Review of current macro network site types and design

Macro cells have formed the basis of cellular mobile radio coverage since the rollout of analogue mobile phone networks in the 1980s. As mobile network operators have evolved their networks to support digital cellular and followed the 3GPP roadmap through GSM, UMTS, LTE and now to 5G, we’ve witnessed the incredible evolution of macro cells. From single band space diversity sites supporting a handful of voice calls, to today’s mobile broadband sites utilising multiple radio access technologies, multiple frequency bands, carrier aggregation and complex antennas transmission lines to deliver 100s of Mbps. This talk will review this evolution and present the current macro site designs as a basis for exploring the site evolution to 5G. The broad typology of cellular radio sites will be explored while initial lessons from BT/EE 5G macro cell rollout will be presented.