The explosive growth in smartphones and the proliferating demand for mobile Internet and mobile video threatens to overwhelm current network infrastructure and leaves the industry at the cusp of a new frontier. A new kind of wireless network platform is needed that can handle multiple sources, heavy traffic, mixed technologies and can deliver data throughput and network reliability.
Corning, renowned pioneer in fiber optics and connectivity solutions for telecommunications, has met this challenge with its all new Optical Network Evolution (ONE™) Wireless Platform which will debut at CTIA 2013 in Las Vegas. This revolutionary fiber-to-the-edge solution will leverage the capacity and flexibility of fiber as never before to deliver more bandwidth, operators, services, applications and enhanced features over a single converged all optical infrastructure.
A Revolution in Networking
The wireless industry has reached an inflection point. It is no longer enough to merely connect places or people; now, the challenge is to accommodate all kinds of new connected life applications, from the next generation of smartphones to small-scale devices like sensors, meter-reading technology and intelligent in-home appliances to the vast enterprise needs of public venues and organizations.
Smart connected devices crossed 1 billion units in 2012, representing 29.1% year over year growth (IDC). Mobile video demand will increase 16-fold by 2017 and is currently making up 50% of all mobile data traffic (Cisco Visual Networking Index, 2013). Limited new licensed and unlicensed spectrum and new macro sites are unable to fulfill the needs of users, which are generating 80% of the usage indoors.
The new wireless wave will require networks that can support multiple technology combinations (3G, 4G, LTE-Advanced, Wi-Fi, mesh, etc.). Traffic will also need to be managed in a more efficient and intelligent way and across multiple radio access network (RAN) types.
Heterogeneous networks (Het-Nets) promise the combined strengths of multiple technologies: macro, metro, small cells, Wi-Fi hotspots and DAS all working seamlessly together. They are positioned to assure high-quality performance in diverse environments – from dense urban areas to rural locations where high-quality networking has always been a challenge.
Indoors or outdoors, from residential buildings to enterprise hubs, Het-Nets can address capacity issues and vastly improve performance for higher spectrum efficiency by offering reduced cell radius and providing a higher baseband capacity per square meter.
All Optical Networks – Future-proof, Greener, More Economical and More Versatile
Optical Fiber has multiple advantages. It is future-proof, easier and more economical to install than other solutions, and offers a green solution to environmentally conscious users for faster, more reliable data connections.
Fiber became a practical solution when Corning created the first low-loss optical fiber for telecommunications applications back in the 1970s. Low insertion loss translated into long-distance transmission and greater bandwidth. Today, given the complexity of throughput demand and network technology evolution, higher bandwidth capability translates into future-proofing, lower total cost of ownership and application flexibility.
Immune to electromagnetic interference and radio frequency interference (EMI/RFI), and due to its lack of electrical conductivity, fiber provides for trouble free transport and easy installation and troubleshooting with no grounding considerations. Furthermore, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, FDDI, ATM, voice, 3270, 5250, and any other access methods provide for fiber media support.
With more than 35 years of excellent service history, the advantages of optical fiber are not just theoretical. Fiber is very cost-effective at multiple levels. It is less expensive, smaller and lighter than the current industry standard twisted-pair copper cables. Inter- and intra-building fiber backbones take up less space in conduit. And, due to its tensile strength and minimum-bend radius with negligible loss, fiber is easier to pull through floors and tight corners. Because it provides virtually unlimited bandwidth, it is a future-proof investment; no more forklift cabling upgrades to increase bandwidth.
The wireless industry is responding to the capacity challenge by quickly deploying technologies that provide increased spectral efficiency (LTE), advocating regulations to release additional spectrum, splitting cells, resulting in overall cell site growth, and by rolling out mixed nodes. Coverage and capacity needs to move to the edge of the network to allow greater spectrum re-use and offload; and fiber is being pulled to the edge with it. Fiber and antennas closer to the users means faster, more reliable data connections; higher data throughput resulting in a better user experience; QoS and location accuracy for applications in areas as diverse as public safety; and location-based services and wireless telemetry.
ONE™ Makes Its Debut
Corning ONE™ is designed to address the operator’s goal of Het Net, with the capability to support multiple radio types in a common network, as well as devices and applications requiring high data speeds. ONE™ simultaneously supports traditional radio over fiber DAS, digital links for remote radio heads, as well as Ethernet backhaul for distributed small cells and Wi-Fi. The built-in Gigabit Ethernet support with Power over Ethernet means ONE™ provides complete connectivity solution for Wi-Fi and small cell networks over a single converged infrastructure. A common head end and modular architecture delivers the capability to expand the network and wireless coverage with ease when compared to solutions on the market today. Positioned to enhance operators’ coverage and capacity, the ONE™ Wireless Platform supports any RAN type that an operator wants to add to the network today or in the future.
The Corning ONE Wireless Platform’s advanced capacity and coverage management system allow for flexible sectorization for optimal signal source utilization. ONE™, powered by its all-optical backbone, will offer a modular interface for all deployments, ensuring intelligent transition to and from 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi, addressing coverage, system capacity and compatibility to deliver today and tomorrow’s higher wireless throughput.
If you are attending CTIA, join the Optical Network Evolution (ONE), and experience how ONE illuminates wireless by scheduling a personalized booth tour.
The Author
Derek Johnston is the senior director of market analysis for Corning’s Wireless Networks
and a 14-year veteran of the wireless industry. Mr. Johnston has worked with major U.S. wireless operators, as well as start-up organizations, providing market assessment and management for successful product launches. Over his career, Mr. Johnston successfully launched the first cellular packet data network service plans for Nextel Communications, and the first cellular-over-LAN solution with MobileAccess Networks and Cisco. Mr. Johnston has been contributing content and expertise in the wireless space, specifically focused on challenges in the in-building market for the last four years. Mr. Johnston holds degrees from Boston University and the Graduate School of Management at Clark University and is based in the Washington, D.C. area.
