Cable MSOs can deploy small cell networks as an extension of their wholesale transport business with mobile network operators.
A survey by Real Wireless earlier this year showed significant opportunity in the small-cell arena for cable multiple-system operators (MSOs). Among network providers willing to consider partners on small cells, 45% said they would turn to MSOs for backhaul and 20% for full-service small cells.
Meanwhile, MSOs are also seeking to gain their own mobility play. What is the relationship between small cells and cable? Read on.
Why is cable important for small cells?
The cable industry is involved in providing backhaul to small cells, to connect them to the core of the wireless network. Cable companies often provide fiber to communications tower for wireless transport — Time Warner Cable serves more than 10,000 cell towers. In the case of small cells, cable companies are in some cases able to leverage their fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) investments as backhaul for small cells.
Roger Vaughn, product technology manager for AFL, told an audience at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo that metro cells, which are supposed to cover up to two kilometers in area and up to around 2,000 users, are the most likely candidates for FTTH backhaul.
What are some of the deployment challenges for small cells and cable?
Vaughn said that small cells are designed to be quickly and easily deployed, with plug-and-play optimization. Given that, site provisioning is the toughest issue. Pole mounting is ideal, he said, and rooftops are also highly desirable locations because they allow more directions for propagation. The sides of buildings, which also are often cited as potential locations for small cells, usually provide only 180 degrees for signal coverage. However, Vaughn added, environmental noise and interference can make siting tricky and needs field testing to determine.
Small cell deployments can also cause issues for the cable operators themselves, particularly deployments at 700 MHz. LTE interference issues have been on the rise since 2011, test company Rohde & Schwarz has noted, and “the number and severity of these issues have increased as LTE becomes more widely deployed.”
In one particularly notable instance last year, Time Warner Cable found that after Verizon Wireless had rolled out LTE in the Raleigh, N.C., area, having a cable box and a Verizon LTE device in the same room caused interference and some channels needed to be shifted.
How are small cells deployed in cable networks?
In essence, “small cells end up being a subscriber on the network,” Vaughn said. He went on to describe several trials: an AT&T trial in St. Louis, Mo., where small cells were deployed on utility poles fairly low to the ground, at about head-height; and a Vodafone deployment in Spain where fiber had already been deployed along the street and the equipment had a very small footprint. That deployment, in Barcelona, is part of Vodafone’s MetroZone SmartCity deployment and was in place for Mobile World Congress 2013.
Cable companies largely provide backhaul only for small cells, but about 15% of cable providers are also considering offering small-cells-as-a-service, according to the Real Wireless survey.
Is the cable industry considering small cells for its own use?
If you count Wi-Fi as a small cell, the cable industry is already deeply invested in small cells as a mobility play. Most MSOs are broadly expanding their Wi-Fi networks and roaming partnerships. For example, five cable companies — Brighthouse, Cox, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable and Comcast — have partnered on a Wi-Fi consortium that includes access to 250,000 Wi-Fi hotspots nationwide for their high-speed Internet subscribers. The idea of small cells as a last-mile connection in areas that are too expensive to profitably reach by fiber has also been floated, possibly for small clusters of buildings or multiple-dwelling units (MDUs).
