20 a universal architecture for small 31 and beyond cmhk ... · 1 zte technologies jun 2013 jun...

20 A Universal Architecture for Small Cell Backhaul Radio 35 ZTE: Leading R&D on 100G

and Beyond31 CMHK Partners with ZTE for LTE Microwave Backhaul Deployment

Movicel:We Are Delivering Superior Value

to Our CustomersAn interview with Movicel CEO Yon Junior

Telefonica UK: Moving Beyond Traditional Services

An interview with Peter Bailey, messaging and voice business manager, and Leon Veiro, LBS messaging architect of Telefonica UK

Using Cloud Radio to Deliver Promises in the 4G Era

Special Topic: Microwave Backhaul

Tech Forum

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VOL. 15 ● NO. 3 ● ISSUE 146JUN 2013

A Flexible Unified Architecture for Point-to-Point Digital

Microwave Radios

1 ZTE TECHNOLOGIES JUN 2013 JUN 2013 ZTE TECHNOLOGIES 2

CONTENTSZTE TECHNOLOGIES

Editorial BoardChairman: Pang Shengqing Vice Chairmen: Chen Jane, Zhao Xianming, Zhu JinyunMembers: Chen Jian, Feng Haizhou, Heng Yunjun, Huang Liqing, Huang Xinming, Jiang Hua, Li Aijun, Li Guangyong, Lin Rong, Li Weipu, Lu Ping, Lu Wei, Lv Abin, Sun Zhenge, Wang Shouchen, Wang Xiaoming, Wang Xiyu, Xin Shengli, Xu Ming, Ye Ce, Yu Yifang, Zhang Shizhuang

Sponsor: ZTE CorporationEdited By Shenzhen Editorial Office, Strategy Planning DepartmentEditor-in-Chief: Jiang HuaExecutive Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Huang XinmingEditorial Director: Liu YangExecutive Editor: Yue LihuaEditors: Jin Ping, Paul SleswickCirculation Manager: Wang Pingping

Editorial OfficeAddress: NO. 55, Hi-tech Road South, Shenzhen, P.R.ChinaPostcode: 518075Tel: +86-755-26775211Fax: +86-755-26775217Website: wwwen.zte.com.cn/en/about/publicationsEmail: [email protected]

A technical magazine that keeps up with the latest industry trends, communicates leading technologies and solutions, and shares stories of our customer success

Movicel is a leading mobile operator in Angola. Its networks cover 18 provinces all over the Angola. Today, one third of population is using Movicel’s voice or data services. ZTE Technologies recently interviewed Movicel CEO Yon Junior. He talked about the cooperation with ZTE, the challenges of operating in Angola, and Movicel’s strategy.

Telefonica UK: Moving Beyond

Traditional Services

Peter Bailey, messaging and voice business manager, and Leon Veiro, LBS messaging architect of Telefonica UK talked about Telefonica UK’s market strategy and challenges in upgrading their network. They also shared their experience in LBS deployment and their views on the cooperation between Telefonica UK and ZTE.

Movicel:We Are Delivering

Superior Value to Our Customers

28 Converged CS/IMS and IMS Hosting Solution Helps TAG Smoothly Implement VoLTE

By Zhao Wenxian and Tu Jiashun

31 CMHK Partners with ZTE for LTE Microwave Backhaul Deployment

By Li Lina

33 Zain: Winning the Future by Refarming Spectrum

By Li Lanqing

37 Legacy Service Inheritance in VoLTEBy Jiang Yonghu and Lu Wei

35 ZTE: Leading R&D on 100G and Beyond

Source: Light Reading TV

13 Using Cloud Radio to Deliver Promises in the 4G EraBy Zhu Xiaodong

07 Movicel: We Are Delivering Superior Value to Our CustomersReporter: Yang Chunyu

10 Telefonica UK: Moving Beyond Traditional Services Reporter: Teli Mendhir


16 A Flexible Unified Architecture for Point-to-Point Digital Microwave Radios

By Thanh Nguyen, Ying Shen and Andrey Kochetkov

20 A Universal Architecture for Small Cell Backhaul Radio By Ying Shen and Ed Nealis

23 ZTE UniPOS CNP-MW for Intelligent Microwave Network PlanningBy Ren Haixia and Wang Yi

25 Carrier-Class Ethernet Microwave: The Best Choice for Mobile BackhaulBy Xu Changchun

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Tech Forum

Success Stories

Solution

Press Clipping


ZTE News

ZTE Wins Telkom Indonesia Four-Year IPTV Network Construction Contract

ZTE Passes 100 Million Unit

Milestone in Broadband CPE Shipments1 0 A p r i l 2 0 1 3 , S h e n z h e n ―

Z T E a n nou nc e d t h a t i t h a s b e e n ran ked No. 1 for both FTTH CPE revenues and shipments for 2012 by telecommunications market research firm Infonetics.

According to an Q4 2012 Infonetics market share and forecast report entitled, “Broadband CPE and Subscribers: PON, FTTH, Cable, and DSL,” ZTE ranked No. 1 for both FTTH CPE revenue and shipments in the past year, with a global share of 19.8 percent and 30.9 percent, respectively. ZTE also shipped more than 100 million broadband CPE devices

by the end of 2012, the achievement cements ZTE’s place as a global leader in fixed network operations and large-scale FTTH applications.

Broadband proliferation and rapid internet development has led to a surge in user demand in recent years. ZTE is dedicated to cooperation with operators to provide home users with end-to-end service platforms, management platforms, access networks and home terminals. The company’s products offer carrier-class QoS assurance, decrease TCO, reduce energy consumption and ensure superior user experiences.

9 April 2013, Shenzhen ― ZTE has announced that it signed a four-year IPTV network construction contract with Telkom Indonesia.

According to the contract, ZTE will construct, operate, and maintain a low-bit-rate IPTV network for Telkom from 2013 to 2016. ZTE will provide Telkom Indonesia with IPTV system equipment including high definition (HD), standard definition (SD) and low bit rate devices, as well as set-top box (STB). On the systems side, ZTE will operate, maintain, and host equipment, and provide end-to-end network optimization.

Z T E’s I P T V c o n s t r u c t i o n model helps guarantee and develop IPTV multi-screen business at low bandwidth. FEC fast error correction and ARQ automatic retransmission request are used in packet loss compensation for live broadcast and video on-demand.

10 April 2013, Shenzhen ― ZTE announced it has won a smart electric meter turnkey project with Angola EDEL.

Under the agreement, ZTE will provide complete smart meter solutions t o E DE L , i n c l u d i n g e q u i p m e n t , construction, personnel training and OAM. ZTE’s customized smart meter solution supports multiple tariffs and has enriched functionality. It prevents elec t r ic i t y bi l l a r rea r s , i mproves management eff iciency and reduces operat ional costs of manual meter reading. The ZTE communicat ions module for th is project includes a

power line carrier that supports remote centralized meter reading.

“As a reliable partner of the electrical power industry, ZTE provides complete smart grid solutions,” said Wang Yiwen, CTO of ZTE Government and Enterprise Network in the Middle East and Africa. “We are proud of the recent partnership with EDEL because it illustrates how ZTE’s technology is green, reliable, and efficient.”

EDEL is responsible for electricity dist r ibution and supply in Angola’s capital, Luanda, and has a 65 percent market share.

ZTE Wins Angola EDEL Smart Electricity Meter Project


ZTE News

10 April 2013, Shenzhen ― ZTE is pleased to win the “Best Asian Service Platform of the Year” prize at the Broadband TV Connect Infovision Awards Asia ceremony in Hong Kong. The company clinched one of the world’s most authoritative prizes for broadband multimedia services for its innovative IPTV service platform solution for Jiangsu Telecom. The award followed other top industry accolades earned by ZTE’s IPTV division.

“We want to thank the Broadband TV Connect Infovision Awards judging panel for this award,” said Fang Hui, vice president at ZTE. “ZTE is dedicated to developing innovative multimedia services and offering the most advanced

technologies to our customers to enable them to stay ahead of market trends. The award will empower us to accelerate the development of superior IPTV solutions, generating more value to customers globally with innovative concept and excellent delivery.”

The Broadband TV Connect Infovision Awards Asia ceremony, taking place at the Broadband Asia & TV Connect Asia conference in Hong Kong, rewards outstanding technology solutions developed in broadband and connected entertainment services. The Broadband Asia conference is part of the series of Broadband World Forum (BBWF) events organized by the IEC and mainstream operators around the world.

ZTE Successfully Tests TD-LTE One-Line Base Stations

9 April 2013, Shenzhen ― ZTE announced it has completed successful testing of its TD-LTE one-line base stations solution. The base stations are the industry’s f irst TD-LTE commercial solution that supports an LTE-advanced relay function, a key step in commercial base station use and global 4G development.

This new solution was tested by the Guangzhou arm of China Mobile. Guangzhou has China’s largest TD-LTE network and is home to extremely complex coverage scenarios that pose great challenges for networking. ZTE tested its one-line base stations in three typical scenarios―a blind spot, outdoor covering indoor and outdoor remote coverage. The test data shows that deployment of the TD-LTE one-line base stations can improve performance on cell edges by 200 percent and edge coverage by 50 percent.

The one-line base station solution has only one external power cord, baseband, RF, and an antenna unit in a container that can be easily carried by a single person. Its protection level is as h igh as IP65, which satisfies deployment outdoor scenario requirements. This solution reduces energy consumption for network coverage, helping operators build green TD-LTE networks.

24 April 2013, Shenzhen ― ZTE announced it has been ranked No. 2 in the world in WLAN access point shipments.

According to the March 19 Gartner-published, “Market Share: Enterprise WLAN Equipment, Worldwide, 4Q12 and 2012,” ZTE held No. 2 world market share in the WLAN “coordinated access

point” category at 12 percent after it shipped 1 million units during the year.

ZTE Gains No. 2 World Ranking for WLANs Shipped

ZTE’s IPTV Solution Wins “Best Asian Service Platform of the Year” Award


ZTE News


ZTE First-Quarter Net Profit Rises

as Operational Review Drives Rebound

23 April 2013, Shenzhen ― ZTE has launched an iPad videoconferencing s o f t w a r e a p p l i c a t i o n a n d a videoconferencing system partnership with Swedish distribution firm Wiktors at the Ljud, Ljus och Bildmässan (LLB) exhibition in Stockholm, Sweden.

