Alcatel-Lucent are often associated with urban small cells, where they have become synonymous with the term Metrocell. But they are one of the few end-to-end suppliers that address the whole small cell spectrum including residential and enterprise sectors. We looked into some of their recent changes and future direction.
Regional airports need Small Cells
Like many people in the northern hemisphere, part of my summer break was spent at a small regional airport. I watched the arrival and departure of a low cost airline flight and tracked impact on the cellular network during the turnaround. It's a case which is crying out for a simple and cost effective technical solution, and one which a small cell would be ideally qualified to resolve. We discuss some of the practical aspects which might be holding back wider deployment.
Are we in danger of confusing and complicating the scope of Small Cells?
As the Small Cell industry prepares for the industry's annual get together in London at Small Cell World Summit, it seems that the scope and complexity of what the term "Small Cell" means is being wrenched and stretched almost beyond recognition.
We consider if this is this a good or a bad thing, and what the industry could do about it?
Unlocking the Enterprise for Small Cells – a new White Paper
In-building cellular service quality appears to have been noticeably degrading over the last year. This is apparent from an increase in dropped calls, generally poor voice connections (especially uplink), intermittent indoor data connectivity, with text messages - even incoming calls - not getting through.
Wi-Fi and Small cells dominate future capacity growth for mobile networks
Few new macrocell towers are being built these days. In some countries it's quite the opposite, with site sharing agreements driving consolidation and decommissioning of duplicate adjacent sites. Some are being added to satisfy pockets of poor coverage, especially in rural areas. There are a few regions of the world where further macrocell rollout continues makes good business sense. A further complication is regulatory restrictions on total cellsite RF emission levels, which in at least one country renders the majority of cellsites unsuitable for 4G rollout.
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- Mobile and Small Cell Industry Statistics. Did you know just how big the market is?
- Double deprivation of limited communication in rural areas
- Skip the 5G hype and invest in more Small Cell methodology
- How should Network Operators track usage to determine where Small Cells fit?
- Did you get a Small Cell or a Smartphone for Christmas?
- 2013 Small Cell End of Year Report Card
- Cisco's Big Thinkers ponder the implications of Small Cells
- How Cisco plan to establish themselves as a major RAN and Small Cell supplier
- Network operators should invest in small cells to get out of debt
- ThinkSmallCell End of Year Report Card 2012
- Small Cells Global Congress Report
- HetNet Europe Conference Report - A mix of large and small cells
- Chinese small cell market status August 2012
- Comparison of recent Small Cell and femtocell industry forecasts
- Small Cell World Summit Report June 2012
- Wi-Fi has limits that small cells can capitalize on
- LTE Operator Mindshare on Small Cells
- Small Cells in Latin America
- Verizon Wireless to deploy small cells, already short of LTE spectrum
- Small Cell roundup from Mobile World Congress 2012