CBNL brings its backhaul expertise to the Small Cell Forum

Cambridge Broadband Networks (CBNL) is pleased to announce that it has recently been accepted as a member of the Small Cell Forum, a not-for-profit membership organisation that seeks to enable and promote small cell technology worldwide.

The organisation recently changed its name from the Femto Forum, reflecting the broadening of its scope to include residential, enterprise, metro and rural cells – collectively known as small cells. The Forum supports, promotes and helps drive the development and adoption of such small cell technologies to improve the coverage, capacity and services delivered by mobile networks. By promoting their use in operator networks, the ever-increasing consumer requirement for using mobile devices wherever we are, with ubiquitous coverage and an uninterrupted service, can become a reality.

CBNL is delighted to be able to share its industry expertise in this area. Graham Peel, CEO, said:

“Small cells are set to remodel operators’ mobile networks over the coming years, as operators reveal plans to deploy them in their thousands. All these cells will need a backhaul connection. Our customers are finding that the dense data rich networks that this creates play perfectly to the strengths of point-to-multipoint microwave, making it both a low-cost and high-quality solution.”

A recent report released by Informa Telecoms & Media cited that small cells are set to grow from 3.2 million in 2012 to 62.4 million by 2016 – a 2000% increase – constituting 88% of all base stations globally. With a growth of this rate, the Small Cell Forum has a task on its hands to drive standardisation and regulation within the industry, while at the same time promoting the business case for the technology. As part of this effort CBNL will provide its expertise in promoting and defining the need and requirements for small cell backhaul.

Simon Saunders, Chairman of the Forum, commented:

“Small cells are integral to the future of mobile broadband networks – this is a fact that has now been accepted by the mobile operator community. The next major evolution in their deployment will be in the public access space where the technology will boost coverage, capacity and new services in both urban hotspots and rural areas. Central to the success of this change will be effectively solving the backhaul challenge. We welcome CBNL into the Forum where we expect them to play a key role in our work in this area.”

For further information, see our white paper ‘Easy small cell backhaul’, which can be downloaded here: https://www.cbnl.com/resources/easy-small-cell-backhaul

About Cambridge Broadband Networks

Cambridge Broadband Networks provides telecommunications operators with carrier-class wireless point-to-multipoint transmission equipment. The company’s unique approach to backhaul means that its technology provides operators with a highly compelling business case, reducing backhaul costs by up to 60%.

To date, Cambridge Broadband Networks products have been commercially deployed and technically proven in more than 30 countries, and the company continues to expand into new geographical markets as wireless networks become more widespread throughout the world. Privately-held, Cambridge Broadband Networks has headquarters in Cambridge, UK, with offices in Nigeria and South Africa and manufacturing facilities in China.

About the Small Cell Forum

The Small Cell Forum, formerly known as the Femto Forum, supports the wide-scale adoption of small cells www.smallcellforum.org.

Small cells are low-power wireless access points that operate in licensed spectrum, are operator-managed and feature edge-based intelligence. They provide improved cellular coverage, capacity and applications for homes and enterprises as well as metropolitan and rural public spaces. They include technologies variously described as femtocells, picocells, microcells and metrocells. The Forum has in excess of 130 members including 63 operators representing more than 1.71 billion mobile subscribers – 33 per cent of the global total – as well as telecoms hardware and software vendors, content providers and innovative start-ups.