Workshop: Small Cell Strategies to Address Coverage and Capacity

Workshop: Small Cell Strategies to Address Coverage and Capacity

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Cost, capacity and total cost of ownership - these are the primary drivers in extending the edge of the cellular network. With wireless networks severely strained by continued traffic growth, efficient traffic management requires a profound network transformation. One step is to extend the base topology toward a high-capacity edge network layout by adding a small cell layer alongside existing macro cells.

Small cell technology -- outdoor femto cells, metro cells, pico cells -- offer valuable options for solving some of today's most pressing wireless network problems -- and are a crucial element for LTE networks. They provide performance and capacity uplift where needed while lessening the obstacles associated with macro cell site acquisition.

This specialty conference is designed to offer practical and useful information on the business case, technology implementation, investment ROI, and applications -- including asset maximization (spectrum usage), capacity increases, traffic off-load, coverage extension, and throughput enhancement -- made possible by the integration of small cell architecture into the larger mobile broadband network.

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP: JUNE 5, 2012

12:30 pm Opening Address: Market Overview, and Definition of  Small Cell Infrastructure

Stefan Pongratz

Stefan Pongratz, Senior Analyst, Dell’Oro Group
There is a major shift occurring in the Wireless Market that continues to accelerate -- over the last decade, providers have stopped thinking in terms of the macro-cell sites and BTS’s of the early 2000’s, and instead are looking at small-cell infrastructure to best meet the growing capacity demands. Small cell technology – including microcells, picocells, outdoor femto cells --  offer a valuable option for solving some of today’s most pressing wireless network problems – and, are a low-cost option to rapidly improve capacity and coverage where needed. Small cells are a whole new way of building future mobile broadband networks -- adding massive capacity, in a very fast time, with a total cost of ownership which is absolutely a key to sustainability of mobile broadband business. This opening presentation offers the analysts view and discusses the architectural shift and growth potential of the small cell market.

12:45 Applications of Small Cells

Rob Reagan

Rob Reagan, CEO, Public Wireless
The advent of femtocells has created a much broader opportunity than residential deployment. Standards, chipsets, know-how and other technology elements deliver scaleable license-spectrum access points for mobile devices. This session discusses the applications of small cells from the perspective of the Small Cell Forum, including home, enterprise, urban and rural application of small cell infrastructure.

1: 15 pm Small Cell Strategies to Address Coverage, Capacity and Latency in the Networked Society
Michael Coyne, Vice President, Strategy and Principal Solutions Architect, Ericsson

1:45 pm  Case Study: Small Cell Layers for Large Urban Areas

Lorna Slott

Lorna Slott, DAS Business Development, North Central at AT&T Services Inc.
Jeff Funderburg, DAS Business Development, Midwest at AT&T Services Inc.
AT&T discusses its history of small cell technology deployment, application and integration into the wide area mobile broadband network.

2:30 pm Break

2:45 Executive Interview: Metro PCS

Maggie Reardon, Contributing Writer, CNET
Ahmad Armand, Ph.D., Staff Vice President, CTO Office, MetroPCS
This executive interview provides insight and experience from Metro PCS in their activities involving mobile broadband deployment and small cell architecture specifically.

3:15 pm  Making the Right Technology Choice: Femto Cells and Distribute Antenna Systems

Tracy Ford

Bo Piekarski

Tracy Ford, Director, DAS Forum
Bo Piekarski, Vice President, Crown Castle/NextG
Discuss the traditional deployment environment for both technologies and understand when DAS is preferable to Femto Cells and when the two technologies can be complimentary.

3:45 pm Panel: Backhaul Considerations in Small Cell Deployments

Payam Maveddat

Doug Lockie, IDT Spectrum
Payam Maveddat, EVP Product Management, Taqua
The emergence and explosive growth of the small-cell centric architecture changes the dynamics of the wireless backhaul market.  Because of the quantity and placement of small-cells, wireless cannot depend upon traditional backhaul methods alone, like copper, fiber, or coax.  Current projections show that some form of wireless transport will be required to feed up to 60% of these new small-cell sites.  These alternative wireless transport technologies include traditional microwave, millimeter wave, wifi, and free space optics.

4:30 pm  Workshop Concludes