Fronthaul Challenges &

Opportunities
Anna Pizzinat, Philippe Chanclou – Orange Labs Networks
LTE world summit 2014
Session : backhaul summit
23-25 June 2014, Amsterdam RAI, Netherlands
 Contents

1. Cloud RAN Cloud RAN drivers

Local RAN
Centralized RAN

2. Fronthaul Fiber fronthaul and wireless fronthaul

3. Conclusion Centralize if you can, distribute if you must

2
 Cloud-RAN compared to Distributed-RAN

Conventional Architecture Cloud RAN Architectures

Standard BS BBU Remoted BBU Centralised Intra BBU Pooling + CoMP Inter BBU Pooling + CoMP

Possible future products

Traditional Remote Head Phase 1 CRAN Phase 2 CRAN Future CRAN

Site Site (RRU) Upto 30 Upto 30 Upto 30
30 or
more cells
30 or
more cells
30 or
more cells
3 cells (1 3 cells (1 cells per cells per cells per per BBU per BBU per BBU
site) per site) per BBU BBU BBU
BBU BBU

Site Site Site 1 Site 2

BS BS BS
Intra-site BBU pooling
Radio
Co-Ax

Radio Radio

(typ . 3 cells/sectors max Inter-site BBU pooling:

Fibre

Fibre Fibre Fibre

Fibre
Fibre

BS Fibre Fibre Fibre

Radio and several Mobile
Central Office Central Office
30 - ?hundreds?
Central Office
Switching Layer
BBU BBU
Technologies: 2G,BBU1 3G,4G) BBU2X2 BBU1 Internal BBU2 fronthaul
BBU3 linksBBU2 BBU3
BBU1
Internal Internal Internal

3 to 12 fronthaul links
Backhaul Backhaul Backhaul Backhaul Backhaul Backhaul Backhaul Backhaul Backhaul Backhaul
Copper Copper Copper Copper Copper Copper Copper Copper Copper Copper
M-Wave M-Wave M-Wave M-Wave M-Wave M-Wave M-Wave M-Wave M-Wave M-Wave
Fibre Fibre Fibre Fibre Fibre Fibre Fibre Fibre Fibre Fibre

Fibre between remote BBU and Radio head known as “Fronthaul” CRAN = Cloud RAN BBU = Base Band Unit BS = Base Station RRH = Remote Radio Head
C-RAN: centralized BBU
Already deployed in some countries.

Today one BBU can already manage 6 RRH.

Next generation of BBU products will support multiple sites
(first level of pooling) and an internal interface to enable
CoMP support.
RRH RRH
CoMP=Coordinated MultiPoint
RRH

RRH → AAA, Wireless Central Office

Active Antenna Arrays
IP/MPLS

module
System
BBU
network
RRH RRH

module
System
BBU
RRH Optical Fiber S1

module
System
BBU
Digital-RoF

Fronthaul : CPRI Backhaul

C-RAN: intra & inter BBU pooling + CoMP

4 Cs of C-RAN: Centralization, Cloud, Cooperation, Clean

4 At research level: reach BBU pooling at user equipment (UE) level
C-RAN drivers

Interest coming from network operational teams : site engineering

solution due to increased network rollout difficulties
Antenna site simplification: footprint reduction, renting cost
reduction, reduced time to install
– Antennas sites with negotiation problems
– Adding new radio access technologies on existing sites with very
limited space
– Find new locations to replace sites that have to be switched off or
solution for failed negotiation sites
– Reducing building cost (crane, metallic structure, etc.) and renting cost
– Reducing the electrical consumption, maintenance on site
– Less or not any cooling cabinets and shelters
– Decrease antenna site time to build and time to repair

Contribute to RAN strategies about

– Tower sharing
– Solar powered antenna site
– Simplification of operational installation procedures at antenna sites

Drivers = cost reductions & ease of deployment

5
C-RAN drivers
Radio performances, very low latency between BBUs enables:
– Better performance in mobility
– Improved uplink coverage
– Higher capacity and improved cell edge performance with inter-site CoMP
When BBU’s are centralized (e.g. with C-RAN), it means pooling and aggregation
gains possible across a number of sites and energy efficient (see slide in annex)
C-RAN is future proof for LTE-A and beyond
In case of hetnets, higher interference is expected
– The same BBU shared between small cells and parent macrocell could provide even
higher gains than in a macrocell scenario.

