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A REPORT ON

FEMTOCELL

Evolution of femtocell
The first interest in femto cells started around 2002 when a group of engineers at Motorola were investigating possible new applications and methodologies that could be used with mobile communications. Further after 2yrs. In 2004 more attention was given to this technology and it was enhanced further. What is a Femtocell? A femtocell is a small device that is used to improve wireless coverage over a small area, mostly indoor. It is a small cellular base station, also called a wireless access point that connects to a broadband Internet connection and broadcasts it into radio waves in its area of coverage. As a result, mobile handsets can handle phone calls through the femtocell, via the broadband Internet connection. The name femtocell has the prefix 'femto', meaning a very small cell (area of network coverage). Small is rather a big word here, because femto denotes a division that is mathematically represented by 10 raised to the power of -15, or a quadrillionth. In plain English, it is one divided by a figure with fifteen zeros.

Femtocell Definition
Femtocell is a small cellular base station, designed for use in residential or enterprise.It connects to the service providers network via broadband. It supports 2 to 5 mobile.It allows service providers to extend service coverage indoors. A femtocell is a small device that is used to improve wireless coverage over a small area, mostly indoor.

Need of femtocell
Mobile cellular and 3G networks normally often suffer from poor penetration and reception in certain areas, like indoors. This decreases the quality of voice and video communication. It slows down high-speed services. Problem-3G Coverage Issues: 3G cells are smaller by virtue of supporting higher data rates 3G infrastructure needs to Proliferate Femtocells are a vehicle for expanding 3G coverage and improvinindoor coverage Infrastructure must evolve to support millions of small cells Third-generation cellular technology suffers from inadequate indoor-signal
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penetration, leading to poor coverage in the environment where consumers spend two-thirds of their time. Poor coverage diminishes the quality of voice and video applications, and slows down high-speed data services To keep customers satisfied, 3G carriers have increased capacity by building additional microcell sites. This strategy is becoming much less attractive. Site acquisition costs are exorbitant and continue to mount as space on viable towers and buildings fills up, landlords exact high rents and regulators impose onerous permit requirements. Public opposition to the building of large-scale base stations is increasingly common. Acquiring a site is only half the battle: Sophisticated base station equipment must then be purchased, installed, insured, operated and maintained. The net present value of a cell site in the U.K. is estimated to be $500,000. Carriers thus face a serious dilemma. Well it's clear more and more consumers want to use mobile phones in the home, even when theres a fixed line available. Friends and family usually call a mobile number first, and its where messages and contact lists are stored. However, it is often the case that providing full or even adequate mobile residential coverage is a significant challenge for operators. From a competitive perspective, femtocells are important because mobile operators need to seize residential minutes from fixed providers, and respond to emerging VoIP and WiFi offerings. Improving user experience in the home is also essential for reducing churn and gaining marketshare and new revenues. However, high deployment costs ensure that 3G networks rarely extend beyond the regulatory minimum. Using femtocells solves these problems with a device that employs power and backhaul via the users existing resources. It also enables capacity equivalent to a full 3G networksector at very low transmit powers, dramatically increasing battery life of existing phones, without needing to introduce WiFi enabled handsets. Indoor cellular coverage Can talk with any handset device Low cost backhauling More than 50% voice calls and more than 70% data traffic are originated indoor The 3Cs--coverage, churn and capacity--are stifling 3G adoption. Femtocells produce cost savings as well for the carriers. Consumer's home in essence becomes a cell site and there is no site acquisition costs involved. Electricity bills can be minimized. Unlimited mobile minutes for a fixed monthly fee.
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Other solutions: o Repeaters o Dual Mode WiFi o Femtocells Why Femtocell? The 3Cs--coverage, churn and capacity--are stifling 3G adoption. Femtocells produce cost savings as well for the carriers. Consumer's home in essence becomes a cell site and there is no site acquisition costs involved. Electricity bills can be minimized. Unlimited mobile minutes for a fixed monthly fee. The call charges can also be reduced based on which subscriber we are using. Provides better coverage and also prolonged battery life compared to others. Portable and easy to install and use. Speed: 2.5 G The femtocell will be 2G GSM technology, supporting data services through GPRS and EDGE which typically offer up to 384kbit/s. 3G UMTS Femtocells add network capacity and make it possible to deliver 7.2 Mbps and 14.4 Mbps data rates to consumers in indoor environments.

