27 September 2011

Dr. Christian KrapichlerDirector of Technology

Altran Technologies UK

BBWF Master Class – Broadband Home Symposium

Femtocells in the Broadband Home –

Will 4G Solve Current Challenges?

Altran & Femtocells

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21%Telecoms & Media

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» 5 key industries

» 26 countries

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From technology strategy to R&D… to deployment and operations

» All key players

» Connected Solutions

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Femtocells – Current Challenges

Femtocells are rapidly gaining momentum in the market...

...and so are the challenges!

FemtocellChallenges

Radio

Security

Standards, Inter-

operability

Eco-System

Network / Device Mgmt

QoS / QoE

Femtocells – Current Challenges

Current challengesstretch across many aspects:

• Technology

• Regulatory

• Business

• Market

...and from R&D to Integration, Deployment and Operations

Interference at the Heart of Radio related Challenges

Interference

Spectrum

Throughput

Complexity

Coverage

• Indoor coverage key to Femtocell proposition

• 70% of calls indoors –vs. 2% of buildings with indoor solution

• Technology evolution and new capabilities

• Complex algorithms to address radio performance and interference issues

• Operating Femtocellson dedicated band leads to shortage

• UMTS 900 as viable option

• Femto-Femto Self-Optimization

• Femto-Macro dedicated bands for Residential, impact on Metro / Enterprise

Keywords include: 64QAM, MIMO, Adaptive Signal Processing, Tx/Rx Diversity, Cooperative Comms, Beamforming, Cognitive Radio

FemtocellChallenges

Radio

Security

Standards, Inter-

operability

Eco-System

Network / Device Mgmt

QoS / QoE

4G will help addressing issues with Throughput, Interference, and –depending on licenses –Spectrum, at the cost of increasing Complexity

Our Verdict:

Recent Headlines emphasize need to ensure Security

• Recent headlines highlight security concerns around Femtocells – whilst some are biased or exaggerated, others emphasize the need to address Security across the entire network.

• The impact on Residential Femtocells is limited, whereas Metro / Enterprise deployments will require additional effort – to meet the security expectations of mobile networks and keep the advantage over other technologies such as WiFi.

FemtocellChallenges

Radio

Security

Standards, Inter-

operability

Eco-System

Network / Device Mgmt

QoS / QoE

“Insecure [...] femtocells allow eavesdropping, call fraud”

“Femtocells wiltunder attack” “Security Issues in

Next Generation Mobile Networks: LTE and Femtocells”

“UMA FemtoCellSecurity Concerns”

“MAJOR HACK: [...] femtocells open phones up to intercept”

“Femtocell Security: Capturing phone numbers of passers-by”

Such Security concerns are particularly applicable to new technologies – and 4G Femtocells will be no exception.

Our Verdict:

Standards – Interworking – Interoperability: Vital for the success of Femtocells

FemtocellChallenges

Radio

Security

Standards, Inter-

operability

Eco-System

Network / Device Mgmt

QoS / QoE

Femtocells have many touch points towards various networks - 4G network architectures support interworking, albeit new standards & increasing complexityrequire further effort.

Our Verdict:

Femto-cells

Macro-Network

WiFi(UMA)

Fixed

M2M

• Seamless H/O• IMS integration• Network / Device

Management

• No H/O• Need Dual Stack:

• Complexity• Higher Cost• Less Battery Life

• DSL as Backhaul• Need E2E Security• QoS / QoE impact• Triple/Quad Play

vs. separate ISP

• Need standardized interfaces

• Example: Smart Metering for Residential Solar

The nature of Femtocellsrequires co-existence and interfacing with various other technologies.

Expanding Eco-System provides Basis for expected Growth

FemtocellChallenges

Radio

Security

Standards, Inter-

operability

Eco-System

Network / Device Mgmt

QoS / QoE

Although driven by Operator ‘push’ more than Consumer ‘pull’, demand and growth forecasts show that Femtocells have found their place – supported by a strong eco-system.

Our Verdict:

9 new deployments

in 2011Q2, now totalling

31 commercial

services

8 of Top 10 Operator Groups

offer Femto

68 vendors in FemtoForum –

incumbents and new entrants, ‘Telecoms’ and

‘IT’ players

Current Transitionfrom Early

Adopters to Early Majority

Growing demand (Data Explosion) –

but revenueslagging behind

Exponential growth

forecastsGrowth in breadth and depth –Eco-System ‘getting crowded’

Sources:• Femto Forum / Informa• Frost & Sullivan• Pyramid Research

Network / Device Management – “Two Worlds Colliding”

Managed Networks

Femto-cells

Consumers

Auto-Configuration and Self-Optimization are mandatory in residential setups – requiring time and effort to identify and tune right parameters particularly for new technologies.

Our Verdict:

FemtocellChallenges

Radio

Security

Standards, Inter-

operability

Eco-System

Network / Device Mgmt

QoS / QoE

Op

erato

r Netw

ork A

ND

Ho

me N

etwo

rk!

• NOC, NMS

• Managed NW Performance

• Strong Security

• Radio Optimization

• Capacity & Site Management

• SW/HW Upgrades

• Technology Roadmap

• Multitude of profiles

• Untrained –requires customer support

• Uncontrolled –risk of mis-configuration, tampering

• Provides ‘own’ backhaul

• Large number of ‘sites’

Femtocells as Enablers for Services and Improved QoS / QoE

FemtocellChallenges

Radio

Security

Standards, Inter-

operability

Eco-System

Network / Device Mgmt

QoS / QoE

Femtocells promise to be enablers for a new generation of services.

4G will significantly improve the underlying ‘Core’ services and strengthen ‘connected’ and ‘localized’ services.

Our Verdict:

Improved “Core Services”

• Voice Quality• Data Speed• Indoor Signal Strength• Latency

Source: Femto Forum

“Connected Home” Services

• Multimedia (incl. mobile TV, interactive TV, HD IPTV)

• Home Networking, access to PC / other services

• M2M, Automation• FMC Integration

“Femtozone” Localized Services

• Home Tariffs• Location Based Services• Presence• Context

Dependency on Backhaulfor E2E QoE:• Integrated Femto / HomeGW• Optimize bandwidth efficiency• Traffic Shaping Detection

Conclusions – Turning the Question on its Head!

“Femtocells in the

Broadband Home –

Will 4G Solve Current Challenges?“

Yes – Femtocells provide many solutions to achieve the goals of 4G deployment, and help addressing technical and commercial challenges and considerations.

Our Verdict:

4G technology will address some of the current challenges for Femtocells – others are yet to be solved, and new challenges will arise.

Our Verdict:

FemtocellChallenges

Radio

Security

Standards, Inter-

operability

Eco-System

Network / Device Mgmt

QoS / QoE

“4G in the

Broadband Home –Will Femtocells Solve Current

Challenges?“

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