Mobile operators are facing an exponential traffic growth due to the proliferation of portable devices that require a high-capacity connectivity. This, in turn, leads to a tremendous increase of the energy consumption of wireless access networks. A promising solution to this problem is the concept of heterogeneous networks, which is based on the dense deployment of low-cost and low-power base stations, in addition to the traditional macro cells. However, in such a scenario the energy consumed by the backhaul, which aggregates the traffic from each base station towards the metro/core segment, becomes significant and may limit the advantages of heterogeneous network deployments. This paper aims at assessing the impact of backhaul on the energy consumption of wireless access networks, taking into consideration different data traffic requirements (i.e., from todays to 2020 traffic levels). Three backhaul architectures combining different technologies (i.e., copper, fiber, and microwave) are considered. Results show that backhaul can amount to up to 50% of the power consumption of a wireless access network. On the other hand, hybrid backhaul architectures that combines fiber and microwave performs relatively well in scenarios where the wireless network is characterized by a high small-base-stations penetration rate.
Heterogeneous networks (HetNets) have the potential to cater for the capacity requirements of mobile broadband services at reduced cost and energy consumption levels. One key aspect in HetNets is the role of the backhaul. More specifically, it is crucial for a mobile operator to understand the impact of specific technological and architectural upgrades in the mobile backhaul network on the capital and operational expenditure (i.e., CAPEX and OPEX). This paper proposes a comprehensive methodology that can be used to analyze the total cost of ownership of a number of backhaul options based on fiber, microwave, and copper technologies. The study considers both a Greenfield and a Brownfield scenario and takes into account the mobile broadband capacity requirements for the time period between years 2015 and 2025. From the results presented in the paper it can be concluded that even though microwave and fiber will be predominately used in the future, the possible migration paths leading to such fiber-and microwave-based backhaul scenarios might be different, depending upon factors such as spectrum and license costs, time to deployment, availability of equipment, and required quality of service levels.
AbstraCI-Heterogeneous network (HetNet) deployment strategies have the potential to improve the energy efficiency of mobile access networks. One key aspect to consider in HetNets is the impact of the power consumption of the backhaul, i.e., the overall energy efficiency of a HetNet deployment is affected by the backhaul technology and architecture. This paper presents a preliminary assessment of the design challenges of a future green backhaul segment for a HetNet deployment. The study is based on the analysis of the medium term future outlook (i.e., between now and tile year 2025) of the main technologies used in todays'backhaul networks (i.e., fibe r, microwave and copper). It can be concluded that, even if there are no doubts that both microwave and fiber will be predominately used in the future, the possible migration paths leading to such fiber-and microwave-dominated scenarios might be different, depending on factors such as spectrum and license costs, time to deployment, availability of equipment, and required Quality of Service (QoS) levels.
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