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.
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?
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?
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?
What if I gave you a way to remove an obstacle in deploying DAS systems? When selling DAS, usually the price can be in the way, even though you offer your best price, you may need a way to help the customer pay for it. Maybe this will help you move ahead in your next DAS deployment. You all know that the carriers are not crazy about smaller shared DAS venues any more. T-Mobile made this very clear with their recent statements that they don’t want to pay for DAS systems. They are tired of paying for these systems and getting a limited return. They are not alone because Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint were already headed in that direction. Small cells are going to help drive the cost of DAS systems down and now that LTE is taking over, the new systems will be all digital. It also looks like they will be a mix of Wi-Fi and LTE-U. Here is a way to help the enterprise and real estate companies pay for the systems.
Before you start to panic, the large venues, like stadiums, will continue to be paid for by the carriers using a combination of LTE and Wi-Fi for content delivery. As you know everyone is using their phones and tablets to see the replays and the extended coverage at these games. The NFL gets it because they offer enhanced services in most stadiums for the people who pay to see these games. They want you to appreciate the game by seeing it live and seeing every possible angle on your device. That is really cool!
Back to the smaller venues. I just watched a presentation that Iain Gillott of IGR put together to show that most users of smart phone rely on it indoors. I would say in an enterprise environment. He sells the report here if you’re interested. This is a growing area of concern but the carriers no longer want to pay for any DAS systems. So the business or building owner will need to pick a carrier and then install. Now Wi-Fi makes it easy, if you install Wi-Fi then you offer them a data solution. But what if they need to make a call or if there is an emergency and 911 becomes an issue. If there is no voice coverage in the building then the problems compound. Many work places no longer rely on landlines, so the wireless coverage is crucial!
Voice still matters! If someone collapses do you text someone for help? Just like public safety coverage in large buildings. The first responders need to stay in touch with their crews on every floor, whether it’s the roof or the basement, everywhere in between is a critical area when there is an emergency. Lately there have been many emergencies here in the US such as fires, bombings, and shootings. What about a medical emergency? If you have a heart attack you want to make sure they can do what they can on the scene so you are stable for the ride to the hospital. That’s how I see it. First responders need to have seamless coverage.
First off, I would recommend that the carriers let go of their hold on the front end, it could be a small cell or the BTS, I wrote about it here, but they need to come up with a system to allow DAS to get installed so they stop being the bottle neck of the process. They say that they don’t want to pay then they won’t let anyone else install the system. Well, which is it Verizon and AT&T? Make up your mind to let the public do this so they can help your coverage. Public safety groups are so happy when someone offers to put in a system for them. They don’t push back, they say thank you!
This is where Sentry Financial can help. They will finance the DAS system for creditworthy customers so that the installers and vendors get paid. Then the owner can make reasonable payments over time and it will be a write off for them all the same. See the win-win? The vendors all get paid, the building or business owner meets the requirements without all the upfront costs.
I had a conversation with Jenn Faber (jfaber@sentryfinancial.com) of Sentry Financial Corporation, the director of business development, about financing these systems. I am interested because I plan to work with small cell and DAS side of the industry more and more. This is a segment that is booming. We just have to come up with ways to make it affordable.
So Jenn told me that financing is a great option for the larger DAS systems going in, why? Because it provides a model where the financing is taken care of ahead of time. Here are some questions I asked her.
What DAS systems would you finance?
All DAS systems for creditworthy end users. Financing may include passive or active equipment as well as design and installation.
Who would finance these systems? Would it be enterprise, building owners, government entities, utilities, small to medium businesses, installers, or who?
We will provide lease financing to all creditworthy end-users including enterprise, building owners, utilities and middle market companies (e.g., revenues >$50M and positive net income last 3 years, tangible net worth, and audited financials).
What price range would the DAS system be in?
Minimum project cost of $250,000, no maximum if the end-user’s credit supports the transaction.
What OEM do you see deployed the most often?
Primarily SOLiD, CommScope, TE Connectivity (now part of CommScope), Corning, and JMA in DAS.
Do you have a requirement for the integrators doing the DAS installation?
We typically work through the OEM or integrator partner and rely on their expertise for the installation. Nevertheless, the integrators must be experienced and reputable.
When financing, what would the payment terms be like for time, like 5 or 10 years?
For DAS the lease term generally ranges from 36 to 60 months depending on the business accounting, tax, and other objectives of the end-user. At the end of the lease term, the end-user had the option to: purchase the system, upgrade the system, or extend the lease term.
Do you work mostly with the DAS contractors or the end-user when finding the business?
We typically work through an OEM or integrator partner (DAS contractor) to enable them to offer the lease financing solution to the end-user customer. We have also worked directly with the end-user.
How would a potential customer go about getting financing with your group?
An OEM, integrator, or end-user may contact Sentry directly, information below. Sentry typically starts with a high level overview of the project, project costs, and financials of the end-user (3 full years and most recent interim financials). If the end-user is a public company, we can get their financials online. The creditworthiness of the end-user must support the transaction.
So there you have it, all you need to know about financing a DAS system. This is one more way you can deliver DAS to your customer, one less obstacle that the integrators have to contend with.
For more information about Sentry Financial Group contact the people below.
Jennifer Faber
Director, Business Development
(801) 303-1113
Bo White
Director, Business Development
(801) 303-1137
Scott Young
Chief Executive Officer
(801) 303-1111
So remember that wireless deployment will have challenges but here is a way for you to remove one of them.
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?
Sprint is showing signs of life in the deployment world, can you believe it? They seem to be moving ahead, mostly through Mobilitie! This is great news. I have been learning more and more on this and I thought I would share.
Sprint is pushing for a way to streamline and improve the small cell deployment process.Specifically outlined in a letter that Charles McKee sent to the FCC, letter found here, which discusses the meeting Sprint’s Marcel Claure and Vonya McCann had with the FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn, (who I am a fan of because she often speaks of tower workers safety). Sprint apparently shared their growth plans with the Commissioner. Mr. Claure expressed how important it would be for Sprint to cost effectively deploy the small cells without the costly delays that jurisdictions often incur by having ridiculously slow and complicated permitting processes.
Tower instruction and training at www.towersafety.com
With Sprint’s massive job cuts are Mobilitie’s gain for the work. It looks like Sprint will rely on Mobilitie for the deployment. Mobilitie will boom this year when they take on the network expansion for Sprint, but they may not get paid for it until who knows when. Remember that Mobilitie will be doing the deployment work for Sprint with the small cells and mini macro deployments. Just a not, the mini macro may look like a small cell installation, but with way more power out, pay attention to that little fact! Another thing I am seeing is that Sprint & Mobilitie are looking to do as much as they can without getting the tower companies involved.