Concept of Femtocell
Indoor cellular coverage Can talk with any device Low cost backhauling

Features of

Femtocell

Operates in the licensed spectrum Uses fixed broadband connection for backhaul Principally intended for home and SOHO Lower cost Smaller coverage Smaller number of subscriber Higher density
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Classification of femtocells
Since a large number of femtocells can be installed by subscribers, in certain scenarios femtocell access shall be restricted to certain subscribers who are authenticated and authorized for exclusive access and related networkservice. Additionally, femto BS can provide a mechanism delivering initial access information (e.g. BS ID, frequency, closed group information, NSP, roaming capability) of its own and neighboring femto BSs to any MSs in order to facilitate their network discovery/selection and entry procedure to femtocells.
Femto BS can be classified into 4 types: Based on bearer connection capability Open femto BS : Provides bearer connectivity (full network services) to any MS Closed femto BS : Only provides bearer connectivity to allowed (identifiable) MSs Based on initial access information capability Initial access able femto BS : Provides initial access information for any MSs Initial access unable femto BS : Not allow to provide initial access information.

Common componens of femtocell architecture

As shown in Figure 1 there are three network elements that are common to any femtocell network architecture. These are:

Femtocell Access Point (FAP) Security Gateway (SeGW) Femtocell Device Management System (FMS)

Two other elements that are in all femtocell network architectures are entities that enable connectivity to the mobile operator core. Depending on the specific architecture used for circuit switched calls, there can be either a Femtocell Convergence Server (FCS) or a Femtocell Network Gateway (FNG). This is also shown in Figure 1. For packet calls, depending on the airlink technology, there can be either a PDSN or xGSN (GGSN/SGSN) in the core. In most cases, the PDSN / xGSN are the same as those used for macro networks.
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Figure 1 : Common Components of Femtocell Network Architecture

Femtocell Access Point (FAP)

Femtocell Access Point is the primary node in a femtocell network that resides in the user premises (e.g., home or office). The FAP implements the functions of the base station and base station controller and connects to the operator network over a secure tunnel via the Internet. A FAP can be introduced into a home in multiple ways. A standalone FAP can be directly connected to the home router. In some applications, the FAP may also include a built-in router, which is useful in prioritizing FAP voice traffic over other Internet traffic in the home network. More advanced FAPs include an Analog Terminal Adapter (ATA) to connect a fixed-line phone. In some cases, FAPs are full-blown residential gateways with built-in Wi-Fi and a broadband modem (xDSL, cable).

Security Gateway
The security gateway is a network node that secures the Internet connection between femtocell users and the mobile operator core network. It uses standard Internet security protocols such as IPSec and IKEv2 to authenticate and authorize femtocells and provide encryption support for all signaling and user traffic. The security gateway supports a large number of femtocells connecting to the operators network. While similar to traditional VPN gateways used in enterprises, femtocell security gateways are designed for use in carrier networks and meet carrier-grade requirements such as scalability, high availability, and network management.

Femtocell Device Management System

The femtocell management system, also located in the operator network, plays a critical role in the provisioning, activation and operational management of femtocells using industry standards such as TR-069. The management system is perhaps the most critical node in ensuring the scalability of a femtocell network to millions of devices. To ensure low-cost deployment and easy setup for subscribers, the activation and provisioning of the femtocell must be plug-and-play with no on-site assistance (sometimes called a truck roll) required from the mobile operator. Various standards bodies specify the use of the TR-069 family of standards as the base device management framework for femtocells. This protocol is widely used in DSL modem and residential gateway deployments, and uses a proven web-based architecture that can scale to support millions of devices. Airvanas Femtocell Service Manager (FSM) is a comprehensive TR-069-based femtocell management system that supports efficient management of large numbers of femtocells using a clustering and load balancing architecture. The FSM is composed of two primary elements, the Device Manager application and the Automatic Network Planner application. The Device Manager implements functions such as remote configuration, remote diagnostics, fault management, software upgrade, performance data collection and device authentication. The Automatic Network Planner adds RF planning algorithms, RF configuration and a northbound interface to Operational Support Systems (OSS).
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Figure 2 : Femtocell Service Manager

FCS or FNG The FCS or FNG enables femtocells to connect to the operator core network. This is important for the operation of femtocells as this is what allows femtocells to communicate with the core elements in the operators networks and allow seamless service for the mobile. For example, basic call setup requires communicating with the MSC and PSTN of the operator core. The FCS or FNG allows this to happen. As will be shown below, depending on the specific architectural model used to support Circuit-Switched Services the FCS /FNG can be used. PDSN /xGSN The PDSN / xGSN enable femtocell users to receive packet data services over the mobile operators core. In most cases, these will be the same as those used by the mobile operators macro network.

