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Delivering sky-high mobile bandwidthAs 4G connectivity becomes an ever-nearer reality for subscribers in the Middle East, Vick KhalilMamlouk, VP of Middle East and Africa, CommScope, explains how in-building solutions can ensureflawless next-generation connectivity in even the tallest of skyscrapers.Etisalat’s LTE network inthe UAE became the firstcommercial LTE network to bedeployed in the Middle Eastand, where they have ventured,others will soon follow.Zain aims to deploy LTE networksover the next two yearsin Bahrain, the UAE, SaudiArabia and Jordan, whileEtisalat also plans to enhanceits LTE footprint across theregion. Soon many of theregion’s cities will have themobile connectivity to reflectthe state-of-the-art skyscrapersand hi-tech commercialhubs for which they’re known.These dense, highly populatedurban areas are wherewe see the most mobile dataconsumption. In fact, wefind that in many countriesapproximately 70% of thetraffic on cellular networksoriginates from or terminatesinside buildings. Unfortunately,these same structurescan often present significanttechnical hurdles as signalstrength may be drasticallyreduced when penetratingphysical structures. Clearlythis is an important obstaclefor operators to overcome,as they strive to deliver thebandwidth and user experienceexpected from a nextgenerationnetwork.We’ve been involved in numerousLTE trials with majorglobal operators over the last2 years, including projects inthe Bhurj Khalifa, and haveseen how in-building systemscan deliver near-flawlessnext-generation performanceindoors. But it’s not just inskyscrapers where in-buildingsolutions are required, thesame benefits can achieved inall major business hubs, largepublic transport systems, stadiaand high-rise residentialand business buildings.By providing dedicated nextgenerationcommunications tothe sites where much of thedemand for additional bandwidthis concentrated, operatorscan maximise their LTErevenue streams as quicklyas possible. In addition, byhaving a dedicated high speednetwork in place, the impactof these sites on surroundingnetworks will be substantiallyreduced, which has theknock-on benefit of freeingup valuable network resourceselsewhere.Achieving LTE indoorsCurrently, dedicated indoorcoverage and capacity isprovided through DistributedAntenna Systems (DAS),where radio frequency (RF)signals are routed throughfibre or copper cabling from asingle base station to multipleantennas located throughoutthe building. This has provento be a highly effective andefficient way to distributewireless connections inside alarge building and eliminate‘dead zones’, as steel columnsand layers of concrete caninterfere with wireless signals.Fortunately, the same principlescan be applied to aDAS providing LTE coverage,allowing operators to confidentlyroll the system outusing established protocolsand, in some cases, existinginfrastructure. By adapting aDAS system that already provides2G or 3G coverage insidea building to provide LTE, itis possible to substantiallyreduce the capital expenditurewhen compared to a brandnew installation. Of course,each building and each legacyDAS will have their ownunique requirements to makeContd. from page 3215Jun - 14Jul 2011www.teletimesinternational.com31
CommScope’s insights on thefuture of the wireless market,opportunities presented bynew technologies,and the benefits ofin-building wirelesssystems shared atthree Middle Eastevents last month.Dr. Oliver Braz,head of system engineeringand productline manager forfuture technologies,CommScope, leada half-day seminarat the Prince SultanAdvanced TechnologiesResearch Institute (PSA-TRI) of the King Saud Universityin Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Histalk, “4G Enabling Technologies(LTE/WiMAX, MIMO andOFDM) and Cognitive Radio,”will explore new developmentsin LTE and other technologiesand what the future may bringin terms of broadband radiotechnology. The event, opento King Saud telecom graduatestudents, faculty membersand Saudi TelecommunicationSociety members, is sponsoredexpertsto share insights at Middle East eventsby PSATRI, Advanced Communications& Electronics Systemsco., Ltd. and the Saudi TelecommunicationSociety.Vick Khalil Mamlouk,vice president ofwireless sales, MiddleEast and Africa, CommScopewas a featuredspeaker at theTelecoms CEO Summitin Abu Dhabi, UAEwith his talk on “TheFuture of Wireless.”Also at the event,CommScope hostedcustomers and otherindustry stakeholdersat its exhibition stand (H19at the Abu Dhabi NationalExhibition Center), where itshowcased its solutions fornetwork infrastructure in wireless,enterprise and broadbandBarbara Ghininetworks.Ulf Lofberg, operations managerfor Wireless Innovations,CommScope, addresses theTechnology Summit in AbuDhabi. His presentation, “Analyzingthe In-Building WirelessSolution Business Case,”offered advice and guidance onthe various options operatorshave when addressing the complexitiesof offering in-buildingcoverage and capacity for wirelessusers.“We are pleased to discussour thoughts and share ourexpertise at these importanttelecom events in Saudi Arabiaand Abu Dhabi,” said Mamlouk.“CommScope has servedcustomers in the Middle Eastregion for many years and welook forward to meeting themand others at these events.” TContd. from page 31the switch to LTE, but muchof the knowledge, equipmentand technical expertise isalready in place.Next-gen considerationsThe main design criteria foran LTE in-building DAS isa question of cost versusperformance. Most existingin-building solutions use aSingle Input Single Output(SISO) system, which can beadapted to the Multiple InputMultiple Output (MIMO) systemrequired for LTE coverage.This avoids major constructionactivities, such as opening upthe ceiling to bring in a secondcable path, but each projectwill need to evaluate whethera simple reconfiguration of theSISO will provide sufficientperformance.To help illustrate the performanceof various in-buildingsolutions we used our testfacility – a standard squareoffice floor with corridors – tocompare four DAS scenariosand provide a general guideinto their data rates in thesame environment:1. Co-located pair of antennas:The most straightforwardapproach to upgrade indoorcoverage involves installinga MIMO antenna next toa standalone SISO instalment.In our test environmentthis achieved a datarate of 61 Mbps throughout91% of the floor.2. Distributed antennas: Bysplitting up the co-locatedantennas and installing theSISO and MIMO antennason opposite sides of thefloor, we were able to ensurethat the data rate neverfell below 75 Mbps acrossthe whole floor.3. Distributed pair of antennas:If there are existingdistributed SISO antennasin place, it is relativelysimple to install two additionalMIMO antennasin the same positions. Thisachieves even higher andmore consistent data ratesat a minimum of 112 Mbps.4. Interleaved distributed antennas:The most elaboratealternative is to install twoadditional interleaved antennas,which would requirea change in the position ofthe existing antenna locationsas well. From a MIMOperformance point of viewthis is the optimal solution,achieving a minimum of 117Mbps across the floor.From a business and performancepoint of view, thereasons for implementingLTE in-building solutions areevident. It provides optimumlevels of performance andgives operators the perfectopportunity to make the mostof their investment in thenetwork, helping to acceleratedeployments elsewhere. Froma technology perspective, it ismerely a question of assessingindividual sites to help determinethe cost of implementationversus performance. Oncea decision has been made,then it’s simply a case ofimplementing tried and testedsolutions.32 www.teletimesinternational.com15Jun - 14Jul 2011
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