FEMTOCELLS TECHNOLOGY

TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES OF FEMTOCELLS FOR INDOOR COMMUNICATION

Submitted on: 10/27/2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. 1 List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 2 Background ............................................................................................................................ 2 New Methods............................................................................................................................. 3 Femtocells .............................................................................................................................. 3 Distributed Antennas System (DAS) ...................................................................................... 4 Microcells ............................................................................................................................... 6 Comparison ................................................................................................................................ 7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 9 References ................................................................................................................................. 9

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Femtocell deployment with macro-cellular network ................................................. 3 Figure 2: Passive DAS ................................................................................................................. 4 Figure 3: Active das setup .......................................................................................................... 5 Figure 4: Coverage range of each technology ........................................................................... 7 Figure 5: Femtocell vs Macrocell throughput ............................................................................ 8

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Comparison between Passive DAS and Active Das ...................................................... 6 Table 2: Comparison between three methods .......................................................................... 8

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INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
Advances in wireless technology have contributed to the improvement of cellular communication capability; from voice ONLY to high-speed wireless data transfers. This change was remarkably capitalized and realized with introduction of smartphones and other hand-held devices such as Apple iPhones. Mobile phones and other mobile devices with High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) increasingly require internet connection to fully optimize their functionality. With growing popularity of such mobile devices, demand for good network connectivity and higher data rate in wireless network will also increase exponentially. Interestingly, more than 90% of data services and about 66% of calls occur indoor (home or office) [1]. However, mobile service operators are unable to provide high quality of service (QoS) to subscribers as macrocells are unable to provide extensive network coverage due to unique topology, high-rise office buildings or even dense urban housing area. Many households and businesses suffer from poor indoor coverage mainly due to distance between user and base-stations. Wireless network capacity has increased largely over last 40 years due to reduction in cell size and shorter transmission distance. Vikram Chandrasekhar and Jeffery G. Andrews briefly compared three methods (Femtocells, Distributed Antenna System and Microcells) in Femtocell Network: A Survey and provided an overview about the new technology called Femtocells [2]. These methods improve user experience mainly by reducing the distance between the base-stations and mobile users. This also helps in increase capacity as frequency reuse factor will increase (i.e. decrease in radius of cell will allow more cells within same spatial region). The main focus of this project is to highlight technical advantages of Femtocells as compared to other two methods to enhance user experience by providing better wireless indoor connection. The scope of this interim report is to provide an understanding about femtocells, DAS and microcells. Later part of report includes brief comparison between the three mentioned methods that showcase technical advantage of femtocell over other two technologies.

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NEW METHODS
FEMTOCELLS
Femtocells are short range, low-power, low cost mobile phone base-stations that resembles WiFi access point but contain Radio Network Controller (RNC) or Base Station Controller (BSC) for GSM users and all other network elements [1]. Moreover, it is connected to operator's core network via users

broadband DSL or cable connection. They operate in licensed spectrum and it can be widely used by home users, offices with poor network reception and also to provide indoor or outdoor hotspot. Figure 1 provides an in overview current of femtocell

deployment

macro-cellular

network where traffic is backhauled to mobile operators network through IP

FIGURE 1: FEMTOCELL DEPLOYMENT WITH MACRO-CELLULAR NETWORK

internet [3]. Development of femtocells

provides possibility of realizing full potential of LTE (3GPP Long Term Evolution) at reduced cost with better coverage, throughput and spectrum capacity. Typical femtocell has coverage range of 30 ~ 40 meters which means shorter distance between user and base-station hence, stronger signal strength. Moreover, coverage in this area can be achieved with lower transmission power. In addition, low power coupled with reduced path loss exponent and penetration losses will reduce mitigation of interference between neighboring macrocells and femtocells. Using the path loss propagation model (no fading) described in Femtocell Network: A Survey, where is the outdoor and is indoor path loss exponent, overlaying an area L2 with N femtocells results in a transmit power reduction on the order of [10() log10 L + 5 log10 N] dB. For example, choosing a cell dimension of L = 1000 m and N = 50 femtocells, with equal path loss exponents = = 4, femtocells give a transmit power saving of nearly 34 dB. When the indoor path loss exponent is smaller, say = 2, the transmit power savings increase to nearly 77 dB [2]. The example

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shows effective reduction in transmission power one of the many attributes of femtocell technology. This method will be further discussed in more detail throughout the project. MATLAB simulation will be carried out to verify some of the findings of the paper in later part of the project. Economic benefits with respect to user-end benefits as well as network operator benefits will also be discussed briefly.

