum performance from new, computationally-intensive 4G interfaces such as LTE. Deploying a larger number of traditional base stations that require actively cooled ground equipment is a solution that is too expensive, and that fails to the deliver the spectrum efficiency, capacity density, and coverage that wireless service providers need in their 4G deployments. Compact base stations have been designed to meet these challenges. This new base station architecture is ideally suited for dense, high-capacity deployments in urban areas, for vertical applications, and for cost-effective wide-area coverage in underserved areas. Their small footprint and low power consumption allow service providers to reduce their CAPEX and OPEX, while retaining the advanced performance of 4G technologies. The new Interphase LTE eNodeB module is an application-ready solution that provides vendors with the benefits of compact base stations. It gives vendors a single underlying software and hardware platform to develop 4G base stations with appropriate form factors and services, for a range of small and large base station markets in a flexible and cost-efficient way. With the Interphase eNodeB module, service providers have the freedom to take LTE where they need it.

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Compact base stations: Taking LTE where you need it

Interphase Corporation 2901 N. Dallas Parkway Plano, Texas 75093 USA Toll Free: (800) 327-8638 Phone: +1 (214) 654-5000 www.iphase.com

About Interphase Corporation Interphase Corporation (NASDAQ: INPH) delivers solutions for LTE and WiMAX, interworking gateways, packet processing, network connectivity, and security for key applications for the Communications, Aerospace-Defense, and Enterprise markets. Founded in 1974, Interphase provides expert Engineering Design and Contract Manufacturing services, in addition to its COTS portfolio.

Copyright 2010 Interphase Corporation. All rights reserved. Interphase, the Interphase logo, and iSPAN are trademarks or registered trademarks of Interphase. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Interphase accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of this document and may change it at any time.

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