At the Mobile World Congress 2014, Ericsson will announce Small Cell as a Service.
Ericsson’s Small Cell as a Service will enable increased network capacity in environments where large numbers of people gather and consume large amounts of data.
The main benefit is that it seamlessly combines 3G/4G with carrier-grade Wi-Fi and allows for the monetization of dedicated media content, advertising and over-the-top services, said Ericsson in a statement.
Recently, Dell’Oro said telecom service providers will deploy almost 670 K small cell backhaul links between 2013 and 2018. Licensed non-residential small cell BTS shipments will grow from 160 K in 2015 to 625 K in 2018. SP Wi-Fi revenues will more than double between 2013 and 2018.
“Service providers would prefer to roll out macros as long as possible. But we believe as the focus continues to shift from outdoor coverage to improving performance in high-traffic areas and indoors, that the case for small cells will eventually not only make sense from a spatial efficiency perspective, but it will also be compelling from a business point of view,” said Stefan Pongratz, director of Dell’Oro Group’s RAN and Small Cell Programs.
Ericsson said its Small Cell as a Service approach involves using low-powered, short-range radio access nodes to supplement existing telecom networks and increase capacity in traffic hot spots where large numbers of users gather. The resulting densified network is owned by either Ericsson or a partner, and could serve multiple operators in scenarios when dedicated operator deployments are impractical.
“Small Cell as a Service will enable operators to manage increasingly video-centric traffic in ultra-dense environments where it may not be practical to find additional sites for macro cells. The service is a means of monetizing carrier-grade Wi-Fi and dedicated media content, advertising and over-the-top (OTT) services,” said Jean-Claude Geha, vice president and head of Managed Services, Ericsson.
Ericsson in a statement said the solution can be offered in conjunction with broadcast services such as content distribution and delivery, content processing and video stream handling, as well as Ericsson’s content management systems.