Sprint, (Mobilitie), has a process in place for deployment, but it’s all the outside factors that get in the way causing delays and raising costs. For example the easements, permitting, zoning, and problems running backhaul. Depending on which jurisdiction you’re deploying in, things could go well or things could move at a snail’s pace. Many jurisdictions slow down the small cell installation and also the fiber runs. I am still a fan of wireless backhaul, but that takes proper planning, one thing most people don’t want to take the time to do up front, just my opinion there.
Now don’t get me wrong, there is a reason some jurisdictions are cautious, most of them don’t do it to be jerks, they are just trying to understand what will be installed and what the repercussions will be. Most local jurisdictions don’t always want better coverage if there will be problems, I see both sides. In the past some carriers installed noisy and ugly sites causing the local residents to be up in arms. You need to have balance with aesthetics. You need to mutually respect each other’s opinions, right? Remember that the protests can lead to the removal of a site. Since there are so many jurisdictions to deal with, streamlining, (like Mr. Claure is asking the FCC to help with), makes sense but we need to show the local residents respect.
I am a fan of small cell deployment and Sprint is pushing for a way to improve this, I am on board! I believe they would qualify their mini macro as a small cell at this point to speed up the densification, if it happens. Let’s face it, we all want to deploy.
Let’s not overlook the fact that Mobilitie has been preparing to deploy by asking to install on poles and install new poles just like Crown Castle has been doing. I am told that they want to replace the existing poles with taller and stronger poles for the mini macro and small cells, (again like Crown Castle has been doing). They have already sent project notes of out to city offices, like the letter they sent to the California City of Ojai, document found here. The document clearly outlines a high level plan to deploy small cells.
I was conversing with a friend of mine, Omar Masry, AICP, City Planner of San Francisco, about this.
Per Omar, “The City of San Francisco has signed agreements to allow Mobilitie to potentially install their facilities on City owned steel light and transit poles (which hold up electric wires for buses and light rail). However, as of yet no design has been approved. T-Mobile and Verizon are actively collaborating with the City on the installation of Small Cells (technically C-RAN) on existing poles. The equipment primarily involves two Ericsson mRRUs (plus an external antenna for the Verizon nodes). One challenge involves the design of the mRRUs with cabling exiting out the bottom of the enclosure then rotating back before entering the pole. Staff requested 90 degree connectors but the carrier declined. However superflex cabling was used instead to reduce the gap between the bottom of the mRRU and the pole entry point to five inches. Preferably equipment manufactures would create a variant for steel pole installations with reduced cabling visibility through alternate port locations (e.g. rear). Another challenge with the Extenet-Verizon deployment was that the initial design proposal did not include required electronic gear (cabling and combiners). This required additional redesigns to shroud the equipment at the base of the external antenna; and ensure the design was compatible with the historic districts and streetscapes that characterize San Francisco. AT&T Mobility had previously submitted applications to attach wireless facilities to steel transit poles, however the design was not approved as it featured bulky equipment enclosures and antennas on steel poles in primarily historic residential areas. Staff looks forward to working with carriers on ensuring designs are compatible with the City’s streetscapes (without noisy cooling fans , flashing lights, and logos/decals typically associated with more challenging DAS nodes on some wooden poles), while providing robust and competitive broadband services. Photo Examples of these (and other) design challenges can be found at: http://www.slideshare.net/omarmasry/slides-from-a-wireless-cellular-design-panel”
So it looks like Sprint may be moving ahead through Mobilitie. I am hoping they deploy this year sometime before it’s too late! Mobilitie is the densification deployment team for Sprint, remember that. They will be the team rolling everything out. The mini-macro deployment could be referred to as small cells because, quite frankly, it’s easier to work with, just like the CRAN deployment. Those working with Verizon and T-Mobile know it’s easier to just lump it all into the small cell category. There are plenty of signs that they may do something soon!
Deploy, deploy, deploy! You can never have enough wireless deployments, am I right? Macro, small cell, CRAN, and DAS all are part of this amazing HetNet world we live in! Let’s deploy!
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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?
I got an email, also seen here, from Telecom Careers telling me that Mobilitie is looking for several positions! I have them listed below but could this mean that perhaps the Sprint Densification plan is going to move ahead? I hope so. I mean look at the jobs listed below. I got this right from the email. Send those applications in people!
Explore over 40 opportunities at Mobilitie here and here
I smell a deployment about to happen! What do you think? I hope this means more work for the deployment teams everywhere. I don’t know what it will be like to work with Mobilitie but it can’t be any worse that dealing with Sprint, right?
Remember that it all starts with site acquisition and RF design. Then you move into low-level design and site design. It doesn’t take long to get things rolling but there are always delays.
I am hoping that by looking at this hiring schedule that Sprint may finally be ramping up to move ahead with the densification project as well as the 2.5GHz expansion.
Tower Safety for all your safety training!
Now, I am not saying things are all peaches and cream at Sprint, for instance, the layoffs are already starting even though the bulk will hit in January, article here, where an 11% reduction in the workforce. According to the article there are about 31,000 people work there today. So over 3,300 people will be leaving. Now all of this comes after Marcelo Claure announced that he would be promoting a few people to regional presidents.
One more thing, Sprint will no longer sponsor NASCAR, that is over and done with. So Sprint will survive for another year.
Another question that lingers, should Comcast take over Sprint or T-Mobile? Why not, it makes sense. Even though Comcast has a deal with Verizon Wireless to sell carrier services, then maybe they would jump in with both feet. They have the money and they have motivation. It would help them put AT&T in its place by competing on the TV delivery and in wireless. Comcast said they were going to move into the wireless market and run trials with Verizon.
Now, let’s get back to the Sprint deployment. I still believe nothing will happen until mid-2016 and that will probably just be the densification project. I don’t’ know when the 2.5GHz expansion will take place but maybe not until 2017. Sprint just can’t seem to handle the expenses right now. I hope that the deployment is good for the deployment teams, but anyone that has dealt with Sprint knows that they will try to get as much as they can for as little as they can. So beware of losing money on the venture. Remember that deployment should be win-win, not “win then suck the life out of my deployment teams leaving them broke”. Let’s be fair, to do this work at a loss means that you should not do the work at all! Don’t underbid unless you are prepared to lose money.
