Communicate Magazine Huawei Apr 12

APR 2012 ISSUE 65

HU

AW

EI CO

MM

UN

ICA

TEA

PR 2012 ISSU

E 65

GigaSite: The future of mobile broadband

U2Net boosts ultra-broadband

Smart operationin a connected world

Huawei leads the way in LTE

Connected Possibilities

Sponsor: Huawei COMMUNICATE Editorial Board,Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Consultants: Hu Houkun, Xu Zhijun, Ding Yun, Yu ChengdongZhang Hongxi, Zhang Xinyu

Editor-in-Chief: Gao Xianrui ([email protected])

Editors: Jason Patterson, Julia Yao, Pearl Zhu, Michael Huang, Joyce Fan, Xue Hua, Li Xuefeng, Xu Ping Pan Tao, Chen Yuhong, Cao Zhihui, Zhou Shumin

Contributors: Deng Xiaodong, Jiang Tao, Zhang QimingJiang Yihua, Zhong Zhiguang, Wang Kai, Pan Feng, Zhang Qinfa, Sun Haitao, Xie Xing, Shi Lei, Jiao Xiaoxin

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: +86 755 28786665, 28787643

Fax: +86 755 28788811

Address: B1, Huawei Industrial Base, Bantian, Longgang, Shenzhen 518129, China

Publication Registration No.: Yue B No.10148

Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2012. All rights reserved.No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

NO WARRANTYThe contents of this document are for information purpose only, and provided “as is”. Except as required by applicable laws, no warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, are made in relation to contents of this document. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no case shall Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd be liable for any special, incidental, indirect, or consequential damages, or lost profits, business, revenue, data, goodwill or anticipated savings arising out of or in connection with any use of this document.

By 2020, smart terminals are expected to outnumber people, while their applications will exceed ten billion. However, what once qualified as smart is looking increasingly dumb. A desire for a better user experience characterized by speed, quality, freedom, simplicity, and sharing is now transforming the industry; this will lead to the next phase of the information age where the machine adapts to the user instead of the other way around.

This means an operator shift in focus away from traditional KPIs, and a shift in attitude from passive complaint response to active stability assurance so that finicky customers do not leave. The traditional business model is now antiquated; operators must adapt to and exploit new business opportunities that revolve around the user experience. In such an “experience-based economy,” operators must broaden their awareness and leverage everything that relates to their own networks and services, including information that relates to users and their devices, if they are to monetize mobile traffic. Huawei’s MBB VGS (value growth solution) provides the differentiated servicing and pricing that operators need, smartening the pipe and improving service quality in the process.

Cloud computing has matured to the point where it is now changing how IT firms do business. Operators can now leverage it to more rapidly provide traditional communications applications, Internet applications, cross-industry applications, home applications, and more. However, cloud technology cannot flourish without an ultra-broadband, zero-wait network with ubiquitous connectivity to facilitate it. Thus far, several hindrances have kept such a network theoretical. The modest capacity of macro Node B’s and the increasing scarcity of suitable sites to install them are keeping ultra-broadband just out of reach, while uneven demand (80% of traffic is being handled by 20% of sites) is hampering the ubiquitous part; zero-waiting is impossible without both.

Urban complaints are drowning out rural pleas for better access, leaving nobody happy. National mandates are being handed down to bring about ultra-broadband ubiquity, but they only provide the impetus; it is the carrier who makes it happen. Urban base stations must be rebuilt so that they play nice with high-capacity small cells, while synergies between fiber, copper, and microwave must be leveraged in the surrounds if everyone is to get the message.

And the message is this – Connected Possibilities. Huawei chose this as its theme for the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 and it represents a world where anything is possible – self-driving cars, a cashless economy, personal clouds, automated medicine. All were discussed at the congress as certainties (not just possibilities) and Huawei, along with its partners, will connect them.

Connected Possibilities

Ding Yun

CEO of Carrier Network

Business Group

10 Huawei leads the way in LTEBy Zhu Wenjie

12 SoftBank gears up for AXGPSoftBank’s LTE TDD-compatible deployment will provide offload for some of the busiest and most complicated urban areas in the world.

By Chen Donghui

19 Wi-Fi lightens the loadWi-Fi, once the middle child of the wireless industry, is changing how users access broadband services, opening a potential gold mine for operators.

By Wang Zhoujie

22 Worry-free backup power for small cellsSmall cells have become key weapons in the battle for indoor coverage supremacy, and while each unit consumes negligible power, it is far from negligible on the scale of a battery, making for a tricky cost benefit calculation for operators considering whether or not an auxiliary power supply is in order.

By Zhang Yihui

07 U2Net: Boosting ultra-broadbandU2Net represents a way towards ubiquitous ultra-broadband network infrastructure, as well as IP video and cloud services.

By Zhang Kejing

16 Huawei radio sites: Any scale, any scenario Huawei radio sites have you covered for any scenario and any terrain imaginable, whether it be rural, urban, remote, extreme, or special.

By Zhu Yonggang

Ubiquitous ConnectivityUltra Broadband

03 GigaSite: The future of mobile broadbandMobile network traffic is doubling every year, but Huawei has your back with GigaSite, a multi-mode, multi-band, multi-sector solution that delivers the capacity that you need in the space that you want.

By Jiang Hong

What’s inside:

Let’s COMMUNICATE beyond technology and share understandings of the latest industry trends,

successful operational cases, leading technologies and more. Based on in-depth analysis of the

matters that lie close to your heart, we will help you stay on top of the telecom game.

38 Huawei Device at MWC 2012: When horses fly

By Jason Patterson

43 Antennas: One footprint, multiple modes

By Li Xuanbo

41 Huawei Convergent Conference Solution

Conferencing anywhereBy Shi Ningning

Operational Excellence

26 SingleSON eases the pain ofnetwork complexityAutomatic control of multi-mode and multi-layer networking has become key to enhanced O&M efficiency. Through self-configuration, self-optimization, and self-maintenance, SingleSON smoothly adapts to single-mode, multi-mode or multi-layer networking, which benefits not only efficiency but also OPEX.

By Yang Li & Zheng Meihua

29 Smart operation in a connected world

By Ernest Lo

32 SingleOSS unifies MBB network management Networks today are becoming increasingly complex in terms of scale & technology, leading to longer troubleshooting at different network layers, awkward service provisioning, and a significant increase in general O&M workload.

By Dong Qing

User Experience

36 UC changes how communication& collaboration are doneUnified Communication (UC) enables people to communicate and collaborate with each other at any time and place, and helps enterprises create innovative and efficient styles of work. Through its leveraging, operators can effectively create new business models and increase revenue.

By Jiang Mengqi

Global Digest

APR 2012 . ISSUE 651 2

Huawei Introduces Beyond LTE Technology for 30G

Shenzhen, China, 15 March,

2012, Huawei has recently

introduced its Beyond LTE

technology, which significantly

increases peak rates to 30Gbps,

over 20 times faster than existing

commercial LTE networks.

Beyond LTE achieves key

breakthroughs in antenna structure,

radio frequency architecture,

IF (intermediate frequency)

algorithms, and multi-user

MIMO. It significantly improves

the spectrum utilization efficiency

of mobile communications

systems and the construction and

operational efficiency of the entire

network.

Ke y f e a t u r e s f o r t h i s

technology include an innovative

antenna structure that greatly

improves performance and meets

wideband requirements; next-

generation direct radio frequency

technology that reduces costs

and power consumption while

facilitating ultra-broadband

carrier aggregation; and a

cutting-edge multi-antenna

coding algorithm that makes full

use of MIMO (multi-input multi-

output) channel capacity.

Huawei Launches World’s First 10 Petabit All-optical Switch Prototype

Los Angeles, USA, 7 March,

2012, Huawei has announced

the release of the industry’s

first 10 petabit (10,000 terabit)

all-optical switch prototype at

OFC/NFOEC 2012, the world’s

largest optical communications

conference.

Fiber transmission capacity

is reaching 100G/400G, and

core switching nodes are

providing greater capacity

with less power consumption.

Optical transport technology

is evolving towards all-optical

switching, which processes

optical signals directly and

cross-connects services of any

granularity at the optical layer.

The PPXC prototype uses

optical burst technology to

provide flexible non-blocking

switching of multi-granularity

s e r v i c e s , a l l o w i n g f o r

simultaneous high-resolution

3D interactions between 100

mil l ion people, as wel l as

simultaneous voice services

for billions. Compared with

traditional electrical switches,

this all-optical prototype is

smaller in size and consumes

less power. It also provides

energy-efficient bulk capacity

s w i t c h i n g , e n a b l i n g t h e

implementat ion of green

optical networking.

"The release of the industry-

leading a l l -opt ica l switch

prototype is a significant step

towards all-optical networking,"

said Cai Changtian, President of

Huawei’s transport product line.

"With accelerated development

of ultra-broadband packet

networks, all-optical switching

t e c h n o l o g y w i l l p l a y a n

indispensable role in backbone

t ransport scenar ios , such

as ultra-large data centers

and ultra-large capacity OTN

switching clusters."

Huawei, DT, and KDDI Demo OIF Ethernet-over-OTN Interoperability



the successful demonstration

o f E t h e r n e t - o v e r - O T N

interoperabi l i ty tests with

Deutsche Telekom (DT) and

K D D I R & D L a b o r a t o r i e s

Incorporated (KDDI Labs).

The tests were conducted by

the Optical Internetworking

Forum (OIF ) to showcase

Ethernet service multi-vendor

interoperability in a multi-carrier

environment through OTN

transport. The demonstration

focused on both data and

control plane technology.

The DT and KDDI Labs’ test

networks employed Huawei’s

terabit OSN, which is capable

of providing OTN and data

solutions for future transport

networks. The tests involved

GE/10GE EPL/EVPL service

interoperability, ODUk/ODUflex

mapping and encapsulation,

ODUk /ODUf l ex ove rhead

interoperability, ODUk SNCP

cross-domain protection, and

OTUk ENNI interoperability.

GMPLS/ASON control plane

feature integration into OTN

enhances bandwidth efficiency,

simplifies O&M, accelerates

serv ice prov i s ion ing, and

improves network reliability.

Huawei OTN supports GMPLS/

ASON control plane features at

both the optical and electrical

layers; the vendor has deployed

over 70 commercial OTN GMPLS/

ASON networks worldwide.

APR 2012 . ISSUE 651 2

Huawei Unveils World’s First 400G DWDM Prototype

Los Angeles, USA, 6 March,

2012, Huawei has introduced

the world's first 400G long-haul

DWDM system, boasting the

industry's largest transmission

capacity, at the OFC/NFOEC 2012,

the world’s largest conference

on optical communications. This

400G DWDM system provides

a capacity of up to 20Tbit/s over

a single fiber (C-band) and a

transmission distance spanning

1,000km without electrical

regeneration.

DWDM technology goes

far beyond 100G, with 400G

DWDM representing another

major breakthrough in the

high-speed transport field. It is

regarded as the next generation

of DWDM, suitable for ubiquitous

ultra-broadband networking. The

400G DWDM prototype employs

the cutting-edge SD-FEC, a

unique coherent algorithm,

as well as high-performance

opt i ca l modu les . Huawei

showcased access for 400GE

and 4×100GE services, and new

OTN technology at the OTU-

5 level. The prototype can be

applied over the Huawei WDM/

OTM platform to enable smooth

evolution from 40G/100G.

XL Appoints Huawei as Managed Services Partner

Jakarta, Indonesia, 24 February,

2012, Huawei has been selected

by PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL) as an

exclusive partner to manage its

multi-vendor, multi-technology

telecommunications network in

its entirety. The scope of work

will encompass end-to-end

network management, including

O&M, network performance

management, field operations,

24/7 network assurance ,

spare parts management, and

customer problem management.

Indonesia is one of the fastest

growing markets for mobile

communications with over 190

million users spread across some

17,000 islands. This agreement

allows XL to offer better network

and service quality to over 40

million of its customers.

Hasnul Suhaimi, President

Director of XL, stated that

"this strategic agreement with

Huawei allows us to focus on

our core business to offer new

and innovative services whilst

improving the network quality.

This will allow us to differentiate

o u r s e l v e s t o c o m p e t e

successfully in the market and

help us address the future

challenges."

CERNET Partners with Huawei for World’s Largest 100G WDM Network

Shenzhen, China, 22 February,


its winning of a bid to deploy

the 100G WDM network for

Project 211 (phase 3) for the

China Education and Research

Network (CERNET). Covering

t h e e n t i r e c o u n t r y, t h e

coherent WDM technology-

based 100G network will be

the world's largest in terms of

geographic coverage.

CERNET is committed to

bui ld ing and managing a

nationwide academic internet.

With Huawei’s coherent WDM

technology and OTN equipment,

the 100G network will cover

major metropolitan areas such

as Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai,

and Chongqing. The network

will offer a bandwidth of up

to 8Tbps over a single fiber,

a transmission distance of

11,400km (with 913km as the

longest single span without a

regenerator) and it will allow

cotransmission of 100G traffic

with existing 10G traffic. Full

legacy network compatibility

will ensure smooth capacity

expansion while protecting

CERNET's investment. The

100G network also meets the

challenges of ultra-broadband by

offering a transmission rate (per

wavelength) 10 times faster than

that for mainstream networks,

providing a solid foundation for

China's education network over

the next decade.

