Small Cell Industry Firsts with Multimode and Small Cell SON

In June, I described how Cisco was closing the small cell loop with the rapid integration of both the Ubiquisys and Intucell teams into the Cisco family.

Today I’m pleased to make three announcements that demonstrate the concrete results of all these bright minds coming together:

Cisco has added LTE capability to our Universal Small Cell portfolio.  This includes an industry first – a multimode small cell that provides 3G, 4G and carrier-grade Wi-Fi in a single access point – the USC 7734.  This is in direct response to requests we’re getting from both our Service Provider and Enterprise customers to integrate robust and secure Wi-Fi with 3G and 4G licensed small cell technology to accommodate connectivity and coverage to a wide family of mobile devices.

And another industry first – we’re taking the industry’s most deployed and proven SON solution for multi-vendor, multi-technology macro radio and extending that to Small Cells. Cisco Quantum SON is now fully integrated with our Universal Small Cell portfolio.  With SON built into every USC access point and delivered at the network layer through Quantum, Cisco SON provides resilient, automatic operation, with self-installation, self-optimization, and self-healing, even in shared frequency indoor environments. The result is reduced opex and improved quality of experience.

Cisco is also introducing an innovative update to our industry leading cell site router portfolio with the launch of the ASR 901 Secure Mobile Transport platform that incorporates the enhanced backhaul capabilities required to deploy Enterprise small cells. In these deployments, mobile traffic will traverse from enterprise networks across public networks to the carrier’s network. To enable the secure transport of user data in this environment, the ASR 901 has been enhanced with a very high performance IPSec acceleration engine. The ASR 901 has also been augmented to allow the network operator to create a flexible overlay architecture through support for Network Address and Port Translation (NAPT).

Cisco’s small cell strategy is driven by the specific business problems experienced by our Enterprise and Service Provider customers and we are working very closely with them to develop solutions that address these needs.  We are grateful for customers such as Telefonica and Telstra for the close collaboration:

“Telefonica has an advanced small cell strategy, and we value our partnership with Cisco that allows us to execute on this strategy”, said Carlos Loyola, Marketing Director, Telefonica Empresas. “Cisco’s direction with multimode small cells will give us the flexibility we need to deploy the right technology in each of our target markets, and their focus on SON throughout the network architecture allows us to confidently build a Het-Net that dynamically reacts to real conditions so that our customers experience seamless mobility.”

“SON is becoming a valuable tool for operators like us to optimize the Radio Network,” said Mike Wright, Executive Director, Networks, Telstra Operations. “We have tested Cisco’s Mass Event Handling SON module (MEH) during the prestigious Melbourne Cup horse racing carnival where more than 330,000 people attended creating a very high network load.  We were impressed with the ability of Cisco’s SON to seamlessly interwork with our OSS making numerous dynamic adjustments to balance traffic across the coverage area to optimise the user experience.  We look forward to expanding our activities with Cisco in the near future”.

As evidenced by our latest Mobile VNI report, mobile networks are in rapid transition. Cisco uniquely has the technology, and the relationships, to act as a bridge to bring service providers and enterprises together to evolve their mobile voice, data, and application strategies.  Licensed and unlicensed small cells, operating as an efficient and secure HetNet, are foundational to this strategy.