Why do I bring up the bidding? Because in a Light Reading article, found here, they mention how Sprint/SoftBank is going to do small cells differently. They already awarded the hardware to Nokia and Airspan, which most of you know about, and Ericsson may get a chuck. They passed over the small cell leader, Alcatel-Lucent, maybe because Nokia is about to swallow them up or they wanted cheaper small cells. The real reason is mainly because the backhaul had to be something easy and cheap. They don’t want to pay for fiber unless absolutely necessary, enter Airspan. A smaller player and yet one that has a complete solution and is probably able to undercut the big boys to gain a small percentage of the market share. Can’t blame them unless they lose money, then it all looks stupid.
Now the other player for indoor, from what Dan Jones of Light Reading says, looks to be a player for indoor. This should make CommScope very happy since the own Airvana.
Remember that this is Sprint, and they may change everything and that they put out so many RFPs in the last year that your head would spin if you had to keep up with all of them. I admire the people working at Sprint for burning through the cycles and I hope those loyal people get to keep their jobs after the massive layoff that Sprint has planned. I know that many of them worked through holidays just to make sure that Sprint would have the pricing. By the way, if you ever have worked through the RFP process with Sprint then you will see that it is not easy and it usually is about price, my observation and opinion.
When will they deploy the small cells? Who knows, I hope the mini macro happens soon, but the reality is that they won’t be ready until mid 2016 from what I am seeing. Maybe they will surprise me by deploying sooner, but I doubt it. If anything they may push it out to 2017.
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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?
I know what you’re thinking, DAS spectrum is not dedicated, but what if it were? Now that the carriers don’t want to pay for a shared DAS system in venues, we should come up with alternatives to getting them into large venues. DAS is needed in the industry for coverage. We can play favorites for coverage, but how do we provide coverage for all carriers? Let’s explore some options.
DAS is still booming, in fact, I found a really cool website, http://www.daspedia.com/where you can find some DAS information. I really think its good stuff. DAS for LTE will continue to boom. Yet, the carriers no longer want to pay for a shared DAS system. What will we do? Will the work go away?
NO! I don’t think so and I will tell you why. The coverage is still needed and while we all love Wi-Fi, the voice handoff from VoLTE to VoWi-Fi is still not as clean as anyone would like it to be, it may get better but this is why LTE-U is taking off. So this leads to my question, “will LTE-U become the new shared system for carriers?”
Well, Verizon is pushing things in that direction along with Qualcomm. It seems like all the OEMs are joining the party because they are providing solutions with carrier aggregation and LET-U, so it seems to be moving ahead.
I know that the debate between a safe coexistence between Wi-Fi and LTE-U is still up in the air. In fact ask anyone that is associated with the cable companies or Wi-Fi groups and they think that LTE-U is just one step down from the Antichrist, at least it feels that way. Cablelabs did some tests, http://www.cablelabs.com/fair-lte-u-coexistence-far-from-proven-in-cablelabs-qualcomm-testing/where they have undeniable proof that LTE-U will devastate Wi-Fi. But then we can look at Qualcomm’s letter to the FCC, http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view?id=60001084962and see that Wi-Fi and LTE-U can live happily together and thrive in this new world that is coming. Actually Qualcomm said LTE-U is less of a problem to Wi-Fi that Wi-Fi is to itself, which I believe, because I have been places where there are 5 hotspots and coverage is not so great. To be fair, RCR did a segment on it here, http://www.rcrwireless.com/20150701/test-and-measurement/lte-u-testing-5-studies-and-their-results-tag6 which does a good job at pointing out all arguments.
Can’t we all get along? Seriously? Should let them fight it out? It looks like LTE-U will be a new opportunity for deployment. It looks like the FCC will allow LTE-U and LTE in the 3.5GHz lightly licensed band, so that means we can deploy CRAN and small cells with carrier bands, Wi-Fi, LTE-U, and 3.5GHz! Let’s go and deploy. LTE-U is coming in one form or another, and it should allow the carriers to share the bands. That means the design, engineering, and deployment teams will get a new wave of work! That’s where I am interested, the next phase of DAS may not only include Wi-Fi and carriers, but LTE-U.
Just think if you have a new player that uses LTE in 3.5GHz for access to the devices? Or it could be used as backhaul. Is that cool or what? Who would do 3.5GHz as a carrier would? Well it has been done, http://www.gtigroup.org/35ghz/overview/2015-03-20/5820.htmlin Japan and China. Wouldn’t it be cool if the lightly licensed band here in the US would be a step up from Wi-Fi but a step down from the billion dollar carrier bands? I am just dreaming here but the band works, so why not see if we can deploy it here in North America?
It’s funny you would ask, because 2 small companies you may have heard of, Google and Nokia, are already working towards a test, http://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/story/nokia-teaming-google-lte-u-35-ghz-spectrum/2015-09-14. This is big news, to me at least, because it will open up new venues for deployment. I see this as a great way for the carriers to pay a third-party to share in a DAS system that is cost-effective to deploy. All they need to do is roam onto this system. Easy peasey lemon squeezy, if the FCC adopts that band for testing with enough bandwidth! Oh, that’s right, they did, http://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/story/fcc-votes-adopt-new-35-ghz-spectrum-sharing-plan-innovation-band/2015-04-17back in April! So what are we waiting for? The OEMs to make something, it takes a long time, then someone needs to deploy it and test it, like Google. Then the carriers need to do interoperability testing, IoT, into their networks. Then we will have 150MHz of bandwidth to play with, lightly licensed bandwidth for the small business to build and be deployed. Oh boy, it’s always exciting to see something like this happen, innovation! I would like to thank the DOD, department of defense, for freeing the bandwidth! Free with only the threat of radar interfering with it, and radar is high power so that may be a problem. All the more reason to put it indoors for DAS and small cells. Thank you FCC chairman Tom Wheeler!
I know that it would also be a great backhaul technology, which now that there is 150MHz. Having that much is a start so we could use it effectively. I see an opportunity here.
Something to think about!
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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?
Attention carriers, free the indoor LTE indoor small cells so that they can be deployed with iDAS! This is specifically for the enterprise and building coverage, since you already freed the small femto cells. You are the ones holding the industry back, not the other way around. You say you don’t want to pay for iDAS, but how can anyone else when you control the small cell? Small Cells can be deployed for home office, let’s free them up for the enterprise! Why? Let me tell you why.
