The partnership will tackle two small cell deployment challenges: electrical power and fiber connectivity
Corning announced that it is working with stored energy solutions provider EnerSys to speed up 5G deployment by simplifying the delivery of fiber and electrical power to small cell wireless sites. Corning will bring its fiber, cable, and connectivity expertise to the partnership, while EnerSys will contribute its remote powering solutions technology.
According to a Corning press release, the goal of both companies is to address infrastructure challenges in the deployment of 5G and small cells in outside plant networks.
Specifically, there are two types of challenges facing wireless providers and network architects when deploying outdoor small cells that the partnership will tackle: electrical power and fiber connectivity.
While small cells are low-power devices, ranging from 100W to 500W depending on the strength of the RF signal, they still require power, and that power source is not always readily available, as Corning pointed out in the release. When small cell sites have to be individually connected to the electric grid, deployment cost and time increases.
Further, ideal small cell locations, meaning those that optimize signal coverage, may not align well with the fiber pathways that provide the necessary backhaul. Therefore, it is key to identify easily placed fiber access points and the pathway to reach them.
And this is where the Corning and EnerSys collaboration comes in. According to the companies, they are working on the acceleration of the development of solutions to deliver distributed powering and optical connectivity, which will move ultimately move operators toward a more routine deployment of 5G.
“The deployment scale of 5G small cells is placing significant pressure on utilities to provide power at each location, delaying service availability,” said Michael O’Day, vice president, Corning Optical Communications. “Corning and EnerSys will focus on simplifying deployment by bringing together the delivery of optical connectivity and power distribution – making installation faster and less costly and providing much lower operational costs over time. Corning continues to view 5G as a major driver of long-term growth in the Optical Communications business, so we’re proud to continue co-innovating with industry leaders to help accelerate 5G deployment.”
“To realize its full potential, 5G deployment needs to become efficient and predictable,” said Drew Zogby, president, EnerSys Energy Systems Global. “The output of this collaboration will minimize logistics with power utilities, reduce the amount of time for permitting and siting, simplify fiber connectivity, and lower the overall cost of installation and deployment.”
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