The ZTE ZX V10 iSee T100i is a multimedia software terminal that

complies with the H.323 protocol and provides a brand-new experience in convenient communication, and easy collaboration for tablet PC users. iPad users can download and install it through the AppStore, to easily and freely enjoy video communications with any H.323 protocol-based conference terminal or multipoint control unit (MCU).

ZTE Partners with Wiktors at LLB Exhibition

company achieve a more optimal product and customer mix, and an improved cost structure. The company achieved combined savings of RMB 350 million in selling, administration and research costs in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. The results of the operational review, combined with the disposal gain, allowed the company to overcome the negative effects from currency fluctuation and asset write-downs to record higher net profit.

Looking ahead to the next reporting period, equipment investment by the telecommunications industry is expected to be focused on broadband conversion of wireless and wireline networks and the construction of ancillary facilities. The Group will commit its efforts to product innovation and solution-based operations with a st rong focus on mainst ream products and improve R&D efficiency. The strategy for populous nations and mainstream carriers will be reinforced, as we seek to concentrate on markets in which we claim st rengths while vigorously expanding in the government, enterprise and service segments. The Group will continue to implement the settlement system to facilitate resource management and control, so as to refine cost management and enhance operating efficiency.

26 April 2013, Shenzhen ― ZTE reported a 35.9% increase in net profit in the first-quarter, as the company’s o p e r a t io n a l r e v ie w c o n t i nu e d t o deliver improvements in cash f low and profitability.

Net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company rose to RMB 205 million in the first quarter, and basic earnings per share increased to RMB 0.06. Operating cash flow in the first quarter significantly improved compared to a year

earlier. ZTE’s gross profit margin has expanded for two consecutive quarters, as the company strengthened efforts to control costs. Revenue dropped 2.8% to RMB 18.09 billion.

Since the second half of 2012, ZTE has stringently enforced measures to focus resources on key products and markets, target higher-margin contracts, improve cash f low management and reduce costs , under the company’s operational review. This has helped the

35.9%

ZTE News


ZTE Cloud-Based Education Sharing Service Debuts at Arab Summit

7 May 2013, Shenzhen ― ZTE announced the debut of the Education Sharing Service (ESS), its cloud-based education solution, at the Arab Education Summit in Amman, Jordan.

ESS integ rates i ns t r uc t iona l design , content and educat ional technologies to provide an extensive, stable and effective physical network. The resource is targeted at Arabic speakers and is based on ZTE’s ‘cloud-channels-terminals’ pattern, which allows simultaneous access to multiple network resources. This eliminates constraints on time and space, and creates an improved experience for students and teachers.

ESS provides a range of products of dif ferent sizes, such as smar t classroom, smart campus, and regional cloud platforms. It also provides a variety of services that cover different phases of informatization of education. This enables seamless management of all elements from infrastructure to applications. In addit ion, ZTE a l s o p r ov i d e s c u s t o m i z e d a n d individualized solutions for various needs in K-12 educat ion, h igher education, vocational education and corporate training.

ZTE’s education solutions have been successfully implemented at the national level in 11 countries, such as China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Turkey.

29 April 2013, Richardson, TX ― ZTE USA celebrates i t s 15th Anniversar y in the U.S. market .

As the No. 5 handset vendor in the U.S. market, the company’s success is the result of its history of being the accelerator that places g reat communications technology into the hands of end users.

ZTE USA entered the U.S. market in 1998 with modest expectations. Today, the company works with all of the major U.S. carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-mobile, MetroPCS, US Cellular, Cricket and TracFone.

ZTE USA Excels in U.S. Market as It Accelerates Smartphone Adoption

2 May 2013, Vienna, Austria ― ZTE is to provide a CS/IMS converged voice network for Telekom Austria Group. ZTE is realizing this project under collaboration with Kapsch Carrier Com (KCC), a well experienced local system integrator.

Under the agreement, ZTE will deploy a mobile circuit-switched softswitch network to replace the existing mobile core network for Telekom Austria Group in its northern operational districts, including Austria, Slovenia and Liechtenstein. ZTE will also build a new IMS network in these branches.

The converged voice network for Telekom Austria Group is based on a cloud solution helping to reduce TCO. Using an IMS hosting solution, the centralized IMS core will be deployed to serve various branches of the Group independently, enabling the rapid launch of new services and giving the Telekom Austria Group

centralized management and control of its networks.

The newly-built IMS network will support various scenarios including RCSe and VoLTE to enable full convergence of the operator’s fixed and mobile networks. The IMS RCSe service will provide a carrier-class multimedia experience to users, helping the operator to deal with the challenges from internet-based OTT providers. The IMS network also helps to achieve standard VoLTE service.

Telekom Austria Group Selects ZTE as Sole Supplier

to Deploy Converged Voice Network

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Movicel CEO Yon Junior


We Are Delivering Superior Value to Our CustomersReporter: Yang Chunyu

Movicel:

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Movicel is a leading mobile operator i n A ngola . The company has grown rapidly

since its founding in 2002. Movicel launched its first LTE network in May 2012 and became the only operator to concurrently run four mobile networks—C D M A , G S M , U M T S a n d LT E . Movicel’s networks cover 18 provinces all over the Angola. Today, one third of population is using Movicel’s voice or data services. ZTE Technologies recently interviewed Movicel CEO Yon Junior.

Q: You have worked for Brazil Telecom and Telefonica. What are the challenges of operating in Angola compared to Brazil? A: Challenges in Angola and Brazil are pretty much the same: providing good services, fair prices and universal access while also ensuring a fruitful return for shareholders. Good services and reasonable prices are vital to attracting customers. Universal access should also be considered. The environment in the two countries is actually very similar; the authorities have a good vision of the role of their regulatory bodies.

Q: The average month ly ne t income has greatly increased since you joined Movicel. What are the key drivers behind Movicel’s success? What specific measures have you taken? A: Thank you for your appreciation. The success Movicel has achieved today can be attributed to our whole team. As the Chinese saying goes, “When people are of one mind and heart, they can move Mt. Tai.” Our success is a credit to everyone involved—which includes definitely ZTE. I think the key drivers of Movicel’s success are quality, coverage and network capacity for both data and voice services. We also have an easy-to-

He talked about the cooperation with ZTE, the challenges of operating in Angola, and Movicel’s strategy.

Q: What made you join Movicel one and a half years ago? A : A n g o l a i s o n e o f t h e m o s t energetic and excit ing countr ies in the world, and telecommunications is a key part of Angola’s present and future. There is great potential for telecommunications development in this country. In our industry, working for Movicel is a landmark in one’s career. I joined Movicel to deliver the best telecommunications services to the Angolan people. It is my duty to help in the present and future development of this country.

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Q: What do you expect from the cooperation between ZTE and Movicel? A: ZTE is a good partner for Movicel. Although we are just at the beginning of our journey together, there is still much more to come. I expect we will cooperate very well and achieve win-win outcomes in the future.

Q : M o v i c e l a n d Z T E h a v e c o o p e r a t e d o n “ o n - t h e - j o b training.” How is this going? Has it been helpful for Movicel? A: Every company must have this on-the-job training. It is important for our employees to know how to perform properly. Good on-the-job t raining helps improve our efficiency and image. Cooperation between Movicel and ZTE on this project is going very well. Every step is under control. More than 90% of our team are locals, which makes us very proud. Training is a must, and ZTE delivers extraordinary well.

Q: What is Movicel’s strategy for the next three years? A: Movicel has developed well and fast. We are now number one in the hearts of Angolans. This encourages us to consis tent ly per for m bet te r than expected and deliver super ior value to our customers. In the next three years, we will maintain our fast g rowth and take back our leading market position.


understand product portfolio supported by easy-to-find point of sales.

Q: What is the status of Movicel’s 4G ne t wor k? I s t here a new deployment plan? A: Movicel’s 4G network has received widespread attention. Financial Times featured the network in its special issue about Angola. Not long ago, BBC also interviewed us. Our status has improved a lot. We have made great cont r ibut ions to 4G wireless communications and created history. Next , we wil l do our best to offer

satisfactory products and services and expand our business.

Q: How has ZTE contributed to Movicel’s growth? A: ZTE is a great partner for us. Movicel would not be in the position it is without the bold partnership with ZTE. You company has played an important role in Movicel’s growth in recent years. It has prov ided onboard , cut t i ng-edge technology and has a dedicated, committed team that has a sense of urgency. ZTE is our partner of choice. Thank you ZTE!

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Peter Bailey (L), messaging and voice business manager of Telefonica UK and Leon Veiro (R), LBS messaging architect of Telefonica UK

Reporter: Teli Mendhir

Moving Beyond Traditional Services

Telefonica UK:


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Telefonica U K is the second biggest mobile operator in the UK. The company is always

exploring new ways to expand their operations and business. Telefonica UK is one of the leading mobile operators who have been able to capitalize on real time location information of its subscribers to generate revenues from location based advertising. ZTE has cooperated with Telefonica UK on the passive data collector (PDC) to deliver this capability. As part of the successful d e l i ve r y of PD C , Z T E w a s a l s o awarded the GMLC contract. Recently, ZTE Technologies interviewed Peter Bailey and Leon Veiro of Telefonica UK. Peter is the messaging and voice business manager, and Leon is the LBS messaging architect. They talked about Telefonica UK’s market strategy and challenges in upgrading their network. They also shared their experience in LBS deployment and their views on the cooperation between Telefonica UK and ZTE.

Q: Can you introduce Telefonica UK and its business? A: Telefonica UK is a leading provider of mobile and broadband services to customers and enterprises across the United Kingdom. We have our headquarters in Slough, Berkshire, and we have customer service centres in Leeds, Glasgow, and Bury and Preston Brook, Cheshire. We have 23 million customers and 450 retail stores. The company is part of Telefonica UK Europe, and the UK operations are a leader in non-voice services, including text, media messaging, games, music

and video. Telefonica UK also offer connections via GPRS, HSDPA, 3G and WLAN.

Q: How long have you worked at Telefonica UK? What has made you stay there? Peter Bailey: I worked for Telefonica UK for 17 years. I’ve stayed there because it’s a company that really appreciates its people. The company has given me so many opportunities to develop myself and progress my career.Leon Veiro: I worked in the company for 25 years and concur with Peter. Telefonica UK has provided excellent opportunities to develop my career and exposed me to a range of projects and technologies that have satisfied my thirst for knowledge.

