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ExteNet: Backhaul and fronthaul in a neutral-host model

435 views · Published 14 December 2016 · 26:47 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: RCR Wireless News · 2016 · Science & Technology

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A conversation with Tormod Larsen, CTO, ExteNet

Neutral host providers such as ExteNet are playing an increasing role in managing backhaul and fronthaul in small-cell deployments for multiple mobile operators. Tormod Larsen, ExteNet’s CTO, talked to us about his experience working with mobile operators to deploy small cells.   
When it comes to backhaul, fiber is the preferred way to go. Tormod said: “We like the flexibility that dark fiber provides us, both technically and from a business perspective. A traditional 4G LTE service model is becoming a challenge for the carriers from a cost perspective. It’s also not as flexible, in terms of potentially having one customer doing small cells and another one doing C-RAN.”
Wireless is however an alternative that ExteNet considers: “We’re also looking at a number of wireless solutions, typically in conjunction with fiber. When we build a fiber network, we have a backbone and then we have laterals to connect in the small-cell locations. [We use] a mix of millimeter wave, free-space optics, and microwave solutions. We’ve tested about 20 of them,” Tomrod added. 
The results were mixed: “Some of them work OK, and a lot of them don’t work well in the environments we’re in. One challenge we have is sway on the poles, so you’re not having the alignment that is required. If you have a very narrow aperture on the wireless solution, just adding more equipment to the poles where there’s already a lot could be a challenge.”

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