Looking to catalyze deployment of small cells in cities, the Small Cell Forum has launched “Release Three: Urban Foundations.” Laying out the business case for and market drivers of small cell deployment, the Barcelona-based industry and operator association in Release Three also begins to address the technical, economic and operational challenges and barriers to small cell deployment in urban areas, as well as the opportunities that could result by surmounting those problems.
Commissioning an independent survey conducted by Maravedis-Rethink, the Small Cell Forum found that “capacity, value-added services and the opportunity to integrate Wi-Fi were among the most commonly cited market drivers for urban small cells,” according to a press release.
Survey respondents’ primary concerns were backhaul, optimal site acquisition, monetization and network management. With Release Three, the Small Cell Forum begins to address these issues.
It includes 18 new and updated documents that identify market drivers and supporting operators in urban small cell deployment that range from business cases and service opportunities to technical areas, such as self-organizing networks, backhaul, Wi-Fi integration and network architecture. Regulatory issues and deployment processes are also discussed.
“Release Three focuses on establishing the need, evaluating the business case and identifying key barriers to commercial deployment of urban small cells. In Release Four and beyond, we will delve into the detail of the technical solutions that will speed deployments in this exciting new market,” Small Cell Forum chairman Gordon Mansfield was quoted as saying.
“The Small Cell Forum unequivocally believes the case for urban small cells to be a strong one. But small cells cannot meet growing user demand quickly and efficiently without practical and informed support and guidance. That is why Release Three is so important. I believe small cells will have a pivotal role for operators in viable network densification — the development of HetNets that efficiently and cost-effectively combine macro and small cell rollout.”
Copies of Release Three are available on the Small Cell Forum’s website.
