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Fronthaul Networks
a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
Author:
Ulrich Kohn
ADVA Optical Networking
ADVA Optical Networking All rights reserved.
This paper describes the latest LTE features for spectral reuse and maximizing
cell capacity. It outlines the impact on the mobile backhaul network and
introduces a fronthaul network as an innovative approach to connecting
a rapidly increasing number of Small Cells in a future proof and highly
efcient way. Guidance for best practice fronthaul network implementation
is provided.
WHITE PAPER
Fronthaul Networks a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
Macro Cell
Small Cell
ABS
ABS
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Fronthaul Networks a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
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Fronthaul Networks a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
Preferred X2 connection
for lower delay
Edge Router
RNC
Carrier Ethernet
IP/MPLS
Servicing
Gateway
Present design practice cannot meet the delay target. Backhaul architectures
which switch/route X2 closer to the base station become necessary as indicated
with the dotted path in Figure 4. This, however, requires a signicant change in
network architecture, which may result in signicant investment.
As Mobile Network Operators prepare their infrastructure for emerging LTEAdvanced, they analyze different strategies on how the backhaul network
can provide the required functions. Favorable solutions will allow migrating
rather than overbuilding the existing network. A combination of GPS-based
synchronization delivery with network based IEEE 1588 packet-based
methods known as Assisted Partial Timing Support (APTS) nicely combines
accuracy of satellite based solutions with the high availability of terrestrial
communication networks.
ADVA Optical Networking offers unique synchronization delivery and assurance
technology for implementing synchronization distribution in installed networks,
making best use of satellite systems as well as network based methods such as
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Fronthaul Networks a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
IEEE1588 and SyncE. This, however, is not covered in this White Paper, but more
detailed information can be found on www.advaoptical.com.
A commercial as well as a highly attractive, technical approach for relaxing the
backhaul requirements is based on re-partitioning the Radio Access Network by
pooling some functions at a central site and minimizing equipment that needs to
be mounted at the antenna site.
RBS
MBH
RU
BBU
S1
RBS
RU
BBU
RBS
RU
BBU
X2
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Fronthaul Networks a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
participation from Ericsson AB, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, NEC Corporation,
Alcatel Lucent and Nokia Siemens Networks GmbH & Co. KG. It transports the
digitized radio frequency signal as well as management and control data. The
transmission network connecting RRH with BBU is called fronthaul network
underling the difference with the backhaul network, which connect the DUs with
the edge of the evolved Packet Core (ePC).
Small form factor Remote Radio
Heads (RRH) simplify installation
and reduce power consumption.
Small form factor Remote Radio Heads (RRH) simplify installation and
reduce power consumption of active equipment at the antenna site. As
the characteristic of the RF signal is generated at the collocated, pooled
Baseband Units, a tight coordination of the radio signals is achieved. Besides
the cost advantages, the improved interference management translates into
a higher cell utilization as well as improved quality of service.
Centralized Baseband
Processing
RRH
RRH
RRH
3
3
RRH
RRH
RRH
3
RRH
RRH
RRH
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
MBH
Fronthaul Network
Optical fronthaul networks form basis for the next step of innovation towards
software dened radio access networks, which can be upgraded from one radio
technology to another simply by management command. As the CPRI interface
does not depend on the radio technology, a upgrade from 3G to LTE or LTE-A only
increases data rate in the fronthaul transmission network. Bitrate transparent
transmission allows a network upgrade without any impact on the transmission
network.
Transmission between BBUs and the Remote Radio Heads will in most cases be
done with ber systems as data rates of several Gbit/s need to be transported
and distances of up to 40km need to be bridged with low latency and low jitter
in the range of 10ns.
Copper and Microwave transmission systems might be an alternative in certain
cases, however, both technologies come with some limitations which make a
wider application quite unlikely.
Although the latest microwave transmission systems are capable of transporting
data at multiple Gbit/s speed, restrictions on availability of spectrum and
distance limitation at high frequencies, e.g., in the E-Band at 60/80 GHz, need to
be considered. In addition, cost of scaling capacity is signicantly less favorable
with microwave transmission, making ber-based solutions ideal. Copper is a
theoretical option as well, however, it requires highly sophisticated vectoring and
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Fronthaul Networks a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
bonding technologies for achieving the required data rates. Distance limitations
further reduce the relevance of this technology.
CWDM/DWDM will improve ber
utilization.
Conventional
Radio Base Stations
Centralized
Baseband Processing
Spectral Efciency
Moderate
Bandwidth
Requirements
Interconnection Media
to Antenna Site
Fiber
Synchronization
Inter-Cell
Communication
Installation Cost
High
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Fronthaul Networks a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
CPRI Characteristics
The CPRI interface is used to transport a digitized radio baseband signal in
2G/3G and LTE networks as well as with WiMAX. As no compression technology
is applied, the line rate per carrier and per antenna becomes quite signicant
depending on oversampling rate, resolution per sample, number of antennas per
sector and sectors per antenna site. The list below shows some congurations
with respective CPRI line rates:
Application
Channels
Antenna Conguration
WCDMA
4 x 5 Mbit/s
1228.0 Mbit/s
LTE
20 Mbit/s
2457.6 Mbit/s
WCDMA
LTE
1 x 5 Mbit/s
20 Mbit/s
9830.4 Mbit/s
Antenna Site
Sector 1
Sector 2
Sector 3
RRH
RRH
RRH
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
Figure 7: Antenna site featuring three sectors with 2x2 MIMO and
centralized Digital Unit
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Fronthaul Networks a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
Antenna Site
Sector 1
Sector 2
Sector 3
RRH
RRH
RRH
Mobile Operators have various options for connecting cell sites with the
central baseband units. They may decide to install ber to the cell site, rent
dark ber, share ber and the transmission system with another operator or
lease bandwidth from a wholesale bandwidth provider. Any of those models
comes with specic requirements for the fronthaul transmission network
in regard to scalability, operational requirements, resilience and trafc
segregation.
