Densification Breakdown

February 8, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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Thank you Sprint for making densification the new buzz word in the industry but the reality is that it’s been happening for years. Now we have the ability to put the cell w here the people are with small cells and CRAN. The concept is nothing new and yet Sprint is making it a buzzword, good job Sprint.

OSHA is asking for public comment on Safety and Management, click here.

Quick history lesson. First carriers built tower sites and building top sites. Lets call them the macro sites. In the early days they were built for the maximum coverage of real estate. They were usually high above ground level, (AGL), so that they could cover the most square miles, square meters, for coverage. Then along came DAS, so that we had great indoor coverage. Then systems went digital and the devices power got lower and lower. Cell sites had to cover smaller areas. More macro were sites built and DAS systems were being deployed. Then came the smartphone which changed the way people use their devices in the carriers ecosystem. Everything is going digital and LTE is taking over. Now you have a huge number of macro sites and DAS installations. What could help? Enter the small cell and CRAN systems bringing the signal as close to the user as possible for maximum data bandwidth.

Densification has been around for years but now we have the opportunity to change the landscape of deployment and coverage. Seriously, let me explain. In the past we were concerned with area coverage and RF penetration. We put in sites to get closer to where the people are. Then came DAS, where we could put systems inside buildings to cover more people. Coverage was key.

Now coverage isn’t good enough, is it? Now we need to provide bandwidth, which at first was OK, until the iPhone changed everything. That is why we migrated from GSM and CDMA to LTE. When you look at coverage and download speed we all look at LTE. The new format that the carriers hope will last 10 years or so. It is getting faster and faster by using upgraded radio heads, devices, and MIMO. So the radios are getting faster and faster.

Now we need to make sure the sites have plenty of backhaul, but the real solution is to control loading. Loading, or should I say we need to offload!,Since most people rely on their smartphone for everything, we need better indoor coverage. This could be a small cells, LTE-U, or Wi-Fi.

Say hello to my friend the HetNet. The carriers need to use all the tools available to handle the increasing data needs of the user. I say user because smartphone users are data users and most of them want one thing, more data. More data means more bandwidth and that means the best coverage possible. You also need backhaul where the people are using their devices. Backhaul growth is critical.

To do all of this we need to densify the network, add sites to offload. Oh, did I mention Quality of Experience, QoE? QoE needs to be taken into consideration. Keep the user happy!

Where did I start? Oh yeah, maximizing spectrum. Spectrum ain’t cheap, so let’s make the most of it. This is where Verizon and T-Mobile have really taken the lead because they know that the smaller the cell coverage the better re-use of spectrum they get. They can break it down to where spectrum can be re-used in a smaller area. So now they can get more users on that spectrum by adding small cell coverage areas. It does take more sites and it is more of an investment in the sites, but saves on the spectrum. That is why the oDAS using small cells and CRAN makes so much sense, which Verizon has been deploying successfully. This really helps QoE for the user. Carriers have more control doing it that way and they can break off the loading from the Macro sites by concentrating the spectrum where they need it. Thus, the smaller coverage area allows the spectrum reuse to go way up.

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This is where the small cell and CRAN really help, by allowing carriers to get the most bandwidth for the buck in the spectrum they have without purchasing more. Carrier aggregation really helps, more on that here. It makes sense to break down the coverage so that loading and spectrum are more efficient. When they need more spectrum they can purchase it and start to overlay it where needed. It makes more sense at this stage of the game to overlay new spectrum, as long as the devices are ready to handle the new spectrum.

Quick note:
- Small Cell is a stand alone cell site, could be a mini macro or a single sector cell site, a single eNodeB, but very low power
- CRAN is centralized Radio Access Network which means there is a BBU mounted in a central location connected to several remote radio heads nearby.
- cRAN or C-RAN is Cloud RAN. This means that the core has the controller and the radio heads are remotely located at a site where there is only a router and a radio head. These are still being tested and built, timing is the issue.

There are also other strategies, like offloading to the unlicensed band. Look how we all rely on Wi-Fi for the data offloading. It really has been a great thing and it saves on our carrier bills. Now that Wi-Fi calling is happening maybe carrier Wi-Fi will become more popular. Just wait until LTE-U takes off, it will add so much more to the toolbox. Aggregation will work so well with LTE-U.

Scope of Work tutorial for the contractor.

I believe that LTE-U will also be exciting. It will really make the system run very well and it should maximize the unlicensed band while allowing a clean handoff from licensed to unlicensed. One more option that we will have and it’ something that the carriers seem very excited to work with. They didn’t exactly greet Wi-Fi with open arms until recently when LTE took over and it became a world of applications on the devices.

Sprint is going to adopt the densification philosophy with their new plan, the densification plan that Mobilitie has to execute. Sprint says that the 600MHz spectrum, article here, is not enough because they need bigger channels. Strange! Why? Because they decided not to bid at all, getting no spectrum, and use their 2.5GHz band for in band backhaul. That doesn’t align with the message, but hey, I don’t do marketing at Sprint, do I?

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The carriers will need to find a way to release the indoor small cell deployments to contractors so that enterprise coverage can grow, Article here. They don’t want to pay for more indoor coverage but they haven’t developed a system to let deployment teams sell direct. Get it together carriers! I’ll bet T-Mobile may do this first just to push the other carriers around and improve their coverage by getting customers to pay for it.

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Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

Purchase the Wireless Deployment Handbook eBook that covers professional carrier end to end deployment of LTE small cells, CRAN, and DAS to show you the proper way to plan for deployment then execute, planning and action without the mistake

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The FCC and DOL OSHA Tower Safety Workshop

February 4, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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Yes, it’s time again for the FCC and DOL tower safety workshop. Of course, when I say DoL I really mean OSHA in this case. The agenda can be found here. I am going to be on a panel for the workshop to discuss not only the problems in the industry but also some solutions.

Quick notes for those of you outside of the USA
- FCC = Federal Communications Commission
- DoL = Department of Labor
- OSHA = Occupational Safety and Health Association which is part of the DoL

The workshop that the FCC and the DoL have put together is going to be in the Headquarters of the FCC on February 11^th. The announcement is here. The FCC is in the Commission Room at 445 12^th Street, SW, Washington DC, 20554. The admission is free so if you can make it, if you can get the day off, I highly recommend that you show up and listen, participate by asking questions, and learn.

If you want to view the discussion remotely the go to t http://www.fcc.gov/live to see what’s going on.

This is very important, to submit questions during the conference, then send an email to livequestions@fcc.gov or Tweet the #FCClive hashtag.

I was there in October of 2014 for the last conference where the FCC and DoL announced the creation of TIRAP. We shall see what TIRAP progress has been made in the past year and who has adopted it. What do you know and remember of TIRAP? Do any of you in the field know about TIRAP and has it made any difference in your life? Let me know by entering the information in my contact form below. To learn more about TIRAP you can go to http://www.tirap.org/ and see what they have been up to. Personally I didn’t see a major impact in the industry yet, but I really want this to be a success. I am still waiting for that major impact.

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FYI – OSHA has a tower communication safety site, https://www.osha.gov/doc/topics/communicationtower/index.html, which at this writing looks like it really hasn’t been updated in a while. It still shows the deaths from 2014, not 2015. It still has announcements from 2014 and it seems there have been no updates in 2015. In 2014 this was great, unfortunately it seems that it hasn’t been updated since then. Come on guys, let’s get with it. Tower workers are still working and deaths have still happened, but they have been lower.

