CHICAGO – AT&T’s Paula Doublin was one of the most memorable speakers at this year’s HetNet Expo. The company’s AVP for antenna solutions, DAS and small cells did not shy away from questions about AT&T’s budget for heterogeneous networks, nor did she sugar coat the outlook for small cell deployments.
Doublin warmed up her audience by asking for questions at the very beginning of her speech, and the first question was about spending. Conference attendees had already heard at least one systems integrator report that the second half of 2014 was somewhat slower than the first half. Doublin did not deny this, but noted that AT&T’s DAS budget remains healthy.
“For the antenna solutions group at AT&T … we actually have more money in the budget today than we did on January 1 of this year,” she said. Doublin did not say exactly when that money will be spent, and she added that spending has been somewhat front-loaded this year. “We got out of the gate early, we got out of the gate fast, and we consumed a lot of the budget early in the year,” she said.
“We’re working to improve the cost structure,” said Doubin, adding that cost savings can mean more deployments. “That money stays in the in-building space for AT&T,” she said. “We are going to invest it back into the network. Instead of building 1,500 projects a year we’ll turn that money around and we’ll build 1,700 projects.”
Capacity builds
Doublin noted that much of her group’s current work revolves around adding capacity to existing hetnets, and that new builds are now taking place with a focus on capacity from the outset. She outlined the elements of AT&T’s coverage and capacity solution in and around MetLife Stadium (pictured), site of the 2014 Super Bowl. She said that she is not sure the wireless industry completely appreciates the importance of capacity in the in-building space.
“You can put a really great in-building solution in, whether it be a small cell or DAS or whatever, but if you don’t put capacity behind it, whether it be backhaul capacity or the radio capacity behind it, you’ve pretty much wasted your money,” said Doublin. She went on to explain that the components of a successful in-building solution are similar to those needed for a macro site.
“You’ve got site acquisition, you’ve got power, you’ve got backhaul, you’ve got interoperability, you’ve got alarming and maintenance, you’ve got customer service and you’ve got technical skill. You’ve got to have all of those to deploy a macro. What about a DAS? You’ve got to have it all. What about a Wi-Fi? You’ve got to have it all. What about a small cell? You’ve got to have it all,” Doublin said that she remains a strong believer in small cells, but thinks it is important to understand the complexity.
“I cringe when I hear the word plug and play,” said Doublin. “There is no such thing … I don’t believe that the deployment of small cells is a walk in the park. There are the same challages with small cells as there are with WI-Fi, as there are with DAS, as there are with macros, and we have to deal with those.”