As a 100G WDM pioneer,

Huawei has deployed over 40

trial and 15 commercial 100G

networks to date. According to

consulting firm Ovum, Huawei

ranked number one in the

global optical network market,

WDM/OTN market, and 40G

network market as of Q3 2011.

UK Broadband Switches on First Commercial LTE TDD Solution


2012, Huawei announced that

UK Broadband (UKB) is building

London’s first LTE TDD network

using Huawei infrastructure. This

represents the first commercial LTE

TDD 3.5GHz deployment in the

world and the first commercial LTE

TDD deployment in Great Britain.

UKB will operate a wholesale

model, working with partners

to offer commercial services,

starting from May 2012, to

businesses, consumers, and the

public sector. The network will

initially cover the Southbank and

Borough areas of Southwark.

The network will use UKB's

124MHz of spectrum in LTE

bands 42 and 43 (3.5GHz and

3.6GHz). This will allow the

deployment of 6 x 20MHz wide

channels that will enable speeds

sufficient for LTE-Advanced and

Next Generation Access.

The first devices, jointly

developed by UKB and Huawei,

will include indoor and outdoor

units for high-speed wireless

broadband to homes and

businesses within the coverage

area. Multi-mode mobile devices

supporting LTE TDD/FDD will be

available from September 2012.

Experts’ Forum

JAN 2012 . ISSUE 643 4

ULT

RA

BR

OA

DB

AN

D

A connected world with endless possibilities

requires a lot of broadband; LTE, supported by

GigaSite and U2Net, is how we get there.


By Jiang Hong

Mobile network traffic is doubling every year, but Huawei has your back with GigaSite, a multi-mode, multi-band, multi-sector solution that delivers the capacity that you need in the space that you want.

JAN 2012 . ISSUE 64

Huawei Communicate

3 4

Huawei leads the way in LTE10

U2Net: Boosting ultra-broadband07

GigaSite: The future of mobile broadband03

Softbank gears up for AXGP12

Megabits are now meager bits ccording to Informa, the number of mobile subscribers across the globe has increased from 880 million to 5.8 billion over the last decade, while mobile applications

now number in the millions, bringing profits but also headaches to mobile operators, who must now struggle to keep pace with runaway traffic growth.

Your first mobile phone was probably just that, a portable communications unit for the sending and receiving of calls & messages, but today’s smartphones are actually personal information centers, and thus require constant updating; this has led to a dramatic increase in the number of small-packet data services related to these applications. Signaling traffic has also exploded, as handset makers stretch battery life at the expense of network traffic, growing annually at an average rate of over 30%, and reaching 100% in some cases.

With end users pushing for a richer experience and carriers pushing for more spectrum, the megabit era is drawing to an end. An operator now needs a solution that is compatible with every technology it has ever used, while still featuring the capacity to handle the gigabit streams of today and tomorrow that high-end customers demand.

Solutions for the connected worldHuawei offers GigaSite to meet the needs of the

connected world. Mobile broadband networks, which primarily provide data services, face much

A

Ultra Broadband

APR 2012 . ISSUE 655 6

more complex app l i ca t ion scenar ios than traditional networks. GigaSite provides a package solution, helping operators expand their capacity to accommodate different scenarios/needs. It provides 5-band, 3-mode, 1-cabinet (5B3M1C) functionality and distributed multi-band, multi-mode, multi-sector RRU for most scenarios, while Huawei’s leading Adaptive Radio Unit (ARU) can handle extreme situations where stations in urban centers cannot be divided and the demand for capacity is great.

5B3M1C supports multi-band, multi-mode co-stations

Each base station must now support multiple bands and multiple modes. With the evolution of mobile broadband services, deployment of new services requires either GSM or UMTS networks to support LTE in pretty much any spectrum chunk an operator possesses, be it in the MHz or GHz range.

GigaSite, based on Huawei’s refined SingleRAN technology, can facilitate either scenario at a lower cost. With the 5B3M1C solution, a single station can support up to 18 high-power radio frequency (RF) modules, which facilitates giga-level traffic and smooth capacity expansion without additional housing.

Considering that distributed base stations have grown indispensable, Huawei’s distributed Remote Radio Units (RRUs) continuously improve broadband and amplification technologies at increased efficiencies for unit volume and unit power, accommodating an industry trend towards multiple modes, bands, transmitters and sectors. A single RRU module can support multiple carriers while facilitating the concurrent use of multiple frequency bands. Furthermore, each frequency band can support multi-standard stations, making giga-level capability a gift in a smaller package.

Highly-integrated ARU for extreme scenarios

Site attainment can be difficult in the dense urban areas where they are needed most, rendering the bulkier solutions of yesteryear obsolete. GigaSite s teps in with a highly integrated ARU that combines multi-band reception and transmission, which reduces the tower’s footprint. Each ARU currently supports three different bands simultaneously, each of which can support three

different standards, while its volume is equivalent to an ordinary antenna. In other words, the entire station’s footprint is equivalent to that of an ordinary antenna for a traditional solution. Meanwhile, as an ARU can beamsplit horizontally and vertically, a three-sector network can easily be expanded to six sectors, which increases network capacity by 80%. And with the addition of user-targeting beamforming and independent tilt, network capacity can be doubled.

Baseband sharing & collaboration to improve air interface efficiency

With the high level of mobile service traffic now borne by the air interface, demands for baseband capacity are also increasing, in terms of macro-macro and macro-micro coordination, to increase spectral efficiency.

As a key component of GigaSite, the standalone BBU, being the most integrated unit of its kind, is able to provide transmission, primary control, and baseband for the GSM/UMTS/LTE standards. The Huawei BBU provides a signal processing capacity of up to 1500 CNBAP/s and a secure transmission rate reaching 2.5Gbps, based on its proprietary chipset. In addition, based on the Huawei Cloud BB solution it facilitates, GigaSite can bring dozens or even a hundred BBUs together, centralizing the dynamic sharing of resources so as to increase their utilization rate, while reducing OPEX.

At the same time, based on Cloud BB, GigaSite can also facilitate collaboration between macro stations as well as between macro stations and micro stations, which reduces intra-frequency interference and increases the utilization rate of frequency bands and network capacity. Ideally, macro station collaboration can increase downlink capacity by 50%, while micro-macro collaboration and intra-frequency deployment of micro stations can increase system capacity nearly five fold.

Diverse features for smart terminals

Services for smart terminals involve frequent service requests, small-volume transmissions during each session, and short session durations. Currently, uplink PS applications are carried on R99 or HSUPA. Even if there is no data to be sent, DPCCH and HSDPCCH still must stand ready for transmission. As smart terminal services


APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

5 6

are easily activated, said channels consume a lot of power thanks to their constant readiness, making for a constant hindrance to uplink on both ends.

GigaSite not only dramatically increases a network’s downlink capacity through various architectural improvements, but it also provides a series of ‘soft’ features that help operators increase uplink capacity and cope with the challenges of smart devices.

Adaptive parameter configuration – This enables varied channel parameters in the case of high or low service rate so as to achieve maximum power efficiency for each scenario.

Smart status migration – As per the estimated data traffic, this feature intelligently selects between FACH and DCH to increase both uplink and downlink capacity.

Uplink interference suppression – As multi-address uplink access is not orthogonal, there will be user interference when multiple users occupy a single area. This feature leverages interference offset technology to reduce said interference and increase the system’s uplink capacity by about 30%.

Inter-station collaboration – Through inter-station interference offset and joint dispatch, the average uplink capacity can be increased by 15%.

T-level multi-mode controller

As base station capacities soar, the controller becomes a crucial access node for any wireless network, as it must accommodate terabit-range capacity in the near future.

With GigaSite, the unified controller uses

Software Defined Controller (SDC) technology to realize the continuous evolution of multi-mode controllers while supporting the convergence of multiple networks, along with the flexible deployment of mobile broadband services. The unified controller supports 120Gbps throughput and has T-level (terabit) capacity extension capability. Its real-time virtualization technology supports single-board integration and format integration at both the control level and user level, which simplifies hardware management as much as possible as resource sharing among single boards maximizes the system’s processing efficiency.

In addition, Huawei’s newest generation of multi-mode controller supports RNC pooling so that the capacity limits of a single network are exceeded while network management is simplified. The controller can cope with heavy concurrent traffic while increasing resource processing efficiency, providing network-level backup and comprehensively improving network reliability and security.

In summary, Huawei’s GigaSite solution focuses on capacity, the central concern in the mobile broadband era. It increases both uplink and downlink capacity as well as signal processing ability through its multi-standard, multi-band, and multi-sector networking, so that the capacity requirements of the connected world are met and exceeded. GigaSite also simplifies station structure, reduces station footprint, and helps operators build efficient, sustainable and profitable wireless broadband networks, creating an even better future for mobile broadband.

Editor: Pearl Zhu [email protected]

Ultra Broadband

APR 2012 . ISSUE 657 8

e c e n t d e v e l o p m e n t s i n c l o u d applications and OTT services have had a big impact on the telecom industry; Internet services are booming. As of

2011, fixed broadband users in North America downloaded an average of 23GB data annually, at a compound annual growth rate of over 20%. In Europe, average downloads totaled 40GB, with a growth rate of over 25%. Internet giants such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, and Netflix are changing our lives, with more to come in the form of cloud computing.

Cloud technology represents an even greater leap forward, with operator networks functioning as the pipes that introduce it to the end user, but

R

Boosting ultra-broadband

U2Net represents the way towards ubiquitous ultra-broadband network infrastructure, as well as IP video and cloud services.

U2Net: Boosting ultra-broadband

ultra-broadband pipes that deliver 100Mbps fixed access and 10-20Mbps mobile access will be needed to truly enhance our lives and careers.

Lowering access network costs

Last-mile access performance is difficult to enhance. When networks are closer to users, site installation and line layout become more complex. Legacy copper and coax cannot be easily replaced by fiber; both of these aging media, together with existing ducts and sites, are valuable assets that can be utilized to provide ultra-broadband access on par with fiber.

U2NetBy Zhang Kejing

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

7 8

cost-effective in the long run.GPON technology, which is mature and

stable, supports evolution to next-generation 10G GPON. Operators can overlap GPON with 10G GPON, which enables 10Gbps downlink and 2.5Gbps uplink access. To minimize the number of sites, U2Net provides the SingleFAN platform, which supports various access modes that use high-capacity backplanes and a variety of boards. SingleFAN also supports smooth evolution. Its optical line terminal (OLT) supports smooth evolution from PON to 10G PON and then 40G PON. By simply adding new service boards to MXUs, operators can ensure smooth evolution from VDSL2 to vectoring and to G.fast, without changing the ODN network.

However, seamless mobile access cannot occur without fixed network ubiquity. The backhaul network required by a heterogeneous network (HetNet) should accommodate any & all access nodes, including fiber, copper, and microwave. A micro backhaul node would need to deliver access greater than 1Gbps to meet the growing demands for LTE and LTE-A. Numerous multi-Gbps backhaul technologies have emerged, including fiber-based IP backhaul, GPON, SuperMIMO, G.fast, header compression for IP microwave, and E-band. A backhaul network should also accommodate clock synchronization technologies such as Ethernet, 1588v2, and 1588ACR.

U2Net can provide 100Mbps access through any media, without legacy access resource or network topology modification, thus lowering the costs of network upgrade.

WDM intro to metro networking

Access network bandwidth expansion will require capacity expansion to the metro network, which OTT traffic is already pressuring. As service traffic models change, IPTV and OTT services that require long connections and wide bandwidth are occupying a larger amount of metro resources; convergence ratios will decrease from 10:1 to 2:1.

OTT traffic transmission is migrating from point-to-point towards HTTP, with HTTP-based adaptive streaming soon occupying metro bandwidth in a “best effort.” As a result, metro networks that provide port and traffic convergence will further be flattened, and a larger number of links, directly connecting access networks to broadband network gateways (BNGs), will be

U2Net represents the way towards ubiquitous ultra-broadband network infrastructure, as well as IP video and cloud services.

Huawei’s U2Net technology employs vectoring to enhance bandwidth over copper, whi le transceiver technology eliminates crosstalk between twisted pairs, and VDSL2 delivers 100Mbps access at a distance of 100 meters. U2Net can be applied to a single twisted pair for home access or bound twisted pairs for private enterprise lines or base stations, which greatly lowers the cost of last-mile access.

HFC+DPoE/EoC is viable for coaxial cable. Based on DOCSIS 3.0 standards, its channel bonding al lows for four 6MHz (8MHz for EuroDOCSIS) channels that provide downstream access rates greater than 100Mbps. However, for new buildings and areas, fiber deployment is more

Ultra Broadband

APR 2012 . ISSUE 659 10

required; metro networks will therefore need more fiber and bandwidth.

Metro network fiber addition involves complex engineering and is poorly scalable, while WDM system introduction is complex (it involves OSNR calculation, dispersion module configuration, wavelength planning) and warrants a large number of service boards and multiplexing/demultiplexing boards.

However, OTN and PID technologies are maturing, which simplifies WDM deployment in the metro network and dramatically reduces costs. PID integrates receiving/transmitting with multiplexing/demultiplexing functions; one PID line board can provide the functions that are traditionally provided by several boards, including dispersion modules, service line boards, multiplexing/demultiplexing boards, short-distance amplifiers, and monitoring boards.