Q : W h y d i d Te l e f o n i c a U K decide to upgrade the original equipment? A: This was driven by our need to deliver higher numbers of location lookups and greater volumes of location intelligence without affecting core network cost or ease of paging a mobile.

Q: What did you expect to achieve after the upgrade? A: We expected the network to allow Telefonica UK to lead the industry in location-based advertising. The network will have lower cost-per-mobile location lookup and significantly higher lookup volumes, moving from the low hundreds per second to many thousands per second. It will provide location intelligence and push the locations of a specified subscriber when they have moved into


a specified area. Also, it will be able to maintain location accuracy.

Q: Why did you decide to partner with ZTE on the project? What do you think of ZTE’s technical s o l u t i o n s a n d e n g i n e e r i n g performance?A: The new LBS solution was initiated with an RFP process. There were a few other vendors with similar solutions, but ZTE fitted with our requirements, and they had previous experience implementing a similar solution in another T1 network. Their knowledge of and experience with LBS products has been impressive, and their engineering has been fantastic. On occasions, we have noticed that ZTE could benefit from strengthening its delivery processes for a Tier 1 customer and better managing necessary changes in this area. We have worked with ZTE to close any gaps,


and we are pleased to say that ZTE has been receptive to our feedback and has markedly improved.

Q: Have you encountered any problems with the network? If so, how have you solved them? A: Of course we have had to overcome some initial difficulties. Integrating eight internal interfaces was complex and required close collaboration between many parts of Telefonica UK. We were challenged by language barriers between core ZTE developers and Telefonica UK. This was alleviated by ZTE providing an English front end. There were also evolving requirements. The initial contracted evolved significantly over the delivery cycle. Although Telefonica UK ended up with a far superior solution, teams were challenged from technical, financial, and delivery perspectives. However, there were positives, such as

the great collaboration between ZTE, Telefonica UK, and O2 Media. A great deal of hard work was put in by all parties.

Q: How is the project running now? What is your next priority? A: The platform was completed ahead of schedule. Although there were a few teething issues, the PDC has been stable for some months and has great capability. The output has been throttled to 15% of the traffic present. This is not a PDC issue but more a transport and back-end challenge. Next on the agenda is to integrate ZTE GMLC into the PDC iVAS platform. It is imperative that we improve location accuracy.

Q: Has Telefonica UK deployed any LBS services? What are the

prospects of LBS in the UK? A: The flagship LBS service that the PDC is responsible for is the “You Are Here” O2 Media product. This pushes location-based advertising to more than 10 million subscribers. In essence, O2 Media will be able to fence certain areas of the Telefonica UK’s network and will be notified in real time via the PDC if an O2 Media’s subscriber physically moves into the fenced location. Location-based advertising will then be triggered, and an MMS or SMS will be sent to the subscriber. An example of this might be discounted coffee offered by a nearby café when the customer moves into the vicinity of a café.

Q : W h a t i s Te l e f o n i c a U K ’s strategy to enhance its position in the future? A: Telefonica UK will continue to deliver great telecoms services to its customers and will also use its trusted brand to diversify out of the traditional markets into areas such as banking, heath care, advertising, insurance, and security.

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Tech Forum

In recent years, mobile broadband has become an essential part of daily life, and mobile communication has entered the cloud era. As mobile technology evolves towards LTE, many operators are having to manage 2G, 3G, and LTE networks

simultaneously and are facing challenges such as interference between networks. To fulfill their promises to end users, operators need help to efficiently deploy and manage their complex networks.

The LTE Forum at MWC 2013 was sponsored by ZTE. At the forum, mobile operators, service providers, and providers of infrastructure solutions sat down together to discuss various LTE challenges and solutions. ZTE brought to the table its cloud radio solution, which involves using the cloud for mobile access, mobile coordination, and mobile management so that the operator’s network resources are used optimally. This allows the operator to adapt to complex transmission scenarios and keep their promises in the LTE era.

Using Cloud Radio to Deliver Promises in the 4G Era By Zhu Xiaodong

Zhu Xiaodong, CTO of European Marketing, ZTE


4G’s PromiseConfucius once said, “If a person

cannot keep their promise, then I don’t know what they can do.” What does 4G promise? In the 2G era, the promise was voice calls anywhere, anytime. This promise was kept. In the 3G era, the promise has been mobile data anytime, anywhere. This promise has

also been kept. In the 4G era, what is the promise?

Is it 100 Mbps LTE and 1 Gbps LTE-A? No. High peak download speeds are features, not promises. Promises of 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps cannot be kept. 3GPP claims that the promise of LTE is truly global mobile broadband. There are two

Tech Forum

scheduler can be used.

Cloud PoolingZTE offered cloud pooling last

year. We worked with China Mobile to build many trial networks. BBU sites were centralized, and at the remote site, only fiber was used to connect with the remote radio head. In this way, rooms did not have to be leased at each radio site, and capex and opex were reduced. With centralized BBUs, resources can be allocated in a centralized way to handle tidal traffic. Inter-site CoMP can be implemented easily with cloud pooling, and this greatly improves customer experience at the cell edge.

Cloud Super CellIf small cells are deployed in a

macro ce l l , CoMP does not work very well. Therefore, cloud super cell technology is introduced. With this technology, many low-power nodes

Cloud Radio: Delivering the 4G PromiseThis year, ZTE launched a cloud

radio solution. Cloud radio is not a single technology; it is a combination of many technologies. One of these technologies is C-RAN (cloud pooling). If fiber is available, then BBUs can be centralized so that traffic can be handled in a centralized way.

Another of these technologies is cloud P-Bridge. If small cells have been deployed but there is not enough fiber, CAT5 copper lines can be used for cloud pooling.

Because small cells have smaller r ad iu se s , i n t e r f e r ence i s s eve re . Therefore, a virtual “super cell” can be built that comprises many small cells or even one macro cell. With a super cell, the same cell ID is used for many small cells so that interference is reduced and customer experience is improved.

If an operator does not have enough fiber, a cloud coordinator and cloud


aspects to this promise: First, LTE is global. UMTS in Europe, CDMA in the US, and even TD-SCDMA in China all converge to LTE. So LTE is truly global. Second, LTE is ubiquitous mobile broadband, and a certain amount of bandwidth is reserved for everybody. With mobile broadband, you need to provide speeds of at least 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps anywhere, anytime.

Current Reality People sometimes say that LTE

networks are capable of 20 Mbps to 6 0 M b p s , a n d w i t h s p e e d s s u c h as these, the LTE promise is kept. H o w e v e r , s u c h s p e e d s a r e o n l y achieved in cer ta in locat ions and under cer ta in condi t ions. What i f more and more people come onto the network or a network is expanded to another area? Currently, if you are near a base station or traffic is light, bandwidth is very high. However, if the load is high and you are near an edge, customer experience drops dramatically.

Network capacity does not change in proportion to customer traffic. Where there is no coverage, mobile data might be needed. More importantly, traffic moves as people move. How can we ensure that capacity changes in proportion to traffic?

Tech Forum

when a user moves from one cell to another. Throughput at the cell edge can also be greatly improved. This technology is also available now and has been simulated and tested in real networks.

Simulation and Trial ResultsIf an operator has dark fiber/OTN

with very high bandwidth and very short latency (below 100 µs), cell-edge throughput can be increased by 94% compared to that in a traditional network. For IP-RAN or IP fiber, if the bandwidth is less than 1 Gbps and latency is below 4 ms, more than 83% increase in cell-edge throughput is obtainable. If an operator has no fiber but has microwave with latency below 100 ms, throughput can be increased by 30% using cloud scheduling. For about 5% of cell-edge users, in some circumstances, throughput can be tripled.

The Key Takeaway

The promise of 4G is truly global mobile broadband, and this promise must be kept. Traffic grows very quickly every year. By 2020, there will be at least a hundredfold increase in traffic. A traditional network design is no longer feasible. ZTE’s cloud radio solution helps operators fulfill their 4G promise in any kind of backhaul situation.

are used as one cell so that there is no handover and interference between cells (even if the cells’ radiuses are very short). When super cells are combined with other new technologies, such as carrier aggregation, mobile traffic can be handled very smoothly. Small cells are used not only for hotspots but also for high-speed trains. Super cells can handle high-speed handovers without dropouts, even when the train is running at 250 km/h.

Cloud P-bridgeCAT5 copper lines are already

present in many indoor environments. How can CAT5 be used with C-RAN technology? ZTE invented P-Bridge, which compresses the CPRI interface below 1 Gbps (usually around 800–900 Mbps). In this way, CPRI data can be transported through copper lines. With local C-RAN, capacity can be significantly increased, the network can be easily installed, and capex and opex can be dramatically reduced. ZTE has already tested this technology with SoftBank, and it is available now.

Cloud CoordinationMany operators, especially in

Europe, do not have enough dark fiber. This means they have to share fiber with other operators or share fiber with fixed networks or even

enterprise services. IP fiber has two problems. First, unlike dark fiber, IP fiber is usually below 1 Gbps (roughly 400–500 Mbps). This is not very fast. More importantly, the latency of the IP fiber can be as high as 4 ms, and C-RAN technology cannot really be used with this latency. ZTE therefore developed a new technology called cloud co-ordination that can be used for soft bit combining. To reduce the need for bandwidth, the after-process data (soft bits) is used, not the raw data (CPRI data). We combine the soft bits for two eNode Bs. With this kind of coordination, throughput and capacity for cell edge users can still be improved, even when there is only the IP backhaul network.

Cloud Scheduling

Many operators still have very limited fiber and use microwave for LTE backhaul. The good news is that ZTE has developed a technology called centralized scheduler. Scheduler equipment is added at the central office side, and X2+ interface is used to connect the centralized scheduler and eNode Bs. Only scheduler information is sent to the centralized scheduler, so bandwidth needs are low. Moreover, there is no need for very short latency. The cloud scheduler allows resources from one cell to be added to another

ZTE’s cloud radio solution helps operators fulfill their 4G promise in any kind of backhaul situation.


Thanh Nguyen received his BE and ME degrees from the University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo. In January 2011, he joined the Microwave Product R&D Group at ZTE USA. Prior to that, he was a senior microwave radio systems engineer at Harris Corporation and Aviat Networks. He worked for more than 20 years at Bell-Northern Research (BNR) and Nortel Networks as a research scientist and later a senior manager responsible for systems design and development of high-capacity SONET/SDH microwave radios. He received the Order of Excellence for Technical Achievement from president of Northern Telecom Canada.

