LTE Backhaul

This chapter gives an overview of different aspects of long‐term evolution (LTE) backhaul. It gives an introduction about the different elements of a backhaul network, the different end‐to‐end (e2e) services and the requirements of the LTE Mobile Access network. The chapter presents a short overview about the different L1/L2 technologies used in the different backhaul network areas. Technologies for small cells may be different, as some small cells may have less stringent requirements. The chapter focuses on the impact of the technologies on the later planning and optimization tasks. It introduces a few foreseeable future (3GPP Release 12 or beyond) radio features that will possibly affect backhaul transport requirements and dimensioning, i.e. capacity need, latency (S1 or X2) and synchronization. The chapter outlines the main involved organizations and industry forums and their related specifications and standards.