To get more information on the workshop reach out to the following people;
- Michael Janson, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, (202) 418-0627, michael.janson@fcc.gov
- Dean McKenzie, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (202) 693-1716, mckenzie.dean@dol.gov
- Zach Boren, Employment and Training Administration, (202) 693-2796, boren.zachary@dol.gov
Let’s talk agenda;
- 9AM Opening Remarks:
  - Roger Sherman, Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, FCC
  - Dean McKenzie, Acting Director, Directorate of Construction, DOL
  - Eric M. Seleznow, Deputy Assistant Secretary, ETA, DOL
  - Tom Wheeler, Chairman, FCC
- 9:30AM First Panel Discussion: FCC/DOL Guidance on Best Practices for Improving Safety;
  - Angela Jones, Union Wireless
  - Don Doty, National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE)
  - Jason Becker, National Radio Operations Branch, BLM
  - John Parham, Jacobs Engineering Group
  - Kevin Schmidt, National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA)
  - Wade Sarver, Wade4Wireless.com
  - Moderators:
    - Claire Wack, Attorney Advisor, Competition and Infrastructure Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, FCC
    - Jessica Douma, Regulatory Analyst, OSHA
- 10:30AM Second Panel Discussion: Comments Received in Response to OSHA’s Request for Information on Communication Tower Safety (OSHA-2014-0018);
  - Dr. Bridgette Hester, Hubble Foundation
  - Craig Lekutis, WirelessEstimator.com
  - Nick Vespa, Southeastern Towers
  - Richard Cullum, Crown Castle
  - Moderators:
    - Michael Janson, Associate Chief, Competition and Infrastructure Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, FCC
    - Erin Patterson, Regulatory Analyst, OSHA
- 11:30 Third Panel Discussion: Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) and Telecommunications Workforce Development;
  - Chase Hammock, TIRAP Apprentice, MUTI/Sabre Industries
  - Dave Anthony, Shenandoah Tower
  - David Sams, SBA Communications
  - Jonathan Adelstein, PCIA – The Wireless Infrastructure Association
  - Laurie Gebhardt, Verizon Wireless
  - Moderators:
    - Zachary Boren, Senior Advisor, Office of Apprenticeship, ETA
    - Matthew Warner, Attorney Advisor, Competition and Infrastructure Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, FCC

Here we are again looking at safety in the tower industry. There have been fewer deaths this year, thank GOD! I believe that we have had 2 slow years in a row for the industry. How many people have left the industry? From what I hear, so many. There will be an uptick in work in 2016, so we will need climbers. Will the guys that left come back? Only if they need the work and money because they know what the lifestyle is like. Travel, long hours, hard work, fair pay if you’re lucky, and then tossed aside when the work is done. Not the ideal American dream if you ask me and I have been part of this for years. I love wireless, I love RF, and I think that the wireless communications is the coolest thing in the world. However, it has problems that need to be fixed. Problems that need to be addressed.

Unfortunately, many tower climbers are not helping the situation, that’s right, this is not a one-sided argument where you are the victims. It will be a team effort to make changes. I am very optimistic, I feel we can solve the problems in the industry if we work together, if we all care enough to make change. I want to see this improve but I am tired. Remember, a quote that is NOT in the bible yet one we hear quite often, “GOD only helps those that help themselves” which something that most people say but very few people own. I believe it and I try to follow this advice along with the serenity prayer, which I know this version, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Again, not in the Bible.

I am concentrating on the deployment side of the industry lately because I really feel we can make a living deploying small cells and DAS because I love the engineering side. I still want to see the tower industry improve and I will do what I can to help, but it needs to be a team effort and one that the workers need to commit and have a voice as much as the owners and carriers. I am pointing this out because it’s easy for all of us to complain and bitch, but when it comes to doing something, that takes work, it’s an inconvenience, and something that few people do. It’s not my job but I have tried to help. If you want to learn what I think about this subject, I will put it in my newsletter, you can sign up below. Just say “Newsletter” in the notes section.

To see the replay of the 2014 session, go to https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/events/2014/10/workshop-on-tower-climber-safety-and-injury-protection.

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Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Did you ever lose a loved one in the industry? What if it were you? Do you want to make a difference? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children?

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Unlicensed LTE MulteFire Overview

February 1, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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Could you have LTE-U deployed anywhere just like Wi-Fi? We all love Wi-Fi, right? I am a huge fan of Wi-Fi, mainly because it’s mostly free and available almost anywhere. We all love the bandwidth when it’s clean and has a good connection. We can install it at home with little effort. Did I mention I love that most of the time it’s free! Don’t we love the fact it saves on our mobile device bill? We love free bandwidth and free data. It sure beats paying the carriers for the extra data used in our homes.

What if we could get better bandwidth with LTE-U? What if LTE-U could be a standalone format? It appears that MulteFire will be the LTE version of Wi-Fi. It is a standalone LTE-U format that Qualcomm developed. Then Nokia backed and now Ericsson! They formed the MulteFire Alliance! It’s just like the Wireless Broadband Alliance, WBA, which is an alliance of Wi-Fi operators, OEMs, and vendors.

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Let’s start off with some basics. What is LTE-U? It’s simply LTE in the unlicensed band where Wi-Fi resides. It is a completely different format than Wi-Fi because it is LTE. The main advantage the carriers like about LTE-U is that the devices can jump from LTE to LTE much easier than LTE to Wi-Fi formats. If you are running VoLTE, it makes a difference. However, before MulteFire LTE-U had to be anchored to a carriers LTE spectrum in aggregation. I believe MulteFire could change that if I read it right.

LTE-U is something that the carriers want. For the carriers there are different ways to extend their coverage by doing aggregation with unlicensed frequencies, this can be Wi-Fi or LTE-U, I wrote about the ways they do this here. Here is a quick aggregation refresher. LWA = licensed LTE with Wi-Fi, LAA which is LTE licensed with LTE-U unlicensed. In this case the carrier’s licensed spectrum would be the anchor and the other spectrum would be used accordingly.

What makes MulteFire different? MulteFire would allow an unlicensed provider to provide LTE-U in the unlicensed band as a standalone. This is just like the way the Wi-Fi carriers work now, at least that is how I see it. While Qualcomm built this to sell their chips, I see it as a revolution moving forward by putting LTE everywhere! Way to go Qualcomm! The cable companies could really build a cool network with MulteFire. I would look at it as evolution for the unlicensed spectrum.

The guys building out carrier class Wi-Fi don’t like to hear that because they have subscription models. Suddenly the carriers are appreciating these guys a lot more today because offload is a big deal in this digital data centric world we live in where apps and browsing rule the smartphone world we all live in. The carriers can’t keep up with all the data and they are looking to offload where they can. I am sure that T-Mobile’s Binge-On offer doesn’t help the loading issue, although they seem to be handling it very well. LTE appears to be very efficient and may really help the smartphone makers improve data upload and download in the unlicensed spectrum.

The Wi-Fi providers are concerned about interference from LTE-U. That may or may not be the issue. The test results appear to biased one way or the other so who knows. What I have seen in the real world is that if you have 5 Wi-Fi hotspots all lined up you see problems anyway. Maybe the same issue happens with LTE-U hotspots lined up with Wi-Fi but we will have to wait and see. LTE-U is still not in my world to play with, although I can’t wait until it is.