By Thanh Nguyen, Ying Shen and Andrey Kochetkov



A Flexible Unified Architecture

for Point-to-Point Digital Microwave Radios

mounted indoor radio units. Bulky elliptical waveguides had to be used to connect these units to antennas on a tower or rooftop. Industry later devised a split-mount radio system comprising an indoor unit (IDU) and outdoor unit (ODU), both of which are mounted onto the back of the antenna or connected to the antenna us ing a shor t waveguide . Today, industry is gravitating towards an all outdoor radio unit (AOU) mounted on the back of the antenna. These

Introduction4G wireless networks are the next

wave of mobile multimedia networks, a n d 4 G LT E i s f a s t b e c o m i n g a reality. The backhaul point-to-point microwave radio is a key part of a 4G LTE network and is important to the overall success of the network.

Point-to-point microwave radios have gone f rom being a l l - indoor r ad io s t o be ing sp l i t -moun t and outdoor radios . In the past , most microwave radios comprised rack-

Figure 1. ODU block diagram.

ODU to compensate cable loss, and it is bypassed in the AOU application. The second detector is used to detect the level of the power amplifier (PA) and also for alarm purposes in both applications.

● It supports wide filter bandwidths for digital predistortion (DPD). Open loop DPD parameters are characterized through calibration and then applied to the modem look-up table (LUT) to correct the non-linearity of the PA.

● It has a PA bias control to reduce the bias when the power level is low.

● It supports RF loopback for self-diagnosis.

● It supports on-board local frequency reference. Alternatively, it supports a reference from the digital board in the AOU or IDU for future hitless and coherent applications.



AOUs contain the RF components as well as the circuitry for tributary in te r faces , modem, and ne twork management.

In a 4G network rollout, operators want the i r microwave equipment to be scalable and interchangeable and to share common elements for all capacities and frequency bands. From the vendor ’s perspective, an architecture that supports various p la t forms wi th as many common denominators as poss ib le i s a l so highly preferable. This has become a key design requirement for point-to-point microwave radio. Here we give an overview of design commonalities in transceiver architecture, mechanical c o n c e p t , a n t e n n a i n t e r f a c e a n d duplexer, and software and production test flow.

Common TransceiverFig. 1 shows a traditional split radio

with an IDU, ODU, and antenna. An IDU typically comprises a modem, mux circuits, a controller, and a power module. The ODU up-converts the IF signal received from the IDU into an RF signal. The ODU then amplifies the RF signal before sending it to the antenna. The RF signal received from the antenna is down-converted to an IF signal and passed through a multistage gain control circuit before being sent back to the IDU.

An AOU integrates modem and network functionalities with IF and RF functionalities. IF and RF signal processing is similar to that in an ODU; therefore, a transceiver that is common to both platforms is a logical design requirement. Such a transceiver has the following characteristics:● It supports both I/Q interface for the

AOU and TX IF interface for the ODU.

● It has two detectors in the transmitter chain. The first detector is placed in the

DCModem/

Mux/Controller/

PWR

NMS

IDU

STM-1

LMT

E1

GbE

CableMux

Circuitry

PowerAmplifier

Duplexer

Low-NoiseAmplifier

ODU

RSSI

Up Converter

Controller

DC/DCConverter

Down Converter

Figure 2. The ODU and AOU.

Antenna

ODU AOU

WGExt.

DuplexerDuplexerTransceiver

TransceiverInterface Card

Digital Card

Antenna

Common Mechanical ConceptFig. 2 shows the ODU and AOU.

The t r ansce ive r i s mounted to a casting for heat sinking. The interface card is mounted to the same casting as the transceiver. The transceiver and in ter face card are connected through a pair of mating connectors. One connector is installed on the top of the interface card, and the other i s ins ta l led on the bot tom of the transceiver.

The AOU physical cross-section has the same concept. The transceiver i s mounted to a cas t ing for hea t sinking (as in the ODU). In the AOU, the digital card is mounted to its own casting. The transceiver has a dual footprint for the connector: A footprint on the bottom is used in the ODU, and another on the top is used in the AOU. A flexible circuit is used in the

AOU to bridge the gap between the connectors of the digital card and the transceiver. By simply relocating the connector, the ODU and AOU have the same transceiver.

Common Duplexer for the ODU and AOU

The transmit and receive ports of a duplexer connect to the transmit and receive ports of a transceiver. Because the transceiver and duplexer are common to the ODU and AOU, the connec t ion be tween the two is also common. In the ODU, the c o m m o n d u p l e x e r c o m m o n p o r t ex tends f rom a hole in the ODU e n c l o s u r e a n d c o n n e c t s t o t h e antenna. For an AOU, a waveguide ex tens ion i s added to br idge the distance between the duplexer and the antenna.

Common Antenna Interface and Common Mounting Mechanics

The common port of a duplexer connec t s to the an tenna . I t pass transmit and receive signals between the antenna and the ODU and AOU. Th i s connec t ion i s a wavegu ide connection. For an ODU, the antenna feed mates with the duplexer through an opening in the casting of the common duplexer port. For an AOU, the antenna feed mates to the waveguide extension which mates to the duplexer. Both the




other modules that are not controlled by RF components control software via an inter-task communication mechanism (in the case of an AOU).

● bandwidth and modulation-dependent data is stored separately from the RF component control software. This data is stored in the form of bandwidth/modulation profiles that can be updated separately using software.Each frequency band has its own set of bandwidth/modulation profiles, and the RF component control software does not need to be changed when hardware with a new frequency band is introduced.

Common Test FlowA common test flow is used for

b o t h O D U a n d A O U . T h e O D U has a duplexer, transceiver (TRX), i n t e r f a c e ( I N F C ) m o d u l e , a n d

ODU and AOU castings have four mounting posts of identical dimensions so that the same antenna can be used on both radio units.

Common SoftwareC o m m o n s o f t w a r e i s u s e d t o

control RF hardware and provide a g e n e r i c i n t e r f a c e f o r s y s t e m configuration. The software design has the following common features for both ODU and AOU:● application modules are isolated

from the operation system by using an OS abstraction layer. Software for controlling RF components can be based on different operation systems.

● a gener ic in te r face i s used to communicate with an IDU via a telemetry channel (in the case of an ODU) or is used to communicate with


RF

Com

pone

nts C

ontro

l Sof

twar

e

Adapter

Database

Application Modules

OS Abstract Layer

Operation System

LoopsControl

Synt he sizerControl

Parameters Monitor

Drivers

RF Hardware

IDUSoftware

AOUSoftware

Figure 3. RF component control software block diagram.

O D U m e c h a n i c s . T h e d u p l e x e r, TRX and INFC f i r s t go th rough t h e i r o w n m o d u l e p a s s / f a i l t e s t s t a t i o n s . T h e n , t h e T R X , I N F C and ODU mechanics are integrated into a radio frequency unit (RFU). This unit undergoes RF and DPD calibration and is then integrated with a duplexer so that i t is now dependent on a frequency band. It then goes through a final ODU test f l ow. The AOU sha res t he s ame TRX and duplexer with the ODU and has a similar test flow.

SummaryODU and AOU radio platforms

c a n h a v e a f l e x i b l e , u n i f i e d architecture by exploiting common design elements in radio hardware, software, and test flow. This design c o n s e r v e s v a l u a b l e a r e a o n t h e transceiver and allows the transceiver size to be minimized. Cost is also s a v e d b y r e d u c i n g t h e s i z e o f mechanical components. The use of a common transceiver, duplexer, and antenna greatly reduces the number o f un ique components tha t mus t be designed, tested, and stocked. This significantly improves time to market and minimizes the need for design resources. Greater volumes have been passing through common m a n u f a c t u r i n g a s s e m b l i e s , a n d greater attention has been paid to the economics of scale.


By Ying Shen and Ed Nealis

A Universal Architecture for Small Cell Backhaul Radio

Ying Shen received his PhD from McMaster University, Canada, in 1993. He was elected an IEEE senior member in 1997 and joined ZTE USA as a site manager of the North Carolina R&D Center in 2011. Over the past 20 years, he has held senior management positions at Harris Corporation, Harris Stratex, and Aviat Networks. Dr. Shen has published more than 50 papers, and he currently holds or has applied for more than 35 US patents. He has led many design teams that have released and responsible for at least 120 various products such as RF/microwave chips, devices, modules, subsystems and systems into mass production for frequency range from 2 GHz to 110 GHz. On numerous occasions, Dr. Shen has been a reviewer and session chairman for international conferences on microwave communications.

Background Demand for mobi le da ta i s in

soaring worldwide, and the boom is just beginning. Small cells, carrier WiFi, and backhaul are the top three solutions alongside backbone fiber networks that will support this mobile data explosion. Small-cell base stations will typically be deployed in addition to the existing macro layer. The key requirements for small-cell backhaul will be● low total cost ownership (TCO)● fast deployment and installation● minimal regulation● coordinated frequencies ● ubiquitous coverage in hotspots and

in line-of-sight (LOS) and non line of

sight (NLOS) environments.Backhaul is a key challenge. The

top three small-cell backhaul candidates are fiber, NLOS sub 6 GHz MIMO, and millimeter wave point-to-point (PtP) LOS radios at 60 GHz or E-bands.

There is no single solution, and the combination of these technologies depends on cell location, coverage size, and capacity requirements. Here, we describe a universal architecture for small-cell backhaul radio when the backhaul needs to use the wireless connection.

Universal Small-Cell Backhaul Radio Architecture

The top three requirements for



Data and PWRPOE and Switching

Sub 6 2x2 MIMO Modem

60GHz/E-band Modem 60GHz/E-band TRX

CPU

EMC DC/DC

Sync E/1588 References

NetworkProcessor FPGA EPLD/Flash/

EEprom

TRY #4TRY #3

TRY #2TRY #1

Figure 1. Universal small-cell backhaul radio architecture.

Figure 2. Proposed dual LOS and NLOS small-cell backhaul radio.

small-cel l backhaul are low cost , e a s y i n s t a l l a t i o n a n d L O S a n d NLOS coverage. If the link distance i s a max imum of a f ew hundred mete rs , maximum ava i lab i l i ty is 99.99%, and street-level light poles and utility poles are used, 5 GHz and 60 GHz are the most effective bands, respectively, for NLOS and LOS small-cell backhaul applications. 5 GHz is a sub 6 GHz band, and 60 GHz is an unlicensed band that has unique oxygen absorption characteristics for frequency reuse. It also provides wide spectrum availability.