The carriers say they don’t want to pay for indoor DAS but indoor small cells are part of that system, aren’t they? The carriers control the release of larger small cells, well any eNodeB for that matter. The VARs, (Value Added Resellers) want to sell and install these systems for large enterprise but they need to work through the carriers, maybe even to purchase the equipment from the carriers. If carriers want to save on these costs, then set up a system to approve the small cells and low power BTS for DAS systems so you can hand it off to someone who can sell it to the building or business owner. Again, I mean that the indoor small cells are so controlled by the carriers that they can’t be deployed by anyone else. It’s like a small cell hell!
Let’s build a better model like the femto cell, for instance, homes and small offices are able to have anyone install the femto cell. Let me explain this model. You may have heard that T-Mobile is handing the CellSpot femto cell out to customers for free. This will help build a coverage model similar to what Comcast did with Xfinity Wi-Fi, hand out hotspots, (Cable modem or femto cell), and put your default ESSID on a Wi-Fi hotspot and then all of you customers can use it. It is a complete plug and play device, one that most carriers offer home users at some point, even with Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi calling may change this, but T-Mobile made it sexy and smart. They get expanded coverage for the price of a box and shipping.
I believe that SpiderCloud is building this model for their small cells. They know that the carrier does not want to deploy indoor small cells everywhere, but the carriers have to build a better process. So why not do this for all businesses that want iDAS and indoor small cells? Let a contractor handle it! An approved contractor (of course) installing an approved unit.
As for carriers, I believe that T-Mobile is handing out the femto cells, but not anything larger. I think AT&T was going to set up something that would have them hand them, (sell them) to end users that wanted to install them. I didn’t hear of anything like this from Verizon. I know that the technology is catching up but I think that if they would allow the approved contractor to buy them, preferable from the OEM to save money unless the carrier would be able to get them really cheap, the contractor could do the rest. Building out the network for the carrier.
How should carriers do it? Build a process where the vendor gets certified by the OEM and the carrier. Then the carriers will vette the vendor for being a real business and take a look at their safety programs. Then let the vendor sell to the enterprise and landlords! It’s that simple carriers, get out-of-the-way. Don’t worry about the vendor making you look bad because I know you can set up a feedback system so that the end customer can grade the vendor. Help them improve or boot them out. Build the process today.
Now, on the network and equipment side, you need to do several things. You need 1) Plug and Play, 2) an auto-config neighbor list, 3) power control, 4) get certified VARs to call the integration center, and 5) monitor PCMD data. Then you can let the VAR build your system and improve your coverage! Am I making any sense yet?
Readers, I know that many of you are blaming the OEM, right? But the reality is that the carriers have a firm grip on the small cell since it connects to the network.
Free the small cells to the vendors and let the network grow organically. Increase the pipe with little or no expense! Put the growth on auto pilot for heaven’s sake!
In case you wonder why carriers control deployments, look at the reasons below:
Approvals: The OEM has a lot of work with the carrier prior to even being allowed on the network. You see, to get on the carrier’s network you need to put all small cells through lab tests, minimum 3 months, to make sure they are certified and won’t take down a site, cluster or harm the network. Anyone who is working on the OEM side of small cells understands that this takes a lot of time, energy, money, and lab support. It doesn’t happen overnight, in fact, if it happens in 3 months you’re doing incredibly well.
Integration: Another thing is the current commissioning and integration of a cell onto the network. It usually needs to be planned. It is still not automated except small femto cells used for home and SOHO, (Small Office Home Office). The reason being is the core. You have several locations that the cell could connect with, and it may be different for each region. There is not an easy way for it to locate the core that it should be talking to. So they either preconfigure the cell or they do it on site. This seems to be tedious but in my opinion, the process should be automated.
Optimization: Finally, the ever so important neighbor list. This is the list of neighboring sites that the cell could interfere with and hand off. They want a clean handoff, no drops. Also, you don’t want self interference; you want a good cluster frequency plan. Don’t forget the power setting has to be just right. All key factors in the optimization phase of deployment. An optimized network is a happy network. Happy networks mean happy customers.
Maybe Wi-Fi and LTE-U calling will change this. With the license free options you can already get internet access and make a voice call over Wi-Fi. Comcast has a serious Wi-Fi network that people could use If only Comcast would create a better core for voice, VOIP, or VoWi-Fi, so that they can complete voice calls. It looks like they are working towards this from what I have read, but who knows. They recently announced the deal with Verizon so maybe they will move ahead with a real heterogeneous network.
Q with A&A – (Questions with actions and answers)
Q) Are small cells plug and play? A&A – They should be! Femto cells usually are, so all indoor cells should be, get on that today! Tell the OEMs that it is a requirement.
Q) Do I have to preconfigure the cell ahead of time? A&A – Get the OEM or a vendor to set up a system where it will be ready to be put on the network. It could be through your office or the OEM or let the VAR do it! One of them could load a configuration file so that when the installer gets it all they need to do is power up and connect to the internet or some type of backhaul.
Q) What if it interferes with a neighbor? A&A – Monitor the site when it goes in and catch the PCMD data from the units in the building to update the cell. This is work, but chances are you’re already doing this or you have a SON server doing this. This should be automated.
Q) What if power needs adjusted? A&A – See above, monitor, adjust, done.
Q) What if the carrier feels they need to install the small cell? Action – Don’t do it! The OEMs are already training people so just verify certifications. Get out-of-the-way!
Q) Who will configure the radio? A&A – Build basic configuration files. Could be the VAR or it could come preconfigured.
Q) Who will certify the installers? A&A – Let the OEMs manage the certifications! They are doing it today. Carriers need to verify that the VAR is certified to commission the small cell. Again, they need to be trained by the OEM. There should be a certification for installation and commissioning.
Q) Do carriers have to stock the small cells and spend the extra expense tracking and shipping? A&A – Don’t do any of it except create the process! Let a warehouse, distributor, OEM, or the VAR do it. If you want complete control then manage and warehouse everything, but the reality is that you should work a deal with a distributor, VAR, or OEM to stock them, prep them, and install them. All the VAR should need to do is call you to verify configuration and date of install. Let each group do what they are good at.
Q) What if it’s a large iDAS system? A&A – Don’t get involved unless it’s a high-profile venue! Let someone else do all the work. They should be buying all the equipment to make your coverage better.
Q) What will the cost to the carrier be? A&A – Let the VAR’s buy direct. If you do this right you should only pay someone, a PM, to manage the process. The business, building or venue owner will pay for the installation and the small cell just like you want them to do for DAS. You need to define the process and approve the vendors. Get out of your own way!