Like SDH, PID is composed of tributary boards, cross-connection boards, and line boards. Operators can select PID boards best suited for the transmission distances involved, without any OSNR calculation, dispersion compensation, or wavelength planning. Similarly to SDH, a PID board port can lead services to different sinks, while engineers can also enhance O&M efficiency thanks to these similarities. Through its adoption of OTN and PID technologies, U2Net can greatly reduce the costs of introducing WDM to metro networks.

WDM introduction to metro networking is gaining momentum, and Huawei has helped

deploy over 300 metro-OTN networks in over 200 cities around the world.

Enhancing QoS

Traditional QoS for IP video services is provided in a best-effort manner. For video sources deployed near BNGs, QoS can be ensured between the BNG and end user. Either CDN or cache deployment to metro networks can enable cost-effective HD OTT video provision; besides storing popular video content on the CDN & cache, the solution can also enable precise user analysis based on video clicks. U2Net also adds cache to the metro network, reducing costs & enhancing user experience.

Service providers will need to deploy universal service gateways on the BNG side to manage users in a unified manner, while operators are considering IPv6 transition as their IPv4 address resources deplete.

With its basis in the SingleMetro platform, U2Net provides a universal service gateway that supports a smooth IPv6 transition through combined SR, BRAS and CGN. By integrating CGN boards with BRAS, U2Net simplifies NAT deployment. Operators can smoothly evolve their CGN networks to DS-Lite networks, and then to IPv6.

The upper BNG layer contains the backbone network, which bears three major types of traffic: traffic-to-IGW, OTT-traffic-to-CDN, and cloud traffic-to-server. When CDNs are deployed, most OTT traffic terminates in the metro network, relieving pressure on the backbone. Traffic to IGWs has a predictable volume and is thus not burdensome. Traffic flowing between end users and cloud servers, and traffic between cloud servers, requires reduced delay and jitter, which is problematic for the backbone.

As backbone networks flatten, access networks need to provide enhanced access capacity, while network centers must provide highly-efficient for ward ing capac i ty. U2Net suppor t s the networking of routers with 100GE ports and 48/80 wavelength x 100Gbps OTNs to achieve 100GE transmission over a long distance.

With cloud services booming, operators are in a strategic position between the cloud and the terminal. U2Net enables 100Mbps access, guaranteeing a cloud-based, ultra-broadband pipe.

U2Net: Boosting ultra-broadband

Editor: Michael [email protected]

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

9 10

LTE was undoubtedly the hottest topic in the mobile industry in 2011, and Huawei has been a leader in its commercial development. According to Ying Weimin, President of Huawei GSM&UMTS&LTE Network, all global top-10 mobile operators (ranked by subscriber base) have chosen Huawei for commercial LTE deployment. As of the end of 2011, Huawei has helped Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, Telenor, TeliaSonera, and Vodafone launch their LTE services commercially.

By Zhu Wenjie

Explosive mobile data traffic

ince Marty Cooper invented the portable mobile phone, their number in use has surpassed six billion in less than forty

years. Huawei predicts that by 2020, not only will mobile broadband be the norm, it will be everywhere. Six billion smart terminals will complement the 50 billion others in place, connecting people and devices like never before, culminating in a smart world, with mobile broadband as the lifeblood.

SHuawei accounts for half of commercial LTE

2011 was the year that LTE hit the mainstream, with its industry chain maturing in step. According to the GSA’s Evolution to LTE report released in March 2012, 301 operators have either committed to commercial LTE network deployment or are engaged in trials, technology testing or studies. By the end of 2012, 128 commercial LTE networks are expected to be online. All of the world’s top-10 operators in terms of user numbers have chosen Huawei

for their commercial LTE network plans. China Mobile, in particular, has relied on Huawei equipment and service assurance for its pilot TD-LTE deployments for the World Expo (Shanghai), Asian Games (Guangzhou), and Universiade (Shenzhen).

This report stated that among the 57 commercial LTE networks operating as of its publication, 28 of them employed Huawei infrastructure, ranking the vendor number one in the industry. As of the end of 2011, Huawei had committed to more than 60 commercial LTE networks and had already built over 100 pilot LTE networks around


Ultra Broadband

APR 2012 . ISSUE 6511 12

the world. Covering Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, Huawei’s LTE equipment has been chosen by 37 of the world’s top 50 operators.

Huawei sets the LTE standard

Since LTE first came on the scene, Huawei has participated in a number of world’s firsts. In December 2009, Huawei and TeliaSonera launched the world’s first commercial LTE network in Oslo. In September 2010, Huawei and Vodafone launched the world’s first commercial 800MHz network in Germany, demonstrating the advantages and excellent performance of LTE in narrowing the digital divide through rural wireless broadband.

In September 2011, Huawei and Aero2 launched the world’s f irst LTE FDD/TDD commercial network in Poland. In November of the same year, Huawei and UNE, a leading Columbian operator, announced their plans to construct South America’s first nationwide commercial LTE network. These examples and others demonstrate Huawei’s expertise with all major industry standards, technologies and work environments.

According to Ying Weimin, Huawei began its LTE R&D in 2004. This, no doubt, represented a significant investment, as Huawei invests at least 10% of its sales revenue into R&D each year, with 10% of that being slated for ‘pre-research’ on new technologies. Huawei has established 23 research institutes in countries as diverse as Germany, Sweden, Russia, India, and China along with the 30+ joint innovation centers it operates with leading global carriers.

LTE has become a key feature in Huawei’s industry-leading SingleRAN platform. In 2009, Huawei released the world’s first commercial LTE eNodeB. In 2010, Huawei LTE technology delivered what was then the fastest wireless data rate on record (1.2Gbps). In 2011, Huawei topped the industry again by releasing the E392, a multi-mode data card that accommodates LTE FDD, LTE TDD, UMTS, GSM and CDMA. Based on these achievements, Huawei now offers an end-to-end LTE ecosystem, both in terms of technology and geography.

The northernmost LTE site on the planet was supplied by Huawei, and operates at 78°13’N (roughly halfway between the Arctic circle and the North Pole), while other LTE projects have been

carried out or are underway in countries as diverse as the Philippines, South Africa, Germany, and Columbia. Huawei’s equipment has been rigorously tested and operates smoothly at temperatures ranging from -50°C to +50°C, guaranteeing their operation in virtually any environment on the planet.

LTE patent leadership

As of the end of 2011, Huawei has submitted more than 8500 LTE/EPC contributions to 3GPP, inc luding more than 265 approved contr ibutions for core LTE specif icat ions, giving it the top rank in the industry. According to Ying Weimin, Huawei has taken 89 core positions, such as chairman, vice-chairman, director, working group leader, speaker, and technical editor in various international telco organizations.

Huawei has also been playing an active role in various standardization bodies, including the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT), Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB), European Telecommunication Standard Institute (ETSI), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), and Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF).

For the LTE-Advanced standardization of 3GPP Release 10 and Release 11, Huawei experts have been appointed speakers for six core research topics, involving core technologies such as the active antenna system (AAS), machine type communication (MTC), uplink coordinated multi-point transmission (UL CoMP), uplink multiple-input multiple-output (UL-MIMO), and multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), indicating a leadership role for the company in the key physical-layer technologies.

In 2011, Huawei won six top global LTE awards that recognized its continuous input in LTE R&D, commercial applications, patents, and industry chain integration. Huawei will continue its innovation to create long-term value for customers, promoting sound development of the LTE industry and enabling mutually beneficial relationships with both industry players and customers.



APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

11 12

SoftBank gears up for AXGPSoftBank Mobile, Japan’s fastest growing mobile operator, announced in September 2011 its plans to deploy its LTE TDD-compatible AXGP commercial network through its sister company, Wireless City Planning (WCP). When completed, it will represent the world’s largest LTE TDD-compatible deployment, providing offload for some of the busiest and most complicated urban areas in the world. The sheer volumes of data that these cities generate is staggering, posing great challenges for what is still a relatively untested technology.

By Chen Donghui

ince its founding in 1981, the SoftBank Corporation (Softbank) has taken a keen interest in the Internet industry, having invested in over 900 IT companies (including

the likes of Yahoo! and Alibaba). In 2006, SoftBank decided to enter the rough & tumble world of mobile network operation through its USD20 billion purchase of Vodafone Japan, one of the largest cash purchases in Japanese history at the time, which was reformed into SoftBank Mobile. This move enabled Chairman & CEO Masayoshi Son to capitalize on the mobile Internet revolution he foresaw. SoftBank Mobile’s subscriber base doubled from its Vodafone levels to 28 million over the next six years, which include four consecutive years of top-ranked subscriber additions (among mobile domestic carriers), as of March 2012.

As a newcomer with minimal legacy burdens, SoftBank Mobile has been able to focus on data, which has seen explosive growth. In April 2010, SoftBank Mobile’s 3G subscription rate had reached 100%. Buoyed by its exclusive (till October 2011) and very successful iPhone sales, the operator became one of a select group to have a data ARPU higher than that for voice (data ratio at 60.2% as of March 2011). With traffic growth continuing unabated, SoftBank has decided to take the leap into LTE.

The next levelSoftBank Mobile has been under considerable

network capacity strain, particularly in Japan’s three largest cities (Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka), which account for nearly half of Japan’s 127 million people; the data traffic in those areas is expected to increase by 40 times over the next five years.

To cope with this expected surge and further

S

Ultra Broadband

APR 2012 . ISSUE 6513 14

promote its mobile broadband business, SoftBank Mobile has formulated a mobile broadband strategy around increased network compatibility and terminal diversity. On the network side, the operator has expanded network capacity and coverage by introducing different access technologies for different frequency bands, including Wi-Fi (totaling 240,000 hotspots) and WCDMA macro networking (over 180,000 sites as of the end of 2011).

Strategically, by 2011, SoftBank Mobile had accomplished a great deal in a short time, but it had been far from easy. Its mobile network had been running at full load, but none of its offload technologies were up to the challenge. Wi-Fi was hindered by limited power, severe interference, and complicated security management, while WCDMA 1.5GHz networking was developing slowly thanks to its underdeveloped industry chain and the more mature WCDMA 2.1GHz technology faced spectrum shortages. As the above three offload alternatives were not considered viable, the operator set its sights on AXGP.

In March 2011, Huawei was selected by WCP – the arm of Softbank responsible for AXGP (Advanced eXtended Global Platform) network deployment – as its strategic partner, inking a contract that will culminate in the world’s largest commercial LTE TDD-compatible network. Masayoshi Son announced that SoftBank’s AXGP is fully compatible with LTE TDD and will offer a peak downlink rate of 110Mbps (the fastest in Japan). This caused a stir in the industry as it signified that an LTE TDD-compatible network

would be deployed in one of the world’s most advanced yet impenetrable markets.

Tailored solutio5.2ns

WCP’s AXGP network will be both the world’s largest LTE TDD-compatible network and the largest micro cell network. As WCP already has large-scale 1.9GHz PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) infrastructure, its AXGP base stations will have to share its footprint, feeders and antennas. This will certainly reduce deployment costs, but it will also pose some significant challenges.

In megacities such as Tokyo and Osaka, site rental and engineering costs are extremely high. In addition, the PHS site conditions require Huawei to customize its remote radio unit (RRU). First, the alternating current (AC) adapters have to be embedded in the unit as opposed to renting a separate room, while the RRU must support a single-core 10G optical interface and combine both the sending and receiving optical lines into a single fiber. Fortunately, the former modification cuts base station backhaul rental costs in half. It is also worth noting that the RRU supports up to 30M bandwidth, which simplifies network capacity expansion as it eliminates the need for new equipment. The RRU is modest in both size (less than 18L) and weight (less than 18kg), making it easy to lift and install (reduced manpower costs). Instead of placing the baseband unit (BBU) near the RRU, Huawei has proposed the “BBU Hotel,”

SoftBank gears up for AXGP

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

13 14

where a dozen BBUs are placed in one equipment room to facilitate centralized management, which reduces both rental costs and manpower.

This particular network is being built in some of the world’s most complex population centers, both in terms of network traffic and underlying topology. Tokyo, as one of the world’s key economic hubs, proves most challenging, as existing PHS site distribution is significantly denser on average than it is for traditional urban macro base stations. Not surprisingly, signal interference is a real headache. Adding to that is the fact that the AXGP network shares the same omnidirectional antenna with the PHS network. This renders traditional network optimization tools (antenna downtilt/uptilt, directional coverage), best suited for directional antennas, useless. Huawei implemented the SFN anti-interference solution proposed by WCP, which flexibly combines adjacent and interfering cells, and effectively mitigates cell interference in dense areas. The aforementioned BBU Hotel also makes it easy to implement. User-level beamforming is also employed, allowing the antenna to pool its power towards a single user at a particular time, after having identified a user with rigorous data requirements (evidenced by a very strong signal). The throughput for said user is then increased, while signal interference is reduced.

Onsite manpower costs are also extremely high in Japan, and will be even more so when the number of AXGP base stations reaches five figures. Thus, Huawei has introduced a variety of self-optimizing network (SON) features, including self-configuration

About SoftBank, SoftBank Mobile, and Wireless City Planning

SoftBank is a leading Internet company that aims to provide a range of services including mobile communications, broadband infrastructure, fixed-line telecommunications, Internet culture, and others. SoftBank continuously strives to create synergies among various content and services within the Group.

SoftBank Mobile is a leading company in the Mobile Communications business, providing innovative service in Japan, and an operator in the Mobile Communications Segment of the SoftBank Group. Wireless City Planning Incorporated is a SoftBank Group company and a provider of AXGP service.