Will this spark small cell growth? Yes! We can put something like this in buildings it may really help with the extension of LTE coverage for all carriers. Verizon really likes this path. They are excited about the LTE-U spectrum. It may solve a lot of problems for them to deploy in many buildings where they would have had to put regular small cells. Now they plan add LTE-U small cells as a supplement to their coverage. If you do Verizon small cell work then get ready!

I think if this is deployed properly it could be an alternative to shared indoor DAS systems if the carriers can share the LTE-U hotspots. It may be a way to have a multicarrier coverage in a venue or building. I don’t see this at stadiums or arenas, but maybe in an office building where DAS or small cells don’t fit the budget. This is the space where Wi-Fi plays very well.

Drawbacks do exist just like they do for Wi-Fi! Remember that in the unlicensed bands you are very limited in power which means very limited coverage. There is no license so you could install it in a wide open area only to come back and see 6 other hotspots, Wi-Fi and LTE-U, right beside you in a week.

Currently there are security risks with Wi-Fi, supposedly LTE has better security, but once it’s in the unlicensed bands that may all change. I have a wait and see attitude.

I see this being deployed as a small cell. It would be something that the large OEMs would deploy first. I know that Nokia and Ericsson are already working on a product for the carriers. This will be exciting for the deployment teams.

This is a great opportunity to offer the carriers a venue where we could give LTE coverage with the option of tying back into the carrier for coverage. I also hope that this can be tied into the 3.5GHz spectrum here in the USA. I can’t wait until the FCC frees up more spectrum in the 3.5GHz band for LTE build outs. It will really help the utilities and the venues offer an alternative to the carriers. This will great increase competition and make a difference in who can deploy.

http://www.wireless-mag.com/News/39941/multefire-alliance-formed-to-drive-lte-use-in-unlicensed-spectrum.aspx

https://blog.networks.nokia.com/partners-and-customers/2015/12/16/nokia-and-qualcomm-multefire-alliance-to-combine-lte-and-wifi/

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0ahUKEwiBlaz30rvKAhWMKyYKHQ5jBjUQFggnMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnetworks.nokia.com%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fdocument%2Fnokia_multefire_executive_summary_0.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFillRLKwwRtzFNMxiHTgXkaHzYcA&sig2=Yy3SwPqK0ehiwyfVG7IyDg&bvm=bv.112064104,d.eWE

https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2015/06/11/introducing-multefire-lte-performance-wi-fi-simplicity

http://networks.nokia.com/portfolio/products/mobile-broadband/multefire

http://www.gadget.co.za/mutefire-targets-lte-cells/

https://www.abiresearch.com/blogs/multefire-vs-wi-fi-storm-tea-cup/

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The Business of Sprint Densification

January 28, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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In the past 2 weeks we all are reading about Sprint. I have to tell you, it’s like a soap opera listening to these guys. Here is a company that appears to have real problems. They had an earnings call and the fact that they said “the sky is not falling” was such good news their stock went up. All this after a Re/Code blog post sent stocks downward, (American Tower, Crown Castle, and Sprint) by stating the plan of Sprint. The power of blogging when a blog post can send stocks spiraling down and make a mediocre earnings call look great.

So what am I talking about? Let’s review what was said on the call, what I hear from contractors and PMs, and all the articles out there. I include the articles so that you know I am not making this up.

First off, Sprint did gain subscribers and the churn is down. Good news, not great news, but it’s not bad but not as good as any of the competition and even past calls. I mean Sprint is offering ½ off anyone else’s contract price, but they expect to keep the people well after the contract is up. Good luck with that but if someone came to you because you’re cheap, do you think they will stay because they like you or do you think they will continue to be cheap? Let’s look at it this way, if Wal-Mart shoppers found a cheaper place to shop, would they continue to go to Wal-Mart? What do you think?

Let’s talk more good news, Sprint is bragging about the fast network they have, article found here, where Nielson Mobile Performance states Sprint is faster than the other big carriers like T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. How is this so? Crowd source data says so, that’s how. So this is Sprints LTE download speeds according to crowd source information.

Then, how will Sprint improve the network? They have a plan that will do several things. First off, the densification with small cells and mini-macro sites will grow the network.

What is a macro mini or a mini macro? This could be either a single cell eNodeB, meaning just one BTS on a pole, probably with an Omni antenna but they would point it towards the area where they need the coverage. There are 2 ways to handle this so let me cover them both. It could be something like Nokia has, they are making an all in one station which is more like a large small cell, pretty awesome! This is an all in one unit. Or, the likely way Sprint will probably go because they don’t want to buy anything new, take an eNodeB that they already have in stock or from a macro site. They would deploy a single eNodeB with the smaller BBU cabinet about 5 feet off the ground and the radio head would probably be on the top of the pole. Then the antenna with the desired coverage. I believe that Sprint will go this way so that they can use what they have in stock and equipment they can rip off of existing macro sites to deploy. It seems they would rather pay the installers and integrators rather than buy new equipment. The site should have batteries so they may have to install a battery cable, which would be heavy and sit on the ground with about 4 hours of backup.

What about backhaul? Sprint does admit that they are going to get creative with the backhaul of the small cells and mini-macro sites. I read an article, found here, about how Sprint plans to use anything for backhaul. This makes sense to be and here is why. Microwave is one option, and with the removal of Clearwire they should have a ton of Dragonwave gear lying around. They can still use microwave on these poles, although it’s more to install and if they pay normal rent that would cost more, it has very little maintenance cost compared to the monthly recurring OpEx you have with fiber. It would make sense in the long run but you can’t throw in anywhere. You need to have line of site or at least near line of site to connect the sites. Then you need to go to a site that has fiber backhaul. As you add more sites going back to the fiber site you need to add capacity back to the core. Mr. John Saw also mentioned the 2.5GHz UE Relay for backhaul. This is cheap and easy to install and the small cells may come with the UE Relay box already installed. This is cheap and easy to install but the sites they go to need to have the added capacity. The other drawback is growth. If the small cell gets loaded then the UE backhaul may limit the backhaul speeds. Also, you need to dedicate that valuable spectrum of 2.5GHz for backhaul. So while it’s pretty cheap up front, it has a huge downside in the long run using the 2.5GHz spectrum, but I get it, Sprint is doing this build as cheap as possible.

Did you really think I wouldn’t talk about the reallocation of sites from the towers to the poles? I read an article by Ken Schmidt, found here on LinkedIn, that helps to clarify that Sprint can’t move from the towers overnight. Instead, I see them doing the densification where they build out the poles for a lot less rent. How will they save money doing this? Well, if it was one to one it would make sense. But you have to figure that it takes about 30 small cells or mini macros to cover what one full-blown macro site would do. So leaving macro altogether would be like deploying a Wi-Fi only system with spot coverage, not a reliable mobile network. It will take a HetNet to become a reliable network. Now, they are using Mobilitie to roll out and this makes sense because they are doing all that they can to bypass the tower companies. They are also doing the best that they can to use Right-of-Way, RoW, to save money. Let me explain RoW, if you can have Right-of-Way access on a pole you can install it for very little rent annually, even lower than going on a pole with the utility which is much lower than going with a traditional tower site owner. RoW is not free, you need to apply for permits and install a new pole and run power and figure out backhaul and pay for the installation. Make sure the neighbors are happy! Neighbors include not only the residents and businesses nearby but the city or municipality that will need to live with this new pole. Make sure it runs quietly and look beautiful. Everyone is looking and the locals are listening. San Francisco did a good job explaining this here. They would also like to install in light poles because that would be where the people are at, in malls, strip malls, arenas, etc. To see more on this here is a good explanation.

