From specifications to blueprints, and regulation to enterprise requirements, 2021 has been an exceptionally busy and fruitful year for Small Cell Forum.

Before we get underway with another busy work program in 2022, we thought it would be useful to look back and not just celebrate the achievements from 2021, but to recap on this large collection of work, because with so many releases in a year you could easily have missed a few.

These outputs represent a growing and diversifying Forum, as we look to broaden our scope and represent the ever-growing mix of alternative deployers, and the new use cases they support.

The drive and hard work of our members has resulted in more than 10 releases or specification updates – not to mention we organized and ran the small cells industry’s largest virtual event, SCWS, and celebrated achievements at the SCF Small Cell Awards 2021!

“As we look back at 2021, I feel proud to say that SCF had been remarkably productive, in its output, partner interactions, internal work activities and work organizations,” said SCF Chair Prabhakar Chitrapu. “In spite of the challenges of the pandemic, we saw a great deal of energy and enthusiasm that resulted in much collaborative work and impressive outcomes. I am grateful to all the members, work item contributors & leads and the Forum leadership for all that they have done for the Forum and the small cell industry.”

SCF’s 2021 highlights

• January: SCF launches neutral host group to capture technology requirements for alternative deployment models serving enterprise and communities. Find out more.
• January: SCF and European seaports collaborate to scope sector requirements and improve cellular connectivity. Read the article, or download the report.
• February: SCF provides feedback to UK Government on Telecoms (Security) Bill. Find out more.
• May: SCF organizes 2021 Virtual Small Cell World Summit & announces SCF Small Cell Awards
• June: SCF releases next generation 5G FAPI specifications demonstrating maturity of the interfaces and adding macro cell features. Read more, or download the documents here.
• July: Small Cell Forum Releases Key Test Setups for 5G RAN Split 6 Products. Read more, or find out more about Open6.
• July: Small Cell Forum neutral hosts propose Hosted Open RAN global framework. Read more, or download the document here.
• July: SCF releases its Small Cell Market Forecast through 2026, highlighting growing diversity of applications and deployment models. Download the market forecast here.
• October: SCF Small Cell Forum launches Blueprints program to make scalable private networks a reality for key verticals. Read more here.
• November: Small Cell Forum launches new 5G FAPI specs to align with 3GPP Rel-16 features and introduces MU/Massive-MIMO support. Read more here.
• December: Small Cell Forum proposes reference design for 5G NR FR1 small cells. Read more or download the document here.

If 2022 is as productive then we are sure to have an excellent year. With strong momentum from our member working groups, we have our next outputs already underway and new ones just kicking off. We have a well thought out work plan for 2022, which falls into the following categories:

• Core SC Technology: 5G-FAPI, 5G-nFAPI, Transport for Split SC-RANs, Open6 initiative
• Reference Designs & Blueprints: mmw Small Cells/Deployment Blueprints, Blueprints for Private Enterprise 5G-Small Cell Networks
• Neutral Host Solutions: Modular Architectures for Global Application, Extension for Split-RAN Architectures, Private SC Networks with Edge Computing

You can get involved by becoming an SCF member. Members get a broad range of benefits, including access to exclusive market data, networking opportunities, marketing activities and of course the opportunity to work alongside industry peers and contribute to industry initiatives. Get in contact by emailing [email protected]