RRH
RRH

Central
Office RRH RRH
RRH
RRH
System
module

BBU

RRH RRH

RRH

BBUs are in a secured location: no need for IPSec

The new fronthaul segment is the key to assess the TCO (total cost of ownership)
6
 How to build a fronthaul solution?
technical
aspects
1. Technical requirements:
CPRI: digitized radio signal → high data rates
→ 3 sectors LTE 20MHz 2x2 MIMO → 3x2.457Gbit/s
→ Complete radio configuration LTE+ 3G+ 2G: up to 15 RRHs
Latency + synchronization + jitter also to be taken into account regulatory business
aspects * aspects
2. Business aspects: low cost and scalability

3. Regulated countries: the fronthaul solution must be

available for other operators → wholesale offer
 Fronthaul must be monitored to provide SLA
→ by dedicated fiber monitoring solution RRH RRH
RRH demarcation
→ different levels of SLA are possible point

demarcation Central
 Antenna site demarcation point Optical Fiber
point
Office

→ outdoor compliant and as simple as possible BBU

demarcation
RRH point BBU
3. Non-Regulated countries: RRH
RRH Wireless
fronthaul provided by the RAN vendor BBU

Optical fiber is needed for the fronthaul Mobile fiber / wireless provider Mobile
operator operator
Wireless fronthaul shall also be considered
7
Local C-RAN

Micro/small cell
Micro/small cell Macro cell

RRH RRH
Wireless
RRH
RRH RRH or
RRH Cell site Optical Fiber
cabinet
coax

RRU
BBU
RRU CSG Central
BBU
Wireless RRU
office
or BBU
Optical Fiber BBU

backhaul

8
Wireless fronthaul: a reality today !

Antenna
RRH

Antenna
BBU WFM WFM RRH

FrontLink™ 58 Product

Antenna
RRH
Digital Interfaces

RF Interface

Wireless fronthaul on Orange commercial network with FrontLink™ solution from

Three sectors LTE 2600 MIMO 2x2 → 3x2.457Gbit/s CPRI on a wireless fronthaul link
→ In less than 70 MHz bandwidth
30 cm

9
Wireless fronthaul: similar KPIs as fiber

Fiber-based Fiber-based Fronthaul Wireless Fronthaul

Wireless Fronthaul
Fronthaul

Network accessibility Network retainability

Fiber-based Fronthaul Wireless Fronthaul

Network mobility
10
Apple to apple comparison between fiber and wireless fronthaul over 3-months period
Wireless fronthaul: similar KPIs as fiber

RTT ping 32 bytes RTT ping 1400 bytes

Network integrity
11
Apple to apple comparison between fiber and wireless fronthaul over 3-months period
Wireless fronthaul enables local C-RAN
Macro site
Remote macro sector
Micro sector (3G and/or 4G)
Wireless Fronthaul

Macro site Remote

« local C-RAN » macro
sector
Remote
macro
sector

Remote
Remote
Micro sector
Micro sector
Remotre
Micro sector

With wireless fronthaul, turn existing macro site into local C-RAN
12 Easier and faster deployment, same network architecture, better radio performance
From local C-RAN to centralized RAN

Mobile coverage
done by only RRHs

Central
office

Fronthaul

BBU BBU
BBU BBU

BBU BBU

BBU BBU
BBUs
13
BBU BBU
Stack
BBU BBU
How to build a fronthaul solution? RRU: Remote Radio Unit RRH: Remote Radio Head
BBU: BaseBand Unit CSG: Cell-Site Gateway
Focus on fiber fronthaul D-RoF: Digital Radio over Fiber, CPRI or OBSAI

