Small Cell Deployment Options

The small cell concept covers a number of different options from relatively high power outdoor micro cells to indoor pico cells and very low power femto cells. This chapter first presents the main motivations for the small cell deployment and then illustrates the network architecture options. The small cell network architecture has a number of options depending on the use case and depending on the available transport infrastructure. Next, the chapter discusses the frequency usage between macro cell and small cell, and considers the solutions for finding the optimal location for the small cell. The chapter finally explains different indoor solutions and also describes cost aspects. Total cost of ownership (TCO) is one of the most important deciding factors when choosing a network deployment path. However, the TCO in each case depends on the operator's current installed base, its spectrum situation and user equipment penetration.