Unleash site potential to deploy superior MBB networks

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Demand for mobile data is rapidly growing in emerging markets, which have large populations. However, network deployment costs in these markets remain high due to expensive and limited spectrum and site resources. In urban areas, this is due to the difficulties involved with traditional site deployment and acquisition, scarce spectrum resources and high site costs. These limitations commonly cause network congestion, traffic suppression and a poor user experience. In remote and rural areas, coverage requirements cannot be fulfilled due to arduous site deployments caused by a lack of basic network infrastructure, low single-site revenue, and a long ROI period. At this critical juncture of digital transformation, the capability of deploying low-cost highly efficient wireless networks using limited resources has manifested as the core competitive differentiator for operators.

As Mobile World Congress 2017 is imminent, let us explore what innovative solutions Huawei will release to combat spectrum and site challenges seeking network efficiency maximization.

Multi-layer network solution: Comprehensive coverage in urban areas
The experience of cell edge users (CEUs) is poor in urban areas with insufficient intensive coverage due to the challenges involved in adding traditional macro sites. Huawei's latest multi-layer network solution facilitates batch site acquisition and innovate site from to achieve multi-layer network coverage in urban areas.

First layer: wide, continuous, and shallow coverage provided by traditional macro sites fulfills basic coverage and capacity requirements
Second layer: quick, comprehensive, and intensive coverage provided by pole-mounted sites offloads hotspot traffic
Third layer: intensive indoor coverage provided by outdoor micro sites offloads some hotspot traffic
Fourth layer: high-value intensive indoor coverage provided by indoor sites offloads outdoor site traffic

This outside-in top-down multi-layer network fully enhances coverage and further absorbs traffic to effectively resolve coverage and capacity issues in urban areas while providing a ubiquitous and superior user experience.

Multi-sector multi-channel technology: Liberation of suppressed traffic
This multi-sector multi-channel solution enhances network capabilities without the need to add sites in densely populated urban areas. This solution utilizes the flexible split antenna technology to deploy 6-, 9-, and 18-sector xTxR UMTS networks. The solution also supports a smooth GSM/UMTS/LTE evolution and can be used to deploy 6-sector 4T4R networks in large-capacity scenarios, producing a 2.2-fold capacity gain combined with a superior network experience.

GU@5 MHz solution: Maximizing spectral efficiency
Statistics show that 15% of operators around the globe only access 5 MHz to 6 MHz of the 900-MHz band. The number of GSM users remains high in markets where MBB is developing. Operators struggle in reallocating spectrum of legacy radio access technologies for MBB deployment and cannot provide basic UMTS coverage. The GU@5 MHz solution adopts innovative interference suppression technology and helps to simultaneously deploy GSM and UMTS networks on 5 MHz without spectrum migration, facilitating rapid UMTS deployment and providing ubiquitous basic MBB coverage. The GU@5 MHz technology has been successfully verified in India and Nigeria, and will be continually developed in the future to maximize spectral efficiency for operators.

Innovative site form solution: Maximizing ROI
Huawei develops a wide range of scenario-specific innovative site form solutions to help operators tackle horizontal site addition bottlenecks, acquire site locations in batches, rapidly deploy networks, lower OPEX and maximize ROI. These solutions are classified into the following five categories:

Lamp pole-mounted sites
These sites are deployed on existing lamp poles which are centrally negotiated oppose to one-by-one negotiation, significantly lowering site acquisition costs and achieving low-cost rapid deployment.
Integrated pole-mounted sites
These sites are integrated into poles and are environment friendly, facilitating deployment in sensitive regions, lowering the site area by more than 90% and saving OPEX.
Intelligent sites
These sites invigorate site economy and achieve sharing and value addition of social resources, facilitating site acquisition, lowering total costs of ownership and increasing site acquisition rate.
Aggregation sites
Aggregation cabinets (4500 W) support power modules with an efficiency rating of up to 98%, HVDC remote power supply, a maximum distance between an aggregation site and an end site of 3 km, and centralized power backup using 100 Ah batteries.
FMC
FMC provides optical fiber resources for base stations, resolves power supply and heat dissipation issues, and also offers the extra functionality of cabinet aggregation.

Site alliances: Facilitating quick batch site acquisition
Operators are confronting challenges presented by difficult site acquisition, various regulations and high costs. Site alliances allow operators to fully leverage existing social resources including governmental resources and tower companies, while encouraging collaboration among all sectors of society. This will subsequently facilitate the establishment of site ecosystems and interest sharing and achieve quick batch site acquisition. Huawei has partnered with operators and tower companies in Indonesia to establish a site industry alliance. The alliance helped to acquire 31,000 site locations at supermarkets during a single negotiation, lowering the single-site rental cost by a factor of 60% and providing mutual benefits.

New rural network solution: Rapid ROI
Operators encounter issues surrounding high site deployment costs, low single-site income and long ROI periods in scarcely inhabited rural areas. Huawei's new rural network solution, Rural Star, has multiple advantages over the existing solution. This involves replacing several technologies and hardware components such as the satellite and microwave technology with relay technology, traditional towers with simple poles, and traditional diesel generators (DGs) with solar panels. These advantages help to reduce rental fees, DG, maintenance, and transportation costs while reducing an operator's ROI period to less than five years.

In 2017, Huawei will continue to provide technological innovations with a strict focus on customers. The primary aims of this endeavor are to create value for customers, help customers perform digital transformation in the MBB era and help customers achieve business success while continually improving network efficiency. Huawei is ready to impress customers with powerful and innovative solutions at the upcoming MWC 2017.

Unleash site potential to deploy superior MBB networks

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