Creating and sharing knowledge for telecommunications

Project: FLEXICELL

Acronym: FLEXICELL
Main Objective:
Mobile networks are subject to an explosive increase in use, focusing on video and multimedia services, in a context of continued mobility, which imposes requirements to telecommunication networks in order to withstand this type of use, without any decrease on quality of service experienced.
In order to ensure these requirements, the IT sector is developing mobile networks, mainly on the mobile segment, based on the increase of radio cells which will tend to be smaller in a coverage sense (small cells). On the other hand, in an attempt to maximize the utilization of network resources while minimizing power consumption, the concept of ''Cloud RAN'', an architecture in which the component BBU (Base Band Unit) is shared by several RRH (Remote Radio Heads) is starting to be thinking off. This architecture will further re-use the resources, by allowing the BBU to be simultaneously used and to support various access technologies (2G, 3G and 4G). This functionality is achieved through the use of specific protocols, including CPRI and ORI.
Although there is an evolution in network optimization with C-RAN, currently, looking ahead in order to go even further, network optimization can be promoted with the use of metro and access networks, including fixed ones (including SOPs) to support mobile backhaul networks.
In order to overcome CPE/RRH current limitations, PT INOVAÇÃO and IT are launching this project that faces the challenge of joining the concepts of ''Small Cell'', ''Cloud RAN'' and ''infrastructure sharing'' in an integrated and unified architecture.
Reference: ADI 38901
Funding: ADI/QREN
Start Date: 01-01-2014
End Date: 01-06-2015
Team: Arnaldo da Silva Rodrigues de Oliveira, Nuno Miguel Gonçalves Borges de Carvalho, Paulo Miguel Nepomuceno Pereira Monteiro
Groups: Radio Systems – Av, Optical Communication Systems and Networking – Av
Partners: PT Inovação e Sistemas
Local Coordinator: Arnaldo da Silva Rodrigues de Oliveira
Links: Internal Page

Associated Publications