Something to think about, to put in a mini macro you would probably want height to get above clutter, maybe over 80 feet high. The reality is that most cities and municipalities will not allow this due to pole height restrictions, especially in RoW locations. So that could be a major problem with the RF design.

What about the network support? Currently Ericsson Management Services (EMS) handles this. Their contract will be up some time this year. They already have the RFP out there for a replacement but it is not clear who will win. My bet is the lowest bidder. If Sprint goes with someone new there will be a transitional period and they may need to retain some of the Ericsson people that can help guide the transition to make it painless.

Did I mention that they are almost done with the layoff of 2,500 (mostly customer care) people? According to them this is 7% of the workforce, and then they plan to hire back 1,300 people, guessing about 4% of the workforce, mostly RF engineers and sales people. This will save money, lose the customer service people and gain some sales and engineering talent. I find this interesting but it’s a well needed shift ion talent. Sprints engineers are really overworked. I also think that Sprint knows that if the sales people don’t sell then they will be replaced quickly. They are saving money doing this.

I know that everyone is looking not only at Sprint but also at Softbank for what they are doing. Let’s face it, they are really running the show for the network expansion based on what they learned in Japan. Is this innovation or insanity? We will see, but I have to admit, it’s really shaking up the industry. We need to shake up the industry once in a while. I thought that the deceased LightSquared might do that but they just went away, so sad. Will there be innovation with FirstNet? Maybe if Rivada can build the network but if the carriers win the bid it will just be another expansion, no innovation.

I have been talking to some contractors and Sprint is still doing some 2.5GHz growth, it is not dead. Mobilitie is handling the densification project. They are learning along the way but they have some very qualified people. As long as they can focus and be willing to pivot then they should do fine. They have already started. The one thing they need to very aware of is the permitting and planning done by the cities will change as they do the build. Trust me, the larger cities are keeping a close eye on the deployment so that they can learn and adjust the rules quickly to avoid problems in their city. They have already learned from the ExtaNet and Crown Castle deployments. This could be something that Mobilitie should look at and learn from.

I wish Sprint the best of luck. They are really shaking up the industry. They gave me a lot to talk about. Thank you Sprint, we all have so much to write about and talk about!

Last thing, there was an article that there is still Huawei gear in the Sprint network. Let’s clarify, it’s on the Clearwire network. Sprint is trying to take down the Clearwire network but they can’t because there is a court order making them keep it up in some areas.

If you’re interested in why some see this as network suicide, read Iain Gillott’s article in RCR, found here, and he lays it out step by step.

Earnings call recorded here and transcript here.

My last Sprint post is here.

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NATE Unite (And a note about STAC)

January 25, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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The NATE Unite conference is coming up soon, so who is going? I am! That’s right, I plan to go this year so if you think you will be there and you want to talk, let me know. I will be there to walk the exhibit floor, map found here, to meet and greet anyone who is interested. The schedule, found here,, shows me that the 22^nd and 23^rd will be the days to walk the floor. It’s in New Orleans this year so that is a great place to have it. If you want to talk just fill in the form below and let me know if you will be there and I will add you to my newsletter list. See you at NATE Unite!

For those of you that don’t know, NATE is the National Association of Tower Erectors and this show is something they do once a year to show off the vendors as well as get NATE business done. It is a the tower association in the USA for tower businesses. NATE also allowed carriers to join this year.

Training is important, so they thought of a way to provide industry standards. A spin-off group, the NWSA, National Wireless Safety Association is setting common training standards in the industry that, in theory, all NATE members will comply with. To get a jump on this they formed an alliance with the NCCCO, the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators. Let’s face it, Crane operators know rigging, tower climbers know rigging, it makes sense to partner and build on what has already been created.

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What about the Canadians?

I often hear from our friends to the north. The government there seems to recognize the tower industries safety issues and addressing them with more specifications. Do they have a group like NATE? Yes, S.T.A.C. has been formed! The Structure, Tower, and Antenna Council group has been formed. It is a group that will improve the standards of the Canuck climbers. These guys definitely have to deal with some tough weather conditions but they don’t complain about like I do. I think it’s great that they have an organization that is going to unite the climbers in that country. They also have to put everything in 2 languages, French and English, so that proposes more of a challenge for the group.

STAC is for Canadian wireless communication carriers, tower owners and operators, tower and rooftop equipment service suppliers, and wireless facilities and maintenance contractors. This group aims to provide a unified voice for the climbers in Canada as well as providing all the safety education and information needed in that industry.

I look forward to seeing NATE and STAC work together in the future. If these groups can form an international union, then maybe we could see these groups pop up worldwide in every country. I am sure there are more out there that I don’t know about but just think if they formed international training education for all the climbers. That would have the potential to share the absolute best ideas worldwide that would elevate the tower industry to a new level, worldwide. Just a dream I have. We can all learn from each other in methodology and ideas.

Fundraiser at NATE Unite!

Don’t miss this! The TFF will be auctioning off a Drone and Software package at NATE to raise money for the Tower Family Foundation. It’s a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone. The TFF will hold a silent auction to raise money for the families of tower climbers. To get details on the auction and the drone, read this. The auction will take place at NATE Unite. Remember all the money goes into the foundation where all the workers there contribute their time and do not take a salary. While prevention is the best cure for tower climber accidents, it’s nice to know that the families have the support of the TFF in their time of need. They don’t blame, don’t judge, they just help. They need to raise money to help out the families of tower climber accidents. To learn more about the TFF read this. Remember that if you have a family member who does tower work that you have a friend in the industry if things go bad.

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FirstNet RFP, Deploy if you Dare!

January 21, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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The FirstNet RFP was released! Can you believe it? I started working on this back in 2011 making material for the pending RFP, and here it is in 2016. I was so excited until I looked at all of the documentation, wow! There is so much. However, I am not going to break it all down, I just want to give a high level view of what it will mean to the deployment teams. Deployment will not happen until 2017, installations mid to late 2017, but when it does, there will be plenty of work.

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So, what does this mean to the wireless deployment community? Well, almost nothing until 2017. Let’s face it, to go through this it will take some time. FirstNet expects their responses to come in April where they will need to review it and see who can do it. Unless you work on the RFP response, 2016 won’t mean much to you. The way the RFP is written, it may not matter anyway.

Who can do it? It will take a carrier. It will not happen too quickly even though they want it too. I see AT&T having the best shot at doing this. I think Verizon would be a great competitor but I get the feeling they’re not interested mainly because they always answer with “No comment” when asked. Either they are still deciding or they don’t’ want to.

