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Why SingleRAN is becoming ubiquitous
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Huawei's SingleRAN is revolutionizing the global mobile communications industry to
the benefit of operators and end users worldwide.
Operators today face an inevitable overlap. Anticipating and responding to the
burgeoning demand for mobile broadband (MBB), LTE is emerging faster than
expected, while GSM and UMTS continue to meet the needs of the vast majority of the
world's mobile subscribers. To support three coexisting modes, GSM, UMTS, and LTE,
traditional models call for three sets of equipment and three networks, placing major
pressure on operators from deployment to operation and maintenance (O&M). Issues
such as repeated equipment investment, continuous site upgrades, and the inevitable
complexity of O&M only add to the overlap headache. The cause and the cure are both
found by addressing the true requirements of MBB.
MBB is all about smart thinking: decreasing network update investments while
increasing the intelligence of the same to improve end-user experience. Using an
integrated network to realize the features of MBB, such as HSPA+/LTE, will help
operators effectively and flexibly tackle the aforementioned challenge. But then, as the
new industry gradually matures, the inevitability of escalating market competition
compels a return to a recurring fundamental question: How can we more efficiently
utilize assets? Huawei worked with leading operators to conduct an in-depth analysis of
what really mattered most, and found the most important to be site, spectrum, pipeline,
user and staff assets. Fortunately for carriers around the world, protecting and
maximizing the value of these and other assets is achievable. Huawei's SingleRAN
solution comprehensively assists operators in achieving maximum asset utilization by
transforming various technical modes into the advantages of just one radio access
network. SingleRAN also allows operators to distance themselves from the technology
and equipment layers and consider network development strategies in terms of true
end-to-end O&M efficiency.
SingleRAN turns GSM, UMTS, and LTE into features
Huawei introduced the SingleRAN solution in 2008 to adapt to rapidly evolving
telecommunication networks. At the core of SingleRAN is convergence, allowing
operators to easily accept and assimilate continuing technological innovations.
Huawei's SingleRAN provides an integrated BTS, BSC, O&M management and site
solution, supporting the convergence and evolution of different technologies. From an
operator's perspective, SingleRAN substantially lowers OPEX and decreases risks
conventionally associated with new technology selection and network evolution;
helping to simplify strategy decisions and cost duplication related to the selection of
varied technical modes through the deployment of multiple RANs. With these
objectives in mind, SingleRAN is becoming the simple, single decision of choice for
leading operators around the world.
Over the past few years, Huawei has continuously worked to promote network
convergence, ensuring the SingleRAN solution provides end-to-end support for
integrated network deployment and O&M. As a result of this ongoing dedication,
Huawei's SingleRAN solution also includes a series of new products such as integrated
multi-mode BSC, SDR-based RRU with dual-transmitter capability and SingleOSS,
significantly strengthening and enhancing the convergence of multi-mode mobile
networks. Huawei's SingleOSS products provide co-management for multi-mode
mobile networks and greatly increase O&M efficiency.
In today's fast changing and highly competitive environment, operators must be able to
respond quickly and in a cost-effective manner. From network deployment, to choosing
between various modes changes and between different features of the same network,
SingleRAN offers precisely the flexibility that is needed. Operators can choose
different features according to the stages of market development. At the equipment
level, SingleRAN realizes one network supporting multi-mode deployment.
SingleRAN also enables comprehensive integration of GSM, UMTS, and LTE features.
All features can be deployed within the same network and resources including
spectrum, PA, and O&M can be dynamically shared for greater effect and greater
efficiency. With SingleRAN, only one integrated management system is required for
all deployments, regardless of whether GSM, UMTS, or LTE.
In place of three, just one team is now required for seamless O&M of a multi-mode
network. Thus, SingleRAN is both simple and smart.
SingleRAN maximizes the efficiency of key related assets
Site assets: Broader, closer, and greener
As emphasis on private property rights and environmental protection continues to
increase, the implications of appropriate site acquisition become more challenging.
When considering multi-network deployment, the cost of leasing sites across numerous
countries and regions is prohibitive and far exceeds that of purchasing equipment.
Looking to maintain existing customer loyalty cost-effectively while profitably
expanding business bases and attracting new users, operators clearly need to enhance
and expand network coverage, but only if the construction of new sites can be kept to an
absolute minimum. To this, has to be added the need for minimal disruption of any
existing site without which lease terms can be broken, and legacy sites lost.
In response, Huawei's SingleRAN solution addresses three critical site development
criteria: broader, closer, and greener.
