Dragonwave Strikes Early In Small Cell Backhaul

Small cells were a key focus at this week's 4G World event in Chicago, as it becomes increasingly clear that operators will shrink their base stations to ever-smaller sizes to add dense data capacity at relatively low cost of ownership. There are many backhaul options, from harnessing existing DSL or cable lines to pulling fiber, but ABI Research estimates that 58% of outdoor small cells will be backhauled using wireless technologies by 2016.

Focal Points:

• This figure will be achieved with the introduction of microwave products optimized for small cells, which means greater flexibility and lower cost than current large cell offerings, and Dragonwave was quick off the mark with an actual product launch, rather than the roadmaps and promises which have been common among many players for the past six months.
• The Canadian company has introduced the Avenue extension to its platform, designed specifically for microcells, and aiming to push the firm into new markets. In particular, low cost, optimized backhaul products will appeal in territories where there is limited fiber or other wireline build-out; where operators are highly sensitive to cost of ownership; and where small cells will be used from an early stage to address pent-up demand for data capacity. These criteria could apply to many operators, in at least some of their footprints, but particularly in India, China and parts of Latin America and Eastern Europe.
• The Avenue line has two products in the first generation, geared to operators, which are deploying 10 or more metrocells connected to a larger cell, an increasingly common topology.
• The first product is the Avenue Link, which measures 10 inches square by seven inches deep, and can be mounted on poles or walls. It has a 5-inch flat antenna which backhauls to a DragonWave Horizon Ethernet microwave radio, which in turn connects to the main network. It needs no external power supply and can work in any licensed band from 24GHz to 60GHz. Its compact size makes it flexible to support a range of topologies for small cell metrozones, such as mesh, point-to-point, daisy chain, ring, or hub and spoke. It costs $8,500.
• While Link is for backhaul only, VP of business development, Alan Solheim, envisages a rising demand for modules which include an integrated mini-base station, delivering a compact, all-in-one solution that would lend itself to the economics of the Taiwanese ODM chain. DragonWave's move towards that scenario comes with the Link's larger stablemate, the Avenue Site, which measures about 16-inches by 36-inches by 11-inches. This product offers a complete microcell, as it incorporates a slot for a base station card, which could come from a range of access system manufacturers. Site has its own power supply, an Ethernet switch and three mini-antennas that can point to different links.
• The Avenue Site is more comparable to the 2100 product from BelAir than to offerings from conventional wireless backhaul suppliers, which have generally been slow to deliver more than slideware for specific metrozone products. BelAir, by contrast, has built on its roots in Wi-Fi municipal mesh networks to create a high profile business in metro WLans for carrier offload, and is now focusing on small cell architectures for LTE too. It is coming to the integrated access/backhaul unit from the opposite direction to Dragonwave's, with products like its recently shipped 2100 LTE/3G/Wi-Fi metrocell - primarily base stations, but with backhaul options including Docsis cable and wireless included. As yet, the firm is focusing mainly on license exempt spectrum for that backhaul, focusing on carrier grade Wi-Fi, which - so far at least - keeps DragonWave and BelAir well differentiated.

Editor’s Note: It is becoming clear that femtocells will have a dramatic impact on any device that transfers data. It is not just a way to connect your cell phone to the Internet so you can make inexpensive voice calls. Many of our clients are concerned about the rising use, storage requirements and cost of data. Femtocells will offer a way to offset this rising cost.