Fig. 1 shows a universal NLOS and LOS small-cell backhaul radio architecture. The data and DC power are obtained directly from the small cell. There are two separate data channels: one goes to a sub 6 GHz NLOS channel, and the other goes to a 60 GHz/E-band LOS channel. In normal operation, t he sub 6 GHz NLOS channel and 60 GHz/E-band LOS channel work simultaneously and provide maximum throughput. If the sub 6 GHz or 60 GHz/E-band channel does not work because of in-band interference, blockage, multipath fading, or hardware failure, the system provides automatic hitless switching. A universal small-cell backhaul needs to have the following key features:● fully integrated dual-band solution● flat antenna for 60 GHz band or E-band ● dipole or microstrip antenna for sub

6 GHz band● auto mechanical or electrical tuning

with auto alignment ● combined NLOS and LOS for various

coverage needs● multi-gigabits-per-second hitless

throughput● carrier Ethernet switching to support

MPLS/MPSL-TP standards, QoS scheduling, protection, and OAM


5GHz Beam: 40 deg

60GHz Beam: 3-4 deg

(A)

(B) (C) (D)


Figure 3. Auto alignment and tuning.

frequency combination, such as 2.4 GHz, 2.6 GHz or 3.4 GHz NLOS combined with E-band LOS.

The dual-band concept can be extended to triple band offering or selective switching bands in NLOS and can be combined with either 60 GHz or E-band LOS.

SummaryA universal LOS and NLOS tunable

small-cell back radio architecture provides● the flexibility to use unlicensed bands

for installation and network build-out in international markets.

● flexible backhaul solutions when there is no fiber available and the small-cell station needs wireless connectivity. (The proposed package provides the solutions for both LOS and NLOS environment.)

● a compact flat antenna that avoids the traditional parabolic perception of a public antenna. A flat antenna also provides a clean integrated solution so that a small-cell network can be a part of the future digital infrastructure of a city.

● mechanical tuning, which greatly reduces the installation requirements and alignment difficulties. This s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n c r e a s e s l i n k availability.

● a development path for electronic turning capability using phase array or digital beam forming at 60 GHz when CMOS technologies ge t mature.

● a TDD/FDD rad io t o suppo r t c o m b i n e d N L O S a n d L O S traffic and also to support hitless switching when one of the paths has performance or LOS problems. This greatly increases system availability and liability.

● support for Sync E or IEEE 1588v2 for precision timing transport

● power over Ethernet (POE). B o t h 5 G H z a n d 6 0 G H z a r e

unlicensed bands and are available in all countries. 5 GHz time division duplex (TDD) can support up to 600 Mbps throughput with advanced 4 × 4 MIMO, and 60 GHz full duplex FDD or TDD can support up to 10 Gbps throughput. Fig. 2 shows the proposed small-cell backhaul. Fig. 2 (a) shows a concept of this dual LOS and NLOS combined radio. 5 GHz NLOS uses either four dipoles (folded or unfolded) or four microstrip antennas, and 60 GHz LOS uses flat antenna, as shown in Fig. 2 (b), (c) and (d). The 5 GHz NLOS MIMO provides a typical antenna beamwidth of about 40 degrees, and 60 GHz point-to-point LOS provides a typical beamwidth of three to four degrees.

Installat ion is one of the most important aspects of small-cell stations and backhaul radios because of the potential costs involved in mounting, installation, maintenance, and coverage. F ig . 3 shows a mechan ica l au to

alignment concept. Two dimensional azimuth and elevation auto mechanical tuning is achieved by using two separate step motors that are integrated in the back of the radio mounting mechanics. Mechanical alignment greatly decreases installation time and increases link availability and liability due to weather, environment, multipath and other factors. The radio provides the required DC and control signals to the tunable mounting mechanism so that this mechanism can automatically align the radio and enhance the radio’s performance during installation and operation.

If the cost of the 60 GHz CMOS module is further reduced and the transceiver is developed, dual-band radios will inevitably use phase array or digital beamforming techniques at 60 GHz, as shown in Fig. 3 (b). With either phase array or digital beamforming techniques at 60 GHz, the radio will be capable of independent electronic beam tuning for both 5 GHz NLOS and 60 GHz signals.

Furthermore, the dual-band concept can be extended to any NLOS and LOS


Independent Electrical Beam Steering

Mechanical Beam Steering

2-axis Active Alignment Bracket Assembly

(A) (B)


By Ren Haixia and Wang Yi

As communications become more enriched and diversified, people are demanding more

from radio communications. Microwave transmission is an important part of radio communications, but it has developed so rapidly that traditional network planning technologies cannot deal with it. Network complexity increases as TDM networks have evolved to hybrid TDM-IP or all-IP networks. Joint, intelligent planning of radio and microwave networks is needed to address present and future needs.

An intelligent planning tool must have the following functions: ● i n t e l l i g e n t b a t c h a n a l y s i s o f

microwave link line of sight● a u t o m a t i c n e t w o r k t o p o l o g y

planning based on the condition and requirements of links

● a u t o m a t i c l i n k p a r a m e t e r

matching based on the parameters and performance indicators of links

● unified planning platform for radio and microwave networks and for seamless data integration

● end-to-end service planning that inc ludes p re l iminary ne twork planning, in-depth planning, and network OAM planning.ZTE has developed a microwave

network planning tool called UniPOS CNP-MW. This tool builds on traditional network planning technologies but allows more intelligent microwave network planning. ZTE UniPOS CNP-MW improves customer satisfaction by speeding up the network design process and reducing TCO. This tool is now widely used in pre-sales planning and for project execution.

ZTE UniPOSCNP-MWfor IntelligentMicrowave Network Planning

Features of ZTE UniPOS CNP-MWZTE UniPOS CNP-MW is part

of ZTE’s radio network planning platform and uses intelligent planning technologies for microwave network planning. The tool has all the functions o f t r a d i t i o n a l n e t w o r k p l a n n i n g technologies, but i t also supports intelligent planning of large networks. It can be used in a variety of transmission network planning scenarios.

Automatic topology planningZTE UniPOS CNP-MW can be used

to quickly generate a large network topology. It can provide a topology plan when a radio network suffers from frequent site changes. If site properties, antenna height, maximum direction number, link depth and other parameters are set, ZTE UniPOS CNP-MW can



automatically search for and use a particular topology. With this function, efficiency of topology planning increases more than 30% in flat regions and 60% to 70% in hilly regions.

Intelligent LOS analysisLOS is greatly affected by terrain.

Tradi t ional network planning for undulating terrain requires manual LOS analysis, which is inefficient. With intelligent LOS analysis, LOS routes are analyzed in batches when parameters such as clearance and antenna height have been set.

Intelligent capacity planningA s T D M n e t w o r k s e v o l v e t o

TDM-Ethernet and all-IP networks, ne twork p lann ing becomes more difficult because of the features of IP services. Convergence of services and network scaling of different carriers varies according to the network layer and customer levels . As a resul t , more factors need to be taken into consideration when planning a network. Parameters such as convergence site, redundancy rate, and convergence rate may be set according to service trends. Intelligent capacity planning is used to automatically calculate the capacity of the entire network and output the transmission requirements for the upper-layer transmission network. This ensures rapid and comprehensive data exchange.

Intelligent planning technologies help make network planning more efficient and reduce network planning costs. One-click antenna height optimization, intelligent template-based link matching, one-click batch parameter configuration, and flexible conversion of planning result forms mean that planning personnel do

not need such a high degree of skill in using microwave planning software. Efficiency is improved, and instances of incorrect are reduced.

Efficiency of ZTE UniPOS CNP-MW in a Typical Scenario

Microwave ne twork p l ann ing includes a pre-sales bidding phase and a project execution phase. These two phases have different requirements in terms of improving energy efficiency. In the pre-sales bidding phase, topology analysis, capacity planning, and link performance analysis can be affected by frequent site changes in a radio network. In the project execution phase, plan modification, frequency configuration,

and report-making can be affected by limited frequency resources.

The Sri Lanka 150-hop microwave network project is a typical model for analyzing the efficiency of microwave network planning. After ZTE UniPOS CNP-MW was used, network planning efficiency increased 75% in the pre-sales bidding phase and 60% in the project execution phase.

In the future, ZTE UniPOS CNP-MW will have more network planning modules, including automatic frequency planning, automatic IP address planning, intelligent loop management, and intelligent ACM. These will make network planning more intelligent and improve network planning efficiency.

Table 1. Network planning efficiency before and after ZTE UniPOS CNP-MW was used.

Scenario Task Unit Scale (Number of Hops)

Time Required for Pre-Sales

Planning (Hours/person)

Time Required for After-sales

Planning (Hours/person)

Before CNP-MW

was used

Topology planning Hop 150 4 4

Capacity planning Hop 150 3 3

Link planning Hop 150 1 9

Frequency planning Hop 150 N/A 14

Engineering design Hop 150 N/A 10

Total 8 40

After CNP-MW

was used

Topology planning Hop 150 1.25 1.25

Capacity planning Hop 150 0.25 0.25

Link planning Hop 150 0.5 3

Frequency planning Hop 150 N/A 9.5

Engineering design Hop 150 N/A 2

Total 2 16

Efficiency improvement 6 / 8 × 100 = 75% 24 / 40 × 100 = 60%



By Xu Changchun

With the rapid growth of mobile networks, service traffic has surged in recent

times but operators have not profited from this surge. Traditional circuit-swi tched networks , such as SDH networks, are expensive and cannot be easily scaled. Packet-switched t ransmiss ion reduces the number of network layers, lowers network construction cost, allows scalability and integration, and helps operators transition to integrated service. This is the trend of network development.

Compared with circuit-switched t r a n s m i s s i o n , p a c k e t - s w i t c h e d transmission is more cost efficient, manageable, and scalable, but it is inferior in terms of service protection, monitoring, and QoS. To address these problems with packet networks, the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) proposed carrier-class Ethernet, which is regarded as the ideal solution to improving QoS in packet networks.

Microwave transmission equipment is widely used in mobile backhaul networks because it is cheap, reliable, and flexible and can be quickly put into commercial use. A report by Infonetics

Carrier-Class Ethernet Microwave The Best Choice for Mobile Backhaul

in 2011 shows that the number of new microwave backhaul networks has soared since 2011, and by 2014, microwave backhaul networks will account for 50% of the global network market. Microwave transmission is an important mobile backhaul solution. ZTE is experienced in microwave transmission and has put forward an advanced carrier-class microwave solution that solves problems associated with packet transmission.

