Problem:

Every cell site needs a reliable routed connection back to the core network, along with accurate timing for TDD 5G to work properly. With proprietary cell site routers, operators are often tied to one vendor for both the hardware and routing software. This makes network upgrades more difficult because changing one can require replacing the other across thousands of sites.

Solution:

This solution provides temperature-hardened cell site routing on open hardware, allowing the network operating system and hardware to be purchased and upgraded separately. Built-in SyncE and IEEE 1588v2 provide accurate timing directly from the silicon, while grandmaster clocks can support multiple PTP profiles at the same time. This makes it easier to modernize the network gradually without replacing the entire cell site infrastructure at once.

Description:

The Cell Site Transport & Timing Solution is built for mobile operators modernizing their cell sites who need two things at every location a routed path back to the core, and an accurate time reference without locking themselves to a single vendor for both the hardware and the routing software. Designed for the single cell site sitting in an uncontrolled outdoor cabinet, where there is no climate control, no rack space to spare and no engineer on hand, this Solution delivers temperature-hardened cell site routing on open hardware with the network operating system procured separately, so the box and the software can be refreshed on independent cycles across thousands of sites.

Built around the Edgecore CSR200 open cell site router, the Solution carries subscriber backhaul to the core while doubling as the site's timing hub. With 64G of switching capacity across six 10G SFP+ ports, eight 1G SFP ports and four 1G copper ports, it is sized for a single site rather than an aggregation point, and it is pre-loaded with ONIE so the operator installs their chosen network OS OcNOS, ExaNOS, ONL, RtBrick and others are supported rather than a locked, vendor-proprietary stack. Because timing is handled in silicon with SyncE and IEEE 1588v2, the same box that routes traffic also distributes frequency and phase down to the radio. A temperature-hardened design rated from -40°C to 70°C, with built-in power boards, front access and 1+1 redundant AC or DC supplies, is what allows it to live in a roadside cabinet rather than a climate-controlled room.

Time itself is generated by an Oscilloquartz OSA 5405-O outdoor grandmaster clock. What sets this unit apart at a single site is the install: dual GNSS receivers and antennas are built into the enclosure, so there is no separate antenna, no RF coax run and no roof penetration the clock mounts on a wall, pole or cabinet and is powered over the same Ethernet cable that carries its timing. Its dual-antenna design tolerates multipath, so it works at street level and in urban canyons where a conventional GNSS installation would need a clear sky view. An IP65 enclosure rated from -40°C to 70°C matches the router's environment, and the unit locks to satellite UTC to deliver PRTC-grade accuracy within 100 nanoseconds, serving up to 64 PTP clients comfortably more than one cell site requires. SyncE input and PTP input provide network-based backup if the GNSS signal is lost.

The reason both devices are needed is that they do different jobs: the grandmaster creates time from GNSS, and the router carries it and carries the data. Without accurate phase, adjacent TDD 5G cells transmit and receive at slightly different moments and interfere with each other at their boundaries, degrading capacity and user experience. The radio and the mobile core remain the operator's, as does the network OS licensed onto the open router. The result is a clean, vendor-neutral cell site edge at the smallest viable footprint: open routing hardware refreshed independently of its software, and a timing source that installs with a single Ethernet cable and survives the cabinet it lives in.

Features

• Routing and timing in one path the CSR200 carry backhaul to the core and distributes SyncE + PTP to the radio from the same box
• Open cell site router ONIE pre-loaded and the network OS procured separately, so hardware and routing software refresh on independent cycles
• No vendor lock-in open hardware breaks the proprietary tie between cell site router hardware and its routing stack
• Timing in silicon SyncE for frequency and IEEE 1588v2 (PTP) for phase, handled in hardware, not software emulation
• Sized for one site 64G switching capacity with 6 x 10G SFP+, 8 x 1G SFP and 4 x 1G copper ports, matched to a single cell site rather than an aggregation point
• No antenna, no coax dual GNSS receivers and antennas built into the grandmaster enclosure, removing the separate antenna and its RF cable run
• Powered over Ethernet the grandmaster takes power and delivers timing over one cable, cutting the install to a single run
• Works without a clear sky view dual-antenna multipath immunity allows street-level and urban-canyon placement
• Built for the cabinet both units rated -40°C to 70°C, with an IP65 enclosure on the outdoor grandmaster
• Clean layer separation Solution supplies the router and grandmaster; radio, mobile core and NOS remain the operator's

Specifications

Ideal For

Single cell sites in uncontrolled outdoor cabinets with no climate control and no spare rack space, first-phase 5G modernization where one site must be proved before an estate rollout, street-level and urban-canyon locations where a conventional GNSS antenna cannot get a clear sky view, sites where the cost and complexity of a separate antenna and RF coax run is not justified, operators moving away from proprietary cell site routers toward open hardware with a separately-licensed NOS, and any operator seeking to refresh cell site routing hardware and routing software on independent cycles rather than being tied to a single vendor for both.