O2 LTE Trial: Backend Tech Revealed

As O2 switched on its 4G LTE network trial in London yesterday, companies working behind the scenes are now keen to announce their involvement in the project. 

Nokia Siemens Networks has announced that it is working with O2 to provide the service – it is the sole supplier of the LTE core network and up to 25 LTE base station sites. Select users in the O2 arena will also be able to access the companys LTE services. 

Nokia Siemens Networks is providing its 2600MHz LTE radio equipment, Evolved Packet Core technology, Home Subscriber Server and FlexiPacket Microwave Radio nodes. The company will also provide managed services, including network design and planning, deployment and optimisation services as well as care support for the LTE trial network.

Meanwhile, Cambridge Broadband Networks has announced that it is supplying the mobile backhaul technologies – the link between the core network and the smaller edge networks – for the trial. 

The company says its VectaStar multipoint microwave backhaul technology is a significant advance on traditional microwave technologies, as it mirrors the network configuration found in the radio access network (the interface between cell tower and mobile handset), and allows O2 to backhaul mobile traffic from multiple cell towers to a single aggregation point. This fundamental change in backhaul network architecture delivers significant advantages in terms of cost and efficiency, particularly for next generation mobile, says the company.

Graham Peel, CEO of Cambridge Broadband Networks says: “LTE networks offer enormous promise for mobile operators and the consumers they serve but the huge volumes of data traffic they are capable of generating, demand a new approach to backhaul. It is a challenge we designed our VectaStar solutions to meet – in addition to delivering the raw capacity requirement for LTE, the efficiency gains inherent in multipoint microwave can significantly reduce the cost per megabyte.”

O2s 4G LTE trial spans 40 square kilometres of Londons key sites, and will run until June next year.