In a world where rapidly increasing data rates represent a tremendous challenge for
mobile networks, broader efficiencies are mandatory. With Huawei's SingleRAN
solution, mobile networks minimize the need to add new sites or disturb existing leased
space. With a much smaller footprint than any traditional BTS, just one SingleRAN site
or cabinet supports five frequency bands and three modes, providing high capacity and
high power with much more efficient resource management. This assists wireless
operators worldwide in achieving ultimately efficient single-network deployment of
GSM, UMTS, and LTE as well as single-network O&M. Through SingleRAN's
"broader" features, operators are able to more easily meet the challenge of rapidly
increasing data rates.
"Closer" refers to using Huawei's femtocell pico technologies to supplement any
mobile network, bringing deployment and applications closer to users. As data rates
exponentially increase, femtocell pico also help reduce the pressure on the network by
sharing the ever expanding load.
"Greener" means lowering the power consumption of sites from year to year through
technical solutions. Huawei technologies, such as IP microwave backhaul, can also
substantially reduce the cost of site construction.
Spectrum assets: Increasing efficiency
With the majority of spectrum already allocated, an operator's existing spectrum
resources largely dictate its competitive strength. And with a scarcity of available
spectrum, operators wishing to purchase additional spectrum resources must spend
exorbitant sums of money. The ideal solution is for operators to leverage extant
spectrum resources to deploy different modes of mobile networks or reuse legacy
spectrum resources as new generations of networks evolve. Only in this fashion will
operator spectrum resources become a continuous source of profit while also gaining in
value.
With this well-documented need to protect and enhance spectrum assets in mind,
Huawei's SingleRAN solution improves spectrum efficiency through two key
techniques.
Multiplication: Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology achieves
improved spectrum efficiency. The majority of Huawei BTS products are currently
being optimized to support MIMO, with single modules supporting two transmitters.
Coordination: Huawei's SingleRAN supports and coordinates deployment of
GSM/UMTS, UMTS/LTE, GSM/LTE, and GSM/UMTS/LTE over shared frequency
bands. Huawei's multi-frequency, multi-mode Software Defined Radio (MFMMSDR)
can also be used to increase spectrum efficiency. In the near future, Huawei's
MFMMSDR will also support combinations spanning across technologies and
frequency bands.
User assets: Providing five billion users with the perfect experience
Users are clearly an operator's most precious asset. As mobile networks continuously
evolve, loss of users during a network upgrade process is the greatest risk facing
operators. Ensuring smooth network evolution and maintaining a level of service that
satisfies users becomes a topic of utmost concern.
Despite rapid development of data services, voice remains at the core of mobile service.
Consequently, SingleRAN continues to focus on and improve the experience of the five
billion voice service users worldwide, working to ensure crystal-clear sound quality.
Working with our operator partners, Huawei is carefully leading users into an age of
rich mobile broadband communication while ensuring the combined development of
data, voice, and GSM/UMTS services. As LTE becomes a more widespread reality,
high-quality, seamless connections will become the norm, providing an always-on and
always-connected experience.
As a true end-to-end solution, Huawei's SingleRAN is all about end-user experience.
The management systems help operators quickly respond to user complaints, precisely
locate and resolve issues, and continuously improve user satisfaction.
Staff assets: Increasing productivity without added cost
Skilled engineers, network management and maintenance employees are a major asset
for all carriers but, when added human resources are required for improvement of
network performance and capacity, these same assets also create added pressure in the
form of increased payroll, benefit and liability costs. In this fashion, a final primary
concern of operators relates to avoidance of any large-scale growth in personnel while
enhancing existing networks and expanding for future growth.
Huawei's SingleRAN solution assists operators in achieving integrated management of
equipment and sites, of various modes of technology, and of the entire end-to-end
network without challenges to human resource overheads. This same integrated
management system allows integrated O&M of GSM, UMTS, and LTE networks,
which lowers OPEX while increasing the efficiency of CAPEX. The same integrated
O&M also includes a valuable transition of focus from equipment alone to O&M
responding to and enhancing the experience of users.
Huawei also stands at the forefront of self-organizing network (SON) technology.
Early in the second quarter of 2009, Huawei announced a SON commercial solution,
forming an important component of Huawei's leading LTE solution package. SON is a
crucial aspect of LTE network technology, allowing LTE networks to achieve
self-configuration, self-optimization, and self-recovery. When the network topology
changes, Huawei's SON technology ensures network connectivity and maintains
optimal network performance. In addition, it reduces the complexity of O&M
operations, lowers skill requirements for O&M staff, and lowers the costs stemming of
network planning, optimization, and deployment.
Looking ahead, the accelerating application from Huawei's SingleRAN solution will
contribute to a world where integrated mobile networks will become ubiquitous and
SingleRAN will also be essentially responsible for helping operators realize future
network experiences such as HSPA+/LTE. Supporting our prediction and the viability
of Huawei's SingleRAN, as of Q4 2010, Huawei had deployed more than 80
SingleRAN networks for leading carriers including Telefónica O2 Germany, Telenor,
Net4Mobility and TeliaSonera.
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