Small cell backhaul is quickly becoming a kind of low-hanging fruit in the wireless industry, with established vendors and brand new ones grabbing what they can of the nascent yet burgeoning market. The latest entrant is Tarana Wireless, which this week emerged from stealth mode.
Tarana was founded in 2009 by a team of engineering researchers associated with the University of California, Berkeley. The startup claims its metro-scale solution incorporates dedicated high-capacity per wireless link and the ability to retain performance even as small cell density increases. It also supports full throughput across a range of non-line-of-sight (NLoS) to line-of-sight (LoS) operations.
Tarana's Concentrating Multipoint (CMP) topology encompasses concentrator nodes and end nodes, with each end node connecting directly to a small cell to deliver dedicated backhaul capacity. The connecting nodes would typically be collocated on a tower or rooftop where there is direct access to high-capacity connectivity to the carrier's core network.
Tarana devices are configured to form a single-hop star with the connecting node aggregating links and capacity for multiple end nodes. Should a concentrator node fail, the system automatically switches to another concentrator node with minimal packet loss, according to the company website.
The vendor said it has scheduled carrier trials for this year in the Americas and Europe.
Tarana Wireless was privately funded in 2011 by a syndicate of four investors. Its board includes industry veterans Harald Braun--former president and chief executive officer of Aviat Networks and former CEO of Nokia Siemens Networks, North America--and Bob Hunsberger--president and CEO of NetMotion Wireless.
Infonetics Research recently predicted small cell backhaul equipment would drive a cumulative $5 billion market between 2012 and 2016, with the market kicking into high gear in 2014.
For more:
- see this Tarana release
Related articles:
Jarich: The long-shot technologies and services in wireless for 2012
Intracom and ZTE roll out small cell backhaul products
Survey: Cost may trip up carriers' small cell plans
Updated: Infonetics: Small cell backhaul equipment will be a $5B cumulative market by 2016
Analyst: 98% of operators say small cells are essential for the future
Report: Small cell shipments to hit 5M annually by 2017
Article updated on Feb. 7, 2013, to include corrected founding date.