Q) Where will we find these VARs? A&A – They will come to you if you have a contact or group they can talk to! Seriously, this business will boom because a ton of companies want to do small cells and iDAS, just make someone available to them. Set up the process to get contractors approved. Get the contractor vetted and move on to the next one. Seriously, why make more work for yourself? If they screw it up, then deal with it or throw them out of your system.
Q) What if the enterprise or venue calls the carrier? A&A – refer them to the nearest 1 or 5 VARs. Build a database of VARs by region. Let the customer run the RFP or bidding process. Let the VAR fight for the work.
Q) How do we let the VAR know what band to install? A&A – Create a process where they can either access a website or let them call the regional team for information. I like the website because it is automated with little human interaction.
I would recommend having the carriers approve indoor small cells and then letting VARs deploy them as part of the iDAS and indoor small cell systems. For indoors, the carriers don’t want to pay for the installation unless they have a large payback but a VAR will do it for the cost of the installation. Hopefully the business will pay for.
The carriers, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint need to go to the next level for indoor deployments. In this case I would recommend letting the VAR do the installation for enterprise and for business. Let the VAR work with the end-user for installation of the indoor small cell just like they would the iDAS systems. Honestly, what are they waiting for? They just need to approve it for their system then the PnP, plug and play, should do the rest. Make the investment in a decent SON system and then hand it off to the VARs! Let them sell it to the businesses and enterprises! Let them improve coverage at the request of the end use, not at the carrier’s cost. Get out of your own way! Don’t forget to automate the system!
I think that this is what the carriers want. They can control their end of it with the testing, the labs, and the approvals. They can then hand it off to the VAR to sell it and install it to improve coverage. Just like everyone wants to do with Wi-Fi. Comcast figured it out. T-Mobile is giving the femto cells to the end-user. Let’s create a system that works with this business model.
Don’t get me wrong, there will be a learning curve. If you don’t have a clean way to do this now then get busy! You should have done this already! Automate, integrate, and then grow!
Carriers say they don’t want t pay for iDAS, what about indoor small cells. Here is an opportunity to let go.
If you are a vendor, a VAR, an installer, here is a golden opportunity for you to get in on a booming market. Coverage is the name of the game! Maybe LTE-U will take off, I know that Verizon has plans to deploy in 2016, or so they say, but wait and see.
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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?
That’s right, everyone was thinking that LTE and Wi-Fi would compete against each other for center stage in deployments. I know that the carriers favor licensed bands but the customer want bandwidth, they don’t care how they get it. They don’t want to pay too much for the connection either. So here is there the love story begins. They have a common bond, bandwidth for the user. This is something that anyone with a Smartphone loves, bandwidth!
I am hoping to get this out at a time when T-Mobile is making the push for VoWiFi along with the VoLTE. They really seem to moving ahead at full steam with this and I am impressed. Kudos to the OEMs working with them which I think is Ericsson, Nokia, and Cisco. I am sure there are more involved but the way this is rolling out in the urban areas is really impressive! Verizon Wireless has the capability to do VoLTE and it works well. I think the end game is to sunset the 3G network. Not many people are willing to pay more for VoLTE. Sure, it may sound better, but would you pay to sound better? I don’t think that most people would. I think that the real goal is to shut down the 3G system and save all that money. That is my opinion.
I congratulate T-Mobile for pushing the envelope with Voice over Wi-Fi, (VoWiFi). They are realizing how hard it is but they did it and it works! Who knew LTE would push the unification of Wi-Fi bands and the licensed bands even closer. That VoWiFi would be the rage after VoLTE. Actually, in Wade’s World, I see the cable companies pushing VoWiFi because they have it deployed everywhere. What a concept! I can’t wait until we see Wi-Fi only smart phones. We actually have Wi-Fi only tablets that can use apps, like Skype, to make calls over Wi-Fi. This was going to be a solution early on for the carriers with LTE, to have an app make the call, but there were too many issues, especially if there is an emergency, but I don’t know much more about why it didn’t succeed.
This was very hard to research, at least for me, it just gets so confusing and I have yet to find one document that can really explain all of this without crossing lines and adding confusion. Even the Mobile Broadband Evolutions document found here didn’t add much clarity for me. I read this and I think to myself that I used to be an engineer, now I can’t even spell E-N-G-I-N-E-E-R without getting a headache.
If you’re wondering why this is going to happen, then you might not realize that the data demands of the public are crazy! Everyone is using more and more data on their devices. Why shouldn’t they? I mean there was a day when we had to “plug-in” to do anything. There was a day when the only reason to get on a computer was to work. Now, look at all the online communities and all the apps and Facebook. It’s a crazy world full of data demands that will only get worse as people want to watch more and more streaming video on their devices. It’s already happening! Remember when we thought gaming would sink the network, well, let’s look at video. It’s very demanding but only the tip of the iceberg!
So the OEMs had to figure out a way to get LTE and Wi-Fi to play nice together. Really it was Qualcomm who came up with the plan, (with some help from Ericsson), and they have several different ways to do it. Whether you think it’s good or bad, let’s look over the different options.
By the way, most of these will likely be used in a small cell environment, usually inside a building or a stadium where the heaviest data usage happens. I would expect this to be used out on the street unless it’s like a city street with outside seating. This really covers the licensed band sharing the load with the unlicensed band. They will be working together. Now remember that the backhaul is still an issue, so if the Wi-Fi and the carrier share the backhaul then there is a new bottleneck that could constrain data. Just keep that in the back of your mind when reading this.
Wi-Fi offloading – this is how it is currently being done, basically you offload the data to the Wi-Fi if you have coverage. If you make a call or if there is no readily available Wi-Fi, then you use the carrier’s bands.
Wireless Unified Networks or Wi-Fi Integration – Think of Wi-Fi as it is now just working with LTE as a partner. Alcatel-Lucent calls this Wi-Fi boost and Cellular boost. Wi-Fi could provide the bulk of the downlink and the LTE carrier provides the bulk of the upload while providing little download to clean up the spectrum. This would require no change to Wi-Fi as we know it today. Pros are if the Wi-Fi is clean you can use all the bandwidth to carry data, for instance if you are in your home with no interference and the kids aren’t streaming video. The con is if you are competing for bandwidth or the backhaul stinks or if there is interference on the Wi-Fi, then there are issues. This works with your existing Wi-Fi, it’s just an upgrade the carrier has to do on their system and a software upgrade in your Smartphone. This would be up to the carrier to make the changes on their network, the way I understand it.