One thing that will hold back integrators is the penalty they will get if public safety does not subscribe, Donny Jackson wrote an article here. Isn’t government great when they want a sustainable system? They can just say that you have to pay them or don’t bid. That will hold back integrators because FirstNet is really looking for carriers, not integrators. In fact, it could even hold back the carriers. They already have working models without the potential penalties. FirstNet is doing all that they can to hold back the number of bidders. I am reading through the RFP, but I didn’t see this section just yet but I do see the minimum payments part. Maybe I missed it but I was more concerned with the actual equipment and services. If this is the case, why would anyone take this on? Even AT&T has to think it might not be worth it unless they see value in the spectrum. Is AT&T is willing to pay this as a fee to get more spectrum, after all, FirstNet can’t sell it. Will AT&T set up a public safety sales division to sell to public safety groups nationwide? It may become more of a headache than an asset but they may do it for the additional spectrum.

T-Mobile might do this for spectrum as well, but will they tackle something like this? Probably not. They may not want to deal with the extra work or the potential for bad press or the penalties. It probably isn’t on their roadmap unless they really, really want the spectrum.

I don’t see Sprint doing it. They are a mess and need to worry about their own system before they deploy another system.

It looks like FirstNet really pigeon holed this RFP towards carriers, nationwide carriers who already have a system built and running. All the anticipation in the industry and now it looks like no integrator would want to touch it with these crazy penalties. However, I guess you can sell your own devices on this spectrum and that may be a source of revenue. If you can’t get the public safety groups to go on it then it may be an additional way to load the network. They will like it until there is an emergency and the spectrum is pulled away from the consumer for emergency responders, but if no public safety group is on it then why bother?

Selling public safety is more than just providing a great deal, it also has to do with politics. Some groups may sign up to support the network and others may not just because they don’t believe in it. It’s not like the carrier market where you do have loyalty, but mostly people sign up for coverage and price, maybe to get a cool phone but you can put almost any phone on any network in today’s world.

Now, the deployment scenarios.

Timeline – with the RFP being released in January of 2016 and being due in April, there may be an extension so let’s say May. Then FirstNet need to evaluate the responses, which it may only be AT&T. If there are a lot of responses then it may take the rest of the year. Once they pick a winner then the negotiations and final contract talks need to be completed. Then the deployment will happen. I say 2017 with RF design and site acquisition then site design, structural engineering, and then installation, commissioning, integration and finally optimization. If it’s an AT&T then it will be treated as an expansion or system growth, not really a new deployment. Installation probably happening mid to late 2017, all the way through 2019.

A new carrier with a system integrator – this would be where a new carrier would partner with a Harris or Motorola. If they got it then there would be many RFPs coming out to expand. First they would need to work with an OEM to deploy. The RFP is so much more than that, but let’s just concentrate on deployment. They would need to secure tower space, create a massive RF design, then site design, then deploy. I don’t know what the deployment strategy would be but it would be a lot of work and the equipment may not be ready until mid to late 2017 to be mounted. Antennas, cables, and eNodeBs would all need to be ordered which they may have something or they may not. It would be close to what Verizon has to maybe it would not take so long to develop. Maybe 6 months. Then the installation could begin. Logistics would be a major factor. Get ready for RFPs out the wazoo if that happens.

It’s too bad that LightSquared is in dire straits because this would be a good play for them or a start-up if they can sell their own products on this system and FirstNet would pay them to do it.

Carrier – If a carrier wins, like T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T, then I would imagine they would treat it like an expansion and try to deploy it along with whatever else they have to deploy. The only problem they have would be reporting progress back to FirstNet on a regular basis. The deployment teams would again probably not start until mid to late 2017 because of the design and the equipment details. You see, AT&T has to worry about the existing leases so they need to decide if they can get a new radio head and antenna or if they have to add new sectors altogether. I would think they could expand but the leases have to go through before they can do much of anything. The sad part of this is that AT&T will go back to the turf model, so they will need to be sure that all the climbers are certified and safe. It will be a challenge because this is a federal project so they will be deploying under a microscope.

For the deployment teams, more work! RF Design will be needed. For tower leasing companies, it should mean a lot more revenue! For site design and structural engineers, so much more work! You all have the upfront work to do so the installation and integration teams can get to work. Then the optimization will happen. This should be over 3 years of macro deployments nationwide. It all depends on who you’re already aligned with.

If you’re thinking about small cells and DAS, I would think any of that would happen until late 2018, unless AT&T wins, then it may happen sooner. FirstNet will need better coverage, so the indoor coverage will matter at some point. To achieve this they will need small cells all around, inside and out. I see this as a huge boost for the small cell deployments. Unfortunately it won’t happen until 2018 at the earliest, 2019 is more likely.

So get out there and deploy America! Deploy for your country to finally have a nationwide broadband network so that they can watch everyone on live video feeds at will! Oh, don’t get me wrong, I see big brother watching, but who has time to watch everyone, seriously, who? This network will help public safety teams do so much more. The police will have live video available to track bad guys. Fire and Ambulance can use it to send medical data back and forth so they can treat someone live in the field and on the way to the hospital to save lives. The game commission can use it so that I can watch the eagles in their nest, like this one in Pa. I can’t wait. Just as long as the government doesn’t mandate cat videos on YouTube, then I am good.

Just think if we could see the first responders in real-time with their body camera video, how cool would that be? At least the 911 dispatch could get a glimpse of what’s happening real-time so they could call for back up or medical if needed. Really, that’s a game changer.

By the way, all of this has been done so far with the FCC spectrum auction money, not tax dollars. I hope they can sustain it without tax dollars, but only time will tell. They put penalties in there because they thought the spectrum was so valuable that people would live with it, will they? Time for a reality check! The response to the RFP will tell the tale.

Tell me what you think and get on my email list today!

To see the FirstNet RFP, go to http://firstnet.gov/ to learn more and download it here, https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=7806696f4340f16474647ccc57805040&_cview=0 and they had a webinar, the slides are available here, http://www.firstnet.gov/sites/default/files/Jan-15%20FirstNet%20RFP%20Webinar%20Presentation_0.pdf in PDF format.

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Will Sprint Shine or Fade?

January 18, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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I believe most of you see that Sprint has been an interesting story, but the real question is will they shine or fade. Sprint has made a lot of moves only to see their subscriber base shrink. They have done a so-so job marketing and their network has some ups but mostly remains the same. They have made it clear that they only want to grow if someone else pays for it and that they don’t want to spend any money if possible.

So what is Sprint’s next move? Well, there are several, let’s cover the ones that concern the company’s network.

What about the network? That’s what I am interested in. Sprint’s optimization effort really seems to be paying off. They have been making inroads by improving their Rootmetrics scores. For instance, in Austin they were #1 in download speed and tied for #1 in performance, reliability, and calls, per this article. That’s not all. They also got #1 in DC for call performance and network reliability. So Sprint is improving their network as they wind down their optimization effort this year. Now they should start growing their network. It seems like they have trouble doing both.

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So Sprint has handed over the densification project to Mobilitie, who has started growing the network. It appears that they already started with applications being filed in Salem City, Ma, found here. Mobilitie is taking on the task of building and financing the network for Sprint. What a deal for Sprint. I hope Mobilitie has good financing, which I am sure they do. So it appears that Sprint will finally move ahead growing their network. They are finding ways to do it without supporting any of the traditional players in the ecosystem.

