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The evolution to denser radio-access networks with small cells in cluttered urban environments has introduced new challenges for microwave backhaul. A direct line of sight does not always exist between nodes, and this creates a need for near- and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) microwave backhaul.

Relaying is a feature defined in LTE Release 10 to provide coverage in new areas and/or to improve cell-edge throughput. For the purpose of investigating relay’s performance in a real network, an LTE TDD in-band relay prototype was developed. Based on this prototype some field measurements were conducted using LTE Release-8 terminals. Both indoor scenarios and outdoor scenarios were tested. Measurement results show that relays (once properly deployed) provide good coverage in the coverage holes of a donor eNB. Besides coverage extension, relays can also improve data rate in the poorly-covered area of a donor eNB, i.e. cell edge. The throughput of a terminal served by this relay prototype reaches around 8 Mbps in the uplink and 20 Mbps in the downlink. Regarding latency, given uplink data is always scheduled, the measured round-trip time via the relay is around 10 ms larger than that directly via the donor eNB.

Today, people take for granted their ability to communicate with each other, regardless of distance. As we move toward the Networked Society – with its predicted 50 billion connected devices – the telecommunications picture is becoming more complex, and the amount of traffic and signaling that has to be transported across networks is growing at an astonishing rate. Ericsson’s David Giaina, Marketing Director, Mobile Transport, explains the factors affecting mobile transport.

Gemma Vall-Llosera, an Ericsson Research specialist in high-speed access and architecture, takes us on a tour of some state-of-the-art demos in the latest Follow the Expert film.

Backhaul plays a critical role in mobile broadband, and is rising in importance on account of the introduction of heterogeneous networks, known as hetnets. Deploying vast numbers of small cells to complement improved and densified macrocell layers will require a range of highly scalable, flexible mobile backhaul solutions that support superior user experience.

As demand for bandwidth-hungry internet video traffic increases rapidly, Mike Wright of Australian operator Telstra tells us why network modernization must include rebuilding backhaul and differentiating over-the-top (OTT) video content.

Microwave technology is a cost-efficient technology for flexible and rapid backhaul deployment to almost any location. It is the dominant backhaul media for mobile networks in the world today, and is expected to maintain this position during the evolution of mobile broadband.

Telstra turns its transport network into a business enabler

This article describes the work performed by ITU-T SG15Q13 for defining the first telecom profile based on the use of IEEE Std 1588-2008. The first profile is specifically developed for the distribution of frequency using unicast IPv4 transmission, and required adaptation of the IEEE1588 protocol to make it suitable for the telecom environment. The objectives, reasons, and results of this adaptation are explained in this article.

With the rollout of Long Term Evolution the capacity of the radio access network backhaul needs to be upgraded to 100–150 Mb/s. Next generation mobile networks, such as LTE Release 10, will increase the requirement for backhaul capacity to gigabits per second.