Nokia Siemens Networks has displayed a complete, live Ethernet-based wireless mobile backhaul solution at Carrier Ethernet World Congress (CEWC) in Berlin. The new approach is said to provide a cost efficient, environment friendly answer for operators who need to dramatically increase capacity and switch to a simpler, packet-based transport network.
The demo was said to be fully incorporated in the interoperability test bed of the European Advanced Networking Test Center (EANTC). The approach of combining Carrier Ethernet transport (CET) with microwave radio in a zero footprint – taking up no additional space – backhaul site solution eliminates the need for a separate indoor unit for the microwave radio.
"The result of no additional shelter equipment, space and power consumption can reduce site costs by up to 25 percent, with the side effect of a high ecological value for the customer," said Tamas Major, portfolio manager for mobile backhaul at Nokia Siemens Networks. "This test revealed the interoperability of our solution in terms of synchronization which is major step for the applicability of mobile backhaul deployment based in carrier Ethernet."
Whereas alternative approaches still require additional aggregation devices and multiple boxes at the base station sites, Nokia Siemens Networks says it offers a built-in Carrier Ethernet engine in its FlexiPacket Microwave Radio solution. The CET feature set allows network and transport sharing to be realized with strict guarantees for all parties – in particular hard quality of service (QoS) and full support for next generation mobile services and applications.
The interoperability demonstration was publicly accessible on the EANTC stand at CEWC and comprised products such as FlexiWCDMA BTS, a modular 3G base station with inbuilt Ethernet interfaces, FlexiPacket Microwave, and Symmetricom's TimeProvider 5000 as IEEE1588-2008 master clock – all connected to a multivendor Carrier Ethernet network.