How will they do this? Two things come to mind. Sprint announced that they plan to cut over $1B from the budget by running away from tower companies. They really want to get out of their leases with American Tower and Crown Castle, according to this article in ReCode, they intend to get out of those leases and find a cheaper way to do this. Well, let’s look at this, chances are good that they signed long-term leases with this guys so they will have to wait until the lease is up to make a cost-effective move. I know that American Tower leases are tough and binding so Sprint would pay now or pay later, so why be in a hurry. Also, to move will cost money, so will they really move? Does that make sense? It would in the long haul of they can save enough money on the monthly recurring, the OpEx would really go down. However, I think that Sprint is too savvy for that, I think they will let the densification happen on Mobilitie’s dime then start to decommission the macro sites where they can. For one thing, if you talk to anyone at Sprint you realize they have no money to spend except on hiring presidents. The infrastructure needs to limp along for a while longer. So I don’t see any reason for ATC or CC to worry about this immediately.

What else does ReCode bring up? The expensive and horrible contracts that Sprint is in for backhaul. They mention how Sprint is relying on AT&T and Verizon for fiber connections, most of which are probably antiquated anyway. According to the article they spend over $1Billion a year on this. Now, they plan to use microwave again, back to the future? Microwave was quite common but let’s look at this. They still need fiber at the sites to get it back to the core, right? Sprint also should look at expansion, will they pick a microwave vendor that can grow with them? It’s not necessarily the vendor’s limitations. They need to pay more to rent extra space on the tower to add the dishes, they need to make sure that the licensed spectrum is enough for 100Mbps or more of backhaul. Then, the site they are sending it to has to expand to support multiple sites instead of just one. All of this and there needs to be line of site for the link to work properly. Sure, you could go NLOS, near line of site or no line of site technology, but it may not give you the bandwidth you really want from a site. Their maintenance costs might be higher because if they have weather related issues it will mean more dispatches. It will still be cheaper than paying the monthly OpEx for fiber. They have to really think it through, but they have really smart engineers, I am sure that they are very confident that all the pieces will fall into place, right?

So, you may have asked about using in-band for backhaul. I know that this is a major thing with the small cells and mini macro sites because Sprint put it in their RFPs. This is something that Sprint has expressed an interest in using their licensed 2.5GHz spectrum for backhaul. They have plenty of it but will they do this today and stunt the growth for tomorrow? I find it interesting that a company whose CFO said that the chunks of 600MHz spectrum are not enough, article found here, would use the 2.5GHz spectrum for backhaul. It doesn’t make sense to me because he won’t participate in the 600MHz auction because it’s not enough spectrum. They decide not to get some spectrum, in these days of aggregation, and opt for no spectrum. No wonder John LeGere makes fun of these guys. Sprint has plenty of 2.5GHz spectrum to grow but they are slowly rolling it out. They also appear to keep the 3G network up and running for voice for some time while all the other carriers are moving to VoLTE to sunset 3G. On the bright side Sprint should be able to buy used 3G equipment to maintain their system for voice.

They need to be aligned. Marcello Claure has been hiring regional presidents. Very regional and specific, like Johan Chung for Northern California and Nevada, Jim Mills for Illinois and Wisconsin, Conrad Hunter for New England region, and Karen Paletta for New York and Philly Tri-State regions. For more go to their Newsroom site here. Will this pay off? How will they structure this? They have technical VPs that run each region so will these presidents run everything or just sales and marketing? Will they put all of the technical personnel under the same umbrella? I doubt it but I find it interesting to have a president of the South, Jaime Jones, and then a specific president of Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, Brian S Miller. That’s a lot of presidents. So if a customer wants to speak to the president, the Sprint rep can say, which one?

So, will Sprint survive or should they merge with T-Mobile? Maybe a cable company (Comcast) should take them over. It would make sense and they definitely need to grow but the heavy debt load that Sprint has really makes them an ugly target, what a shame. One thing I have learned over the past several months is that Sprint appears to be in trouble, financially. They appear to be bleeding subscribers but I think that’s because T-Mobile is growing their network and aggressively rolling out and their marketing campaign is changing the industry. Good for T-Mobile.

How did Sprint get here, I really don’t know, but if you call PNC Bank maybe they will connect you to Dan Hesse who sits on the board there now, maybe he has some answers.

It takes money and a good plan to run a network like this. It is not an easy thing. There are 3 carriers who appear to be doing it right and one who consistently struggles, why is that? I hope that Marcelo Claure and Softbank can turn Sprint around. It may be painful and maybe they can be disrupting enough to be a game changer. We’ll see.

I really want Sprint to succeed and become healthy again, sooner than later, but they really need to start moving in a positive direction soon. Maybe they already are and I just don’t see it.

By the way, the carriers need to free the small cells! Find out more by clicking here.

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FCC and DOL Safety Review

January 14, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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There is a great effort in its second year, put together by the FCC and DOL to align safety nationwide in the tower industry. They have collaborated to create TIRAP, an apprenticeship training program similar to what unions and utilities use in other industries. The next meeting will be Feb 11, 2016 at FCC Headquarters. I plan to be there. They are going to align the communications industry with the workforce rules, meaning that the FCC knows the tower industry and the DOL has OSHA who knows safety. The 2 departments of the US government are aligned to create a model for safety in the USA. One that we should be proud of. I believe that collaboration is the key and that OSHA doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. They are trying to align their rules with the tower work that needs to be done.

The Wireless Deployment Handbook, LTE Small Cells, CRAN, and DAS edition.

It is never a good year for the tower industry when we lose even one climber, and this year we lost several, including Ernie Jones who did more for the tower industry than almost anyone.

So this was a bad year but the losses were lower, and what is the theme? Pay attention! We lost a few veterans and someone new who if the people training here would have been paying attention they would have had her on a rope grab. This was a tough year even though the losses were less than previous years. Any lost life in the industry is terrible.

So how can we help each other out? By working as partners! We give each other grief when the other screws up, so make sure that you have someone watching over you and pointing out your mistakes. Be proactive! This is why the boy scouts have the buddy system, for support and to keep each other in line. Don’t think it will happen to you? That’s what Ernie. A seasoned veteran who got distracted just for a minute because he was busy. We really should be working in pairs as partners.

We also have NATE who created the NWSA to create a standardized certification program. While there isn’t much available yet for the climber there are rigging certifications from the crane industry that are paving the way for climbing certifications. This is quite an undertaking for this group. They have been trying to get more and more out there for the climbing technician.

If an accident happens, there is support for the injured workers and their families. There is support for the families of the fallen climbers. We have the Hubble Foundation and the Tower Family Foundation who do all that they can to support the victims of these horrendous accidents. They don’t ask too many questions but they are available to support whoever it would be, the families or the injured. Once someone has a detrimental accident chances are good they will never work the same again. If they are fallen then their families will never truly recover, but they need financial aid, which both groups do, because the banks don’t really care why the families can’t pay their bills. These financial problems can snowball as families have to pay for medical bills. It’s even worse when they have to pay the funeral bill. I see the fundraisers on GoFundMe.com when families need help.

So what can you do? If you are in the industry you can do several things. First, be safe and pay attention by looking out for yourself and your workmates, don’t’ let your smartphone distract you when climbing or driving. Second, give to the charity of your choice on the websites for the TFF or Hubble. Finally, let’s support the FCC and DOL as they come together to promote safety for the wireless worker at tower sites.

And now, some notes and history, helpful and reminders.

