The MFA Forum has unveiled a technical initiative regarding the role of IP/MPLS in backhaul transport networks that support mobile radio access networks.
The MPLS Mobile Backhaul Initiative (MMBI) will help service providers migrate from existing legacy ATM and TDM backhaul networks to a more cost-effective, converged, MPLS-enabled and multipurpose network. The Initiative’s goal is to reduce operational costs for wireless providers and enable operators to offer additional value-added services for their enterprise customers, the forum said.
MMBI leverages MPLS's ability to support all generations of wireless voice and data services over a single packet-based RAN. It enables a smooth migration using pseudowire technology and supports sharing of RAN capacity. Using the same MPLS-based backhaul networks, operators can offer additional services such as L3 VPNs, the forum said.
The initiative also will address how performance and reliability of the traditional backhaul network can be maintained while adopting MPLS-based backhaul. It will create a road map that begins with existing services (2G, 2.5G and 3G services) and which facilitate the evolution to packet-based networks such as LTE, UMB and mobile WiMAX.
The MFA Forum www.mfaforum.org
