O2 small cell WiFi network gets mobile backhaul support from Cambridge Broadband VectaStar

Mobile backhaul technology expert Cambridge Broadband Networks will be deploying its Vectastar multipoint microwave backhaul technology on behalf of telecom provider O2's new public small cell Wi-Fi network.

O2 is deploying its first public small cell Wi-Fi network in London. It is composed of more than 100 Wi-Fi access points installed on street furniture across the London Boroughs of Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea. The Wi-Fi network's traffic will be aggregated across the mesh and sent to a number of VectaStar point-to-multipoint nodes. These PTM points will then backhaul the traffic they received to a central hub in London.

O2's small cell network intends to provide O2's London customers with excellent outdoor Wi-Fi connectivity. "Small Cells offer an enormous opportunity for operators to deliver high-speed and high-capacity data access to their subscribers," said Kevin Oemering, Account Director at Cambridge Broadband Networks. 

Director Oemering added, however, that "The significant uplift in the number of radios needed for a small cell network, compared to today's macrocellular networks, requires a new approach to backhaul." According to him, O2 needed a mobile backhaul solution that could be easily and quickly deployed, support the high capacity demands of a small cell network, and possess the flexibility to expand its network across London.

"VectaStar's multipoint microwave architecture is suitably positioned to deal with the increase in the number of cell sites," Director Oemering explained, "as operators exploit innovative network infrastructure to serve mobile consumers."

Cambridge Broadband's VectaStar multipoint wireless backhaul technology uses a network configuration similar to the interface between cell tower and mobile handset found in the radio access network. This fundamentally different and cost-efficient backhauling network architecture uses the available 28 GHz spectrum band to provide excellent benefits for mobiles, including the next generation units. VectaStar mobile backhaul services will give O2 the ability to send traffic from its London network's numerous small cell networks to a single aggregation point.