Re: ATT Microcell in Austin, TX

[Ben Cannon <ben () 6by7 net>]

Most of the small or micro cells are there to add data capacity not necessary device count, which are two different 
things.  

However, where they are added to augment device count we will have problems if they are not backed up.

As the tech shrinks and battery tech improves this will become solvable, but we are a ways out still.

-Ben

> On Feb 18, 2020, at 8:45 AM, sronan () ronan-online com wrote:
>
> The feasibility of back hauling power from a central location is almost zero. Conduit can be direct buried and then 
> fiber shot through it, this would be almost impossible with DC power cables.
>
> Keep in mind that WPS already provides priority to “priority” traffic.
>
> Shane
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > > On Feb 18, 2020, at 11:09 AM, Darin Steffl <darin.steffl () mnwifi com> wrote:
> > 
> > Matt, 
> >
> > You're correct that if most of these small cells goes offline during a power outage, the remaining macro cells would 
> > not be able to handle the load well. 
> >
> > Data would be nearly useless and phone/texts may be sporadic. 
> >
> > I believe that when this happens, they should proactively block or limit video and file download/upload traffic as 
> > much as possible to make sure communications like calls and texts can go through with the highest success rate 
> > possible. Netflix and YouTube should never hinder more important communications in my opinion. Maybe it's as simple 
> > as putting a rate limit for each cellphone connected to these now overloaded sectors so no one can hog the cell 
> > capacity.
> >
> > It would be pretty sweet though if small cells all had a linked power source following the same fiber paths that all 
> > hook back into a large battery backup or generator somewhere. Maybe 30-40 small cells can have backup power from one 
> > macro cell generator. I'm not sure if they're installed that way or not but it would ideal. Otherwise, you're losing 
> > 10 to 100x of the capacity of a cell network during power outages if the small cells go down. 
> >
> > > On Tue, Feb 18, 2020, 9:46 AM Matt Erculiani <merculiani () gmail com> wrote:
> > > It will be interesting to see how this plays out as reliance on these small cells for capacity grows. I'd imagine 
> > > demand for cellular bandwidth goes up during a power outage and not down. 
> > >
> > > Is it reasonable to think that there could be a situation where cell capacity is not available during a time of 
> > > need because these sites will simply go down and significantly reduce coverage/quality in dense metropolitan areas?
> > >
> > > -Matt
> > >
> > > > On Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 19:15 Shane Ronan <shane () ronan-online com> wrote:
> > > > This is a small cell. They are very common across all of the carriers.
> > > >
> > > > It is NOT intended to provide primary coverage for the area.
> > > >
> > > > It IS intended to provide additional capacity to the immediate area.
> > > >
> > > > Think of the large cell towers as providing blanket coverage, while small cells provide hot spots of increased 
> > > > capacity.
> > > >
> > > > Most small cells have no battery backup or generator at all, as it's not feasible given the real estate available.
> > > >
> > > > > On Sun, Feb 16, 2020, 5:58 PM Chris Boyd <cboyd () gizmopartners com> wrote:
> > > > > Since people on here like to talk about the generatorn run time on cell towers, I thought y’all might like to see 
> > > > > an ATT microcell in downtown Austin, TX.  No apparent generator or battery on it.
> > > > >
> > > > > https://imgur.com/a/RY9Tg7h
> > > > >
> > > > > —Chris