Workshop Background

The worldwide demand for cost effective mobile wireless voice AND data infrastructure with increasing bandwidth continues to grow driven by the desire to get good wireless access to the internet with high data rates. 

The challenge therefore is to increase more uniform coverage with increased datarate. 

Improved centralized solutions such as WCDMA, HSDPA, etc. are emerging but these require higher PA linearity and thus lower PA efficiency and therefore more heat, more power etc. 

One approach which basestation manufacturers are pursuing is to use distributed radio head ends mounted on remote tower or sites referred to as Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS). This will allow for possible reductions in the size of the radios, more uniform overall coverage at higher powers and possible reductions in the overall power consumed and thus OPEX for the network operators.  

A key to this implementation will be the availability of cost effective options for transporting the very high data rates expected from the hub to the many remote sites.  At present, dark fiber is the preferred option.  Can very broadband free space optic (FSO) or millimeterwave links be made competitive and if so where and under what conditions?
  

Workshop Goal

The GOAL of this workshop is to bring together senior leaders from THE ENTIRE SUPPLY CHAIN to facilitate and stimulate breakthrough thinking on emerging technologies and manufacturing methods which, when coupled with market needs and timings, and key system cost drivers, can substantially drive down the cost of the RF hardware and operating expenses associated with base station networks.

In short, the goal of this workshop is to create an open, interactive environment, where the entire supply chain can communicate, network, share technology requirements and capabilities, and achieve mutually desired goals.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

7:00 PM

Social and Networking 

Reception & Registration

At Hotel

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

7:00 AM

Breakfast & Registration
 

8:00 AM

Opening Remarks
 

8:15 AM  

Introductions

Each person will be asked to introduce him/herself and share how they can contribute to this process

DAS Neutral Hosts --Networks and Markets

Co-Host Keynotes

OVERVIEW

• Distributed Antenna Network Description and Requirements

• What are the key elements of DAS systems and what are the tradeoffs in equipment for the hubs vs. remote electronics?

• What are the varieties of DAS systems?

  • Operator "Build-to-suit" Distributed Basestations

  • Neutral Hosts

• Where do DASs make sense and where are they most attractive?

• Who are the kinds of customers for DASs?

• What are the market expectations, drivers and impediments to roll-out?

• What are the perceived tradeoffs between OPEX and CAPEX and implications in moving to these kinds of systems?

• Transport Requirements for DASs

• What are the options for transporting the fronthaul to the remotes and what are the pros and cons of the options?

  • Fiber

  • E-Band

  • 60 GHz

  • FSO

  • Copper

  • Power Line Communications

• What ranges of data rates are expected and required?

• What are the implications of OBSAI and CPRI interfaces in the choice of transport? Are there alternatives?

• What are the key challenges and desires of the Neutral Hosts?

• What can neutral hosts do to better meet the needs and lower the operating costs of DAS systems?

• What do the Neutral hosts wish from the supply chain?

• Who is the customer for DAS equipment.

• Etc.

Distributed Antenna Systems Description & Applications

Keith Radousky

Vice President Marketing
NextG Networks

Utility Infrastructure -  Transport Options that Improve Viability of DAS Deployments

Gabe Suarez

Network Engineering Director

PT Wireless

Co-Hosts

• American Tower

• Arqiva

• ClearLinx

• Crown Castle

• Fiber Tower

• NextG

• PT Wireless

10:00 AM

NETWORKING BREAK 

Co-Host Keynotes
(Cont'd)

The DAS Market and

Requirements

Brian Jacks

VP Corporate Development

Crown Castle

Deployment Challenges in Broadband Microwave Links

Tarun Gupta

Chief Architect

FiberTower

OPERATOR PERSPECTIVES ON DAS

• How do the service providers foresee introduction of distributed basestation architectures and tower mounted electronics into their networks?

• What do the operators see as the pros and cons of distributed basestation architectures versus larger, more complex centralized systems? Maintenance, energy consumption, installation, etc.

• What are the tradeoffs between OPEX and CAPEX implications in moving to these kinds of systems?

• What might they see as the economic drivers for moving to distributed basestation network architectures? 

• Will these be deployed as overlay networks or enhancements to existing basestations?

• What will be the role if any of basestation hoteliers and site management organizations?

12:15 PM

 NETWORKING LUNCH

Co-HOSTS and OPERATOR PANEL

DAS SYSTEM ARCHITECTURES AND MARKETS

• How do the neutral host providers foresee introduction of distributed basestation architectures and tower mounted electronics into their networks?

• What do the neutral host providers see as the pros and cons of distributed basestation architectures versus larger, more complex centralized systems? Maintenance, energy consumption, installation, etc.

• What might be the overall effect on site fees in comparison to centralized systems?

• What might they see as the economic drivers for moving to distributed basestation network architectures? 

• What do site managers see as their role in distributed basestation systems?