For more information, please refer to http://www.softbank.co.jp/en/.

and self-optimization. The former significantly reduces some of the most frequent onsite base station installation procedures, while the latter makes configuration of adjacent cell parameters in dense areas less cumbersome through automatic measuring of end-user devices & base stations, and automatic adjustment of adjacent cell parameters.

On November 1st, 2011, WCP formally launched its AXGP-based network services. As of this publishing, the initial network covering Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and their surrounds, is online commercially. Test results for key commerce centers (such as Ginza) have been encouraging. The outdoor test network downlink speed has reached 70Mbps, while the general network speed in drive tests has reached 29Mbps. Following this successful launch, on February 24th, 2012, Softbank Mobile flipped the public switch on AXGP by launching high-speed service with a mobile Wi-Fi router that allows up to ten Wi-Fi users to share the mobile connection at download speeds of up to 76Mbps and upload speeds reaching 10Mbps. The operator claims that AXGP will eventually support devices capable of 110Mbps download, faster than many wired connections provide today.

Ding Yun, CEO of Huawei’s Carrier Network Business Group, has expressed his confidence that the project will continue without a hitch. “SingleRAN LTE TDD solution is one of the fastest growing products in Huawei’s wireless product line. We are fully confident that we can provide the best network performance and user experience to support SoftBank’s business success.”

Editor: Yao Haifei [email protected]

15 16

UB

IQU

ITO

US

CO

NN

ECTI

VIT

Y

Wi-Fi, once a non-starter among mobile operators,

must be embraced if connectivity is to be truly ubiquitous,

as must small cells and greater diversity in field sites.

15 16

Huawei radio sitesAny scale, any scenario

ireless network standards and technologies may be maturing, but this isn’t making life any easier for the average operator tasked with

staying ahead of the data surge or bridging the digital divide. Urbanites want 100Mbps access 24/7, but they don’t want to see where it comes from. Governments want comparable coverage in the boondocks to make overburdened cities less attractive, but with budgets strapped across the board, operators are being pressured to go first; and though they often complain about intense competition in the cities, the truth is that virgin territory is rarely attractive. Local apathy and poor growth prospects can make ROI seem infinite in the developed markets, while logistical & utility hassles/costs, as well as outright theft, are a considerable burden in the developing ones.

What’s worse, people are traveling far more than before, for work and play, and they are bringing their tablets with them. If your teenage daughter can’t tweet quietly about how bored she is during your family camping trip, she is likely to complain loudly, while VIP train passengers are likely to start noticing the frayed upholstery and cramped leg room of their surroundings if they can’t tidy up their email accounts while in transit.

In other words, things are tough all over, but

W

Wi-Fi lightens the network load19

Small cell backup power22

Huawei’s radio site lineup16

Huawei has your back. Huawei has developed a radio site lineup meant to encompass any scenario, whether it be urban, rural, remote, railway, or extreme.

Urban coverage: Harmony & density

Urban areas represent the most complicated and therefore challenging of all coverage scenarios. Homeowner sentiments and real estate prices have made site acquisition for traditional base stations no easy task, but Huawei Mini-shelter, with its one-square meter footprint (encompassing the power supply, power distribution, monitoring, cabling, transmission, and battery), eases the pain. With the tight seals it keeps on its individual components, air conditioning need only be used for the parts that need it, while its aforementioned footprint makes it easily concealed, keeping it inconspicuous in parks, public squares, and other areas where the cold touch of technology is frowned upon.

But what happens if you lose a site before a replacement is acquired? The typical response is either a vehicle-mounted solution or the priority buildup of a new traditional site, but both options are costly.

Huawei radio sites have you covered for any scenario and any terrain imaginable, whether it be rural, urban, remote, extreme, or special.

By Zhu Yonggang

Ubiquitous Connectivity

APR 2012 . ISSUE 6517 18

Huawei, on the other hand, offers the Rapid Deploy Site (RDS) solution, which takes only two days to construct, making it suitable as a short-term solution for conventions, sporting events, and disaster relief.

Rural coverage: Cost efficiency is key

Compared to cities, rural sites are not hard to come by, but they may be hard to upgrade and space properly, as a typical site is limited by the structure surrounding it. The equipment room may fill up fast, and if it does, it becomes all the more difficult to keep cool. Transmission modeling is also a key issue; a cluster of trees may not hinder a microwave signal during the summer, but what happens when its branches are supporting two tons of snow? If you build two sites and later have to add a hotspot between them, a lot of network resources will be wasted.

Huawei offers an outdoor cabinet solution that keeps waste in check, while delivering a level of reliability and economy like never before. Its all-in-one housing features 1U-high power modules, which boasts nearly 97% conversion efficiency, while Huawei’s baseband unit (BBU) (for distributed base stations) is 2U high, and able to work at temperatures of 40 to 50 degrees Celsius. The transmission equipment is 1U to 2U high, while the backup battery for the entire station can work continuously for four hours at 150/300 AH.

This solution has already made a clear difference in some of China’s second-tier provinces such as Henan, Anhui, and Shandong, which are teeming with mid-sized cities but lacking in the major hubs

that attract premier levels of investment. It should also prove useful around the globe for similar situations in certain parts of Asia.

Remote area coverage: Where’s the outlet?

Remote areas, especially in the developing world, are usually offgrid; power has to be generated onsite. Diesel is the traditional answer, but it is no longer the panacea that it once was. High oil prices are making acquisition onerous and transportation dangerous, while environmental mandates and public sentiments are further hastening operators to seek alternatives.

Zambia has enjoyed relatively stable economic development and increasing per capita income in recent years, which is driving a boom in its mobile market. MTN Zambia, as a major local operator, actively sought to expand its GSM network capacity, but its efforts in remote areas, especially in some of its more scenic areas, did not go well, as its sites elicited a lot of complaints, significantly hurting the company’s image.

This prompted MTN to take a great interest in Easysite, Huawei’s all-in-one, small-scale green site solution. By leveraging solar power, this solution is perfectly suited for Africa’s drier climes, while its all-in-one site design significantly reduces the civil works involved in site deployment; this not only accelerates the process, but it also reduces costs. Currently, MTN has deployed Easysite in some of Zambia’s nature preserves, enabling convenient communications for both tourists and local residents.

Huawei radio sites: Any scale, any scenario

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

17 18

Railway coverage: Uninterrupted power supply

Mobile communication coverage on express railways is a constant headache, as frequent cell switches lead to a lot of dropped calls; this is where Huawei’s multi-RRU cell solution steps in, as it extends cell coverage and therefore reduces the switchover and resultant call drop rates.

The key to this solution is its local power supply and backup, which enables onsite communications to overcome the voltage swings and marginal infrastructure that can straddle railways in more remote areas. Huawei has developed a small-scale, wall-mounted power supply with a standby power system, which can be mounted on a pole or tower, while the radio remote unit (RRU), which extends cell coverage and improves network quality, is theftproof. The multi-RRU solution also features small-scale batteries that can work continuously for two to four hours, offsetting the impact of an unstable power grid.

Certain high-speed rail lines in China already use this solution; passengers can now surf the Internet or talk on the phone without interruption, at a quality comparable to what they would experience when still.

Special area coverage: Precise temperature control

Areas with extreme temperatures have stringent requirements for site temperature control readiness. Huawei’s Mini-shelter is made of dual-layer steel plates

with insulating materials sandwiched between. Within the unit are various low-consumption devices that use natural cooling sources to regulate temperature through methods such as natural ventilation and heat exchange. In frigid climes, the cabinet interior temperature can be maintained by adding heating films. In summer, natural ventilation or heat exchange with a high degree of protection (IP55) are leveraged for cooling at minimal cost in terms of power consumption.

In the Nordic countries, winter is frigid and long. This requires outdoor cabinets to be highly insulated and maximally leverage natural air to control cabinet temperature. With Huawei’s Mini-shelter, air conditioners are out of the picture.

At the other extreme is Kuwait, which has an average daytime temperature of more than 40 degrees Celsius in summer. Its daytime extremes can exceed 50 degrees, and differences between day and night can be very great. A local operator (VIVA) requires its outdoor cabinets to be climate controlled by day and sip power at night. Huawei has proposed its “Intelligent Heat Exchange Mini-shelter” solution. Through insulating walls, it can effectively reduce the impact of solar radiation on the interior temperature, while its intelligent heat exchange technology combines air conditioning and conventional heat exchange. The air conditioner works during peak temperatures, while heat exchange is used for the more moderate range. Both switch automatically and act as a backup for the other. This not only ensures reliable temperature control but also minimal power consumption. Compared with traditional air-conditioned equipment rooms, Huawei’s solution can slash power consumption by nearly half, allowing operators to sleep a little easier.



APR 2012 . ISSUE 6519 20

Wi-Fi, once the middle child of the wireless industry, is changing how users access broadband services, opening a potential gold mine for operators.

By Wang Zhoujie

i-Fi once enjoyed an unrivalled level of media buzz, with cities and a i rpor t s f a l l ing a l l ove r themselves to be labeled as giant

hotspots. However, the circus moved on very quickly, as this technology came to be regarded as an evolutionary dead-end. But, with the number of mobile subscriptions in the world now passing six billion, and global data traffic doubling every 12 to 18 months, Wi-Fi is coming in from the cold, with many prominent operators using it or planning to use it to supplement their networks, including AT&T, Orange, PCCW, and China Mobile.

As of the end of 2011, global shipments of Wi-Fi-enabled devices exceeded two billion, with nearly one billion users now being served. Supporting the 2.4GHz/5GHz frequency bands and delivering 300Mbps bandwidth, the 802.11n standard is also compatible with 802.11a/b/g, making it easier than ever for users to access broadband services wirelessly, both during and after office hours.

Wi-Fi is usually used as an extension of fixed networks at homes and enterprises. Mobile operators are now deploying Wi-Fi in hotspots, making it the fourth form of wireless networking, after GSM, UMTS, and LTE. In the future,

W

Wi-Fi lightens the load

lightens the load

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

19 20

service bundling, unified charging, convenient management, and network synergy are expected to come into being.

Convergent Wi-Fi

Huawei has released an industry-first convergent Wi-Fi solution that spans from the access point to the core network. Along with its various Wi-Fi devices for the access side, Huawei will also release several multi-mode solutions, including Pico-Fi, TD-Fi, and X-Fi. For the network, disparate components such as the base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), access controller (AC), trunking gateway (TGW), and the serving GPRS support node (SGSN) will combine their efforts to synergize the fixed and wireless elements.

Integrated authentication

A sound Wi-Fi user experience requires not only seamless coverage in hotspot areas, but also smooth authentication, which Wi-Fi typically accomplishes through portals. When users request Internet access, the portal server will forward an authentication page that requests a user name and password. Portal authentication is applicable for nearly all terminal types; yet in areas with poor coverage, the user experience may be impacted as authentication prompting may become frequent.

Other authentication modes are available, namely MAC, EAP-PEAP, and EAP-SIM. MAC is not often used, as its addresses can easily be fabricated, while PEAP is widely employed and supported by the iOS, BlackBerry, Android, and Symbian operating systems, though its initial configuration is somewhat complex. EAP-SIM employs SIM card-based authentication; once users register Wi-Fi services at customer service centers, their mobile phones automatically access Wi-Fi services when available. This option is considered the most secure and is expected to become the method of choice as an increasing number of smart terminals are now SIM-enabled.

However, most operators, especially those that serve developing markets, require flexibility in their network authentication. Huawei’s quad-mode Wi-Fi authentication solutions are already in use in certain Chinese provinces, giving more options for operators who must support the most advanced

smartphones and the most basic feature phones simultaneously.

Accurate hotspot selection

Despite their name, Wi-Fi hotspots often fail to attract a large number of users. Coffee shops, libraries, and the like often have luxurious and inefficient seating arrangements, while the young & affluent often fail to cluster where corporations tell them to. Huawei statistics show that in certain areas, over 40% of hotspots generate only modest levels of traffic. Clearly, planning of a more prescient and insightful nature is needed.

Huawei analyzes measurement report (MR) data for live GSM/UMTS networks, as well as terminal behavior, network measurement data, and various kinds of services, enabling timely identification of network traffic jams, so that operators can deploy their Wi-Fi equipment accordingly.

However, Wi-Fi i s not a s i lver bul let . It employs the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands that also accommodate Bluetooth devices, cordless phones, microwave ovens, and certain medical devices, all of which represent potential interference. The 2.4GHz band has fourteen frequency channels ranging from 2400MHz to 2483.5MHz, but a number of them overlap, leaving only three discrete channels available. This can be a problem if multiple operators wish to deploy Wi-Fi in the same area.

Huawei Wi-Fi solutions, on the other hand, provide flexible adjustment of channels and various other RF resources such as transmission power. Automatic adjustment of the latter is particularly useful as it helps eliminate dead spots and overlaps. When a Wi-Fi device is removed, the neighboring devices will increase their power accordingly. Huawei devices can also detect interference and adjust their channels automatically. The use of 802.11n doubles the radio spectrum, while 5GHz has more channels and less interference when compared with the 2.4GHz band. Operators can use the latter for initial access, and then switch over to 5GHz for service bearing to minimize interference.