Standardized ServicesMEF 6.1 defines three generic

service constructs, and MEF 10.2 defines an Ethernet service management model from a user perspective. These two technical specifications ensure that users are provided with generic and standard services that are independent of manufacturers. This effectively helps customers plan and integrate Ethernet services into network infrastructures and allows customer edge equipment to

easily access Ethernet services.ZTE’s microwave products strictly

comply with MEF 6.1 and MEF 10.2 and fully support the standard services defined in these specifications. ZTE’s microwave products have obtained MEF 9 and MEF 14 certification. They are easy to manage; they allow convenient service expansion; and they can be deployed in any network scenario.

ScalabilityAs mobile networks evolve from

2G and 3G to LTE, the demand for bandwidth has grown significantly, and operators have had to expand their mobile networks. For service security, expansion, and maintenance, the traffic of different users must be separated.



However, this requires more than 4096 VLANs. ZTE’s microwave products solve the problem of insufficient VLAN IDs by using stacked VLANs defined by IEEE 802.1ad. This allows new service deployment and service separation. ZTE’s microwave products support VLAN translation in 1:1, 1:2, 2:2, or 2:1 mode and can therefore be applied to any complicated networking scenario.

Microwave transmission capacity is restricted by frequency resources and wireless modulation technologies. I n a t yp i ca l 56 MHz , 256 -QAM configuration, the maximum theoretical transmission capacity of a single carrier is about 400 Mbps, which is insufficient to meet the transmission requirements of 3G and LTE aggregation links. ZTE NR8000 series microwave products maximize microwave transmission bandwidth by using the following technologies:● co-channel dual polarization/cross-

polarization interference cancellation ( C C D P / X P I C ) . A h o r i z o n t a l

polarization wave and a vertical polarization wave can be used to provide two transmission channels for a single carrier. This doubles transmission capacity.

● physical link aggregation. By binding multiple microwave links together, greater transmission capacity is possible.

● header compression (HC). Redundant or repeated fields of a user packet are replaced or compressed and then decompressing at the peer end. In typical configurations, when HC and XPIC functions are enabled, the transmission capacity of a single carrier reaches 1.06 Gbps.

● adaptive code modulation (ACM). Upgrading the modulation mode increases the bandwidth so that extra services can be transmitted and critical services can also be transmitted with 99.999% reliability.

ReliabilityZTE’s microwave products support

ITU-T G.8031 Ethernet linear protection switching (ELPS). When more than

one path is available on the network, the paths can be configured to a 1:1 protection-switching architecture. The network services on a failed working path can be switched to a protection path in 50 ms. With ELPS, ZTE’s microwave products provide carrier-class availability for critical services such as voice signaling.

Ethernet ring protection switching (ERPS) eliminates redundant paths and protects the r ing topologies , which are often used on microwave b a c k h a u l n e t w o r k s . E a r l y r i n g protection mechanisms using Spanning Tr e e P r o t o c o l p r o v i d e 1 s e c o n d service switching; however, this is not carrier-class protection. ZTE’s microwave products support ITU-T



Recommendation G.8032 ERPS and can switch services in less than 50 ms.

The link aggregation mechanism binds a group of physical paths into a logical link to balance loads, increase bandwidth, and provide dynamic link protection. ZTE’s microwave products suppor t IEEE 802.3ad-compl ian t Ethernet link aggregation and RF link aggregation, both of which protect multiple layers, including the physical layer and data-link layer.

QoSAlthough microwave equipment

allows for flexible networking and rapid deployment, it has weaknesses. It is sensitive to weather, and the bandwidth in the microwave l inks fluctuates frequently. This inevitably leads to traffic congestion. A QoS mechanism is required in order to use microwave transmission equipment for carrier-class operation.

A set of mature IP/MPLS QoS mechanisms are already available.

These include the widely used DiffServ mechanism. DiffServ manages QoS policies by domain so that the same QoS is maintained for a particular class of service traffic in a domain. With Diffserv, a network is divided into DiffServ domains based on OAM requirements. Traffic is classified with a PHB mark and conditioned at the boundaries between DiffServ domains. Class-based traffic discarding and scheduling performed by a node in a DiffServ domain is defined as per-hop behavior (PHB).

The early Ethernet was a set of networking technologies for LANs that did not have QoS processing capability. ZTE follows IP QoS principles and incorporates the DiffServ concept and architecture into Ethernet. ZTE replaces the DSCP of a frame with S-VLAN Pri bits for PHB marking. S-VLAN DEI bits are used for packet color marking, and QoS policies are managed by dividing them into DS domain, network ingress policy, and network element egress policy (Fig. 1). The ZTE microwave QoS

mechanism has well-defined ideas, and port-based configuration is replaced with traffic-based configuration.

Service ManagementIn ea r ly mic rowave backhau l

solutions, microwave transmission equipment did not provide effective E2E service management tools that made service deployment and troubleshooting m o r e e f f i c i e n t . F u t u r e s e r v i c e development could not be supported. Carr ier-c lass Ethernet equipment provides complete service management, including network monitoring and diagnosis , as well as fast service provisioning. E2E service management is indispensable for carrier-class Ethernet. ZTE’s microwave products provide an E2E service management solution that integrates E2E service provisioning with monitoring, troubleshooting, and QoS tools. This significantly improves OAM efficiency, reduces opex, and maximizes profits for operators.

As networks evolve and new services emerge, telecom operators are coming under enormous pressure from the internet industry and count on elaborate service operation as a key approach to increasing revenue. Carrier-class Ethernet is an ideal choice for operators because it allows for service expansion, service management, QoS guarantee, and reliability. Microwave transmission in mobile backhaul is becoming more operational. ZTE’s microwave products make the switching architecture of traditional Ethernet carrier-class. Service provisioning, scalability, reliability, QoS, and service management of a traditional Ethernet network are transformed.

DS Domain Network Element Egress Policy

DS Domain

DSname

Port

Congestion Management & Avoidance (PHB)

Shaping

CoS

...

● Discard Policy● Scheduling Policy

Network Ingress Policy

Traffic Condition (TC) CAR

Classification CARID

● Simple classification● ACLMarkCos (PHB)CARID

CIRCBS

Coupling Flag

EIR

Color Mode

EBS

Figure 1. QoS policy management.

Discard

Scheduling

Taildrop

SP

RED

WRR

WRED

DWRR

WFQ


By Zhao Wenxian and Tu JiashunConverged CS/IMS and IMS Hosting

Solution Helps TAG Smoothly Implement VoLTE

Telekom Austria Group (TAG) is Austria’s largest information and communications services

provider and one of Europe’s leading full-service carriers. TAG operates in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Belarus, Sloven ia , the Republ ic of Serbia , t h e R e p u b l i c o f M a c e d o n i a a n d Liechtenstein. With intense competition i n t elecom indust r y and with the

development of internet services, TAG is facing challenges like most other operators. First, they must efficiently t ransfor m themselves into a f u l l-service operator while reducing costs and increasing revenue. Second, they must urgently upgrade their network to cope with the rapid development of wireless broadband. Third, if they remain a traditional operator, they will

lose market share because of competition from the internet. All these factors push traditional operators to transform as soon as possible.

TAG launched an IMS project in the second half of 2011. It planned to construct an IMS-based network to offer a variety of services, including MMTel, RCSe, SCC, and future fixed/mobile convergence (FMC). TAG’s idea of “start


Success Stories

“The new ZTE CS/IMS network opens up the future for Telekom Austria Group. It will enable us to easily expand our business and give our customers the best possible experience of the latest fixed and mobile communication services,” said Hans Pichler, CTO of Telekom Austria Group.

Success Stories

small and grow fast” is a level-headed plan with multitenancy at its core.

ZTE is an industry-leading provider of end-to-end IMS network solutions and has passed strict proof-of-concept tests and evaluations. In collaboration with Kapsch CarrierCom, an experienced local system integrator, ZTE will help TAG deploy a converged CS/IMS voice network. ZTE will offer a standards-based, best-in-class, carrier-grade IMS solution.

Converged CS/IMS Voice Solution for a Future-proof Network

ZTE will deploy a mobile circuit switched (CS) sof t switch network to replace TAG’s ex is t i ng mobi le core network in Aust r ia , Slovenia and Liechtenstein. At the same time, ZTE will build a new IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) network in these markets (Fig. 1).

The converged voice solution is based on a telco “cloud” and helps reduce TCO. With IMS hosting (Fig. 2),

the centralized IMS core will be able to independently serve various branches of the Group. This will allow TAG to rapidly launch new services and centrally manage its networks.

The new IMS network will support r ich communication suite-enhanced (RCSe) and voice over LTE (VoLTE) scenarios so that TAG’s fixed and mobile networks can be fully converged. These networks serve for access endpoints such as IP PBX, softphone, LTE terminals, and RCSe.

Highlights of TAG IMS Network

Advanced ETCA platform with high-performance and reliability

ZTE’s universal hardware platform is called enhanced telecom computing a rch itect u re (ETCA) and is based on advanced t elecom mu n icat ions c o m p u t i n g a r c h i t e c t u r e (AT CA) core technologies. ETCA is used for a l l ZTE I MS product s . Sig na l i ng and server elements such as CSCF,

MMTel AS/SCC AS, ATCF, MSCs/MGCF, ENUM/DNS, EMS, and LIG a re based on the ETCA plat for m. Media-plane elements such as MRFP, MGW/IM-MGW, and SBC are also based on the ETCA plat for m. The universal hardware platform allows for lower operational costs, f lexible dimensioning, and smooth migration.

Leading IMS hosting solutionBy using middleware-based multiple

instances, ZTE’s IMS system supports multitenancy. A number of countries share one IMS core but the system looks as if it is a dedicated physical instance that does not interfere with or depend on other OpCos in the system.

Multitenancy allows one IMS system to serve multiple OpCos on the same hardware. It is especially useful for a multinational carrier who has some small OpCos or has an unbalanced user distribution among multiple OpCos. It is also attractive to carriers who want to save costs at the beginning of IMS deployment.

Austria

Belarus

Liechtenstein

Slovenia

CroatiaRepublic of Serbia

Bulgaria

Republic of Macedonia

Figure 1. IMS deployment for TAG.