DISTRIBUTED ANTENNAS SYSTEM (DAS)

Another method of improving user experience in poor network reception area is by deploying Distributed Antennas System (DAS). DAS works on a principle of distributing a strong uniform radio frequency (RF) by splitting the signal from base station to multiple indoor antennas to provide wider coverage for 3G voice and data services throughout the building. This will also reduce traffic load on macrocell network due to soft-handover to indoor cellular network. This provides isolation between serving (HSPA) and non-serving cells which result in less co-channel interference and higher data rate. DAS is classified into two systems: passive and active. Passive DAS requires passive components such as coax cable, splitters, terminators, attenuators, circulators,

couplers and filters to distribute the RF signal. One of the disadvantages of the passive system is the high setup cost of laying heavy coax cables besides the signal loss and attenuation in cable. A diagrammatic view of passive setup is given in figure 2 [4]. On the other hand, active DAS includes a master unit (MU) connected to multiple expansion units (EU) with optical fiber up
FIGURE 2: PASSIVE DAS

to 6 km in length. Each EU further connects to multiple remote units (RU) with thin coax
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cable up to 400 ~ 500m in length. A diagrammatic view of active DAS setup is given in figure 3 [4]. The MU is used to controls and monitors the performance of the DAS and an error will raise an alarm to the base station which helps the operator to pinpoint the source of the problem. The EUs are distributed

throughout the building and the RUs are installed close to the antenna. Moreover, active DAS uses internal calibrating system signals and amplifiers to

compensate for the loss due to passive components. Performance of active DAS is not affected by the distance between antennas and base-stations. Moreover, it can support multiple radio services such as GSM, PCS, UMTS, EVDO, WiMax and WiFi. Due to the loss and attenuation in the passive components such as coax cables, passive DAS is advisable for smaller building with fewer indoor antennas to have minimum impact on HSPA performance. For larger building, active DAS should be used as component loss is eradicated and this will boost the HSPA performance to the maximum. Furthermore, troubleshooting in passive DAS is difficult as there is no monitoring system. Hence, active DAS is the preferred solution for large building with a lot of indoor antennas [5]. Comparison between passive DAS and active DAS is given in Table 1 below [1]. From the summary table we can conclude that active DAS is preferred method of providing better network coverage in larger buildings. Ease of installation at lower cost as compared to passive DAS and troubleshooting capabilities makes the choice much more apparent for both the operator and owner of the building / area.
FIGURE 3: ACTIVE DAS SETUP

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TABLE 1: COMPARISON BETWEEN PASSIVE DAS AND ACTIVE DAS

Passive DAS Covered Distance Equipment Price Installation Multi-standard Output (base station) Upto 400 m Cheap Difficult No High Power

Active fibre DAS Up to 6 km Standard Very Easy Yes Low Power

MICROCELLS
Microcell method is one the earliest technology researched upon to achieve better coverage. They are very similar to macrocells just smaller in size so as to improve frequency reuse factor as well reduce the distance between user and base stations. However, in recent times with the introduction of picocells; microcells and picocells are used interchangeably. The difference between two is as the name suggest picocells are smaller in size that microcells. For convenience and ease of understanding, in this project we have considered them as being very similar and comparison is drawn with respect to femtocells, DAS and microcells / macrocells / picocells. A picocell is a small base station very similar to router that provides Wi-Fi connection between the users and internet. Its a device small in size with an integrated antenna that radiates a low power signal and has lower capacity than microcell or macrocell base stations. It connects to the Base Station Controller (BSC) of the operator who manages the transmission of data between the picocells and the network, and performs the hand-overs between the cells and the allocation of the resources to the different users [1]. The picocell is connected to the core network via standard in-building wiring, fibre optic or Ethernet connection. Usually an omnidirectional antenna is integrated into the picocells [6]. The main advantage of picocells is that they are cheaper than standard base stations thus the installation cost is also lower. Moreover, due to lower radiated power, various reections and diffractions because of the walls and other obstacles inside the building many picocells are required to provide indoor coverage. This opens up an avenue for the operator to have more cells within the building to increase the network capacity.
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Furthermore, this will benefit outdoor users as traffic will be handover to picocells inside building in return increasing capacity for macrocells to provide better coverage. It will also reduce the outdoor interference between macrocells and picocells due to reduced transmission power and increased capacity [1].