Realizing network synergy

Many operators build their Wi-Fi networks to offload traffic from macro networks, yet


APR 2012 . ISSUE 6521 22

synergy between different networks is necessary if they hope to deliver

comprehen s i ve s e r v i c e s . Huawei Wi-Fi solutions

facilitate this synergy at the base station, base

station controller, and core network.

Synergy for multi-mode base stations

Early TD-SCDMA and LTE network development involves light traffic and relative

terminal homogeneity, but Wi-Fi can be utilized to enhance utilization of the network in question. When China Mobile launched its TD-SCDMA network, terminals were scarce and traffic was spartan, but it could hardly take on traffic from its GSM network. Instead, the operator worked with Huawei to develop TD-Fi, where Wi-Fi equipment can be used for Internet access, while the TD-SCDMA network bears this traffic. With this arrangement, China Mobile’s network would finally pull its own weight, while TD-Fi would prove useful in other areas.

A bus company could utilize TD-Fi for bus message updates, push ads, video monitoring, and upload of operational data, while passengers could access route information and surf the Internet. This would not only further utilize China Mobile’s infrastructure, it would also enable a mutually beneficial cooperative triangle with the bus company and advertisers that could extend to the LTE era, and all the dazzling media that it would entail.

Synergy for base station controllers

Having a variety of Wi-Fi access points may seem beneficial for the mobile user, but choosing the optimal one is more than just a matter of the number of bars on the screen; it is also a matter of potential interference and user number. Huawei has launched a convergent solution for base station controllers that helps simplify things through network synergy.

When Wi-Fi terminals initiate data services through Huawei infrastructure, the BSC/RNC will query the AC, based on the network load and terminal type. If query conditions are met, the AC displays all the available Wi-Fi hotspots within the cell coverage. The BSC/RNC then recommends an

optimal Wi-Fi hotspot to users. Once confirmed, the terminal will access said hotspot through a specified service set identifier (SSID) and IP address. This enhances user experience as operators can flexibly switch services or traffic between mobile and Wi-Fi networks.

Synergy for the PS core

Wi-Fi transmission and encryption modes differ from those employed by mobile networks. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi networks are considered unreliable in terms of PS domain standards. Huawei has launched a GRE-tunneling TGW solution which provides secure access between Wi-Fi and SGSN/EPC. This helps operators offload their value-added service (VAS) and other traffic to Wi-Fi, which reduces the pressure on mobile network access. Wi-Fi offload is practically weightless, as far as network resources are concerned, so it can maximize service value, diversity, and creativity.

Timely integration, unified management

Unlike that for base stations, Wi-Fi access-point deployment tends to be more diverse and dynamic; it is difficult to monitor alarms, collect performance data, configure equipment, and locate faults remotely. In addition, operators need a unified network management system (NMS) for both base stations and Wi-Fi access points.

Huawei’s Wi-Fi network management server, a component of the vendor’s M2000 NMS, is easy to maintain and highly efficacious, as a single unit can manage 800,000 Wi-Fi devices, resulting in clear reductions in CAPEX and OPEX. With its robust and unified northbound interfaces, the Huawei NMS can prove a key component in any optimized O&M management platform, while the firm’s rich experience guarantees implementation and integration in a timely and orderly fashion.

Huawei a l so prov ides e f fec t ive handset simulators for Wi-Fi testing purposes, suitable for indoor/outdoor drive testing, as well as ping, HTTP, email, and FTP testing for service launch, availability verification, and hotspot determination.

As the number of Wi-Fi enabled terminals increases, Huawei’s E2E Wi-Fi solutions grow more and more attractive for operators looking to build and better utilize their wireless networks.


Wi-Fi lightens the load

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

21 22

Power backup for small cells

ackup power might seem like a no-b r a ine r f o r any key e l ement in a network’s infrastructure, but small cells present an unusual problem. A typical

unit consumes no more than 300W, putting it on par with a typical vacuum cleaner; and while this sounds harmless enough, keep in mind that a vacuum is not meant to operate when the power fails.

Most urban power failures do not exceed four hours, but a battery designed to operate for that long at 300W would be large, heavy and expensive. Installing it would be no easy task either, as it could transform the ‘nook & cranny’ installation process currently in use into more of a cabinet-based proposition.

This is a particularly unpleasant scenario if the target building is an older skyscraper with numerous cells and limited utility spaces. Therefore, it is not surprising that small cells operate without backup more often than not.

Some operators attempt to circumvent these issues by operating a building’s cells from a central DC power supply, but the supply itself is also bulky and unexpected in the architect’s mind. If long distances are involved, complex wiring (an OPEX sink) of large-diameter cable (a CAPEX sink) will be needed, and it may yet prove insufficient for efficient power transmission.

For AC scenarios, uninterruptable power supply (UPS) is typically the backup, but unfortunately it

Worry-free backup power for small cellsSmall cells have become key weapons in the battle for indoor coverage supremacy, and while each unit consumes negligible power as far as the power grid is concerned, it is far from negligible on the scale of a battery, making for a tricky cost-to-benefit calculation for operators considering whether or not an auxiliary power supply is in order.

By Zhang Yihui

B

Huawei’s highly-integrated wall-mounted power supply.


APR 2012 . ISSUE 6523 24

handles battery charging and discharging poorly. A standard communications power supply makes for a tolerable DC alternative, but thanks to the low voltages usually involved, each cell and its dedicated power supply must be in close proximity, which is a luxury most operators cannot afford.

The aforementioned drawbacks make the omission of backup power quite appealing in a CAPEX sense, but the OPEX beast is also brought to heel. When there is no backup power, maintenance is quite simple, as network failures are typically caused by power outage or equipment failure. However, batteries must be managed, which makes their use more costly in terms of O&M. While installing an environmental monitoring system along with a power supply might seem an ideal way to minimize the added complexity, the monitoring unit itself is also complex, and finding the space for it can be troublesome. All of the aforementioned factors would seem to make backup power for small cells an impracticality, until now.

Integrated wall-mounted power supply to the rescue

A viable small-cell backup solution would need to be affordable, easy to maintain, and have a light footprint; Huawei’s AC-DC integrated wall-

mounted power supply, which features the smallest footprint in the industry and meets class-B ultra-low radiation standards, is such a solution.

Good for any scenario

This solution, though intended for walls, can be mounted on floors, rooftops, and even poles, giving operators great variety in terms of deployment. Its IP55-level dustproof and waterproof design guarantees reliability while direct air supply and smart temperature control technologies ensure operation even at high ambient temperatures.

Batteries can be housed internally or separately from the power supply, which gives O&M personnel flexibility in terms of maintenance and deployment of supplementary equipment (WLAN devices), which can also be housed internally. In other words, cell placement can be a matter of coverage, while power supply placement can be a matter of landlord concern or maintenance ease.

Lower unit costs via power supply sharing

Huawei’s integrated wall-mounted power supply is capable of powering multiple cells simultaneously, which makes for significantly reduced purchasing and engineering/maintenance costs.

With the same wire diameter and voltage drop

Huawei’s wall-mounted power supply greatly increases the long-term viability of small cells, making ubiquitous coverage all that much easier. This solution is already making a clear difference in real-world scenarios.

Worry-free backup power for small cells

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

23 24

limit, its power supply (220V AC) output can out-transmit a DC supply by 20 fold, which can also translate to a 20-fold reduction in wire diameter over an equivalent distance.

Zero-burden environmental monitoring

If a communications cable is connected from the power supply to a Huawei small cell, in-band power supply and environment monitoring can be realized through the cell’s management channel, which can reduce unneeded field maintenance and enhance its success when it is needed, leading to reduced O&M costs overall. Onsite monitoring also makes failures easier to predict, reducing the need for redundancy.

Added value

Huawei’s power supply solution adds value for operators looking to build a network that is lean, green, and comprehensive.

Higher power efficiency

Power efficiency for small cells is quite low (around 85-88%) but typical for powered modules of their size. For a single unit that consumes 3000kWh of electricity a year, the electricity loss will be over 400kWh, multiplying that over a large number of cells

leads to a formidable figure. Thanks to its proprietary rectification technology, Huawei’s power supply, at a modest current of 15A, can exceed 96% conversion efficiency, leading to a 70% reduction in energy loss. Said technology has already been widely applied at China Mobile, China Telecom, Türk Telekom, and Belgacom, enabling a savings of 300kWh per year per cell.

Smooth scalability

Huawei’s wall-mounted power supply can smoothly scale from 5A to 90A, without any increase in footprint or cubic footage, making power supply sharing far easier. This also eliminates the need for excess capacity, which can be a great relief for carriers operating in tight fiscal spaces. During capacity expansion, operators need only replace the rectification module in use with a higher-capacity model of the same size. If the power supply model is changed to AC, the simple addition of an AC module is all that is needed for dual AC-DC current.

Huawei’s wall-mounted power supply greatly increases the long-term viability of small cells, making the ubiquitous coverage that the industry constantly speaks of all that much easier. This solution is already in widespread use across the networks of China’s major carriers, as well as those for key operators in South America and South Asia.


OPE

RA

TIO

NA

L EX

CEL

LEN

CE

If operators are to finance the networks of tomorrow,

they must squeeze every last dollar out of their networks

today; SingleSON and SingleOSS can help.

25

SingleSON

By Yang Li & Zheng Meihua

SingleSON eases the pain of network complexity

26

Smart operation in a connected world29

SingleOSS unifies MBB management32

Increasing O&M burdens

SA statistics show that over 80% of operators worldwide operate both GSM and UMTS networks, with 57 commercial LTE networks launched as of

March 2012 and many more expected over the next two years. Many carriers are also introducing or plan to introduce picocells/femtocells and Wi-Fi access, culminating in a heterogeneous network architecture currently referred to as HetNet, which can bring a variety of O&M headaches and higher OPEX through its great complexity and diversity.

Infonetics Research indicates that global top-5 mobile operators’ revenues account for 40% of the entire industry, with their percentage of OPEX being comparable; however, the latter consumes a whopping 70% of this revenue. Considering the CAPEX that will be needed to accommodate the expected 500-fold data traffic increase over the next decade, this percentage is much too high.

Automatic control for multi-mode and multi-layer networking has become the key to enhancing O&M efficiency and reducing costs. Self-organizing

network (SON) architecture is emerging as a method to reduce the costs involved in network deployment and O&M.

From LTE SON to SingleSON

In 2006, the NGMN Alliance first discussed the concepts around SON. The 3GPP began their SON research the next year, which culminated in LTE specifications that now accommodate it. When implemented, LTE SON promises self-configuration, self-optimization, and self-maintenance.

Through self-configuration, evolved Node B (eNodeB) can be automatically configured and integrated into the network, with installation requiring only one site visit, which significantly cuts down on labor costs. Self-optimization is much like it sounds – automatic network adjustment based on user equipment (UE) and eNodeB observations. Self-maintenance involves the automatic detection and location of faults, followed by the implementation of a variety of self-maintenance mechanisms, which allows engineers to focus on other key areas that impact network performance.

G

Automatic control of multi-mode and multi-layer networking has become key to enhanced O&M efficiency. Through self-configuration, self-optimization, and self-maintenance, SingleSON smoothly adapts to single-mode, multi-mode or multi-layer networking, which benefits not only efficiency but also OPEX.

eases the pain of network complexity

26


APR 2012 . ISSUE 6527 28

In June 2010, Huawei and Vodafone established a joint team aimed at promoting the innovation and commercial application of LTE SON. Later, the team raised the concept of SingleSON, aiming to deliver SON functions to GSM and UMTS networks. Through SingleSON’s core node (eCoordinator) operators can achieve synergy between GSM, UMTS, and LTE networking. Synergy between micro and macro networks can also be achieved, enhancing HetNet efficiency.

SingleSON features

On October 18, 2011, Huawei official ly released SingleSON. As the industry’s first multi-standard SON solution, SingleSON greatly promotes the construction of and O&M for multi-mode and multi-layer networking, delivering self-configuration, self-optimization and self-maintenance functionality.

Self-configuration

With SingleSON, new base stations connect to the operation support system (OSS) automatically to download and implement configuration data; and while this sounds wonderful, the story does not end here, as this functionality makes proper planning of said configuration data (which must be extremely precise if the station is to work at all) very important. Thousands of configuration items may exist for each site, and they can hardly

be planned manually. Fortunately, SingleSON can plan them automatically, including radio, transmission, and antenna system parameters.

For a SingleRAN HetNet, an operator may need LTE macro cells to overlay legacy GSM and UMTS networking. SingleSON can be utilized to help determine whether or not new sites can be co-sited, which allows the sharing of antennas and transmission routes. SingleSON can also help define radio and antenna parameters for the cells covered by new base stations. After planning is finished, SingleSON will automatically generate configuration files, which can be used for new site configuration or as a reference for other projects, and store them in the OSS.

During multi-mode base station deployment, SingleSON’s one-step functionality can reduce manual configuration by nearly 90%, as both transmission planning and site visit need only be done once. Only one license also need be applied for, with only one security link needed for each site.

Self-optimization

Multi-layer mobility management: SingleSON monitors the network continuously; i f any anomalous alarms occur, it will analyze it, with the results sent to the operator so that a better optimization plan can be formulated.

During optimization, manual configuration of neighboring cells is no longer necessary, as SingleSON features an automatic neighbor relation

SingleSON eases the pain of network complexity

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

27 28

(ANR) function that is applicable for multi-mode and multi-layer networks, which can enhance both operational & cost efficiency for both.

