Public Safety Networks: Enabling Mobility

for Critical Communications

Romain Favraud, ... Thanasis Korakis, in Wireless Public

Safety Networks 2, 2016
4.7 Discussion
Some research papers provide insight into full solutions when no backhaul is
available, providing inter-eNB connectivity because of WiFi links and including D2D
communications that were not yet defined by the ProSe specifications of 3GPP
studies [GOM 14]. Other technologies are usually used to establish wireless
backhaul supporting fixed LTE networks: PTP RF or free space optics links and
PTMP RF links. In the case of portable BS, satellite backhaul links are sometimes
used. However, it can be easily seen that these wireless solutions are not adequate for
the establishment of a network of BS enabling voice and data communications in
moving cell scenarios.
For instance, Table 4.4 shows the main differentiating criteria. Despite great
performance, PTP and PTMP solutions often require line-of-sight wireless
connectivity with careful network planning, which make them inapplicable to the
moving cell scenarios. Satellite backhauling, on the other hand, provides the best
possible coverage but needs dedicated tracking antennas and suffers from high
cost. More importantly, it has high latency (≥200 ms) that limits voice and data
services [CAS 15]. WiFi solutions using omni-directional antennas are promising
solutions if the higher layers and protocols allow for efficient and dynamic meshing,
similar to the proposed LTE-based solutions (i.e. eUE and e2NB). However,
dedicated equipment and antennas are needed for WiFi backhauling, thus increasing
the cost of BS. In addition, commodity WiFi works on ISM bands and can thus
experience a large interference compared to the licensed bands used for LTE. To
solve this problem, some countries define their own licensed bands for the PS WiFi.
Last but not least, studies on commercial networks have shown that the WiFi latency
is on average slightly higher and has more jitter than that of LTE, although results
might differ for PS networks [HUA 12] and other studies have shown that the WiFi
latency is higher than that of LTE, especially when the traffic load and number of
users increase [HUA 13]. Moreover, carrier aggregation and full
duplex communications are expected to greatly increase LTE global throughput in
such mesh topologies, although similar techniques could be used for WiFi.
Table 4.4. Main characteristics of base stations’ backhauling solutions

BS PT(M)P/FSO SAT WiFi eUEs e2NBs

backhauling
Frequency ISM or Licensed ISM, Licensed Licensed
band licensed possibly
licensed
Link Very low High Low medium Low Low
latency medium
 BS PT(M)P/FSO SAT WiFi eUEs e2NBs
backhauling
BS mobility No If tracking If omni- Yes Yes
antenna antennas
Cost +++ ++++ ++ ++ +
Topology Star/mesh Star Star/mesh Mesh Mesh

FSO, free space optics.