Digg
0 comments
Print
SmarTone to deploy HSPA+ in Macau
John C. Tanner |
November 23, 2009
telecomasia.net
Thumbnail:
SmarTone-Vodafone said it will kick off its 3G service in Macau next year with an all-new fully-IP HSPA+ network – with Nokia Siemens as the sole supplier.
The new turnkey network – which is intended to replace SmarTone’s existing GSM network in Macau – will comprise just over 200 base stations with peak data throughput speeds of 21 Mbps, and upgradeable to 42 Mbps and, over time, LTE, said Mike Wang, NSN head for Taiwan and Hong Kong.
NSN will supply everything from the RAN gear and the backhaul equipment (including Carrier-Ethernet enabled microwave) to the hybrid circuit/packet core.
Neither SmarTone nor NSN gave financial details, but SmarTone CEO Douglas Li said in September when the cellco won Macau’s fourth 3G license that it would invest approximately $23 million in the 3G network.
The partnership marks SmarTone’s first infrastructure deal with NSN, having primarily worked with Ericsson for its Hong Kong network.
SmarTone CTO Stephen Chau told telecomasia.net that the cellco had elected to go with NSN more for its OAM capabilities than its hardware.
“To be honest, when it comes to infrastructure capabilities, between the top-tier vendors, there’s not really all that much difference,” Chau said. “What really matters to us is providing the customer with a reliable and consistent experience, so the OAM part is much more important to us now.”
SmarTone intends to have the entire network completed and running by the second half of 2010, after which the current 2G network will be retired.
Chau said SmarTone’s 3G/4G strategy in Macau will differ from its Hong Kong strategy, which eschewed the city’s LTE spectrum auctions in favor of refarming its 1800 MHz spectrum for LTE in the future, due to regulatory constraints from the DSRT.
“In Macau, we don’t have the same flexibility because our licenses say we can only do 3G on 2100 MHz and 2G on 900 and 1800 MHz,” Chau said.
Chau added that SmarTone will rely heavily on Carrier Ethernet microwave for its base station backhaul because “the incumbent [CTM] is the only supplier of fiber, which is not a good thing for us.”
China Telecom (Macau), Hutchison and incumbent CTM were all granted eight-year 3G licenses in June 2007. As of September this year, they’ve signed on close to 498,000 users – close to half of Macau’s mobile subscriber base.
Chau said SmarTone’s edge in Macau would be offering not only a faster bit pipe but also a smarter one.
“You can’t be a dumb pipe in this business, but you can be a smart pipe by enabling your back-end to know who’s on the network and give them the right tiered connectivity that suits their needs,” said Chau.
“It’s far more attractive to the customer to let them know exactly what speeds they’re getting and how they can get more, instead of promising one thing and giving them another, or limiting how much they can download.”
Source:
