Urban Wireless Multi-hop x-Haul for Future Mobile Network Architectures

This paper presents a mobile network deployment analysis aimed at understanding the potential use of high frequency (mmWave) wireless 'x-haul' to deploy new urban street level micro cell sites. A highly detailed 3D environmental model of central London is constructed and the line-of-sight (LOS) propagation paths between real rooftop cell sites and street level lamp posts calculated in order to simulate all of the potential wireless x-haul paths across the urban environment. Analysis is subsequently carried out to quantify the number of new lamp post mounted micro cell base stations that could be x-hauled using a multi-hop wireless transport solution such as 3GPP Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB). Results highlight the viability of mmWave wireless transport in real urban environments. Findings also outline the fundamental requirements that a multi-hop wireless transport solution must meet in order to maximise its potential as a lower cost and time-to-market alternative to a fully fibred network.