Summit Reveals the Future of 4G Backhaul

(Oct 24 2011) 4G , Backhaul , Mobile Broadband

1. As mobile users increasingly gravitate to high-bandwidth applications—most notably video—operators are facing networks that are increasingly overburdened and underfunded. 

   “There is a hidden tsunami slowly building with the next generation of mobile users,” said Jennifer Pigg, research VP at Yankee Group and moderator for the Backhaul Summit at 4G World in Chicago. “Young people have no problems watching video on smaller screens like smartphones and tablet computers. And they are very data-intensive. They’d rather not talk on the phone; they prefer social media or texting. This hidden tsunami of data will hit networks as the current young users grow up and enter the work force.”

   And that means even more strain on all elements of the network, including backhaul. With that in mind, Pigg looked ahead to 2014 and provided summit-goers with a glimpse of how next-generation small-cell backhaul needs to evolve to meet the challenge. In short, next-generation backhaul must:

   • Support multiple operators’ networks in one unit.
   • Be small, lightpole-mount-ready and weigh less than 50 pounds.
   • Be all-outdoor.
   • Eventually be non-line-of-sight and operate in frequencies below 6 GHz, without interference.
   • Not require heavy DC power, and probably won’t offer much in terms of redundancy.
   • Cost less than $5,000 for backhaul, RAN, everything.

   Getting there won’t be easy, she says. “There are many issues—cost, size, efficiency—but it seems like the biggest open question, the one that the operators cannot control, is that of spectrum. Right now, spectrum below 6 GHz is used by other applications and backhaul will likely face interference issues. Who will clear that spectrum? That is the big open question right now.”

   For more on 4G World 2011, visit the show Web site. 

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