London will need 70,000 pico cell base stations to deliver the world class level of LTE service that users expect, according to Picochip, which develops silicon for small cell base stations. The company calculates that almost 12,000 outdoor metropolitan small cells will be needed across the city along with 1,772 covering London underground stations and walkways. The remaining picocells will be needed in indoor retail locations and other venues.
“For London to offer its residents high speed LTE mobile Internet in 2015, it needs 70,000 small cells and this will also deliver minimal traffic congestion,” said Dr Doug Pulley, Picochip’s CTO. “With the Olympics just around the corner and the Mayor of London admitting that the networks will struggle to cope, the need for small cells to deliver added coverage and capacity is greater than ever. While Wi-Fi will offer some respite to the network, ultimately London’s population density means that small cells, deployed in the most congested areas, are the only way for the mobile networks to cope with the traffic.”
http://www.picocell.com
