eNodeB design shines light on the need for high capacity urban networks

With demand for cellular data continuing to rise and outdoor small cells seen as an essential element in the long-term delivery of high-capacity urban networks, TTP has developed a small cell designed specifically for deployment on lamp posts. The eNodeB is said to fit a lamp post's standard photocell socket, providing speedy installation without any modification to the lighting column or its power supply.

"There has been a lot of focus on the unit cost of small cells, but less attention has been paid to total cost of deployment," said TTP's Steve Baker. "The costs of site acquisition, planning consents and installation become significant factors when tens or even hundreds of thousands of small cells are considered. The TTP outdoor lamp post cell addresses these challenges head-on."

TTP's prototype eNodeB – based on Freescale's BSC9131 QorIQ Qonverge processor – will be shown at Mobile World Congress next month. It incorporates 4G/LTE Access Point software from ip.access and has been demonstrated with the Quortus EPX Core evolved packet core. The device, which is targeted at 50m cells, is designed to support up to 32 active users and to provide downlink rates of up to 100Mbit/s.