After optimization, SingleSON will continue to monitor network performance, with optimization repeated if the previous attempt fails to meet targets.

With SingleSON, manual operations are now limited largely to root alarm confirmation, as well as optimization review and authorization; this greatly enhances O&M efficiency as the aforementioned elements, along with network monitoring, are generally reduced.

Multi-layer traffic steering: Traffic management involves a greater understanding of traff ic distribution, based on terminal reports and other various data, and the adjustment of network configuration/relocating terminal traffic according to the policies in place. Traffic management, which ensures QoS, can also enhance network resource usage. Through statistics such as cell throughput KPIs, terminals MRs, and DT data, operators can better understand network traffic distribution in terms of time, location, and service category.

For traffic bursts or temporary bottlenecks, SingleSON provides a mobility load balancing solution for intra-base station, inter-base station, intra-frequency, inter-frequency, inter-RAT, or inter-base station cells; this solution also considers service categories, cell capabilities, end-user priorities and their preferred services. Terminal speed and inter-cell interference are also weighed for cells.

For traffic volumes which prove ill-suited to the network over time, SingleSON can make recommendations as to how best to optimize antenna feeder parameters, enabling the operator to improve coverage for high-traffic zones. If system parameter optimization proves inadequate for meeting throughput requirements, SingleSON can recommend more radical alternatives such as miniaturization or distributed dense mode.

Interference is also key to system throughput. SingleSON can efficiently minimize interference between cells, enhancing system throughput by 30%, which will surely lead to an enhanced user experience.

Self-maintenance

Automatic cell fault management entails automatic detection and compensation of invalid cells that are failing, partially or completely, to provide wireless service, which might manifest as insufficient coverage, support of fewer users, or decreased throughput.

Automatic detect ion represents the KPI monitoring for all cells; abnormalities trigger testing that evaluates the ability of terminals to connect to radio services. Alarms will be sent out if cells prove invalid. When a cell fails, parameters for adjacent cells are adjusted automatically to compensate. For instance, antenna feeder parameters can be adjusted to ensure satisfactory QoS.

SingleSON greatly promotes the construction of and O&M for multi-mode and multi-layer networking, delivering self-configuration, self-optimization and self-maintenance functionality.



APR 2012 . ISSUE 6529 30

Smart operation in a connected world


By Ernest Lo

I n simpler times, circa 2004, ‘kilo’ was the prefix for network traffic. But then, phones like the RAZR started dazzling the public, bringing the prefix ‘mega’ along with them.

But shortly after, Apple did something odd and made a phone, which proved to be something more than “the iPod that rings” that people were expecting, and the rest as they say is history; and by the rest, we mean sanity in the life of the network operator, as network traffic is now growing at a compound annual growth rate of 92%. The traffic in 2015 is expected to be 26 times what it was in 2010, and this is just the beginning. All those little screens we carry with us now are changing how we live our lives much faster than the arrival of television or the Internet ever did. A new scale of connection is emerging to keep people in the style to which they have grown accustomed. Welcome to the connected world.

Increased agility & cost efficiency

In the connected world, if operators wish to keep user loyalties from straying to trendy

For most operators, LTE is either in place or on the way, but this is not enough to stay on the good side of consumer sentiment. A new operational model will be needed, with a new business model along with it; when combined, both must enable increased agility & cost efficiency, enhanced monetization capability, and improved user experience.

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

29 30

newcomers, new & dazzling services will need to hit the market as often as Hollywood blockbusters, but this will require a network architecture far more flexible than the point-to-point architecture of days past. Vendor-agnostic architecture utilizing open standards is the order of the day.

SOA is the most promising open architecture on the market, but it cannot be leveraged unless operators adopt compliant infrastructure & software; the integration of the latter can be simplified using the Unified Information model, a long with business process templates and configurations. The Unified Information model provides a common data model which enables a unified interface between diverse systems. Mobile operators will no longer need to manage each proprietary data scheme that comes along, while said business process templates and configurations provide the standard flow for each business service to follow. In other words, operators need not create different processes for different services.

Customization of new offerings is always costly and time consuming. TM Frameworx certification/compliance is the industry’s gold standard in this area. Out-of-the-box features and process templates should be fully utilized to reduce implementation costs. Huawei’s BSS/OSS solution is standards-based, meaning that it is compliant with both TMF and SOA, as well as 3GPP standards for both real-time rating & charging, and policy management.

Considering the sheer number of services that will be created in the near future, a common reusable service at the OSS/BSS layer will be needed for all domains and networks that accommodates the current multi-technology environment and is capable of future extension (provisioning, policy management, charging, service/QA, and inventory); Huawei Convergent Ordering provides a feasible solution. A common order template for various business areas (mobile, fixed, internet, data, and VAS) is used and stored in a single catalog, rendering the ordering process consistent and vendor-agnostic. All information is visible and traceable within the system. With its extensibility, this solution represents a simpler route to greater agility.

Improved monetization & expansion

Mobile operators must ensure support for all services & processes across all business lines, and

support new business models for future services such as app stores, MVNx, and M2M/cloud services. A converged real-time charging & billing engine is definitely needed, flexible enough to accommodate various charging models for said services. Huawei’s SMART Charging solution provides the most comprehensive, out-of-the-box, versatile, and instantaneous charging models, including unlimited plans, tiered pricing, bundling, policy-based charging, and content-based charging.

Furthermore, a powerful marketing tool will also be needed that tailors promotional information for the terminal end instantaneously, both in terms of the product being offered and the media employed (SMS, email, pop-up); Huawei’s Business Intelligence (BI) solution can help. BI helps operators extract and analyze customer data critical to any operator’s marketing efforts. What if the marcom department could continuously monitor service performance after launch? Would they be able to improve services if performance proves sub-par? What if they could understand usage patterns across different categories with different filtering parameters? Would it be easier to tailor a cost-effective plan for each particular customer category? What if they could analyze the customer’s interests based on the services they often use? Would they be able to recommend a particular service or product to that customer?

After findings and results are passed to the charging engine, the SMART Charging solution will leverage the available information to proactively upsell and cross-sell new products/services on a real-time basis, while Huawei BI also features tariff optimization, which forecasts marketing results and profits for various tariff scenarios and provides recommendations as to which, if any, would be most optimal.

Integrated customer experience Service quality & fulfillment assurance

With 1% of mobile users now using 50% of traffic, there is a growing need for restrictions on heavy and low-value users. Without a tiered SLA in place, high rollers will not receive priority for network resources, and thus will receive an experience they will feel is unworthy of the premiums they pay. A robust and comprehensive PCRF-enabled charging engine will be required to ensure network resource utilization in line with an


APR 2012 . ISSUE 6531 32

operator’s QoS policy. Huawei SMART Charging differentiates charging by a wide variety of criteria, including location, time of day, traffic level, and function (social media, video, general surfing).

Customer expectations change frequently, which makes the continuous refining of QoS a necessity in order to keep QoE optimal; operators must develop a service model that correlates the two, but this cannot be done ad hoc, as KPIs must be compliant with industry QoS standards. Correlated, effective procedures and tools will be needed to continuously monitor and report QoE indicators, which will be compared against benchmarks. If a QoE problem is identified, operators must optimize accordingly. Huawei’s Service Fulfillment & Quality Assurance solution does all of the above comprehensively, keeping operators one step ahead of the game.

Integrated customer service

Operators must provide ubiquitous customer service 24/7, in a flexible manner best suited to the comfort levels of the various customers (in person, over the phone, online).

The service center is the primary customer contact point, making it the most vital target for user experience integration. Huawei’s Contact Center solution enables operational personnel to view and control various services through a single software interface, which saves a lot of the time and trouble expended now switching between different software suites.

While this sounds quite wonderful, it is not the whole story. The more services an operator

launches, the more assistance customers need, which will keep the kiosk/call center staff at any CSR operator busy playing defense rather than advancing the product. Customers also will not appreciate the waiting involved with this situation, and the problem will be compounded if the staff is less than familiar with the issue at hand. A mobile app would seem the ideal way to keep these lines from forming; it would come in the form of a self-help application that would allow customers to manage their own account. Users would be able to subscribe or cancel services, view monthly statements, and pay bills via mobile money. It would also function as a mobile marketing platform, as new services could potentially be demonstrated for users, which is far more effective than merely talking about them. Overall, customers would feel empowered and less bullied, which is surely an optimal scenario.

Effective monitoring, ensured performance

QoS assurance in a complex infrastructure is always a major concern. To track network p e r f o r m a n c e a n d r e s p o n d t o i s s u e s i n a timely fashion, operators need another robust solution that reaches any corner of the network instantaneously. Operators would need a series of probes with dashboard functionality that display various QoE indices and indicate any abnormality, and the corresponding recommendation, for any part of the system. This dashboard would be powered by a comprehensive OSS/BSS monitoring platform at the back end, and it would be crucial to both operational management and customer expectations. Time is a critical factor in fault handling. If operators are informed of any issue in real time, immediate action is possible. Otherwise, customer complaints will function as alarms, and any operator in this position will fade into irrelevance.

Considering the significant outlays operators have made into their infrastructure, they need ROI before you can say “annual report.” BSS/OSS is being called upon to increasingly take on strategic corporate initiatives and make them happen; their implementation will enable new services, revenue streams and pricing structures that could offset the costs of keeping up with network demands and customer needs in the connected world; Huawei offers all the tools to make this happen.

Editor: Joyce Fan [email protected]


APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

31 32

SingleOSS unifies MBB network management

Traditional O&M shortcomings

he tradi t ional network m a n a g e m e n t m o d e l employs the domain-based e l e m e n t m a n a g e m e n t

system (EMS), one or more units of which will be deployed in various locations. When expanding network capacity or introducing an EMS for equipment intended for new domain networks, an operator usually needs to add minicomputers or servers, and redesign the networking architecture, power supply, and cooling systems. Over time, the network management center (NMC) will host a large number of servers, complicating EMS networking and equipment room layout.

Services on an MBB network require close cooperation between the radio network, core network, and bearer network. Any cross-domain parameter discrepancy will lead to network failure. For an MBB network with 10,000 base stations, it may take over 100 man hours to check the cross-domain parameter configurations for the entire network each month, while manual checking will probably miss certain parameters, leading to further service interruptions and user complaints.

Another area where tradit ional O&M fails in the IP era is alarming,

as a fault in one IP route may lead to several hundred alarms. To make matters worse, each alarm on the bearer network may lead to ten or more alarms on the radio network. This sheer number makes the root-cause alarm hard to distinguish, which can raise the workload involved in its resolution ten fold. Half of the troubleshooting time involved is spent on IP fault location, as the traditional domain-based network management model cannot demarcate a fault between the radio and bearer networks.

Northbound interface integration costs for the upper-layer network management system (NMS) are also high. Currently, each t ime a new domain network is introduced, the northbound interface needs to be reconfigured for the upper-layer NMS, resulting in high integration costs. Overall, under the traditional model, MBB network O&M is costly and cumbersome. Operators are in urgent need of a unif ied O&M solut ion for MBB networks that improves O&M eff ic iency and bui lds core competitiveness.

SingleOSS – A singular value

S i n g l e O S S i s Hu a w e i ’s m o s t comprehens i ve a t t empt to mee t

To support service diversification, networks today are becoming increasingly complex in terms of scale and technology, with new equipment having to work alongside legacy hardware. This inevitably leads to longer troubleshooting at different network layers, awkward service provisioning, and a significant increase in general O&M workload. Huawei offers a solution that simplifies both network architecture and its maintenance (SingleOSS) through unified, visualized management and a simplified operational process.

By Dong Qing

T


APR 2012 . ISSUE 6533 34

SingleOSS can manage base stations and transmission equipment in a centralized manner and, with a unified data source, demarcate IP faults quickly through its network topology and testing methods.

this need, as it can be employed for both MBB and FBB networking. For MBB, SingleOSS manages the radio, core, and bearer networks simultaneously, thereby changing the traditional distributed domain-based network management model.

By collecting network management data for the entire MBB network, SingleOSS simplifies cross-domain network management to mere cross-domain data correlation and analysis, thus making the entire network management process easy and efficient. This is particularly attractive for small and medium-sized operators who manage their radio, core, and bearer networks with a single O&M team. However, large operators can also benefit from SingleOSS, as this solution enables IP fault location, cross-domain parameter check, and cross-domain alarm correlation analysis, which reduces the costs and time involved in communication between O&M teams.

Unified deployment

With SingleOSS, during capacity expansion or addition of new network management elements to an MBB network, the operator only needs to modernize the NMS/EMS by adding the corresponding unit while adjusting the networking, power supply, or cooling systems for the NMC.

SingleOSS can also unify the alarm, security, and performance northbound interfaces for

the radio, core, and bearer networks. After said interfaces are configured for the upper-layer NMS, the northbound integration workload decreases when new domain networks are introduced, accelerating network deployment.

Cross-domain maintenance collaboration

• Efficient alarm handling

SingleOSS monitors alarms in a centralized manner and analyzes their correlation on the radio, core, and bearer networks, which effectively distinguishes root-cause alarms from derivative a larms; th i s can reduce the t ime spent on troubleshooting by up to 90%.