LWA – LTE & Wi-Fi Aggregation – so here is where it is the similar to the above but the LTE adds a carrier for download, hence the aggregation. This will need the carrier to upgrade the small cell but the bandwidth is increased even more to the device. This may require an upgrade to the Wi-Fi AP. LWA likes to have the Wi-Fi and LTE together, at this time, for synchronization purposes. This will change as evolution happens. I believe this would need to be a new or upgraded device for the end-user, (maybe a firmware upgrade will do it), I am not clear on this right now. Pros are that the speeds should be great and that the Wi-Fi can remain the same. Cons are that the UE needs to be upgraded or changed out. This is being trialed as we speak by carriers and OEMs.
LTE-U – LTE Unlicensed – This is going to work on its own or with LAA, so I thought I would give a brief overview. This works in the 5.8GHz unlicensed band. You know, where Wi-Fi resides. To be clear, it ain’t Wi-Fi but the LTE protocol that must learn to coexist with Wi-Fi. It is literally LTE transmitted in a license free band, probably in the 5.8GHz band in the USA. In theory, it could have 2 to 5 times the throughput of Wi-Fi along with better coverage. The Wi-Fi advocates are worried about interference, which I think is funny because Wi-Fi coverage and interference causing quality issues, so seriously, this is the argument? I know it has listen before talk, but anyone who worked on Wi-Fi and sees about 8 other hotspots in the same area has to realize that interference is there whether you admit it or not. Did you ever try to connect in a train station or airport? Look at all the hotspots on your smart phone and just think that they are all trying to coexist in that one area. To me the one company that I know of that made a great inroad in the problem is Ruckus with their smart antenna technology, pretty cool that they control the signal based on interference. Ruckus has more information here.
LAA – Licensed Assisted Access works with LTE-U, LTE Unlicensed. This is all new equipment, so the investment is in hardware as well as software. Truly a Greenfield deployment, the way I see it anyway. The Wi-Fi access point would be replaced with the LTE-U access point, therefore no Wi-Fi, just LTE in unlicensed bands. This would require a new user device, (new chipset). There are also many issues with how it would co-exist with Wi-Fi. Ericsson has an entire presentation here. The theory is that with carrier aggregation the uplinks and downlinks would all work together in sharing the load. This way you appear to have an awesome pipe, so much data passing through multiple bands that all appear to be one pipe. WOW!
MuLTEfire – which is Qualcomm’s new offering where LTE could be completely unlicensed, but could also work with the licensed band, I really don’t know. It’s very new. Qualcomm is always thinking about how to make better wireless chips. They know they need to build in the WOW factor. I have to admit, I said wow! I see great possibilities with new bands that are lightly licensed because they could open up new markets for backhaul and other last mile services. Remember that 5G is moving ahead and will be here in 5 years or less, Probably arriving around 2020 in time for 5G.
At some point Qualcomm is going to have to pick one or two, but it appears they have all their bases covered, I mean how many more options will they create? Will they promote all of these? I have no idea but Dr Paul Jacobs at Qualcomm probably has a pretty good plan.
I am no expert and this is something that takes some more research. I am learning so much about bringing it all together. The one thing that is really going to help is carrier aggregation. The carriers are trying to make the spectrum they have become more efficient. That is also the theory around densification, it has to add so much value and when spectrum costs billions, yes billions, then you need to figure out how to get the biggest bang for each Mega hertz.
So as you can imagine there are Wi-Fi groups who are not happy about this, I mean after all, Wi-Fi has been around forever and they are constantly updating the Wi-Fi protocol to make it faster and more efficient. I am impressed with how they constantly improve what they have. They have done all they could to make it better for the carriers. They probably worry that LTE-U may replace it. I would think that there is so much Wi-Fi out there that this probably won’t happen. The way I see it, if Verizon Wireless has their way they will be using LTE-U all over so they can improve the customer experience without buying any more bandwidth than they need to.
I am putting a small cell handbook together, it should be out soon. It will be geared towards deployment but a good reference overall. It will have most of what I post but also some extra notes is it. If your interested, feel free to sign up for my newsletter below.
So today let’s talk drones for wireless work. I see many possibilities for drones to really play a big part in the deployments. So, I have a few scenarios that I would like to play out.
Optimization!
Optimization drones, a thing of the future? No, here today and being used now! I thought I heard everything but now Nokia, (whom is taking over Alcatel-Lucent) is working on using drones for LTE optimization. How cool is that? Boy, Rajeev Suri must be a cool guy to authorize the use of drones! Nokia has been using them for tower inspections in the Middle East and now there is talk of using them for optimization. While they are not doing it here in the USA it is being done. It is only a matter of time before we see it here. Can you imagine how efficient testing will be when the drone can do all the tests? Don’t believe me that it’s being done? Go to this link!You will see that they are doing it in Dubai! If interested in looking it up the web lookhereandhereandhere.
Optimizing drones would have GPS tracking and RF devices, probably smart phones on it to track coverage and performance. Basically a Smartphone that would transfer data and track the upload and download speeds automatically. Then it would send the information up to the cloud so some server could work with it to make adjustments as needed, or the adjustments would be made manually, most likely version at this time. Knocking down the coverage teams to one guy and a drone and automating the process. Now these files are huge, so make sure the data plan can handle it or make sure you have Wi-Fi access. They may just relay it back down to the engineer’s laptop so that person can put it all together.
How great would this be to not have to deal with traffic? This could really be more efficient with the addition of small cells, oDAS, iDAS, and mini-macro sites being deployed because you could concentrate the optimization with the hassle of walking, driving, and trying to hit all of the areas. I know most of the carriers are trying to automate this as much as possible by using PCMD data so who knows how much this will be needed beyond deployment in the future.
Inspections!
So for the inspecting towers it was obvious that they would put cameras on the drones and document what they find. Of course it would take a drone with a camera and a good pilot to make sure that they get the proper pictures. This would entail getting the right pictures and following the close out or site survey plan. You save the time of having a climber go up in the air. You get the documentation in one quick shot with one person on site. You get all of this in a timely and safe manner. Even the FAA is getting on board with it. Can anyone do it, maybe? I am actually a fan of making sure they are certified so that you don’t have some clown out there buzzing the college girls. If they have their certification to lose then maybe they will be careful and professional. Remember, I worked in the field, I know all the complaints I had to deal with when my crews said or did something stupid.The FAA article is here.This is where some GoPro cameras would really come in handy to monitor and record all that is being done. You could grab a snapshot from the video and then you’re done.
