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New iGR Study Examines How Installation Locations of Small Cells Affect Their Deployment Costs

Costs Vary Between Rooftops, Building Walls, and Existing and New Utility Poles

AUSTIN, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 03/26/14 -- Mobile operators are evolving their radio networks to use small cells, in addition to the macrocell. Long accustomed to capital-intensive macrocell networks, the key question everyone is asking is: Where will small cells be located and how much will they cost?

Small cells are deployed outdoors in places where there are consistently more users than the macrocell can adequately cover. Because small cells have a small form factor, they are light enough to be mounted in exposed or precarious locations, such as poles, building sides and roofs. iGR's new small cell cost model, therefore, consists of four real-world scenarios that illustrate where small cells are likely to be located -- poles (new or existing), building walls and building roofs. Detailed costs are determined for each distinct type of installation.

Each location scenario also includes different variables, such as type of small cell, backhaul type (fiber or microwave), backhaul speed, labor and installation, power and ancillary costs for other equipment. The model also shows how scale affects costs across 10, 50 or 100 small cells deployed into a given market.

"Mobile operators are deploying small cells to provide necessary coverage to meet users' rising demand," said Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR, a market research consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile industry. "iGR has found that the many possible deployment locations of small cells, as well as other variables, have created a very wide range of costs associated with the deployments."

iGR's new market study, U.S. Small Cell Costs: How much will they cost to deploy?, estimates the CapEx and OpEx of deploying small cells based on multiple variables, including location, type of small cell, type of backhaul, and scale. The report also provides a detailed discussion of het-nets, small cells, typical small cell installments, and different types of mobile backhaul.

The following key questions are addressed in the new research study:

  • What is a het-net? What are small cells?
  • What are network 'pain points'?
  • What is driving the need for het-nets?
  • How are pain points identified?
  • What are different ways to address pain points?
  • Where is it appropriate to deploy small cells (indoor and outdoor)?
  • What are iGR's assumptions regarding small cell installations?
  • What outdoor locations are best suited for small cell deployments?
  • What are the average costs of these outdoor locations?
  • What is an attachment? What is the average cost of an attachment?
  • What are the different types of backhaul with regard to small cells?
  • What types of backhaul are considered in the model?
  • What is the average throughput needed for a small cell? What does that throughput cost?
  • How much does it cost to deploy small cells?

The information in this report will be valuable for:

  • Mobile operators
  • Small cell equipment manufacturers
  • Mobile backhaul suppliers
  • Tower companies
  • Antenna and tower equipment vendors
  • Financial analysts and investors.


About iGR



Contact iGR
Iain Gillott
(512) 263-5682
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