At the 3GSM World Congress, to be held February 12-16 in Barcelona, RAD Data Communications, a leading manufacturer of fixed and mobile network access equipment covering a diverse set of voice and data applications for carriers, service providers and enterprises, will exhibit its unique portfolio of cellular backhaul access solutions for 2G and 3G networks.
“The high cost of backhaul transport is driving mobile operators to search for innovative ways to reduce their backhaul operating (Opex) and capital (Capex) expenses,” states Gaby Junowicz, Director of Business Development for Cellular Networks at RAD Data Communications. “In searching for alternatives they have seen the future, and the future is backhaul transport implementing cutting-edge packet technologies.”
With a broad range of devices optimized for packet infrastructure, from DSL modems for packet transport over copper, to Integrated Access Devices (IADs) to complement IP-DSLAMs, to WiFi and WiMAX in wireless environments, RAD’s cellular backhaul solutions are uniquely positioned to meet this demand. “As a pioneer in this market, and with its broad range of solutions for packet switched transport, RAD has become a natural partner for both cellular operators and vendors,” Junowicz adds.
RAD Pseudowire Solution Chosen by Time Warner Cable
Recently, RAD and Time Warner Cable, a division of Time Warner, announced the deployment of RAD’s patented TDM over IP (TDMoIP) pseudowire technology as part of Time Warner Cable’s rapidly growing metro Ethernet service offering in their Houston, Texas market. RAD’s IPmux family of TDMoIP gateways enables Time Warner Cable’s customers to take advantage of its economical and reliable Ethernet services while providing integrated support for existing TDM services over the same Ethernet transport network. TDMoIP pseudowire technology enables E1/T1 and E3/T3 TDM circuits to be transported transparently across Ethernet, IP or MPLS packet switched networks (PSNs).
Time Warner Cable saw the potential of offering low-cost Ethernet connections to cellular operators in their region. With the Time Warner Cable service, operators now have access to high bandwidth, low latency Ethernet connections for cell tower-to-Mobile Switching Center (MSC) connectivity by using RAD’s IPmux pseudowire solution to transport the TDM traffic across the same Ethernet link.
Synchronization Essential for Migration to Packet-Based Transport
Cellular networks require synchronization, because cellular traffic is extremely sensitive to latency and packet loss. Because of their synchronous nature, it is essential for cellular networks to support migration to packet-based transport, since packet networks by nature are statistical-based and do not provide inherent timing. “RAD is unique in being able to meet the ever-challenging requirements for 2/2.5 G (GSM/GPRS and CDMA) and 3G (WCDMA-based UMTS, CDMA2000 and TD-SCDMA) because its industry-leading ASIC-based performance ensures very low latency, with jitter buffers starting at 0.5 milliseconds, and an adaptive clock recovery accurate to within 16 parts per billion,” Junowicz explains. The link redundancy feature helps provide Time Warner Cable’s customers with rapid failover and reliable TDM transport.
IADs Complement IP-DSLAMs in Packet Network
“RAD’s cellular backhaul strategy also includes the use of IADs for deployment alongside IP-DSLAMs,” Junowicz continues. DSLAMs have become a complementary solution for the access network by providing packet transport over copper. For this reason, they also have become elementary building blocks for backhaul-over-packet technologies. To meet this need, “RAD’s cellular backhaul portfolio includes its LA-110 and LA-130 IADs, which use pseudowire techniques to convert TDM and ATM into packets to complement IP-DSLAMs as part of the packet transport network,” Junowicz notes.
Future-Proof Aggregation
RAD will also display at 3GSM its ACE-3100, ACE-3200 and ACE-3400 multi-generation aggregation units. The ACE-3×00 series aggregates TDM traffic from a GSM network and ATM traffic from UMTS (release 99) simultaneously onto the same transport infrastructure, be it TDM, ATM or even packet (Ethernet/IP/MPLS). “Cellular operators, therefore will also be able to use the ACE-3×00 series to aggregate the IP-based traffic that will typify future generations of cellular networks,” Junowicz concludes. “RAD’s future-proof aggregation solution will guarantee cellular operators significant savings on Opex and Capex as they migrate to tomorrow’s backhaul technologies.”