• Faster fault location

In the traditional domain-based network management model, network data is scattered throughout various NMS/EMS units while connections between base stations and transmission devices are maintained manually. In addition, IP link performance is opaque while the means for testing IP faults are lacking, making fault demarcation between the radio network and IP links troublesome during daily maintenance, as it involves the intensive collaboration of several maintenance teams; location of a single IP fault can often take more than six hours.

SingleOSS unifies MBB network management

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

33 34

Specifically, when a base station is faulty, maintenance engineers for the radio and bearer networks must first work together to determine the fault cause, based on alarm information and past experience, and then decide which department should dispatch personnel for onsite troubleshooting. In most cases, the fault cannot be pinned down from the network management center, so engineers from both departments must suit up and leave the office. Under such an O&M model, maintenance personnel need both skill and experience, as a lot of gut instinct is needed to avoid overkill during the troubleshooting process.

SingleOSS can manage base stations and transmission equipment in a centralized manner and, with a unified data source, demarcate IP faults quickly through its network topology and testing methods. SingleOSS also monitors KPIs for each link segment along the service path in a timely manner and supports a variety of efficient testing methods. In this way, there is no need for extensive inter-departmental communication; radio network maintenance engineers alone can quickly locate an IP fault.

Through the a fo rement ioned f ea ture s , SingleOSS reduces the time spent on IP fault location period from six hours to 30 minutes, and reduces the period spent locating the exact point of failure by 70-90%. Furthermore, it also enables fault demarcation for equipment from different vendors. Editor: Yao Haifei [email protected]

• Efficient parameter checking

Under the traditional domain-based EMS model, configuration data for the MBB network is distributed across various NMS/EMS units. For the aforementioned MBB network with 10,000 base stations, parameters configured across the radio, core, and bearer networks exceed 150,000, but a few inconsistently configured parameters function as needles which lead to failures that can ruin the entire haystack.

Currently, operators usually check such configuration data manually; that is, they export the configuration parameters for each domain network and check their consistency once a month. This is costly, in terms of manpower and resources, and still unsatisfactory in terms of efficacy, as not all inconsistent parameters can be detected, leading to further service interruptions.

Based on centralized configuration parameter data for different domain networks, SingleOSS can automatically check cross-domain configuration parameters and detect inconsistent parameters in a fast and accurate manner. This would completely eliminate parameter inconsistencies, thereby eliminating the faults caused by them on the live network.

With this function, the cross-domain parameter check period for the aforementioned network can be shortened from over 100 man hours to ten minutes, thereby greatly improving O&M efficiency, reducing O&M costs, and brightening the day of any network engineer or telco accountant.

35 36

Diversified smart terminals and unified communications

are key to a better user experience characterized by speed,

quality, freedom, simplicity, and sharing.

USE

R E

XPE

RIE

NC

E

35 36

Conferencing anywhere41

Huawei multi-mode antennas43

Huawei Device at MWC 201238

UC changes remote collaboration36

UC changes how communication & collaboration are done

By Jiang Mengqi

UC’s appeal for the market

C rep re s en t s a communi c a t i on and co l l abo r a t i on so lu t i on f o r enterprises that combines traditional communications technologies and

emerging computer technologies. It boils down to communication (voice/data exchange) convenience and ubiquity for any device and/or network. UC has come a long way in the last few years, becoming the mainstream communication model for the enterprise sector. According to Forrester Research, the global UC market will reach USD14.5 billion by 2015.

Traditional operator-provided enterprise UC services have taken the form of CT network-based leased bandwidth or connection, typically through a voice network separate from the enterprise’s internal IT network, meaning that this service has been hosted by operators. Revenue from this has primarily stemmed from bandwidth wholesaling, voice services

(such as VPN, Centrex, and traditional UC), and the leasing of connection devices and terminals (such as LAN R/SW, PBX, and mobile phones).

As bandwidth, hardware, and Internet applications have evolved, many SMEs have begun employing OTT apps such as WhatsApp Message as their enterprise UC solutions; this represents a direct threat to any operator’s bottom line. However, challenges and opportunities walk hand-in-hand. With mobile broadband now reaching most corners of civilization, the UC market is set to boom. If operators can fully leverage their own advantages, a nice big piece of the pie is there for the taking. Compared with Internet companies, operators have the edge in operations, network coverage, and sales channels; they also have years of accumulated demographic, network usage, and shopping pattern data on their users that a Johnny-come-lately Internet firm simply cannot match.

However, thus far, operators have been slow to fully utilize their user data. They must migrate their services to the mobile Internet, develop new services based on

Unified Communication (UC) enables people to communicate and collaborate with each other at any time and place, and helps enterprises create innovative and efficient styles of work. Through its leveraging, operators can effectively create new business models and increase revenue.

U

User Experience

APR 2012 . ISSUE 6537 38

UC changes how communication & collaboration are done

existing resources by focusing on software and services, and maximize efficiency and return on IT investment for the enterprise sector. Huawei can help operators fully leverage the aforementioned advantages so that new value-added mobile services come into being, based on the user information already in hand.

Collaboration addresses both cost & efficiency

Huawei offers a unified communication & collaboration (UC&C) solution for the enterprise sector that focuses on the concerns of operators and enterprise users in terms of UC, while improving user experience through continuous updating of key technologies and refinement of business practices.

Mobility increases efficiency

Huawei UC&C helps operators provide services through a new IMS-based ICT network. Enterprises covered by such a network can enjoy instantaneous communication across networks and regions through virtually any terminal. Applications such as intra-network SMS, instant messaging (IM), file transmission, PC remote operation, and smooth video communication can be realized. Tablets, smartphones, PCs, and telepresence systems can all easily be used to join a multimedia conference. The multi-terminal synchronization and “one-number-for-all” (all terminals receive the call simultaneously) features of the enterprise’s address book can ensure that employees can reach, or be reached by, any functioning network terminal (either in-house or consumer brand), which can dramatically increase an enterprise’s operational efficiency.

The essence of business management is an organization’s collaboration process. Huawei UC&C enterprise teams effectively coordinate and allocate internal/external resources, achieve synergy, and increase efficiency, thus enabling timely responses to market changes, while making the enterprise’s work style lean & green.

Facilitating service promotion

As the future of enterprise communication services lies in WhatsApp and other social media, operators need a viable method to promote such services. They need an open platform that can integrate third-party services with the user data that they already have in hand.

Huawei’s intelligent network service already has 280 million VPN users (including 160 million active users)

around the world. If operators can catalog VPN groups by user characteristics, they can effectively develop and push new services according to users’ habits and interests. When using push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) service, a user need only download the short-number group already in use to immediately create a new contact address book, without having to manually add the information, while the PoC service can also be automatically pushed to other group members; this makes for a far quicker promotional model for services than traditional methods would entail.

Efficient & cost-effective servicing

For an enterprise, the most comprehensive service may not be the most suitable. In many cases, quick & easy works just as well. When an enterprise orders a service from an operator, a la carte pricing for its individual features is often preferred. Unlike traditional solutions, which often require an enterprise to buy an entire set of IT and CT infrastructure and services, Huawei’s UC&C solution, although comprehensive, allows enterprises to simply rent UC and collaboration services based on the operator’s cloud-based network. This leasing model reduces enterprise OPEX, as tech guys need not be hired and equipment need not be maintained, leaving businesses free to focus on their core competencies.

Furthermore, while the Huawei UC&C PaaS (platform as a service) provides a standard suite of features, enterprises can also pick & choose the services they need. Using an open interface based on PaaS, other suppliers can even integrate customized products and services into this platform.

Hu a w e i U C & C e m p l oy s o p e n , A l l - I P architecture that features the security, stability, rel iabi l i ty, and creativity of a high-quality communication system, while retaining the processes familiar to enterprise customers and the user-friendly interfaces they are accustomed to. At the same time, this solution brings innovative changes to enterprise ICT processes through industry-leading cloud-based services and management platforms.

Huawei’s enterprise communication and collaboration solution has already been deployed at all of Huawei’s 300+ branches, spanning over 100 countries. There are 60 thousand users using this system at any one time; accounting for up to 300 thousand minutes of calls initiated through PC terminals, two million instant messages, and more than one thousand conferences, totaling more than USD100 million of reduced OPEX per year.


APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

37 38

When horses flyHuawei Device announced its presence to the world in a big way at the Mobile World Congress 2012, not only through a lineup with hardware specs second-to-none but also with the help of a certain winged friend.


By Jason Patterson

User Experience

APR 2012 . ISSUE 6539 40

Winged migrationuawei Technologies may be a global Fortune 500 company with over 140,000 employees around the world, but to the uninitiated consumer,

Huawei enjoys the same level of vague public awareness as Quanta or Roche. Even in Shenzhen, where the firm pays more taxes than any other entity, it is possible to find people who do not really know what the company is or what it does. Huawei Device is looking to change all that.

As the terminal subsidiary of its much larger parent, Huawei Device has labored in relative obscur i ty (Huawe i -branded phones a re a surprisingly rare sight among its own employees) since its founding nine years ago as a second-tier vendor of handsets, dongles, and more recently, tablets. Since 2003, it has enjoyed slow and steady annual growth of 20 to 30 percent, totaling just under USD7 billion (nearly 150 million units) in sales in 2011. While most terminal also-rans would consider that a banner year, this is small potatoes in the scheme of things at Huawei, which took in over USD30 billion last year and is looking to reach USD100 billion within the next few years.

More horsepowerThus far, Huawei Device has competed in the

feature phone and low-end smartphone market (a previous flagship phone was awarded “best prepaid smartphone of the year” by PC Magazine), but in 2012

the vendor is looking to compete where the margins are. According to Chairman Richard Yu, the company expects to triple smartphone shipments to 60 million units in 2012, a bold move but reachable considering that this is coming off a five-fold increase in 2011.

Huawei Device declared its market relevance at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 by presenting the Ascend D quad - the bigger, meaner brother of the Ascend P1 S, a 1.5 GHz dual-core handset with a 4.3-inch AMOLED screen whose launch at CES in January flew largely under the radar, despite its industry-leading form factor (0.67 cm thick; thinnest among smartphones). The Ascend D quad, on the other hand, managed to make some hay at the MWC. It features a 4.5-inch 720p (retinal resolution) screen composed of Corning Gorilla Glass, as is its smaller brother’s; other similarities include Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) right out the box, a chassis less than one centimeter thick (the smallest form factor in its screen class), and 1080p recording through its 8.0-megapixel rear-facing camera.

The D quad, as its name implies, features the K3V2 quad-core processor (1.2/1.5GHz), developed in-house (through HiSilicon), which puts it in rarified but inexpensive air as no licensing fees have to be paid to a brand-name CPU vendor. The K3V2 system-on-chip (SoC) features 64-bit processing, four ARM CortexTM A9 cores, and sixteen graphics processors, all packed into the smallest arrangement in its class; it also features Artificial Intelligence Power Scaling (AIPS), which scales the number of operating cores to the task at hand, translating to a 30 percent reduction in power consumption in the D quad (two to three days of standard operation are promised per charge).

H


APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

39 40

Editor: Gao Xianrui [email protected]

Clocking in at 1.5GHz, Huawei claims the D quad to be the world’s fastest smartphone, a bold statement considering the pedigree of some of the other quad-core offerings that surfaced at MWC as well as the “smoked by Windows Phone” campaign that Microsoft has been running in the aftermath of their exploits at CES. However, reviewers at Tom’s Hardware, a major tech news hub, seemed quite pleased with the D quad, calling the K3V2 processor that powers the device “an impressive piece of work.” They also spoke favorably of the handset’s low operating temperature under heavy load as well as its game display, stating that it featured graphics improvements on par with a certain rival high-profile quad-core.

Unlike a lot of convention hall oddities with dazzling specs meant to awe jet-lagged visitors, the D quad will actually see the showroom floor in the second quarter in multiple flavors (varying by clock-speed and battery capacity), where it will be joined by the Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD, which is claimed by Huawei Device to be the world’s fastest 10-inch quad-core tablet computer. It represents the fourth iteration of the MediaPad line, and is powered by the same K3V2 processor that powers the Ascend D quad. It also features the same basic trimmings (Ice Cream Sandwich installed, 8.0-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera) and a 1920 x 1200 (more pixels than your television offers) in-plane switching (IPS) display. All-in-all, its specs either trounce or compete with those for that other tablet, which arrived to collective yawns from the media establishment thanks to some curious omissions, a non-retinal “retina” display, and a complete absence of anything we haven’t seen before. Overall, the 10 FHD

has the specs to compete for the “best tablet for the money” title when it hits the market.

For those of you starting to groan because the word “LTE” has not been mentioned yet, don’t worry, the MediaPad 10 FHD does indeed support it, along with Wi-Fi and HSPA+ (up to 84Mbps), as does the Ascend D lte smartphone, which packs the same 4.5-inch retinal screen as the D quad and features a whopping 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, the largest currently available in the Android ecosystem. It also has optional NFC support (a major topic of conversation at MWC) and a robust 2000mAh battery to help stretch out the notorious battery life thus far inherent to LTE, while the 1.5GHz dual-core processor it sports is as powerful as that for any LTE phone on the market (power consumption and other technical issues have thus far kept LTE compatibility and quad-core processing mutually exclusive in the smartphone form factor).