COMPARISON
Figure 4 [1] shows radius comparison between femtocells, picocells and

macrocells. As mentioned earlier picocells are considered as subset of microcells. Distributed antennas system provides coverage within the range of 500m as well.
FIGURE 4: COVERAGE RANGE OF EACH TECHNOLOGY

Comparisons

between

these

methods are done on several fronts from

installation cost to transmission power as well as system capacity. Throughput comparison between femtocells and macrocells was carried out by Vikram Chandrasekhar and Jeffery G. Andrews in Femtocell Network: A survey. Figure 5 shows the results depicted in the paper [2]. Femtocells are self-configurable base-station that backhauls to operators network via broadband or internet cable connection. Unlike picocells, they are simple plug and play that configures according to neighboring macrocell influence so as to avoid interference [1]. Furthermore, femtocell can transmit simultaneously over entire bandwidth unlike macrocells that supports only 20 strongest user at-a-time. As shown in the figure 5 below, femtocells as compared to macrocells provide median throughput gain of 1.8b/s/Hz/user and a wider median sum throughput of 250 b/s/Hz. This simply means improved spatial spectral efficiency as compared to other methods [2]. In terms of power reduction comparison between femtocells and DAS we learnt from [1] where path loss is between 1 to 3 for near and 3 to 7 when in far distance. Using equation where AN is new

area coverage, N = no. of antennas (our example N =4), path loss exponent = 5 we get improvement factor become 2.29. Similarly by minimizing this radiating power we get further power reduction to 9dB [1].

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FIGURE 5: FEMTOCELL VS MACROCELL THROUGHPUT

However, comparing this with lower path loss exponent of = 4 (outdoor condition) for femtocells resulted in 34dB and when = 2 (indoor) resulted in power reduction to 77dB as quoted earlier from [2]. This shows that femtocells are indeed provides better coverage at very low radiating power compared to any other methods.
TABLE 2: COMPARISON BETWEEN THREE METHODS

Macro/ Microcell Power Coverage Radius Indoor Quality Cost of Installation Installation By Expensive Operator Low 500m ~ few kms

DAS Low ~500m Average

Femtocells Very Low <40m Very good

Coverage Poor

Expensive Operator

Cheap User

NOTE: 1 HERE MACROCELL AND MICROCELL ARE PUT WITHIN SAME CATAGORY FOR RANGE ABOVE 500M

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CONCLUSION
In conclusion, femtocells, DAS and microcell (picocells) are three potential methods of improvising network coverage and providing better user experience for indoor wireless communication. Femtocells are manifested from the idea of producing smaller picocells. With reduction in cell radius, we can have more co-channel cells; in return increasing frequency reuse factor. However, this also increases possibility of co-channel interference which can be reduced with auto-calibration feature of femtocell. Thus, femtocell is not only technically stronger and but also cost effective over other methods. This is true, especially for indoor wireless communication which is the main scope of this project. Furthermore, MATLAB simulations in later part of this on-going project will verify these findings to effectively establish the case of femtocells being superior amongst the three proposed methods. Hence, by leveraging on these technical benefits, humble effort will be made to suggest the possible applications of femtocell in context of home and office users experiencing poor coverage in Singapore.

REFERENCES
1. Zhang, J. and G. De La Roche, Femtocells: Technologies and Deployment2009: Hoboken : John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2009. 329. 2. Chandrasekhar, V., J. Andrews, and A. Gatherer, Femtocell networks: a survey. Communications Magazine, IEEE, 2008. 46(9): p. 59-67. 3. Ho, L.T.W. and H. Claussen. Effects of User-Deployed, Co-Channel Femtocells on the Call Drop Probability in a Residential Scenario. in Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications, 2007. PIMRC 2007. IEEE 18th International Symposium on. 2007. 4. An Introduction to Neutral Host Distributed Antenna System, I. networks, Editor 2004, Infinigy networks: New York. p. 14. 5. 6. Active and Passive DAS, http://www.articlesbase.com/. Smith, M.S., et al. Microcell and picocell base station internal antennas. in Wireless Communications and Networking Conference, 1999. WCNC. 1999 IEEE. 1999.

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