HSS

IMS Core

EMS SPN

LIG LIGLTE LTE

ENUM/DNS

xSDL/LAN

Fixed Fixed Mobile Mobile

xSDL/LAN

CSCF

BSS NMS SIP ASCCF/CDF/CGF/OCS

MMTEL/SCC ASRCS AS

SIP/SIP-I

ISUP

E1

I-SBC

IP

PSTN MGCF/IM-SSF

MGW/MRFP E/P-CSCF/A-SBC

LEMF/LIC LEMF/LIC

Vienna

Vienna Liechtenstein

OSS/BSS

NE for Vienna NE for Liechtenstein

Middleware

OS

HW

OpCos have their own •Service Package•Charging Policy•Provisioning•Maintenance

Figure 2. TAG IMS hosting architecture.


Success Stories

It also reduces capex and opex.Features of IMS hosting solution

include: ● multiple instances on one board

for optimal resource use. Multiple instances share the same hardware (e.g. board level), and the resources are balanced among multiple OpCos. This is especially useful for uneven user distribution among OpCos.

● highly f lexible configuration and management funct ions that a re dedicated to each OpCo and that do not affect other OpCos.

● same hardware platform for all IMS elements. IMS elements, including signaling elements such as CSCF, MMTel AS and ATCF, and media elements, such as MRFP, MGW and SBC are based on the ETCA platform.

● l a r g e c a p a c i t y a n d f l e x i b l e configuration.

● fulfills the regulatory requirements on LI, NP and EC for multitenancy architecture.

● implementation of different services for different OpCos.

Comprehensive VoLTE/eSRVCC solutionZTE provides a complete product

portfolio based on the VoLTE solution. ZTE participated in the first-ever VoLTE interoperability test, which was hosted by the MultiService Forum (MSF) and backed by GSMA. It was held at the Vodafone Test and Innovation Centre in Düsseldorf, Germany. Test scenarios included VoLTE basic interoperability, global roaming, and interconnection as specified by GSMA.

In the TAG network, MME and HSS are ready for eSRVCC (Fig. 3). ZTE provided an eMSC that was integrated

with MSCs and MGCF.SCC AS was introduced, and this

can be integrated with MMTel AS or deployed separately. ZTE recommends integrating SCC AS and MMTEL AS to save cost. ZXUN SSS supports all standard supplementary services for voice and also supports IP Centrex/Converged Centrex services, converged ONLY service, VCC service, CS/IMS number sharing, enterprise applications, and ICS solution.

AT C F a n d AT G W h a v e b e e n introduced into the eSRVCC specification as a result of ZTE. ATCF/ATGW is deployed in the visit network. ATCF anchors the media flow in a visit network during handover. The remote IMS UE does not take part in the handover in order to avoid voice service interruption caused by long signaling routing. ATCF and ATGW are collocated with SBC on the same hardware platform.

The solut ion suppor t s a single number for SRVCC subscr ibers in the CS and IMS domains. It helps the operator save number resources and does not affect any existing services when the

subscriber registers in the CS network.In March 2013, ZTE successfully

made the first VoLTE call in Europe over TAG’s commercial network. LTE handsets were used, which improved connection time and provided perfect voice quality.

Customer BenefitsI M S h o s t i n g c e n t r a l i z e s

infrastructure and lowers TCO. As a tenant, each OpCo shares the HW, SW and maintenance. The IMS RCSe service provides ca r r ier-class mult imedia experience and helps the operator deal with challenges from internet-based over the top (OTT) providers. The IMS network also helps provide standard VoLTE service (eSRVCC, enhanced single-radio voice call continuity). The new mobile softswitch and IMS network helps TAG signif icantly expand its network capacity, and this allows the operator’s customer base to grow rapidly. ZTE’s highly integrated core network equipment will significantly reduce the network’s physical footprint so that the TAG’s capex is reduced.

Figure 3. ZTE IMS eSR-VCC solution architecture.

UE A(Calling)

UE B(Callee)

UTRAN RAN

ATCF/ATGW

SCC AS

eNode B

Enhanced MSCCS

EPC

IMS


Success Stories

By Li Lina

CMHK Partners

with ZTE for LTE Microwave Backhaul Deployment


Ch i n a M o b i l e H o n g K o n g (C M H K), a whol ly- ow ne d subsidiary of China Mobile,

was established in 1997. CMHK was the first PCS (GSM 1800) operator to launch mobile services in Hong Kong, which is one of the biggest economies in the world. The high-rise buildings and dense commercial districts are signs of the city’s prosperity, but they also give rise to a complicated radio environment and are a challenge for mobile network construction. Through the use of cutting-edge GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSPA, and 4G technologies, CMHK has been providing customers with professional, innovative communication services. CMHK is now one of the largest mobile broadband

operators in Hong Kong and has the greatest potential.

CMHK operated a Hong Kong-wide GSM 1800 network to provide GSM voice and data to mainland customers roaming to Hong Kong. Previously, CMHK’s lack of 3G networks meant it lagged behind other mainstream operators in Hong Kong. Therefore, CMHK made 4G network construction its key strategic goal. CMHK bought an FDD 2.6G license at auction in 2009 and launched a commercial FDD LTE network in early 2012. It also bought a TDD 2.3G license at a high price and launched a commercial TDD LTE network at the end of 2012.

LTE networks are being rapidly deployed. Mobile backhauls need to have

large capacity and wide coverage because fiber is limited and site rental fees are high. ZTE has rich experience in network construction, project management, and managed services in Hong Kong. Guided by a customer service philosophy, ZTE provided CMHK with a highly reliable, expansible microwave t ransmission solution that provided high coverage even with limited fiber resources.

CMHK had never used microwave in its network before. ZTE took into consideration transmission cost at end sites when proposing the microwave solution to CMHK and also drew on the experience of deploying microwave in CSL’s mobile network. In the CMHK project , microwaves were used to

Success Stories


equipment NR8250 operated smoothly with existing FDD-LTE equipment by Ericsson. NR8250 also outperformed other microwave products from Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent , and Comba in the subsequent QoS and link stability tests. As a result, ZTE was shortlisted as a candidate partner for CMHK.

ZTE took into consideration CMHK’s existing network conditions and future evolution needs and adopted a highly customized all-IP microwave backhaul solution. NR8250 was used to provide high data throughput and low latency. It supported dynamic allocation between emulated TDM and Ethernet services without any bandwidth loss. This helped CMHK solve the issue of 2G, 3G, and LTE coexistence and pave the way for smooth transition to future IP services. NR8250 has integrated module slots for f lexible network upgrade and also provides enhanced Ethernet performance for high link reliability and stability. By the end of 2012, ZTE had delivered and commercialized the first phase of the microwave project. According to the deployment plan agreed upon by both

ZTE and CMHK, ZTE will complete the deployment of all microwave sites by the end of 2014.

CMHK was responsible for the project execution. ZTE provided technical support in the early stages of professional network planning to assist CMHK get link certificated by OFCA. ZTE also developed a one-click deployment tool for efficient installation. This tool provides off line parameter configuration that lowers the skill required of the on-site deployer. It also increases the success rate of one-time site deployment and greatly reduces costs for CMHK.

In the customer satisfaction survey conducted by ZTE at the beginning of 2013, CMHK praised ZTE’s microwave equipment and expressed their expectation for further cooperation with ZTE. “The partnership with ZTE is most important for successful project implementation. We expect further cooperation with ZTE to expand and share the microwave backhaul network,” said Feng Yaojin, microwave project director of CMHK.

connect end sites to the network and provide backhaul for 2G, 3G, and LTE sites. Ericsson FDD-LTE sites had to be connected with ZTE TDD-LTE sites on the LTE side. Because various types of services had to be carried on the network, high QoS and stability were of paramount importance. Hong Kong’s Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) was strict in granting an access license to radio equipment. Quickly obtaining an equipment certificate from the OFCA and helping CMHK deploy the microwave solution as soon as possible were major issues.

Because of CMHK’s pressing need for microwave backhaul, ZTE set a tight schedule for the project. To evaluate the overall performance of microwave products f rom different equipment suppliers, CMHK asked for both lab and field tests. After discerning CMHK’s specific requirements, ZTE responded quickly by obtaining an OFCA certificate for spectrum test in the first week. The testing equipment arrived at the site, and ZTE completed the site survey in the second week. This laid a good foundation for subsequent tests.

In the multivendor interoperability test, ZTE’s self-developed microwave

Success Stories

By Li Lanqing

Zain: Winning the Future by Refarming Spectrum

Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East and the world’s biggest oil producer. Oil exports

have made Saudi Arabia a very wealthy country with high per-capita income. Saudi Arabia has 54.8 million mobile users and mobile phone penetration rate of more than 180 per cent. In this high-end communication market, users are concerned about network quality, new technologies, and high-speed data

services. Zain was established in Kuwait

in 1983 and now operates in eight countries across the Middle East and Africa. Zain acquired Saudi Arabia’s third GSM license in July 2007 and began constructing a GSM network in August 2008. It has become the third largest mobile operator in Saudi Arabia and had about 10 million users at the end of 2011.

Opportunities and ChallengesZain focuses on mobile service and

before its network transformation it had GSM, UMTS and HSPA networks. At the end of 2011, Zain’s voice network covered more than 400 cities and 59 highways. Because of its short development history, Zain lags behind r ivals in network coverage and number of sites. In the next few years, the company has to invest a huge amount of capital to rapidly expand its network and catch up with its competitors.

Use of Zain’s broadband services t r ipled in 2011 compared with the previous year; however, Zain still only has a small share of the whole broadband market in Saudi Arabia, and there is huge development potential for the company. According to reports from international consulting company Ovum, Zain is growing rapidly and has grabbed market share from the other two mobile operators in Saudi Arabia. Zain has pressured its competitors to retain their existing customers and vie for new ones. In early 2011, Saudi Arabia’s three major operators began constructing LTE networks at the same time. The arrival of the 4G era gives Zain the opportunity to compete from the same starting line. However, the challenge for Zain is to make full use of existing resources to build a high-quality,


speed reached 27.83 Mbps.

Win the Future Through network modernization,

Zain created an all-IP network and saved transmission resources. SDR base stations based on ZTE’s Uni-RAN platform were used to converge 2G, 3G and 4G networks and to support smooth evolution from 2G and 3G to 4G. This helps Zain quickly enhance network performance and roll out new services.

ZTE’s macro base stat ions have single-carrier power of 40W/TRX and cover a wide area, which reduces the number of required base stations. The base stations have a unique dual-PA macro base station module that halves the

number of modules needed for the same configuration. This significantly reduces network construction costs.