Less is more, except when it isn’t

Some other modest but no less groundbreaking offerings from Huawei Device arrived largely under the radar at MWC 2012. One was the E369 5-band global roaming module, which is claimed to be the world’s smallest USB data card. For those of you stifling a yawn, think back to one of those times where you attempted to plug a USB cord into the side of your notebook only to have access hindered or blocked by the dongle or data stick occupying the adjacent port; this is where the usefulness of this achievement makes itself known. At the heart of each E369 is the MU739, which is claimed to be the thinnest PC/CE module in the world (under 2 mm). Despite the aforementioned logistical convenience of the E369 form factor, these slim profiles also promise improved heat dissipation and a longer battery life for the host device.

Regardless of how fast or slim their devices were, Huawei Device had something going for it at MWC that no other vendor did – a 17-foot tall winged horse made out of meshed iron and smartphones. Huawei’s Pegasus statue stole the show in terms of photo ops with its 5-meter wingspan and 3500 screens. It has demonstrated a level of global marketing commitment and panache unheard of in China. It put the usual lineup of oddball prototypes and booth babes to shame, in terms of sheer audacity if nothing else. Whether you think the Pegasus is the marketing coup to beat this year or just a gaudy eyesore, Huawei Device is certainly a name to watch from now on.

User Experience

APR 2012 . ISSUE 6541 42

Huawei Convergent Conference Solution

Conferencing anywhereVideo conferencing is becoming ever more diverse in terms of the persons involved, their locations, and the types of terminals they might use. The room-to-room conferencing model loses its relevance when attendees are connecting from different terminals using different access technologies. Business users indeed require a conferencing solution that is compatible with any real-world scenario.

onferencing is an indispensable tool to any large enterprise, but the majority of conferencing media systems (voice, data, video and telepresence) in use today

work as isolated stovepipes. Indeed, most conference systems cannot connect with other networks nor are they compatible with different conferencing systems. Another major issue is terminal compatibility. When attendees are located in multiple places, some of them will undoubtedly be attending via a tablet or a cell phone. If a presenter has a document for the attendees to view, these users may end up excluded. Another limitation is the fact that the bandwidth necessary to obtain a true face-to-face experience has

thus far been onerous.Hu a w e i i s i n t r o d u c i n g a c o n v e r g e n t

conferencing solution which offers high-definition audio and video at less bandwidth than competing solutions offer. This solution covers voice, data collaboration, video (SD, HD, and telepresence), enabling users to connect and contribute through any access scenario.

Ubiquitous experience

Huawei’s convergent conference system not only connects any narrowband or broadband network,

CBy Shi Ningning

Huawei Convergent Conference Solution

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

41 42

but it also interacts with legacy conferencing systems from most vendors, including those with proprietary interfaces. Video conferencing need no longer be limited to dedicated terminals, as any terminal that supports streaming video can join in. Fixed and mobile phones can participate through voice from virtually any site with PSTN/2G infrastructure, while smartphones, tablets, and personal computers (PCs) can join in via fixed or mobile broadband access. In other words, a conference can reach anyone who wants to be reached.

High definition with simplicity

Huawei convergent conference provides full HD video (1080p) and audio, reaching the equivalent of CD-quality sound. Documents and presentations can also be shared remotely in HD via online collaboration tools such as co-writing, IM, and voting.

This solution also provides a unified user portal and user interface (UI) for greater simplicity. When booking a conference, the organizer can use a template to import a list of regular attendees, which can include names, phone numbers, and email addresses, and also invite new attendees via the enterprise’s address book.

After a conference is successfully booked, participants will be notified by SMS or email and prompted by the conference controller when the conference starts. The solution can also integrate with third-party office applications, so that users can directly initiate or join a conference using their existing collaboration interfaces and/or address books.

Carrier-class conferencing service

With Huawei convergent conference, up to 12,000 users can confer simultaneously; to ensure service reliability, geographic redundancy i s supported. However, users with l imited bandwidth need not feel left out, as the H.264 High Profile (HP) codec, which enables bandwidth compression of up to 50% without compromising the experience, is employed. Specific correction algorithms are also in place, enabling the loss of 15% of packets without perceived degradation to

either video or sound.In addition, Huawei convergent conference

provides a portal for system administrators and enterprise administrators to conveniently manage conference resources in real time, which aides troubleshooting and improves user satisfaction.

Business model flexibility

Conference monetization is a primary concern for operators. Huawei’s convergent conferencing solution enables a variety of charging models, including both conference and port leasing, as well as conferencing resource wholesale/resale.

With conference and port leasing, an operator provides a hosted enterprise conferencing service for a monthly fee or a duration charge. Enterprises do not need to invest in their own conferencing server. One special conference leasing model is public-room leasing, where an operator teams up with a major hotel chain; the operator can establish video conference rooms inside the hotel premises and charge for the room occupancy by duration.

Operators can also wholesale their conference resources to other operators or service providers. In this scenario, the operator itself does not operate the service, but instead charges a wholesale fee for the resources used. The conferencing resources can be bundled with bandwidth and maintenance services to increase the overall revenue.

As a supplement, the resale model represents the operator reselling the conferencing equipment to an enterprise in a one-stop manner while prov id ing a se r v ice package that inc ludes network planning, installation, and testing. The enterprise no longer pays the operator for using the conferencing service subsequently, except for a maintenance fee.

As of the end of 2011, Huawei had deployed over 60 of its convergent conference solutions globally, serving some of the leading operators in Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. One of the latter’s largest operators deployed Huawei convergent conference in 2010, covering 16 countries. This particular system features a total capacity of more than 2000 voice users and up to 31 telepresence suites. This particular system has already been utilized in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Honduras, Peru, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.


User Experience

APR 2012 . ISSUE 6543 44

Enhanced antennas for mobile broadband

mart terminals, which crave bandwidth and speed, are pushing mobile broadband into the norm. They are also changing user habits. Feature phones largely stay

in a pocket or purse unless called upon, but smartphone owners rarely let their phone stray out of site, as these devices now perform most of the key functions of a PC; this renders them mobile entertainment centers and personal links to cyberspace, which users are increasingly favoring over the real world. With roughly a billion smartphone addicts already out there and six billion more waiting in the wings, the importance of the antenna has never been greater, for both the terminal vendor and the operator.

Where we are

Smartphones, thanks to their always-on and application-related features, send and receive several times as many signals as feature phones; any connection failure will elicit outrage. The iPhone 4’s antenna issues were well documented, but Apple enjoys a favorable market perception and level of customer loyalty that no operator can achieve. Dropped calls mean lost business. If Siri cannot come up with an answer as to the meaning of life, the user is more likely to blame the faceless carrier rather than the design gods at Apple.

Consumers of ten hold operators in the same contempt that they have for utilities, but unfortunately operators can be changed while utilities typically cannot. Therefore, operators have

to be even more reliable than the power or gas company, which means five-nines reliability; no small task in the tech industry.

Legacy inadequacies

In the 2G era, antenna design was fairly simple, as a mere handful of electrical performance indices had to be considered, but the modern ecosystem is far more complex, as multiple frequency bands/standards and self-interference/mutual interference must now be accounted for.

If only an antenna’s gains or front-to-rear ratio is considered (excluding lobe form), the antenna will have robust received signal code power (RSCP) performance. This is fine for a single cell, but it will involve a great deal of interference in a broad network with a lower Ec/Io value. Thus, the signal may be strong, but the download speed will be slow.

Performance-based antenna design

Huawei designs its antennas to meet the needs of both your network and the world around it; this means that considerations go far beyond the mere electrical performance of a single unit. During the design process, Huawei will simulate network conditions and adjust its antennas accordingly so that the performance of the entire network is optimized.

This process begins with the statistical modeling of each cell in a mobile broadband network and the derivation of applicable antenna waveforms, which in turn helps generate standard parameters and 3D waveforms for antenna design. Field measurements are then taken to ensure data accuracy. Huawei

ANTENNASBy Li Xuanbo

Antennas have been integral to wireless transmission since the 19th century, which is why Huawei constantly researches them, with a focus on enhancing the end-user experience. With its solutions in hand, carriers can build multi-mode, multi-frequency, and multi-antenna networks with ease.

S

Antennas: One footprint, multiple modes

One footprint multiple modes

APR 2012 . ISSUE 65

Huawei Communicate

43 44

has introduced the world’s most advanced antenna measurement system, the SG128, which can deliver antenna measurements and assess radiation patterns in three dimensions, at an unparalleled level of accuracy. This allows Huawei to adjust its antenna designs, based on its readings, with confidence. If needed, repeated adjustments will be performed to ensure the ideal balance of cost, technology in use, and antenna performance.

In the real world, no two networks are the same. Huawei takes account of this during the design process. Huawei has constructed a number of mobile broadband models that cover different frequency bands, standards, and scenarios, any of which is suitable for simulation. Once the optimal radiation pattern is determined, antennas will be adjusted accordingly.

Test comparison

Figure 1 compares a traditional antenna design model against one that takes into account the real-world interactions of other cells and antennas. The charts on the left and right represent horizontal and vertical (respectively) displays; both contain green areas that indicate a strong signal while the clear areas indicate neighbor interference; a steeper decline is ideal to ensure that weaker signals are not drowned out. As you can see, the antenna that accounts for network interactions does indeed have a steeper decline/less degradation than the one that does not.

This translates into superior signal quality and

improved data throughput, as shown in Figure 2, where Ec/Io is a measure of signal strength and CDF represents the probability of signal attaining the strength indicated by the X-axis, with higher being better. As indicated in the right figure, the Huawei antenna bests the standard network antenna by 5 to 10% across nearly the entire range of throughput.

A ‘single’ strategy for antennas Barriers to site reuse

Let’s assume that a certain carrier originally operated a 900MHz GSM network and later expanded to 1800MHz to meet its growing user base. Later, this operator introduced 2.1GHz UMTS and 2.6GHz LTE for mobile broadband operation. In most cases, these latter sites would be added amidst an atmosphere of increased competition and greater resistance on the part of residents. Reuse of legacy sites would seem the way to go, but said sites, despite having drastically greater capacity requirements, cannot have drastically greater space and electrical requirements.

Building new antenna feeders is also quite challenging, as it usually involves the installation of radio towers, support poles, RF feeders, and the antenna itself. To reduce costs, many operators increase the mounting space or install new poles, leading to a co-site or co-tower arrangement rather than a strict replacement, but this is not suitable for all scenarios. Many sites cannot accommodate

Interference InterferenceSignal

-120 -60 0

-25

5

-20

10

-15

15

-10

20

25

-5

60 120 180-180

Network AntennaOther

>95% coverage

0 10 20 30 40 50

-20

10

-10

20

Fig. 1 Comparison of radiation patterns


45 46

User Experience

APR 2012 . ISSUE 6545 46

co-site installation of multi-system antenna feeders, while adding mounting space on a tower might not be appropriate as there exists a lack of universal standards; the location of the mounting space may also fail to deliver satisfactory coverage. Other factors such as the cable ladder and lightning protection also make co-site installation of new RF feeders more challenging. In light of this, antenna feeder sharing would seem an optimal solution.

Antenna feeder sharing is a known quantity and is well proven commercially, but signals cannot be simply combined and transmitted, as issues such as frequency band interference and independent control of electrical downtilt must be resolved. Radio transmission models are also quite different for various frequency bands (higher frequencies have greater signal loss); operators will need to adjust for them accordingly during network planning and optimization.

Smooth multi-frequency applications

With its 15 years of experience in base stations and antennas, Huawei has launched its ‘single’ strategy for antennas, including dual-band, tri-band & multi-band combiners. Huawei’s product series supports 4-6 or even 8-10 ports, with external filters that ensure target frequency reception, while antenna feeder sharing is done to meet the needs of close quarters. Huawei’s single antenna solutions have been applied widely in countries such as Brazil and India, where antenna feeder sharing standards are already specified.

To reduce interference for multi-band antennas and achieve independent control of electrical downtilt for network bands such as CDMA850 and GSM900, a typical solution would use an external combiner to combine systems of different bands, then integrate two RF signal routes into an oscillator covering 790-960MHz. This limits independent network optimization, as independent downt i l t ad jus tment cannot be ach ieved ; optimizing of one network would affect the other. Independent downtilt adjustment requires two oscillators, which means integrating two antennas; this increases the rent involved as the antenna footprint is doubled. This added complexity also makes the site less sturdy and more difficult to maintain.

Huawei’s single antenna solution employs oscillator multiplexing, where a 790-960MHz oscillator delivers two channels at 790-862MHz and 880-960MHz. Realizing independent downtilt adjustment, these devices have minimal size and resolve the capacity expansion issues that a multi-band network with different standards entails. They also allow the antenna to maintain the same general footprint as the original. The casual observer may not even realize that anything has been changed.

With its continuous research into antenna and RF technologies, Huawei is always ready to help operators build high-performance mobile broadband networks with reduced CAPEX and OPEX.


Antennas: One footprint, multiple modes

0

-14 -12 -10

20

60

-13 -11 -9 -8 -7

40

80

100

(CDF, %)

(Ec/lo, dB)

0

0 2 4

20

60

1 3 5 6 7 8

40

80

100

(CDF, %)

(HSDPA Throughput, Mbps)

Fig. 2 Comparison of antenna performance



JAN 2012 . ISSUE 64

Huawei Communicate

45 4645 46

Cutting Edge

JAN 2012 . ISSUE 6447 PB47

Communicate Magazine Huawei Apr 12

Documents

huawei communicateapr

copyright huawei technologies

huawei industrial base

traditional business

antiquated operators

information purpose

better user experience

zhang qinfa