Analysis of power line communications for last-hop backhaul in small cells deployment

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to study the feasibility of using power line communications (PLC) over outdoor public lighting networks (OPLN) for last-hop backhaul in small cell deployment. The analysis is based on actual noise measurements performed in two OPLN in the city of Málaga (Spain) and on a bottom-up channel simulator, which has been designed according to the physical characteristics and the common practices in such kind of networks. Estimations of the bit-rate achieved by PLC systems following the ITU-T Rec. G.9960 (G.hn) standard, are performed and discussed. Results indicate that PLC is a promising solution for this application.