The solution allows 2G, 3G and 4G networks to share towers, power supply, protectors, and transmission facilities and enables antennas and feeders to be reused when upgrading from1800 MHz to LTE.

Through network modernization, Zain has solved the problems associated with spectrum shortage and has optimized its network architecture. Overall, Zain has significantly improved the quality of its network and gained a competitive edge in the market. The 2G, 3G and 4G multilevel network better meets the needs of the market and positions Zain well for the future.

Success Stories

more efficient, more flexible network that can smoothly evolve into 4G.

Network Modernization In the region where the ZTE project

will be completed, Zain owns 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spect r um for GSM networks and 2100 MHz spectrum for a UMTS network, but there is no idle spectrum for LTE. Zain needs a solution to this problem so that 2G, 3G and 4G networks can coexist. In addition, Zain’s original network architecture and equipment was outdated, expensive to maintain, and could not smoothly evolve to 4G. Given this, Zain turned to ZTE for a wireless modernization solution.

Unified spectrum and capacity expansion for 2G network

Originally, Zain had 471 GSM sites that used the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrums. Zain significantly expanded the capacity of its 900 MHz GSM sites from S222 to S444 or S666, and at the same time, cleaned the original 1800 MHz GSM sites and transferred users to the 900 MHz network. After modernization, there were 671 GSM sites, all of which used the 900 MHz spectrum.

Expanding capacity for the 3G networkThere were originally 145 UMTS 2.1G

sites with a maximum download speed of 7.2 Mbps. After modernization, there were 395 3G sites, of which 303 were upgraded to DC HSPA+ with a maximum download speed of 42 Mbps.

Core coverage for 4GT he o r ig i n a l 180 0 M H z GSM

spectrum was released for the FDD LTE network, and 150 FDD LTE sites with a bandwidth of 10 Mbps were deployed in dense urban areas. Tests showed that the network’s downlink speed reached 74.7 Mbps and its uplink


January 28, 2013Source: Light Reading TV

LR’s Todd Townsend recently interviewed Dr. Jia Zhensheng, assistant director and senior

member of technical staff (SMTS) of Optical Labs, ZTE USA. Dr. Jia introduced the technical advantages of 100G products, especially the DSP and SD-FEC modules. He also talked about field deployments worldwide and pioneering achievements in 400G and 1T research.

LR: W h a t a r e t h e t e c h n i c a l advantages of 100G over 40G, and what possibilities does 100G open up for operators?

Dr. Jia: The 40G ecosystem is not that healthy as a result of frequent changes in technology. Take modulation formats for example. We have everything from PSBT, DPSK, and DQPSK all the way up to coherent QPSK. Standardization h a s a l s o b e e n m i s s i ng f r om t he beginning, and the supply chain is

unstable. By contrast, 100G is a single technology directly aimed at PM-QPSK and all the 100G standards are ready for mass deployment. We know that 100G provides much higher capacity than 40G and signif icantly reduces operational cost for carriers if they scale up their infrastructure. More and

ZTE: Leading R&D on100G and Beyond

Zhensheng Jia, Ph. D.Assistant Director and SMTS of Optical Labs, ZTE USA

Todd TownsendLRTV

Press Clipping


Press Clipping

more operators have already decided to skip over 40G and deploy 100G. We believe that 100G era is coming and is going to take off.

LR: What advantages does ZTE have in 100G?Dr. Jia: ZTE has a lways been at the forefront of optical transmission technology. After the release of sample 100G products at the end of 2009, ZTE launched the f irst commercial products in 2011. We think ZTE has been inf luential in three key areas. The f irst area is coherent detection with DSP capability. ZTE pioneered t h e u s e of a 4 0 n m p r o c e s s fo r excellent channel equalization and longer t ransmission distance. The second area is soft-decision forward-e r ror cor rec t ion (SD -FEC). ZT E implemented 15% turbo-product code (TPC) SD-FEC on the 100G MSA transponder to achieve 1500 km or more t ransmission d ist ance. This can result in 11.1 dB net coding gain. The third area is f lexible aggregation and la rge c ross - con nect . We can cross connect and aggregate 3.2 Tbit client signals of any granularity, from ODU0, ODU1 all the way up to ODU4 ODU flex signals.

LR: What R&D is ZTE doing on beyond 100G?Dr. Jia: ZTE has put great effort into 400G and 1T R&D. In September last year, we released the news at the European Conference on Optical Communication that we had succeeded with single-carrier PM-QPSK, which makes 400G single-carrier ultralong-hau l t r ansmission possible. With Deutsche Telecom, we transmitted 2450 km of mixed 100G, 400G, and 1 terabit signals over the optical infrastructure in Germany, which includes eight nodes. We also transmitted 24 Tbit DW DM sig nals and ach ieved the highest single channel rate (11.2 Tbit/s) using superchannel technology. These achievements were the first of their kind in the industry.

We have released seven practical 400G and 1T prototypes aimed at different application areas for customers. As the leading industry innovator, we have filed patents on optical modules, a lgor i t h ms , f r ami ng, and sys tem optimization.

LR: How will ZTE products be used in 100G and beyond?Dr. Jia: ZTE has completed dozens of tests on 100G and has commercially

deployed 100G products for operators such as China Telecom, China Unicom, C h i n a Mobi le , C h i n a E d uc a t ion Network, TATA Communicat ions, and Hong Kong PCCW. ZTE has achieved the longest t ransmission distance, highest receiver sensitivity, and fastest provisioning time in recent tests with China Telecom and China Mobile. In October 2012, ZTE and T-Mobile f inished deploying 100G on T-Mobile’s existing 10G backbone network in Aust r ia . ZTE has also started deploying 100G on the China Education Network.

In our f ield t r ials with DT, we acqu i red quant i t a t ive k nowledge about the t rade -of f bet ween dat a rate and transmission distance. We also acquired knowledge about the t rade-off between implementat ion complexity and spectrum efficiency. We th in k these exper iences have been critical for allowing operators to strategically scale their networks into future backbones.

ZTE is a leader in beyond-100G R&D. We believe that we will keep up this momentum and continue to lead the industry in developing optical transport systems to support customer needs.


More and more operators have already decided to skip over 40G and deploy 100G. We believe that

100G era is coming and is going to take off.

Vo i c e o v e r LT E ( Vo LT E ) delivers packet-switched voice and multimedia services over

an LTE network. The IR.92 standard for VoLTE, defined by GSMA, uses a subset of IMS functions. Better user experience requi res h igh-qual ity interact ions between multimedia services, LTE transport networks, IMS, and legacy services. Enhancing user experience is a core strategy of operators.

ChallengesWhen evolving from 2G and 3G

to LTE, the same phone numbers are usually retained so that users can enjoy new IMS and LTE multimedia services but continue to have legacy 2G and 3G

services such as prepaid, VPN, and personal ring-back. When VoLTE and IMS are introduced into a network, mobile operators need to guarantee that customers can still use legacy services. The main challenges of legacy services in VoLTE are:● t he ex i s t i ng SCP ha s been i n

service for several years. It is hard to modify the SCP and use an IP-based ISC interface to interact with the IMS network and provide legacy services for users.

● legacy services are delivered by different SCPs that have different service logics or different custom-made feat u res. Therefore i t i s difficult to do interoperating testing

Figure 1. Service concept with LTE and IMS.

Solution

MultimediaService

IMS User Experience

Legacy Service

LTE Network


By Jiang Yonghu and Lu Wei

Legacy Service

Inheritance in VoLTE

Legacy SCP

S-CSCF

PPS

CAP1/2/3(23.078)

IM-SSF

ISC ISC

MGCFor MSCs

iFC for CAP based services

Reusing the existing CS core networkOverlay mechanism

iFC for SINP based services

No need to upgrade the IN system

VPN NP

SINAP

(IOT) with each SCP. ● operators have invested heavily in

legacy SCP platforms, so they don’t want to reinvest any more when introducing IMS and VoLTE. The ideal solution is to reuse the legacy IN system and use a simple data configuration on SCP but do not upgrade software or change service logic or IN interfaces.

Legacy Services in VoLTE

SCP upgradeTo i n t e r ac t w i t h S - CSCF, t he

exist ing SCP platform needs to be upgraded to support the ISC interface. S-CSCF triggers legacy services to SCP according to the standard IMS traffic f low. This is the simplest and most standard way that legacy services are inherited.

SCP reuseS C P r e u s e i n v o l v e s I M - S S F

functionality and an overlay mechanism. The IM-SSF def ined in 3GPP TS 23.218 provides IP multimedia service switching, which mediates service requests between IMS legacy service delivery platforms, such as INSCP. W hen intercon nect ing the legacy network, the IM-SSF supports standard protocols such as CAMEL, INAP and MAP. Vendor-specific protocols are also supported. From an IMS perspective, IM-SSF is just a SIP application server. IM-SSF acts as an SIP back-to-back user agent (SIP B2BUA) and breaks the call coming from the originating party. It creates a new call leg towards the terminating par ty. This allows modifications to be made on the session. From a gsmSCF perspective, IM-SSF acts similar to a GSM SSF. To minimize modifications on the network and make

full use of the existing infrustructure, an overlay mechanism is also used for legacy services. The existing MGCF or MSCs are used as SSP to trigger legacy services (Fig. 3). This avoids interoperating testing of the IMS system and SCP platform.

In SCP reuse, existing IN services can be reused by IMS users without the need to upgrade the legacy SCP. Only some modifications are made to SCP. Multiple IN services can also be triggered by S-CSCF in one session. This means that mult iple iFCs are subscribed in HSS.

ConclusionInheriting legacy services is an important

requirement when introducing VoLTE into the network. Operators need to take into consideration investment, impact on network operation and end users, and services to be inherited. An ideal legacy service inheritance solution should have minimal impact on existing network and users, and it should protect operator investment. ZTE supports all the abovementioned solutions for legacy service inheritance in VoLTE. The solutiuon based on IMS-SSF has been successfully deployed by CSL, a leading mobile operator in Hong Kong.

Solution

Figure 2. SCP upgrade solution.

Figure 3. SCP reuse solution.

Legacy SCP

PPS VPN

S-CSCF

ISC

NP

SCP needs to be upgraded to support the ISC interface


20 a universal architecture for small 31 and beyond cmhk ... · 1 zte technologies jun 2013 jun...

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