Small cell

[1] In the United States, recent FCC orders have provided size and elevation guidelines to help more clearly define small cell equipment.

As wireless carriers seek to 'densify' existing wireless networks to provide for the data capacity demands of 5G, small cells are currently viewed as a solution to allow re-using the same frequencies,[4][5][6] and as an important method of increasing cellular network capacity, quality, and resilience with a growing focus using LTE Advanced.

ABI Research argues that small cells also help service providers discover new revenue opportunities through their location and presence information.

The Small Cell Forum have published a white paper outlining the technology and business case aspects.

[9] In LTE, all cells will be self-organizing, drawing upon the principles laid down in current Home NodeB (HNB), the 3GPP term for residential femtocells.

Future innovations in radio access design introduce the idea of an almost flat architecture where the difference between a small cell and a macrocell depends on how many cubes are stacked together.

Thus, Femto Base Station (FBS) network coverage is one of the prime concerns in indoor environment to get good quality of service (QoS).

Many different wireless and wired technologies have been proposed as solutions, and it is agreed that a toolbox of these will be needed to address a range of deployment scenarios.

An industry consensus view of how the different solution characteristics match with requirements is published by the Small Cell Forum.

[12] The backhaul solution is influenced by a number of factors, including the operator's original motivation to deploy small cells, which could be for targeted capacity, indoor or outdoor coverage.