The use of small cells in heterogeneous networks (either 3G, 4G and 5G future) for
indoor traffic has been regarded as the best solution to meet the growth of mobile traffic due
to reduce network power consumption and to guarantee the high capacities. Moreover,
increasing the amount of small cell deployment implies in the expansion of the backhaul
network, which causes an increase on the network power consumption, and threatens the
small cells gains in terms of energy. Furthermore, the energy consumption in heterogeneous
network can increase considerably depending on the choice of the type backhauling.
Considering this background, this work aims to provide a methodology to assess and identify
possible energy consumption bottlenecks in the mobile network, considering both the wireless
part as the backhaul infrastructure. The methodology considers the demand of traffic
generated in the city, scenario to implementation and operation of heterogeneous networks
(small cells), and dimensioning backhaul by segment (Cell Site, Hub Site e Central Office).
Adopting this methodology, the study evaluates and compares three types of backhaul
architecture for conventional Femtocell or Femtocell Wireless over Cable (FemtoWoC)
network: Fiber-to-the-Building, Fiber-to-the-Curb e Fiber-to-the-Home. It was found that the
main bottleneck in the backhaul architecture is the segment that is responsible for aggregating
traffic from small cells (Cell Site). However, adopt architectures and equipment with high
energy efficiency, as FemtoWoC, in the segment bottleneck reduce significantly the total
power consumption in the backhaul, mainly architectures based on copper in the last mile.
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