A new type of base station, the compact BTS, has also entered the market, further reducing footprint and power consumption, while retaining the performance of macro BTSs.
A new, more varied radio access network (RAN) topology is emerging, driven by the availability of new technologies, more demanding performance, coverage and cost requirements, and innovative business models. The traditional ground-based, multi-sector macro base transceiver station (BTS) is rapidly losing its dominant position to single-sector micro and pico BTSs with a smaller footprint, and to distributed multi-sector BTSs with remote radio heads (RRHs).
- Compact base transceiver stations (BTSs) are the latest base station design to be introduced in the market. They bring WiMAX operators flexibility and cost savings while retaining the performance of macro BTSs.
- Compact BTSs can be installed in single-sector or multiple-sector configurations as alternatives to distributed BTSs with remote radio heads (RRHs).
- Unlike traditional macro BTSs, compact BTSs do not require ground shelters and cooling equipment. Yet they support high-performance features such as multiple antennas per sector with multiple input, multiple output (MIMO), and beamforming.
- With a smaller footprint, lighter weight and lower power consumption, compact BTSs cost less to install and to operate. Our analysis shows that operators can save 38% to 47% in capex and opex over a five-year period.
Why compact BTSs?
After a long wait punctuated by frustration about high costs and poor performance, the mass market has finally embraced wireless internet access, both for last-mile fixed broadband access and for mobile access. Devices like the iPhone and Android smartphones, netbooks, and other data-centric devices like the iPad or the Kindle enable subscribers to use their devices intensively for a growing set of applications.
Subscribers generate huge amounts of traffic (7 GB among Clearwire mobile subscribers in the US, and over 10 GB on average per month at Yota in Russia), and there is no sign that growth is slowing down. At the same time, average revenues per user (ARPUs) for combined voice and data are stable or declining, and unlikely to grow significantly in the mid-term future.
WiMAX and cellular operators are challenged to meet subscriber expectations at acceptable price points while retaining healthy profit margins. Operators are under constant pressure to keep costs down without lowering the service level. The RAN, the main contributor of capex and opex, is the main focus for cost reduction efforts. To contain deployment and operating costs, operators need equipment that delivers robust performance at a low cost per bit, and that can be installed quickly and cost effectively.
Compact BTS with a six-antenna array
Source: PureWave Networks
WiMAX has increased the need for a wider range of base station form factors, as it not only enables incumbent fixed and cellular operators to expand their network but also encourages greenfield operators-whether nationwide, regional or rural operators, vertical players, or municipalities-to enter the market with new business models. Deployment models based on macro BTSs often do not meet the cost/performance requirements of greenfield operators which are on a tighter budget or operate in low-density, underserved areas. Incumbent operators too have started to move away from ground-based multi-sector macro BTS, and have shown a strong interest in new distributed macro BTS designs and in micro and pico BTSs, which can have either ground-based or a distributed design.
With a smaller footprint and lower power consumption, compa
ct BTSs (Table 1) address the needs of WiMAX operators to deploy powerful and yet affordable equipment that meets the same throughput and coverage requirements of macro BTSs.
|
What is a compact BTS? |
| Single-box base station with radio frequency (RF) and baseband components in a fully integrated, ruggedized enclosure, mounted at the tower top, adjacent to the antenna array |
| Lightweight equipment with
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| Software-defined, single system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture |
| Support for multiple antennas and beamforming with a performance comparable to that of macro BTSs, but with lower power consumption |
| No ground equipment, shelter, or air conditioning needed |
| Only power and Ethernet (CAT-5 or fiber) cables required to operate the base station and connect it to the backhaul |
Table 1. What is a compact BTS?
About the author
Monica Paolini is the founder and president of Senza Fili Consulting. She is an expert in wireless technologies and has helped clients worldwide to understand technology and customer requirements, evaluate business plan opportunities, market their services and products, and estimate the market size and revenue opportunity of new and established wireless technologies.
She has frequently been invited to give presentations at conferences and has written several reports and articles on wireless broadband technologies. She has a PhD in cognitive science from the University of California, San Diego (US), an MBA from the University of Oxford (UK), and a BA/MA in philosophy from the University of Bologna (Italy). She can be contacted at
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