INTRODUCTION: IP/ETHERNET BACKHAUL AND LTE

Mobile backhaul today is primarily used in 2G and 3G networks, but 17 LTE networks were launched commercially in 2010, and by the end of 2012 we expect to see 64 operators worldwide with residential and business LTE subscribers. LTE will become the single mobile network for mobile phone and mobile broadband, adopted by most of the world in the next 5 to 10 years. By 2015, LTE will likely support 100 million mobile devices and will continue to rapidly gain subscribers from the 2G/3G base. Additionally, there are potentially billions of M2M (machine to machine) devices, such as smart grid, home control, and medical monitoring, for which planners are depending on ubiquitous HSPA+/LTE services.

Mobile operators and backhaul transport providers are adopting IP/Ethernet backhaul as the default technology choice to cost
effectively scale instead of relying on existing TDM-based transport networks for LTE backhaul. The decision to do so is based on a number of facts:

1. In HSPA and LTE, the data plane traffic is IP (Iub interface in 3G and S1/X2 in LTE), so operators are migrating to Ethernet interfaces for base station and controller equipment
2. Ethernet has been and will be the best layer 2 transport mechanism for IP packets
3. Ethernet services and networks are less complex and less expensive than scaling TDM or operating an IP backhaul network
4. Operators trust carrier Ethernet (CE) due to the standards and testing driven by the MEF, the worldwide group comprising service providers and manufacturers (see the MEF’s http://metroethernetforum.org/InformationCenter)