Transport Options for DAS-1
- Fiber and FSO

Suppliers of optional, wireless and wired solutions for transporting the signals to the remote sites from the hubs will present their approaches. 

• Fiber

• Power Line Communications

• E-Band

• 60 GHz

• FSO

Questions to be addressed:

• Why and under what circumstances and set of parameters would their solution be the best?

  • Link data rate/bandwidth capacity

  • Electrical specification (link reliability/availability, jitter, delay, OBSAI/CPRI compatibility, etc.) 

  • Expansion potential

  • Installation costs

  • Maintenance costs

  • Greenfield vs. legacy installations

• What do they foresee might change that could bring down the cost of DAS fronthaul transport costs? OPEX?  CAPEX?

Fiber For DAS - A Viable Long Term Solution

Dan Clark

Vice President Business Development

Byers Engineering Company

Optical Wireless as a High-Bandwidth DAS Fronthaul and Backhaul Transport Option

Dr. Heinz Willebrand

CTO

Randel Maestre

Director, Product Management

LightPointe Communications

NETWORKING BREAK

Transport Options for DAS -2
- Millimeterwave

(Cont'd)

Distance, Capacity and Spectrum Options For DAS Using 60-90 GHz Multi-Gigabit Links

Gregg Levin

Sr. VP, Product Operations

BridgeWave Communications

70/80 GHz Radio – Viable Fiber-Replacement Option for DAS Fronthaul Transport?

Dan Scharre

President & CEO

Loea Corporation

Total-Cost-of-Ownership-Approach Applied to mmW-Links, an Evaluation Tool

Romeo Premerlani

Product Unit Manager

Huber + Suhner

Transport Options for DAS-3
Broadband Powerline

(Cont'd)

E-Line: Gbps over Power Line

Glenn Elmore

Founder/CTO

Corridor Systems

5:30 PM

Adjourn  
 

6:30 PM

Dinner 

San Francisco Style  

Bus Transportation provided to and from hotel

Thursday, January 26, 2006

7:00 AM

Breakfast  
 

Panel

Transport Options for DAS

Speakers

• PowerWave

• ADC

• Andrew

• LightPointe

• Corridor

and 

Other Transport Option Suppliers present

DAS Suppliers' Views on Architecture
and 
Transport Options

• What are some examples of DAS network architectures and what are the relative pros and cons?

• What do the different transport solutions offer for the front haul in DASs? 

  • Fiber

  • Power Line Communications

  • Free Space Optics (FSO)

  • 60 GHz

  • E-Band

  • Microwave

  • etc.

• What are their views on the pros and cons for each of these for DAS transport and what are the consequences for or to:

  • Field operations

  • Installation

  • Maintenance

  • Repair

  • Servicing

  • Energy Consumption

  • Site fees 

  • Multi-user access and management

• What do the remote stations subsystem suppliers have to understand when interfacing to these transport systems?

• What will the implications be for these system choices be on other emerging technologies:

  • SDR

  • Reconfigurable Radios and Smart Antennas

  • Other Broadband Service Delivery options (e.g. WiMAX?)

• What are the implications of the OBSAI and CPRI interface standards on choice of the transport solutions?

• What are the CAPEX/OPEX tradeoffs and implications in going to each of these particular transport solutions?

10:15 AM

NETWORKING BREAK

PANEL

DAS System Supplier and OEM Views

 LUNCH

Enabling Technologies
(Cont'd)

What are the key technologies and how can improvements and developments help reduce the OPEX or the CAPEX of the transport solutions?

	Millimeterwave Semiconductor Device technologies
	Millimeterwave device packaging
	Thermal Mounting, Temperature Control and Environmental Techniques
	Cabling and connectors
	Material options
	Testing and diagnostics
	Shielding
	Design Tools
	Others

Overcoming the Design and Manufacturing Challenges of High-Volume Millimeterwave Radio Equipment

Dan Teuthorn

Vice President, Engineering

Endwave Corporation

Addressing Interface Requirements with Different DAS Technologies

Asif Batada

Strategic Marketing Manager

Altera

MMICs for Wireless Gigabit Applications

Manny Quijije

Product Manager

Northrop Grumman Velocium

1Gbit/s+ to the Home: CMOS for low cost large deployment of 1Gbit/s+ wireless solutions indoors and outdoors at 60GHz

Luiz Franca-Neto

Tech. Leader & Manager

Broadband Wireless Division

Intel

 NETWORKING BREAK

CLOSING PANEL

Host Panel session and Operators

The hosts will be asked to recap the extent to which the workshop has addressed their wish lists.

• Have we answered your questions? 

• Do you now have better insight into the tradeoffs and values for the different options? 

• What gaps do you see and what should be done to address these gaps? (Communications and Technology) 

• What can the IWPC do to help move this process forward?

Hosts and Operators 

Take Aways & Closing Remarks

Adjourn

Dinner (Dutch *)

* = in this context, Dutch is a term which means that each person will be responsible for their own dinner costs.