Reliable and cost-efficient protection scheme for 5G fronthaul/backhaul network

Abstract

One of the challenges for Mobile Network Operators (MNO) in 5G deployment is to ensure reliability in the various sections of the network as the new services and applications, for instance, video on demand, telemedicine, online learning, smart transportation and augmented reality require not only high bandwidth but also demand uninterrupted service. However, this reliability requires substantial investment. Therefore, MNO only deploys protection or backup resources in the network unless it is cost-effective. The study aims to present a reliable and low-cost protection scheme based on an Ultra-Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing Passive Optical Network (UDWDM PON) for the transport layer of the 5G network, i.e., for the fronthaul/backhaul section. We have evaluated the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) cost of UDWDM PON with and without protection in a dense urban area. We also measure the figure of merit between the cost and reliability of the system and, subsequently, confirm that the proposed protection scheme can achieve system reliability up to four nines with very low additional CAPEX investment. Finally, the efficacy of the proposed protection scheme is also demonstrated through simulation experiments.

Keywords

• Centralized radio access network (C-RAN)
• Free space optics (FSO)
• Passive optical network (PON)
• Fronthaul
• 5G
• UDWDM