Now, on any of this you need to take video and record your results. I would like to think thatField Dailieswill come out with a package to help us out. They already have close out packages. I am an affiliate ofField Dailiesbut I think they are great regardless. So if you go tohttp://www.fielddailies.com/field-solutions/you will see that you can go right from your smart phone to the cloud to complete the closeout package. All in one shot while in the field it will be ready for you. I am a fan of efficiency and they made it really efficient. So go in and request a demo and let them know that Wade sent you. What do you have to lose? Just think if you have a drone to go out, survey the tower, then from your laptop or Smartphone you get the pictures and upload them from your truck, then you are almost finished! Imagine how much time you would save and how efficient you would be? Wouldn’t that be great?
I also like using the drones for safety inspections out at sites while work is being performed at the site. However, it seems that no one in the industry shares that excitement. I would say that less than .001% of anyone out there has any interest in doing safety inspections. Teaching safety is something that everyone is on board with, but no one wants to measure the results. The only measurement we have is when someone dies. Why would anyone care when it cost money and then reality would set in that not everyone is trained properly or responsible, but that is another story.
Future Ideas!
I also think that we could use drones to test microwave paths. This has not been cleared but it seems like the best use of drones. Again, you would need clearance and you would need to get FAA approval. So far we don’t have it because, as I understand it, you can only fly over people that know what is going on for business. Now it seems that for fun you can fly anywhere any time, but there will be a crackdown on some of this. It also seems that public safety can fly them anywhere they wish and take pictures. But for tower work, we will wait for the FAA to approve it. Once they do how cool would it be to fly a 2 mile link to make sure there is nothing in the path? I think that would be the greatest to verify a path. If a building goes up then you know right then! Trust me, I used to do path calculations all the time and I used to drive paths to be sure they were clear. I also did some spotting to verify LOS but it gets harder on long paths and many times the tower owner doesn’t want anyone on their tower unless they are inspecting or installing. So then you drive the path. If only I had a drone to fly the path.
What about small cell and DAS inspections? I think that you could knock out streets at a time by flying the drone about 30 to 50 feet AGL and then going around the streets. You could also verify the paths from the pole to a building, so you could plan out your build in an urban area, if the FAA would allow you to do it. These are populated streets. If you were disciplined then you would not interfere with any air space but you need to let the local authorities know what is going on because they would see it as a threat. That is until Amazon gets the approvals to make deliveries using drones. Then we can need traffic control.
As far as the drone pilots go, I really think you need to be certified. I just think that the pilots should take the flying seriously. Like I implied above I don’t think we should have some prankster who looks at it as a fun time and not a serious job to be out there acting stupid, that’s all. If you ever worked in the field then you know what I am talking about. I think that this will create new business out there and make all of the above services more efficient and cost-effective.
I am putting a small cell wireless deployment handbook together, it should be out soon. It will be geared towards deployment but a good reference overall. It will have most of what I post but also some extra notes is it. If your interested, feel free to sign up for my newsletter below.
We always talk about backhaul when it comes to sites. Wireless, fiber, cable, and copper are all solutions. So do many of you really know about fronthaul? This is what we use when we connect a BBU to the radio head. Is it different that backhaul? That depends where you are in the wireless ecosystem.
For this article we are talking about remote radio head small cells, not the all in one unit. These are very common indoors and outdoors in larger deployment scenarios. This is also something that will be more common when CRAN, Centralized Radio Access Networks, become more common place. Eventually, the RAN will be controlled by the cloud, for a vRAN, virtualized RAN.
So on Macro, think about when you run fiber up the tower from the BBU, this essentially is the fronthaul where it feeds from the BBU to the remote radio head, (RRH). The data in the BBU is sent out the radio head for transmission to the user equipment, (UE). So now imagine that the BBU is located miles away from the RRH. The RRH is located where coverage is needed. Most small cells are low power units. This is very similar to a small cell and would be deployed similar to a small cell. The BBU hotel is located in one area and the link from the BBU to the RRH. So the data will leave the BBU and go into a router or fiber box and then feed dark fiber or a radio link. Personally I am not a fan of this but they are very common in the market. I prefer a small cell that is standalone with all of the components in one unit just because it’s easy. However, there are many advantages to having one BBU controlling several RRHs.
These systems do have their advantages because the control is all in one place and can do a better job of timing and synchronization and reducing interference. If you are designing a network, then it makes a lot of sense to have centralized control. Centralized control will be reducing self interference, which is huge and something that most field workers could care less about until it gets to the optimization and performance phase. Then it’s an issue. Interference has to be cleaned up to improve the performance. Remember that this is all about coverage and performance. In a Het Net system we would call this eICIC, enhanced Inter Cell Interference Coordination. This is one of the reasons the cells have neighbor lists, to avoid this situation. Learn more on eICIC here, http://arxiv.org/pdf/1302.3784.pdf
So, back to fronthaul In this case timing is critical, and by timing I mean latency between the BBU and the RRH. It needs to be a specific time, depending on OEM. The link must arrive in time to properly send the data and have the timing set up properly. If it is late, packets are lost, and then people complain or it has to be sent again causing congestion. This is critical in voice communications.
This is why many carriers like fiber for the front haul because it’s clean and fast. It is usually easy to predict the delays because they are predictable unless someone screwed up a fiber connection or put a sharp bend somewhere.
Wireless links are great because it is line of sight, normally, but the radios add delay, usually with the error correction. So the distances, from what I have seen is generally lower that fiber. This could all change tomorrow but as of this time they have limitations. There are several wireless link manufacturers like EBlink working to make the fronthaul wireless link better, http://e-blink.com/.
Now, if you are doing the installation, you just do what you’re told and make sure it’s a great installation. If you are doing the design, you need to be very aware of the latency and the link delays. They will add up. The fiber will have some delays, the router will have some delays, and the equipment will induce delays. This all adds up to either success or failure. Proper planning! If you are doing the optimization, the commissioning NOC should have a good understanding of the delays of the fronthaul. So if there is an issue it needs to be considered.
Did you ever work with a CRAN? If you have done work for Verizon Wireless on oDAS, (outdoor distributed antenna system), then you may have. You see the concept behind the oDAS when using a distributed RRH is basically that of CRAN. Get it? The hBBU is located in one place, centralized, and the RRHs are distributed around where the population is.