Money is an issue in the tower climber business. Most companies are small because they have trouble keeping work, money is a very important issue in this business and when people don’t get paid it ripples down to safety. The turf model of hiring contractors needs to be better regulated, in my opinion. Everyone will talk but not if they have to go public. http://wade4wireless.com/2015/09/16/tower-climbers-real-1-problem/
I came up with an idea for end to end safety with the safety audit. http://wade4wireless.com/2015/05/29/end-to-end-safety-the-site-safety-audit/
Plan for saving lives –http://wade4wireless.com/2014/03/12/follow-my-plan-and-save-tower-climbers-lives/
Here were my OSHA RFQ http://wade4wireless.com/2015/04/22/osha-rfi-questions-for-tower-climbers/
I did a post on whether the tower industry could police itself. http://wade4wireless.com/2015/01/07/will-the-tower-industry-police-itself/
I got many comments from climber that responded to the industry policing itself.
Ideas for proving that you have the proper certifications that are not out of date – http://wade4wireless.com/2015/11/05/prove-youre-certified/
Responsibility poll http://wade4wireless.com/2013/12/26/responsibility-poll-results/
I got the firsthand update on Ernie Jones. http://wade4wireless.com/2015/11/16/what-happened-to-ernie/
Are schedules killing the workers?http://wade4wireless.com/2014/11/18/are-work-schedules-killing-the-wireless-field-worker-yes/
Are tower injuries the price of doing business?http://wade4wireless.com/2014/11/09/tower-injuries-is-this-the-price-of-doing-business/
RF is a hazard
Let’s not forget the hazard of ticks
Drugs in the industry http://wade4wireless.com/2014/08/27/drugs-morons-and-steel/
Climber’s gear http://wade4wireless.com/2013/12/01/wireless-field-worker-how-is-your-gear/
There are many unsafe towers out there so we have an unofficial unsafe towers database, but even this is causing problems because owners are angry about the list. However, let me tell you, American Tower and Crown appreciate being told about tower problems and they are very quick to address them. http://wade4wireless.com/2014/09/13/report-the-unsafe-towers-in-a-public-database/

Tower climber risks:

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/02/20/hazardous-poop-look-out-dangerous-bird-and-bat-poop/

http://wade4wireless.com/2015/05/29/osha-rfi-response-for-hazards-and-incidents/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/08/20/do-or-die-are-you-in-over-your-head/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/08/06/trucks-ropes-heat-and-near-misses/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/05/28/my-top-11-rooftop-hazards/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/05/17/rf-awareness-are-you-aware-seriously-are-you/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/08/13/near-miss-stories-lessons-learned/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/09/09/feedback-3-near-miss-drugs/

Injured Tower climber Support

http://wade4wireless.com/2015/11/02/when-a-climber-falls-who-cries/

http://wade4wireless.com/2015/11/09/tff-dont-blame-dont-judge-just-help/

http://wade4wireless.com/2014/07/11/interview-part-1-with-dr-bridgette-gette-hester-founder-of-the-hubble-foundation/

My IWCE presentation on YouTube about Tower Climber Safety. If you want the PowerPoint slides, just ask. I presented this in early 2015 at IWCE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFzad7zjjdQ

That’s all for this week, be smart, be safe, and pay attention.

I hope this helps, for more get the eBook! Find out where to get the eBook here.

By the way, the carriers need to free the small cells! Find out more by clicking here.

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2016 WD4Cast

January 11, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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The 2016 Wireless Deployment Forecast Edition!

OK, so I thought it would be nice to see where we think the deployment industry will go in 2016. So I look at this as the Wireless Deployment Forecast, WD4Cast. What is happening with small cells, DAS, the carriers, FirstNet, and the deployment industry? I give you my views here, from a high level of course and this is my perspective. Keep in mind this is an educated guess based on what I see today. I sure don’t believe much of what AT&T says after they completely killed deployment in 2015, remember that? I am sure that MasTec does because they had to lay off a slew of people and watch their training facility fill with cobwebs.

The Wireless Deployment Handbook, LTE Small Cells, CRAN, and DAS edition.

600MHz Auction. I may bring up the 600 MHz in this but if the auction is this year then the carriers won’t have much until next year. They will wait for the OEMs to have a radio head before they can do much. Each carrier will have their own specifications. So I see 600MHz happening in 2017 but they may prepare for it in 2016. However, the broadcasters will have their hands full with the changes that are to come. Will they just decommission and retire? Will they move to a new band? Will they just merge with another carrier and share the digital channels. Let’s face it, more broadcast channels didn’t need the new channels that they got when they went digital, so why not share? It makes sense to me but I really don’t know what the FCC implications would be. It sounds like a great idea if a broadcaster could lease out the other channels they have for over the air, OTA, coverage. Or they could split the maintenance and lease costs with the new partner. Just a few suggestions.

Deployment will increase this year. We all expect so much but the carriers don’t want to spend more than they have to because they want to see an increase in revenue. While AT&T says that, look at the DirecTV acquisition, they want to grow new sources of revenue, so they stopped the wireless growth for a year. They also want to come up with a better way to deploy. They originally thought that they could put a car on top of a tower, or at least the equivalent of the weight of a car, but they had to rethink that. So maybe they are trying to figure out how to deploy properly. Whereas Verizon and T-Mobile decided to build more sites over the past 2 year and it seems to be working very well. They are getting the biggest bang for each dollar they spend on spectrum, how cool is that? By building more sites they can shrink the cell coverage, alleviate the loading, and improve customer experience. What a concept! Now that they figured it out maybe the other carriers will follow suit.

Let’s talk FirstNet. If you’re on a team that responds to RFPs, then you will be busy for most of 2016 with FirstNet because they will have everyone responding to the RFP coming out very soon. Other than that we won’t see any work from that until maybe mid 2017. The site acquisition teams and the site engineering teams may see it before that. In fact, if AT&T does respond to the offer like they said they would, then it will be all the AT&T contractors that will get the work because, in my opinion, AT&T is in the best position to win it. Remember that the FirstNet build is more than deployment. They need billing systems, device distribution, and more. They got nothing and need all the systems to be in place so that they can cover all public safety entities in the USA. Not something that most companies can do but a carrier is already setup to do this.

Verizon Wireless has been building with a steady plan, and I see them ramping up a bit in 2016 just because they will have more spectrum to deploy. “They won some in the previous auction and the equipment should be ready. One thing that all of the carriers will want to do is put as much in one radio head as possible to save on the tower rent. They don’t want to overload the tower but more importantly they want to cram as much as they can into a radio head. They want to see if one antenna can handle this and 600MHz so that they can add weight but no more units to the tower. Don’t worry, if you are working for them you will be replacing what they have and they will need to do structural on the tower for the additional weight. It will be more work on the tower connecting up more fiber, maybe, and more RF cables from the radio head to the antennas. Maybe even replacing the antennas.

AT&T will finally do some more field work. What choice do they have? They need to start growing again so that they can deploy the new spectrum. Deploy, deploy, deploy! They will expand the tower sites. I do believe they will develop a small cell or CRAN plan as well. While they said it was too expensive, Verizon helped drive the costs down because of their cutting edge thinking. AT&T just wanted to take over DirecTV, they didn’t have time to be creative. However, another plus with AT&T is that they plan to deploy the Wireless Local Loop, WLL, for broadband connectivity. This is awesome if they actually do it because t will compete with the cable companies for access to homes, if they can make it work! It is a big demand to offer that much wireless broadband to a home for video. Just because T-Mobile USA offers free video streaming doesn’t mean AT&T will.

