A conversation about backhaul and fronthaul with Tormod Larsen, CTO, ExteNet
The below is only a summary. Download a transcript of the complete interview and the complete in depth report “C-RAN and 5G take transport to new capacity and latency levels. Trends in backhaul, fronthaul, xhaul and mmW”.
Neutral host providers such as ExteNet are playing an increasing role in managing backhaul and fronthaul in small-cell deployments for multiple mobile operators. Tormod Larsen, ExteNet’s CTO, talked to us about his experience working with mobile operators to deploy small cells.
When it comes to backhaul, fiber is the preferred way to go. Tormod said: “We like the flexibility that dark fiber provides us, both technically and from a business perspective. A traditional 4G LTE service model is becoming a challenge for the carriers from a cost perspective. It’s also not as flexible, in terms of potentially having one customer doing small cells and another one doing C-RAN.”
Wireless is however an alternative that ExteNet considers: “We’re also looking at a number of wireless solutions, typically in conjunction with fiber. When we build a fiber network, we have a backbone and then we have laterals to connect in the small-cell locations. [We use] a mix of millimeter wave, free-space optics, and microwave solutions. We’ve tested about 20 of them,” Tomrod added.
The results were mixed: “Some of them work OK, and a lot of them don’t work well in the environments we’re in. One challenge we have is sway on the poles, so you’re not having the alignment that is required. If you have a very narrow aperture on the wireless solution, just adding more equipment to the poles where there’s already a lot could be a challenge.”
This topic is discussed further in an exclusive webinar. Watch the webinar.