London, UK 19th November 2020 Small Cell Forum has welcomed the first release of the Joint Operator Technical Specifications for Neutral Host In-Building (JOTS NHIB), agreed by the four UK mobile network operators, Telefonica O2, EE, Vodafone and 3UK. The JOTS NHIB specifications set out technical requirements for shared in-building solutions using small-cell base stations.
Small Cell Forum (SCF) represents a growing group of neutral hosts and other alternative deployers that have been following the development of the JOTS NHIB specifications closely since they were discussed at Small Cell World Summit 2019. Today, SCF published SCF250 Neutral Hosts’ Perspective on the new Joint Operator Technical Specifications for Neutral Host In-Building (JOTS NHIB), which sets out the neutral host perspective on NHIB – both for the UK indoor cellular market, and also how global neutral hosts view this model compared to established and emerging models in their own regions.
Julius Robson, Chief Strategy Officer for SCF, said: “As a strong advocate for emerging neutral hosting models, Small Cell Forum is delighted to see the first release of JOTS in the UK. In recent years, small cells have proven to be a scalable way for the MNO/neutral-host partnership to broaden the addressability of multi-operator systems, and JOTS NHIB is the first example of an MNO- driven standard for shared small cell networks.
“We see this pioneering operator agreement as a significant step forward in the cost-effective delivery of multi-operator services into small-to-medium-sized business premises in the UK, as well as being a template for other regions.”
He added: “In SCF we have further work items running at the moment specific to the area of neutral hosting. We welcome leading MNOs, neutral hosts and their technology suppliers to join our activities and strengthen our ecosystem to drive consensus and promote best practise globally.”
SCF has set out its neutral host objectives as follows:
- Support commercialization of JOTS Neutral Host In-Building in the UK.
- Continue to raise awareness of JOTS NHIB globally to help drive adoption of neutral hosting in other regions which can be served by common technologies and business processes.
- Build on the market-facing [SCF231] Options for Indoor Cellular to raise awareness and confidence of offers from MNOs, neutral hosts, private networks and other deployers.
- Capture neutral hosts’ and other deployers’ priorities for future small cell technologies.
- Work with technology providers and policy makers to develop common frameworks which address the requirements of all future deployers including MNOs and neutral hosts.
To get involved with this work, or to find out more visit www.smallcellforum.org
About Small Cell Forum
Small Cell Forum develops the technical and commercial enablers to accelerate small cell adoption and drive wide-scale densification.
Broad roll-out of small cells will make high-grade mobile connectivity accessible and affordable for industries, enterprises and for rural and urban communities. That, in turn, will drive new business opportunities for a widening ecosystem of service providers.
Those service providers are central to our work program. Our operator members establish the requirements that drive the activities and outputs of our technical groups.
We have driven the standardization of key elements of small cell technology including Iuh, FAPI, nFAPI, SON, services APIs, TR-069 evolution and the enhancement of the X2 interface. These specifications enable an open, multi-vendor platform and lower barriers to densification for all stakeholders.
Today our members are driving solutions that include:
- 5G Components, Products, Networks
- Dis-aggregated 5G Small Cells
- Planning, Management and Automation
- 5G regulation & safety
- Neutral Hosts & Multi-operator
- Private and Public Network coexistence
- Edge compute with Small Cell Blueprint
- End-to-end orchestration
The Small Cell Forum Release Program has now established business cases and market drivers for all the main use cases, clarifying market needs and addressing barriers to deployment for residential, enterprise, rural & remote, and urban small cells. It has also established initiatives relating to both public and private (MNO) coordination. The Small Cell Forum Release Program website can be found here: www.scf.io
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