The following operational models shall be outlined and favorable technical
solutions will be discussed:
Self-Provided Fronthaul Network: Mobile Operator owns / leases ber
and connects pooled BBUs with RRHs through owned fronthaul network
Wholesale CPRI Connectivity Provider offers CPRI connectivity service
over own ber infrastructure
Fronthaul Network Sharing: Various MNOs share antenna sites and
pooling sites. A shared fronthaul network needs to isolate trafc and
provide means to manage performance per connection
The fronthaul capacity demand depends on remote-site parameters such as
number of antennas, available spectrum, MIMO conguration and mix of mobile
technologies such as 2G, 3G, 4G and WiFi/WiMAX. Hence, the number of CPRI
interfaces as well as the per-interface capacity will vary signicantly across a
mobile network but also among mobile networks.
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Fronthaul Networks a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
consider resilience with the transmission network. This might, however, change in
the future as operators move towards more centralized architectures increasing
the number of centrally located BBU units which aggravates the impact of ber
breaks.
RRH
RRH
RRH
RRH
RRH
RRH
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
RRH
RRH
BBU
Fronthaul Network
RRH
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RRH
RRH
RRH
RRH
RRH
RRH
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
Access Link
Monitor
RRH
RRH
BBU
BBU
BBU
Fronthaul Network
RRH
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Fronthaul Networks a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
TRP
TRP
TRP
TRP
TRP
TRP
TRP
TRP
TRP
SFP
SFP
SFP
SFP
SFP
SFP
SFP
SFP
SFP
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
BBU
Fronthaul Network
TRP - Transponder
While this solution provides sophisticated means for monitoring the performance
for each channel independently, it adds cost for additional transponders. This
might be justied as the improved service quality generates higher revenue. In
cost sensitive environments the passive Access Link Monitoring outlined above
might be an interesting alternative.
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Emerging Technologies
Initially, fronthaul systems are applied for connecting a relatively low number
of antenna sites. This allows applying commercially available passive C/DWDM
system. The monitoring deciency of this approach can be solved with ADVA
Optojack ALM technology. This approach benets from cost advantages of
passive network architecture without compromising maintenance requirements.
As fronthaul networks gain momentum, operators will push baseband unit
pools deeper into the network, extending the number of remote antenna sites
connected to the central BBU pool. In parallel to this centralization, more
complex MIMO schemes will be applied for making better use of the scarce radio
spectrum. Those two trends will increase the number of CPRI interfaces per
fronthaul network as well as the bandwidth per interface.
Presently available DWDM systems provide the required capacity but often suffer
from high cost. Hence, innovative approaches for cost-optimized DWDM systems
are investigated:
Seeding technologies provide a wavelength source for upstream
transmission and avoid the need for colored wavelength transmitters at
the cell site. Those technologies are tested in eld trials today, but suffer
from ber-plant reections and consequently bandwidth and distance
limitations.
Wavelength-tunable, low-cost lasers, together with suitable control
concepts, are a promising approach for DWDM front- and backhaul which
meets both, commercial as well as operational requirements.
CPRI compression can reduce bandwidth requirements and allow growing
end-user bandwidth up to a factor of 3:1 without the need for adding
capacity in the fronthaul network. There is however a certain performance
degradation of the RF signals which needs to be considered when analyzing
the overall benet.
ADVA is actively investigating all technologies outlined above. The resulting
innovations will make optimized fronthaul solutions available which meet the
future demand for higher channel count and capacity. A specic focus is put
on operational simplicity as centralized BBU pools will need to serve a higher
number of antenna sites.
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Fronthaul Networks a Key Enabler for LTE-Advanced
Summary
Advanced mobile technologies put new challenging requirements on traditional
mobile backhaul architectures. The introduction of a fronthaul network provides
various advantages as it relaxes backhaul delay and jitter requirements and
improves re-use and utilization of the scarce radio spectrum.
Line rates of digitized RF baseband signals make optical transmission systems
the preferred solution in fronthaul networks. C/DWDM technology improves ber
utilization and minimizes ber handling cost. Passive C/DWDM transmission
systems in combination with advanced monitoring solutions such as Optojack
Access Link Monitoring combine the advantage of minimized power consumption
at the antenna site with the ability to independently monitor the transmission
network from the radio system. Alternatively, active, transponder-based
systems provide a clear demarcation which is favorably applied with Wholesale
Bandwidth scenarios.
Different transmission network architectures align with operational models such
as wholesale, self-provided networks or network sharing. Various innovative
photonic technologies can be applied to optimizing applications with stars, rings
and chains and support more centralized baseband processing architectures.
This simplies the radio access transport network and reduces the number of
active sites.
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Version 02 / 2014
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