Parallel Wireless Introduces HetNet Gateway

NASHUA, N.H., Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Parallel Wireless, Inc., a pioneer in making cellular network deployments and maintenance as easy and as cost-effective as enterprise Wi-Fi, today unveils its next-generation network orchestrator, the HetNet Gateway (HNG). To meet the subscriber demands today, operators introduce new radio equipment and deploy not only a mix of radio technologies (including both cellular and Wi-Fi), but a mix of backhaul topologies and mix of cores. The 100% 3GPP-compliant SDN- and NFV-based carrier-grade HNG unleashes a dramatic cost advantage that enables operators to both scale and grow their multi-vendor multi-technology (3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi) networks. Radio access-independent, the HNG solution supports multiple radio access technologies with virtualized gateway network functions (VNFs), as well as real-time multi-technology SON and multi-technology C-RAN. With the HNG, Parallel Wireless is committed to helping mobile operators solve today's spectrum and radio resource challenges,  while extending network investments and significantly reducing the cost to deploy or maintain unified HetNets.

The HNG uses standard interfaces to unify real-time multi-technology multi-vendor RANs, presenting them as one common interface to any vendor 3G or 4G mobile packet core. The HNG readily fits into existing or greenfield networks between the RAN and the packet core, and abstracts the RAN and core on any COTS hardware while making the RAN self-configuring, self-optimizing, and self-healing.

The HNG supports the following ETSI Open VNF-based virtualized gateway network functions. Moreover, these functions interwork with one another, instead of operating in individual silos, to deliver agility and flexibility across the network.

• RAN virtualization for 3G and 4G (vRNC and vHNB gateway for 3G) and vHeNB gateway + veNB for 4G/LTE. The HNG presents hundreds of 3G/4G base stations or APs as one "Supercell" to the core, optimizing handover, paging, and signaling. It also virtualizes trusted and untrusted Wi-Fi functionality via ePDG and TWAG VNFs as a part of overall unified virtualized architecture.
• Multi-technology SON has real-time visibility into 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi traffic to make real-time load balancing and resource optimization decisions across the network. As the HNG unifies and abstracts the RAN while orchestrating it in real-time, making it self-configuring, self-optimizing, and self-healing, any RAN additions to the network are done quickly, without specialized staff and without compromising QoE. X2-based Inter-cell Interference Coordination (ICIC) functionality improves the cell-edge experience, as the HNG SON mitigates interference to ensure optimal QoE for each subscriber. The HNG acts as an any-AP/node unifier/orchestrator, anchors the traffic, and handles any mobility handoffs locally. This results in seamless handoff for the wireless users as they switch between different technologies indoors and outdoors.
• MEC that interoperates with industry-standard solutions with SDN + X2, for content caching
• Multi-technology C-RAN. By virtualizing both C-RAN and SON on the same platform, HNG creates a coordinated system that provides centralized and elastic scheduling over standard X2. Multi-technology (3G, 4G, Wi-Fi) C-RAN on HNG takes advantage of Moore's Law for baseband chips and allows operators to keep BBU functionality on site instead of centrally pooled. This permits operators to take advantage of any type of backhaul without relying on latency-laden and expensive fronthaul.

David Chambers, Founder and Senior Analyst, "ThinkSmallCell," says, "Parallel Wireless may be new to the game, but have already brought both fresh thinking and innovative new products to the market. Mobile network operators have made enormous investments in both spectrum and RAN infrastructure resulting in a problem of increasing complexity to expand, manage and optimize those assets effectively. The Parallel Wireless HetNet Gateway addresses that need with a real-time solution that spans both multi-technology (3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi) and multi-vendor (3GPP standard compliant) networks. It increases the efficiency of the HetNet radio networks by squeezing the highest performance from all available assets, dynamically adapting and responding to network use in real-time. It also automates deployment and maintenance activities by configuring new and expanded equipment as the network continues to evolve thus saving operational cost." Read the ThinkSmallCell white paper on "HetNet Orchestration: The fourth dimension for wireless capacity growth".

The HNG reimagines RAN economics by abstracting different radio technologies, core network interfaces, and different vendor RAN equipment, and by providing self-configuration, self-optimization, and self-healing for any market or vertical: urban/dense urban, rural, enterprise/specialized enterprise, or Public Sector (Public Safety, military, public transit). HNG is a platform that delivers the high capacity, high availability and high performance required by today's 3G and 4G networks, and is readily upgradeable to respond to evolving 5G radio networks. Its system intelligence can perform a detailed inspection of each subscriber session, shaping and managing the session based on subscriber, application or business policies to deliver consistent, reliable coverage at much lower cost.

Parallel Wireless has successfully completed interoperability testing (IoT) of the HNG through the Small Cell Forum Plugfest program with leading macro, small cell, and core vendors; more IoTs are currently in progress.  The HNG solution is currently being trialed in Tier 1 and Public Safety networks, with more trials planned for the first half of 2016.

To learn more about HetNet Gateway and how it enables multi-technology, multi-vendor HetNets, please visit Parallel Wireless at booth 305 at Small Cell Americas, November 2^nd – 4^th in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Supporting Photos/Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWAMONewm4M

Supporting Resources
www.parallelwireless.com

About Parallel Wireless
Parallel Wireless is reimagining the wireless infrastructure market, enabling carriers, public safety, and enterprises to deploy and maintain cellular networks as easy and as cost-effective as enterprise Wi-Fi. It delivers resilient coverage and capacity on demand, enables IoT, and provides optimized user experience. The largest LTE provider in Europe has teamed up with Parallel Wireless to deliver reliable coverage to 1,500 rural sites by 2017, making it the largest outdoor small cell deployment worldwide. Parallel Wireless' innovation and excellence has been recognized with 11 industry awards in just the last year and a nomination to the "Fierce 15" top emerging technology startups list. www.parallelwireless.com

SOURCE Parallel Wireless