Despite non-stop rain, MWC 2010 was a busy event here in Barcelona. The industry is concerned about the challenges LTE must face in order to be successful, and this was in my opinion a main thrust of the show. Major issues were backhaul technologies (wireless and fiber), femtocell deployment, traffic offload and the search for new device form factors and applications to appeal to customers. This year’s exhibition hall was applications-focused, indicating where operators must center their efforts in order for revenues to match traffic growth.

There was much activity and discussion around backhaul at MWC. Traditional big backhaul players (Ericsson, NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks and Alcatel-Lucent) continue to offer bundled solutions to operators. For these vendors, microwave is just one of several backhaul options, including integrating fiber solutions into platforms with centralized traffic management and maintenance. Several vendors provided interactive backhaul demos showing how QoS combined with adaptive modulation are fundamental to take maximum advantage of spectrum. Although we are used to seeing Motorola among those big network suppliers, Motorola’s backhaul offering is modest, offering only a single split mount model with a tiny indoor unit.

Huawei and ZTE are emerging as aggressive entrants into the backhaul market, entering the bundle packet vendors group. During the tradeshow I was surprised to find that the huge Huawei pavilion at the center of the venue was restricted to invited customers only. For the rest of us there was just a booth in hall 8, without any technical staff available for questions. At ZTE’s pavilion I was more lucky, being able to talk with the company about their backhaul solution.

Backhaul specialists such as Aviat Networks, Ceragon, DragonWave and Exalt are confident enough to compete with the bigger players, given the growing importance of IP backhaul and the plurality enforced by mobile operators regarding network suppliers. Backhaul is not considered anymore just another part of the base station and has gained significant importance on its own.

E-band vendors are starting to take positions, such as Alcatel-Lucent integrating BridgeWave’s products and Ericsson announcing their new all-outdoor pure packet E-band solution. The range limitation inherent to this band (up to 5 miles) will not be a problem for it to be broadly used, especially in urban environments where the separation between cells is reduced sometimes to hundreds of meters. In this regard I foresee a fierce competition from free space optical network suppliers such as Fsona and SkyFiber. These vendors developed their products years ago and have been waiting for data hungry applications to justify the data capacities they offer (up to 1.6 Gbps). Therefore they offer performance comparable to the E-band products with no issues related to spectrum licenses, interference or weather conditions.

The FemtoForum booth was one of the busiest at the show, with the LTE development board from picoChip being the biggest hit. This tiny base station, which was initially supported by 3G vendors, is also being adopted by WiMAX players. Kyocera has gone further, showcasing a WiMAX repeater with two pieces, one to be installed outdoors and the other retransmitting the signal indoors, connected via digital baseband so that no data is lost. Wi-Fi vendors such as BelAir networks are also taking advantage of collapsing mobile networks, finding themselves more welcome than ever by traditional mobile operators.

Environment-friendly solutions contributed to a warmer image to the biggest telecommunications event in the world. Attractive booths such as VNL’s, with plenty of solar panels, and Ericsson’s outdoor exposition of green equipment prototypes like the one below are examples of this green trend.

For more information, contact the author at esteban@maravedis-bwa.com

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