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3G Femtocell Architecture
The 3G femtocell architecture is based on the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) architecture with some additional UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) architectural enhancements according to the need to support femtocell functionality [4]. The 3G femtocell architecture defines the use of the Home NodeB (HNB) and Home NodeB Gateway (HNBGW) in place of the NodeB and radio network controller (RNC), specified in the traditional UMTS network architecture. Fig. 1 shows the 3G femtocell logical architecture defined by 3GPP.

Fig. 1. 3G femtocell logical architecture. In the 3G femtocell logical architecture as illustrated in Figure 1, user equipment (UE) connects to the HNB via the Uu interface. This interface is the standard wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) radio interface between the UE and HNB. HNB(s) provides dedicated mobile coverage and capacity in the homes, and, typically, this low-power access point which operates in the licensed spectrum connects to the HNB GW through the Iuh interface.The Iuh is a new interface, which is specified in release and it is used to link the HNB and HNBGW. This interface inherits a basic set of functionalities from the Iu interface. 3GPP has made some simplifications and additionsin order to adjust this interface specifically for a 3G femtocell. The Iuh Interface provides control and user plane functionalities,along with the basic set of functions for the user plane, such as, Radio Access Bearer management, Radio Resource.

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Advantages of Femtocell

Better coverage and capacity Due to short transmit-receive distance Lower transmit power Prolong handset life Higher SINR Higher spectral efficiency BS can provide better reception for mobile users Traffic originating indoors can be absorbed into femtocell networks over IP Cost Benefit $60,000/year/marcrocell vs. $200/year/femtocell Reduced subscriber turnover Enhanced home coverage will reduce motivation for users to switchcarriers Capacity benefits of femtocell: Reduced distance between sender and receiver leads to higher signal strength [capacity improvement] Lowered transmit power decrease the interference for neighboring cells [capacity improvement] Femtocell Benefits to End Users o Reduced in home call charges o Improved indoor coverage o Continued use of current handset o Reduced battery drain o One consolidated bill o Multiple users/lines o Landline support Femtocell Benefits to Mobile Operators o Improves coverage o Reduces backhaul traffic o Provides capacity enhancements o Reduces churn o Enables triple play o Addresses the VoIP threat o Stimulates 3G usage
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Captures termination fees Allows for multiple users/lines Addresses the fixed mobile convergence market with a highly attractive and efficient solution.

Disadvantages Some internet data plans today, charge on the basis of bandwidth used. So,
asking the subscriber to pay additional data charges for internet back-end connectivity for the core cellular network may not be easily accepted. Femtocells can support both open and closed usage. That is neighbouring subscribers may or may not be allowed to connect to them. If they are, then the access control list needs to be managed by the cellular network. There will also be a question on the ownership and the location of placement, in case of shared ownerships. If they are not, then the individual subscriber may have to pay the full price(if they are not subsidised by the vendor or operator) for the femtocells. If the Femtocells are used to their full capacity, it may require around 500ps which is available in broadband networks but not for all lans. Similarly, there might be reduction in call quality/ internet browsing if huge files are being downloaded from the internet simultaneously. The determination of location of the Femtocells becomes critical as theRF channel in which they need to transmit would be determined by their location and the RF channels used by nearby Femtocells. But normally, a particular operator may have licenses for different channels in adjacent geographic areas so there should not be any overlapping which would result in reduction of quality of communications. Also, they should not interfere with the RF channel used by the overlapping macro cell network. For all these things, the determination of accurate location is very important and it is not clear as to how the operators are planning to address this. At least initially, the Femtocells would work for only a particular cellular operator. So, every one at home may require to change to the same operator. Not all cellular operators are on IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), which might become the interface for the Femtocells. Cellular only service providers are dependant on the broadband services which are beyond their control. So, trouble shooting may become an issue.
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