Small Cell Forum
 
SCF awards

Small cells success in London

The small cell industry has convened in London at the annual SCWS World, always a highlight of the calendar. This year, the event was a particularly important one, with a new Release and a glittering ceremony to present this year’s Small Cell Forum Awards.

 

Driving global deployments

On Tuesday, Small Cell Forum Chair Alan Law’s opening keynote reflected just how far small cells have come, even since last year’s gathering. As the latest Market status statistics from Mobile Experts demonstrate, they are being rolled out at a rapid rate round the world, especially in the enterprise. Alan also flagged up our work of engaging with operators, regulators and policy makers in key regions to help smooth the path to mass deployment. Enterprise and smart city expansion in the Middle East, densification in North America, the eye-watering pace of roll-out in India – all these are opportunities which will be maximized with timely cooperation with local bodies.

 

HetNets and the path to 5G

Release documents

Tuesday also saw the publication of the first tranche of documents which will make up Release 7, a comprehensive deployment blueprint for the HetNet. ‘Integrated HetNet Architecture Framework: paving the path for 5G networks’ and HetNet market drivers 2016-20 are already gaining industry traction, as well as interest from media including Telecom TV, Telecoms.com, RCR Wireless, Light Reading and Mobile World Live. Find out more about Small Cell Forum’s 5G Vision here.

 

Night of 14 million stars

Wednesday night saw another key event in the small cell industry calendar, the Awards Gala Dinner. With more than 14 million small cells already deployed worldwide, the award categories and submissions reflected an increasingly mature industry that’s growing at pace. Large organizations and start-ups were up on stage to receive the trophies, and they were being rewarded for commercial success and for the bluesky innovation which will drive the next generation of solutions. Congratulations to all the winners and shortlist companies.

 

Enterprise on the rise

Enterprise deployment continues to dominate small cell rollout in every market, and as our recently published research demonstrates, what we’re seeing today is just the tip of the iceberg. SCWS’s Thursday program was all about the rise of small cells in the enterprise, with contributions from Intu Properties, Argent LLP, Transport for London, SNCF, Grange Hotels, Firmdale Hotels, Bristol City Council, Amsterdam City, Amsterdam Arena, Directorate for Emergency Communication Norway, Greater London Authority, Home Office, Peterborough City Council, Future Cities Catapult, Connecting Cambridgeshire, Digital Greenwich, Hub One, and Ordnance Survey. Find out more about our enterprise outputs here.


Event calendar

Big CommunicationsbreakPlugfestbreakSCF Plenary Rome