Local RAN
Mobile Backhaul
RRH RRH
(Carrier Ethernet, PON, MW)
RRH Central Office
coax Cell site
Wireless cabinet
CSG
RRU
BBU fibre
RRU
RRU BBU

Centralised RAN
RRH RRH IP/MPLS
RRH network
RRH
RRH
RRH Mobile Fronthaul
Wireless D-RoF
BBU
fibre
BBU
Optical
Demarcation Distribution Demarcation BBU
point Network point

Dark fiber Carrier Network

(Eth., OTN, PON)
RRH RRH

RRH
RRH RRH
D-RoF
BBU RRH
BBU
BBU Carrier fronthaul D-RoF
BBU

BBU
BBU

Not enough fiber available? Challenges: latency, jitter, synchronization

14
Too expensive for OTN
How to build a fronthaul solution?
Focus on fiber fronthaul
Dark fiber PRO’S CON’S
RRH RRH

RRH

D-RoF
BBU

BBU

• Native fronthaul solution • Need fibers, lot of fibers

BBU
• No native monitoring and OAM
Carrier Network
(Eth., OTN, PON)

RRH RRH
• Risk on performance (latency, synchro)
RRH
BBU needed for CPRI
• CPRI rate dependent
D-RoF

BBU • High efficiency fiber sharing

BBU • Native OAM and demarcation • Power supply required
• Foot print (cooling cabinet)
• Cost issue

Carrier fronthaul Active WDM:

RRH RRH

RRH
- provide infrastructure monitoring and OAM
D-RoF BBU - clear demarcation point
BBU
- CPRI transparent (no framing, bit rate independent)
- multiplexing low and high CPRI rate and other
Shared fiber BBU traffics (alarm, GPS…)
- CWDM with colorized transceivers (outdoor
compatible) already available
Passive WDM
- scalability to DWDM with colorless and outdoor
15 low footprint
transceivers under investigation
Conclusions and next steps

Centralize if you can, distribute if you must

- Radio Site engineering solution (footprint reduced, energy

C-RAN drivers efficiency, less operations on site, etc.)
- Radio performance improvements and future proof for LTE-A
and global - Hybrid Fronthaul/Backhaul solution needed to address HetNets
perspective - C-RAN to co-exist with regular RAN architecture
- BBU in secured place and existing location

- Wireless fronthaul commercially available today (up to 7.3Gpbs):

Wireless enabling network densification and local C-RAN
Fronthaul - Use of millimetric bands in future for massive small cells (mRRU)
deployment (Nx10Gbps fronthaul links in dense urban areas)

- CWDM ready: good, simple, cost effective option with additional

“passive” fiber monitoring
Fiber Fronthaul - DWDM tomorrow with colorless transceivers and high number of
available wavelengths
16
Is it time to rethink CPRI?

- No sleep mode?
Energy efficiency - Constant rate

-CPRI is coming from industry forums and not from a

standardization group (cf. ETSI Open Radio Innitiative)
Standardisation -CPRI is defined as a “backplane extension” and not a network
interface

- CPRI transport: include natively the OAM (Operations,

Administration and Maintenance) of the medium: Fiber, wireless,
etc…
CPRI redefinition - New function splitting interface to reduce bandwidth?
- Packetized fronthaul?
- Network architecture of Fronthaul (PtP, MPtoMP)
- Reference configuration including demarcation point

17
merci
 Energy consumption gain
 Calculation made on Rennes area France (one on 10 big cities)
– 15-km square coverage area,
– 86 cell sites, 13 intermediate central offices and one Core CO
240
PSVAC *
220
Total Energy Consumption [ kW ]

OTN
200
CSGW ˟ Based on average
Optical transceiver consumption of
180 BBU
RRH
commercial
160 equipments
140

120

100

80

60

19 *PSVAC: Power Supplying, Ventilation and Air Conditioning

˟CSGW: Cell Site GateWay