We’ve always been taught to share, and a white paper released by COMMSCOPE addresses ways that sharing or co-locating on an antenna doesn’t mean networks are giving up control.
Mohamed Nadder Hamdy, Ph.D., the author of the paper said that “network sharing is once again a common topic of conversation as operators look for more cost-effective methods to transition to 4G services including long-term evolution (LTE).” The main driver, of course, is cost savings. More equipment means active and passive sharing options, including via the base station antenna. Shared antennas, according to Hamdy, can interact with different RF elements—TMAs, SBTs, radios and RRHs—presenting a variety of technical challenges and tradeoffs.
The most common network sharing models are passive, active and national roaming. Passive shared antennas can include real estate on which a cell site is located, tower space, equipment cabinets or buildings at the base of the tower, as well as power, lighting and air conditioning systems that support the equipment, Hamdy noted. Passive sharing “can save MNOs up to five percent on CapEx and as much as 10 percent on OpEx over a five-year span.
Active sharing, according to Hamdy, is “sharing of active electronic infrastructure and radio spectrum.” This can include antennas, base station equipment, transmission lines, base station operations and maintenance, and radio design and planning. Operators also can share radio spectrum, core network, infrastructure management systems, content platforms, and more. Net reduction here can be from 10 to 40 percent, according to Coleago Consulting.
National roaming, according to the white paper, allows roaming between operators inside the same country. This can save on investments “by geographically dividing the cost of the necessary infrastructure between operators.” Other operators without physical radio access networks also can come aboard. This is the easiest and least costly way to share, but it also allows for the least amount of control and flexibility.
Challenges of sharing, according to Hamdy, include technical details of deployment, specifically on the base station antenna.
“A site’s antennas are unique in that they are key considerations in both passive and active network sharing agreement,” Hamdy wrote. “The variety of network sharing scenarios in which they are used has led to manufacturers engineering a high degree of versatility into the antenna’s architecture. Therefore, base station antennas have evolved to become highly complex—and their proper use in network sharing arrangements can appear enigmatic.”
Additionally, there are non-antenna challenges, which include “capacity limitations and the risk of network congestion and reduced data throughput in areas with high traffic.” Hamby said that carriers may want to switch to the MORAN model, which would limit sharing to baseband units and backhaul, or deploying a common multiport antenna with separate RET controls linked to individual radios. This would provide balance for independent pattern control and cost savings. For a copy of the white paper.
Reader Interactions