BROWSING: Small Cells

Small cells are one of the fastest-growing parts of the wireless infrastructure market, with year-over-year shipment growth of at least 50% for each of the last four years, according to the analysts at Dell'Oro Group. Carriers deploy small cells indoors and outdoors, and also...

A conversation with CommScope about the power, backhaul and siting challenges facing small cells today and in the context of 5G Deployment of small cells at scale has dogged operators for years. Each site is unique and comes with its own set of challenges associated...

Verizon, Sprint and AT&T discuss network strategy at Goldman Sachs The CEOs of AT&T, Sprint and Verizon laid out some of the key points driving their network strategies at last week's Goldman Sachs Communicopia conference. Verizon continued its laser-focus on its network, particularly on laying...

Nokia product launches focus on digital transformation for the enterprise Cellular connectivity is essential for an always-on enterprise whether it's supporting a global sales team or internet of things-type deployments in a smart factory. As operators look to better support enterprises, private networks built on...

Self-organizing small cell, upgraded remote radio head, SDN-enabled microwave backhaul also included in Nokia launch The run-up to Mobile World Congress Americas, kicking off Sept. 12 in San Francisco, has been marked by a number of vendor product launches largely geared toward facilitating the operator...

Multi-operator small cell can support four carriers Network infrastructure vendors are all looking for ways to take the cost out of distributed antenna systems to open up the vast--and underserved--market of enterprises that need in-building cellular connectivity. The approaches are essentially a re-architecture of DAS,...

Smart city initiatives and business development are goals of small cell outreach While some city's take a combative posture toward wireless deployments for reasons ranging from community health concerns to aggressive siting fee structures, leaders in Berkeley, Calif., are actively looking for investment in small...

Dense small cell networks seen as key to 5G While small cell technologies are being used to add capacity and coverage for LTE networks, scalable deployments have proven problematic given varying regulatory regimes and access to power and backhaul. To support larger connectivity projects, carriers...

The number of small cell sites activated has long lagged beyond projections largely because there's not really a scalable deployment process. Carriers are planning to deploy thousands of small cells, which would, ideally, follow a uniform, one-size-fits-all process. But that's not the case. Each...

Shared access to the 3.5 GHz Citizens Broadcast Radio Service (CBRS) band is getting a lot of attention lately with Nokia asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission to demo CBRS small cells in Philadelphia for Comcast, and, now Verizon asking the FCC to...

Fort Collins considering a moratorium on small cell deployments On July 1, Colorado legislation went into effect that is designed to make it easier for network operators to install small cell equipment. HB 17-1193 requires cities to give carriers access to public rights-of-way, and imposes...

Ice Wireless leverages Parallel Wireless' small cells, HetNet gateways and software-defined radios to deliver rural mobile broadband In Northern Canada--the provinces of Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut and Quebec--the population density is 0.03 people per square kilometer. A rural population, coupled with harsh conditions, makes this...

In April cable and media powerhouse Comcast launched a branded wireless service to customers under the moniker Xfinity Mobile, a mobile telecom service delivered on the Verizon Wireless network under the terms of a mobile virtual network operator agreement struck as part of a...

To add network capacity and coverage reach in dense or underserved area, carriers are increasingly looking to small cells, which are also viewed as a key underlying infrastructure element for 5G. But, as small cell technologies are increasingly used to improve network performance, carriers...

Sprint CEO, on recent earnings call, said supply for Magic Box can't keep up with demand With plans to pass 1 million deployments in the coming months, Sprint is continuing to put more of its Magic Box LTE small cells onto its network despite a...

For the enterprise, small cell or hybrid DAS/small cell makes more business sense, Johnson says Nick Johnson founded ip.access in 1999, and is now the chief technology officer of one of the few remaining companies that solely focuses on small cell technology. Major infrastructure players...

Nokia highlights interest from operators in the U.S. and Asia Finnish vendor Nokia has announced plans to implement early 5G specifications, enhancing its "5G First" portfolio with the 3GPP 5G Phase I protocol, to meet growing interest for 5G mobility applications emerging from telecommunications operators...

Qualcomm has been promoting 5G New Radio as a way to accelerate the deployment of next-generation technologies, and now the chipmaker is at work on 5G NR small cells. Qualcomm Technologies will collaborate with Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a non-profit organization engaged...

Ip.access touts shipment of 2 millionth license for 3G small cell LTE small cells, for both service providers and enterprises, is a hot topic in the telecom industry. In the context of 5G, small cells are seen as a key driver of pinpoint coverage and...

Fixed wireless is shaping up to be the go-to alternative to fiber to the home, but doesn't really address the not in my backyard problem "Consumers have an insatiable demand for bandwidth, especially in their house," Eric Gronvall, CommScope VP Americas, Service Provider & Network...

T-Mobile US announced its second quarter results last week, adding 1.3 million subscribers with service revenues up 8% and postpaid churn at 1.1%. T-Mobile US executives had a wide-ranging discussion with analysts to discuss both the numbers and the carrier's strategy and accomplishments in a number...

Meet Baicells. A former Huawei fellow started the company in 2014, and gained significant traction with carrier China Mobile, the largest service provider, by subscribers, in the world. Now, Patrick Leary, president of Baicells North America, is ready to take on the lucrative U.S....

Capacity and coverage are king in the telco world: If there are any cracks in a provider’s service, VIP customers – not to mention revenue – could easily fall through and get snatched up by a competitor. As a result, many mobile network operators...

Investors see small cells and distributed antenna systems as areas of opportunity Private equity firm M/C Partners is combining two DAS and small cell providers into a single company called Neutral Connect Networks. M/C Partners is investing $30 million in the new company, which is...