T-Mobile is still growing and seeing the rewards of more customers, they well deserve them because they have been adding more sites and more spectrum! Way to go T-Mobile! I appreciate all the work you’re doing and I see you doing more, maybe 20% more in 2016. I hope so anyway because you have the opportunity to compete with the big boys and leave Sprint in the dust. This is great that you are deploying. T-Mobile USA has done some great things in 2015, with the growth of the system and the distribution of small cells to the home, the femto cells, and the marketing that they have in place to really propel their growth by leaps and bounds. I really have to give a lot of credit to Legere for all that he has done to grow and put his foot on Sprint. I would say that AT&T and Verizon see a real competitor in T-Mobile, a real threat.

Sprint may actually start the densification that they talked about for years. We all know Sprint. They will find the most cost-effective, (cheapest), way to do it. They went through a learning process, a bunch of RFPs to vendors, to eliminate any normal way of doing it and then they threw it in the lap of Mobilitie to make it happen. Good luck Sprint, the deployment teams will be happy for the work as long as they make money and don’t do it for free or at a loss. Remember, they want to earn a living, not work for nothing. Now, to be fair, Sprint isn’t actually doing the deployment management, it is actually Mobilitie who is making this happen. From what I hear Mobilitie is already moving ahead and laying out the plan for densification. They are working to deploy the mini macro, which is really a single sector cell site. That single sector will probably be an Omni antenna. It appears as though Sprint will deploy in-band backhaul where possible so they don’t have to run fiber anywhere or mount a panel, so this will maintain a low profile site, in theory. I am curious to see how that goes and if that 2.5GHz spectrum is more valuable as backhaul than fronthaul. If you were an investor and saw that spectrum as backhaul like 5.8GHz, how would you feel about it? Mobilitie is making a move and should have a lot of work for deployment teams this year. It appears their plan is innovative, or cheap depending on your perspective, by deploying on non tower company owned sites and using as much existing equipment taken from inventory and macro sites. Again, this is merely an observation, not sure if they will actually deploy this way.

LTE small cells, CRAN, and DAS. I love the HetNet! I will start with the outdoor deployments. I really think that this year, if the carriers deploy they will rely on deploying small cells and oDAS around town because, as Verizon has shown, this is the best way to utilize the spectrum that you already have. I think that T-Mobile will follow suit because they are smart and they intend to densify the heavily populated areas. I know that we all talk about the Sprint densification plan but all the carriers are doing this, they just call it a Het Net system, (Heterogeneous Network). The Het Net is where you deploy multiple Macro, small cell, and DAS. I would also include Wi-Fi and LTE-U in this network. Throw it all in there and you have a Het Net system. I am really excited about the 3.5GHz spectrum that the FCC will open up to LTE because of the new opportunities. If the FCC opens this up and gives out the spectrum it will be a beautiful thing when we can deploy on the lightly licensed spectrum for fronthaul and backhaul. WOW, it is really going to help smaller businesses deploy small cell as a service, (SCAAS), and I can’t wait!

By the way, Carriers need to Free the Small Cells!

Let’s look inside, indoor coverage. If you look around you will see that most people rely on Wi-Fi for most everything but voice. Am I right? There are still issues with handing off the call to Wi-Fi. I know we expected carrier Wi-Fi to pick up the slack but the only company I saw to make inroads on this was T-Mobile who did a great job with Wi-Fi calling, but it still doesn’t hand off to LTE very well, at least that is what I am told. So how will we improve indoor coverage? I know we will rely on DAS and Wi-Fi, but the carriers don’t want to pay for any more indoor coverage that doesn’t have a payback, I get it. What we need is to put small cells and Wi-Fi and LTE-U in as many buildings as we can. Who will pay? The landlords and the businesses in the buildings. Who will deploy? The deployment teams doing small cell and DAS

That’s all for this week, be smart, be safe, and pay attention.

I hope this helps, for more get the eBook! Find out where to get the eBook here.

By the way, the carriers need to free the small cells! Find out more by clicking here.

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Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Small Cell Installation Checklist

January 4, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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For all of you that want do small cell installations for the carriers, this may help you along. Let’s start with a high level checklist to verify the steps before doing any installations. I have more detail in the podcast.

Quick high level checklist:

Get certified by the OEM
Know the local permitting and ordinances
Landlord issues
Site Survey
Outdoor is different from indoor
Where is power coming from?
Traffic control
Grounding
Mounting
Testing and commissioning
Optimization

Now, a more detailed list that may help you out, taken from my book. The Wireless Deployment Handbook, LTE Small Cells, CRAN, and DAS edition.

Installation

Here is where the hardware actually gets installed. Let’s look at what needs to be done.

The indoor small cell is usually 2 watts or less and could be 12 inches by 6 inches by 4 inches or less and generally will weigh 10 lbs or less. They could have a very small and light antenna on them for either Omni directional coverage or directional coverage. Indoor small cells could remind you of the Wi-Fi access point, unit but bigger.

If you’re installing an outdoor unit then it may be bigger and you have to weather proof the connections.

If it is a CRAN system then it could be DAS, or you may have a DAS system that may have receive antennas or a front end with a BBU.

Remember that we are doing a quality installation, I have seen some horrible Wi-Fi installations. This is a quality installation that will work great and look very nice or be hidden from the customer, get it?

Let’s get ready to install.

By the way, Carriers need to Free the Small Cells!

So let me ask you a few questions:

What are you installing?
1. Small Cell
2. CRAN
3. DAS unit
4. Backhaul
5. Fronthaul
6. Cable runs for fiber, copper, or RF?
Do you have the NTP, Notice to Proceed, from your customer?
Do you have permission from the landlord or tenant? If your customer has it then maybe you should have a copy.
Is the landlord/tenant expecting you?
Were you trained and certified by the OEM?
Do you know how to ground the unit properly?
Do you know how to clean and terminate fiber?
Do you know how to crimp and terminate CAT5 and CAT6?
Do you know how to mount the unit properly and permanently?
Do you know the antenna alignment? Do you know how to connect the antenna and weather proof it if needed?
Di d you document everything properly?
Do you know how to commission and test the unit?
Do you know the closeout package requirements of your customer so you do not need to return to the site?

Installation Preparation

Make sure you have all of your ducks lined up prior to the installation. I am talking about all the things that you may need on site.

Did you make an appointment with the landlord or tenant or manager?
Did you confirm?
Do you have a name and number of the on site contact?
Do you have the equipment you are installing or are expecting prior to the installation? Can you track it to see if it was shipped?
Did you record the serial number of the unit you are installing and document it?
Do you have any certification that are required to show anyone on site in case you are asked?
Did you or someone test the unit you are installing? Are you sure it will work?
Do you have all the stuff you need like cables, caulk, connectors, hardware, and anything else needed?
Did you review the site survey? Did it prepare you for the installation?
If it’s outside, do you need traffic control?
Will you be able to install at that particular time of day? A pole installation may require you to mount at night. While inside a building they may want you there at lunchtime when no one is in a particular office. Know your schedule ahead of time if possible.
Do you need to have a lease in place before mounting, is it in place?

I hope this helps, for more get the eBook! Find out where to get the eBook here.

By the way, the carriers need to free the small cells! Find out more by clicking here.

Subscribe! iTunes or Stitcher

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