Wholesale Mobile Backhaul Application

Providing Mobile Backhaul to Multiple Wireless Carriers

This application example illustrates how a backhaul service provider can wholesale backhaul capacity to multiple Wireless Carriers. In this example, three Wireless Carriers are transporting different circuits and generations of services:

Wireless Carrier 1 requires connectivity for eight T1s (Legacy TDM backhaul)

Wireless Carrier 2 requires connectivity for 16 T1s and Gigabit Ethernet (hybrid backhaul)

Wireless Carrier 3 requires connectivity for a Gigabit Ethernet circuit (LTE backhaul)

Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) enables connectivity for three Wireless Carriers over the fiber backhaul link. iConverter CWDM Multiplexers provide up to sixteen different wavelengths to be transported over fiber, and each wavelength is an independent service (with one or more circuits each). Each CWDM wavelength supports up to 10 gigabit in capacity.

In this application, the CWDM Backhaul link is transporting 3 individual wavelengths, one for each service provider. At the tower enclosure, Wireless Carriers can have equipment in separate cabinets, wall mounts or rack configurations.

The tower owner is using an iConverter CWDM/X 4-Channel MUX to multiplex/de-multiplex the three wavelengths. Each wavelength transports a circuit that is connected to the Carriers’ equipment located in different cabinets, wall mounts or rack configurations.

Wireless Carrier 1 is using a CWDM wavelength to transport up to sixteen T1s. The CWDM MUX connects to the SFP port in the iConverter T1/E1 MUX, which provides copper connectivity for eight T1s to the tower.

Wireless Carrier 2 is using another CWDM wavelength to transport up to sixteen T1s and Gigabit Ethernet. The CWDM MUX connects to the SFP port in the T1/E1 MUX, which provides copper connectivity for sixteen T1s and Wireless Ethernet to the tower.

Wireless Carrier 3 is using the third CWDM wavelength to transport Gigabit LTE Ethernet. The CWDM MUX connects to the SFP port on the Network Interface Device (NID), which provides fiber connectivity to the tower.

At the other end of the CWDM backhaul link, a similar set of equipment mirrors the configuration shown at the tower, and provides connectivity to the Radio Network
Controller (RNC) at the backhaul Service Provider’s facility.

This application illustrates how iConverter CWDM multiplexers, T1/E1 Multiplexers and Ethernet Network Interface Devices enable a backhaul Service Provider to provide connectivity for multiple Wireless Carriers to a cell tower, and allow each Carrier to deliver a different type of backhaul circuit.

View a detailed Hybrid TDM and Ethernet mobile backhaul application example

Learn more about Carrier Ethernet Demarcation and Service OAM