Why do you care? Because you want to make sure you have a successful installation, commissioning, and integration. Then the commissioning should go well and everyone gets paid for the work. If there are problems, you all need to put more time into it, and chances are good that time will eat into your profit. Just think about the bottom line, proper planning and quality work adds up to a quality system and profitable work.
Be smart, be safe, and pay attention to the plan! Look for oversights and point them out.
I am putting a small cell handbook together, it should be out soon. It will be geared towards deployment but a good reference overall. It will have most of what I post but also some extra notes is it. If your interested, feel free to sign up for my newsletter below.
One thing that has been happening in 2015 is the indoor small cell growth. There are many vendors and OEMs that have successfully deployed indoor small cells. Whether it’s in a stadium or in an office or in a home, there are many installed. Indoor small cell deployment has been booming.
To give you some background, the indoor small cells go through extensive lab testing with the carriers before they ever touch the network. They need to be approved. You see the carriers, or most of them, treat the network like they would a delicate flower making sure that nothing touches it before that device is tested, approved, and does not hurt the network. When you see all of the devices on the network you begin to realize how much work it is to test each device before it is allowed to work on that carrier’s network. I don’t blame them one bit, because if a site goes down or if the network is affected it could have devastating effects on service, and we all want 100% uptime, or at least 99.999% uptime.
So, back to the indoor small cell. If a home needs a small cell then it is very small and it would install like a Wi-Fi router with more testing. It will need power. You will need to plug it into a port that connects to the Internet. Then it should configure automatically. This is where the carrier will have a server that it will seek out and assign an IP and configure it to go live. This is a dedicated server normally but for the larger small cells it should be part of the SON, Self Organizing Network server. I will go into that in a future post.
So a home node or a small business node is pretty straight forward to connect and install, really anyone should be able to do it. So let’s get past that and move onto the bigger installations, ones that someone would pay you for.
So for enterprise, it may be as simple as installing a few indoor small cells that connect directly to the router, they should go right in and should auto configure. Just make sure that the RF is working and also make sure that you test each cell with a device before you leave.
For larger installations you may be installing a BBU in a telco room then connect to a router. You may connect to the company’s router or the carrier may want to install their own fiber and router. Make sure you know where you are connecting the backhaul because if you are connecting into the company’s router you may need support from their IT group to connect to the carrier. This could cost you time because they will need to know what to do to connect to the carriers server remotely. You will need to know how to interface to the router. If you are connecting the BBU to the carriers router and they are running in their own backhaul, then you need to meet with the group delivering the fiber and make sure that it’s tested and connected properly. Know your scope!
Now that the backhaul is taken care of you are ready to work with the fronthaul, the link from the BBU to the radio head.
First, does the small cell or radio head have the PoE option, (Power over Ethernet)? Or do you need an outlet for each unit? If you have to run power to each unit, then you need to have an electrician to run power or you need to run extension cords. This question is very important. It will change the scope of the job if you need to run power everywhere.
If you have PoE then make sure that your router that you are connecting not only supplies PoE but the power matches up. You see there is high power and low power on PoE ports. Make sure you know which one you need and that the router and small cell align with what they need. If you are connecting to the BBU then you may be able to run “home runs” to the BBU if it’s practical, but in most cases there should be a router on each floor. This should all be worked out in the initial site survey and should be worked out in the design prior to the installation. Again, it comes down to knowing your equipment and what you’re connecting to.
If you need to run power, then it adds so much cost. I can’t believe how many indoor small cells do not have PoE, it seems stupid. However, some small cell OEMs don’t get it and they want you to run extension cords everywhere. Make sure you know what you are installing. If you were trained on the equipment and the design was done properly then you should be ready to deploy properly and all of this should have been considered.
So whomever is doing the design will need to make sure that document where to place each unit, how to direct the antenna, and get the installer the document. Placement should be determined by a preliminary RF design. I have seen where many companies wing it, but if you are working with a professional group they should have some type of design prepared to cover all the dead spots and know what the walls are made of so maybe they can penetrate the drywall but have issue with the block walls. Remember that you don’t want to interfere with yourself so the units need to be setup properly and if the carrier has a good SON system then they should know exactly where their neighbors are at. The neighbor list is very important so it matters where each cell is placed, just like Macro. Also, that is why many indoor small cells will not be placed too close to an outside window or wall, because they don’t want to interfere with the Macro network. Remember that it’s a Het Net so they all need to play well together. Many issues can be resolved in the design. Optimization will play a part to make sure the system is working together.
Antenna direction matters, especially since many of these have directional antennas and they will need to point in a specific area. The RF team should know where the loading is expected when they place the small cells and specify the direction of the antennas. So pay attention to the design. Understand where the unit is mounted and where to point the antenna.
You should also have a good idea about noise. I don’t mean RF noise, but actual fan noise in this case. Yes, that’s right, if you hang a small cell with a noisy fan in a quiet office, people will complain. It is good to know if the small cell has a quiet fan or no fan at all so that you know if it’s going to disturb the office workers. They want coverage but they also want to be able to talk on the phone without shouting.
If you are installer and you are putting in for a customer who does not own the building, then make a point to talk to the landlord. If you are mounting hardware to the ceiling or drilling through any walls, make sure you have permission to do so. You don’t want the landlord to badmouth you because the office manager said it was OK. It is just a thought and may not matter to you, but it could cause you problems if you have more customers in that building.
One thing you need to understand is the permitting and zoning. It may be no big deal but it’s a good idea to understand if you can just go in and mount the hardware with the landlords blessing or if there are permitting issues with the local municipality. Usually the landlord will know what to do.
I think you should also realize that safety matters here, you need to be aware of ladder safety or lift safety, depending on what your installation will need. You also must be aware that you may be working around people. If you can work after hours then you could move freely through the building but chances are good that you will be working during business hours. So make sure the people in the office are aware that they may need to work around you for the day you are there.
This is a very high level overview here. Don’t forget that you will have to test the coverage at some point and chances are good that they will ask the installer to not only install, but to power up and test the units. So make sure you have time in there to do some commissioning and testing. I know that they should do a complete optimization and testing once live but I think that most time they will have you power up, make sure it’s talking to the system by calling the NOC, and then verifying it works. They will probably give you a test device to walk around the building and make sure the coverage and download speeds are good. This will take time, chances are, depending on how many APs you put in, it could take 30 minutes to several hours. Make sure you know what is expected of you.
Be smart, be safe, and pay attention. I hope this brings you closer to creating solutions for the customer.
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