SDR Creates Possibility of Smooth Upgrade - ZTE
SDR Creates Possibility of Smooth Upgrade - ZTE
SDR Creates Possibility of Smooth Upgrade - ZTE
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www.zte.com.cnA Monthly PublicationVol. 10 No. 3 Issue 98 March/2008P8<strong>SDR</strong> <strong>Creates</strong> <strong>Possibility</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Smooth</strong> <strong>Upgrade</strong>Tech Feature<strong>SDR</strong> is a cost-effective and perfect solution for 2G/3G network integrationand future HSPA+ and LTE evolvementCorporate NewsTech Feature334<strong>ZTE</strong> Announces 2007 Annual Results<strong>ZTE</strong> Teams with Two Leading EuropeanTelecom System Integrators<strong>ZTE</strong> Launches First <strong>SDR</strong> Base Station atGSMA Mobile World Congress 2008P11<strong>ZTE</strong>’s Distributed S<strong>of</strong>t BTS SolutionThe distributed s<strong>of</strong>t BTS solution can effectivelysolve the problems operator face in constructingtheir 3G networks: insufficient equipment roomspace and difficult site selection4<strong>ZTE</strong> Helps Hutchison 3G Enhance MobileBroadband Services555Industrial News4G Subscribers to Hit 90 Million by 2013Tata Plans World’s Largest WiMAX NetworkSony Ericsson Says Reviewing Ties with NTTDoCoMoP13IP GERAN BSS SolutionThe IP-based GERAN adapts to the networkevolution, and is <strong>of</strong> strategic significance tonetwork investments protection556T-Mobile Tests Femto Indoor MobileTechnologyRivals Challenge Virgin-Tata DealPress ClippingNew World OrderP15<strong>ZTE</strong>’s MVNO SolutionWith the support <strong>of</strong> government regulationpolicies, growing demands for feature-richservices, and open competition environment,MVNOs will be flourishing all over the world
Tech FeatureTD-SCDMA Industry DevelopmentThe booming <strong>of</strong> each link in the industry chain willundoubtedly promote a healthy, open and stabledevelopment <strong>of</strong> TD-SCDMAIMS: Restructuring Communications ServicesWith the introduction <strong>of</strong> IMS, a lot <strong>of</strong> multimediaservices are enabled such as multimedia conferencing,IMS messaging and MRBT<strong>ZTE</strong>’s IMS-based Multi-network ConvergenceSolutionZIMS helps a traditional telecom operator to transforminto an integrated communication and information serviceprovider that can deploy a convergent NGNP22181922P24Editorial BoardEditor-in-Chief: Gu YongchengDeputy Editor-in-Chief: Huang XinmingEditorial Director: Zhao LiliExecutive Editor: Yue LihuaEditor: Angela Amor T. GuintoCirculation Manager: Wang PingpingSubscription / Customer ServicesSubscription to <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIESis free <strong>of</strong> chargeTel: +86-551-5533356Fax: +86-551-5850139Email: wang.pingping@zte.com.cnWebsite: www.zte.com.cnEditorial OfficeMarketing System11F, R&D Building, <strong>ZTE</strong> Plaza,Hi-tech Road South, Hi-tech Industrial Park,Shenzhen, P.R.ChinaCase StudyContinued Development Road <strong>of</strong> Vietnam’s EVNTelecom24Postcode: 518057Tel: +86-755-26775191Fax: +86-755-26775217Email: yue.lihua@zte.com.cn<strong>ZTE</strong> leverages its CDMA technical advantages to helpEVN Telecom find solutions for continued developmentthat can fully exploit its potentialsDomain-based NMS Solution for an MSAN Project<strong>ZTE</strong>’s domain-based NMS solution makes possible endto-endservice configuration and monitoring, allowing asmooth and step-by-step transition to NGNHandsets<strong>ZTE</strong> USA Launches First Handset for U.S. Market<strong>ZTE</strong> Aims for 50 Million Handset Sales in 2008<strong>ZTE</strong>, 3 Italia and MOMODESIGN Partner to DevelopMD2 and MD3 HandsetsMarch 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES26282829<strong>ZTE</strong> Pr<strong>of</strong>ile<strong>ZTE</strong> is a leading global provider <strong>of</strong>telecommunications equipment and networksolutions. <strong>ZTE</strong>'s product range is the mostcomplete in the world—covering virtuallyevery sector <strong>of</strong> the wireline, wireless andhandset markets. The company deliversproducts and services to customers in morethan 120 countries.
Corporate NewsOn 1 9 M a r c h 2 0 0 8 , Z T Eannounced its audited annualresults for the year ended 31December 2007. Based on HKAS,the company recorded a revenue <strong>of</strong>approximately RMB34,777 million in2007, representing an increase <strong>of</strong> 49.8%against 2006. Net pr<strong>of</strong>it was RMB1,252million. Basic earnings per share wereRMB1.30.The Board <strong>of</strong> Directors recommendedpayment <strong>of</strong> a final dividend <strong>of</strong> RMB2.5(including tax) per 10 shares and thecompany proposed to increase issuedcapital by Reserve on a basis <strong>of</strong> 4 sharesfor every 10 shares for the year ended2007.During the year, <strong>ZTE</strong>’s revenuefrom domestic operations amountedto RMB14,687 million, representinga year-on-year growth <strong>of</strong> 13.8%. Thecompany continued to implement thestrategies <strong>of</strong> product differentiation andcost leadership heeding developmenttrends in the domestic communicationsmarket. At the same time, it strengthenedties with domestic mainstream carriersin China by providing them with qualityproducts and services.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s revenue from internationalprincipal operations grew 94.8% toRMB20,091 million and accountedfor 57.8% <strong>of</strong> its total revenue, whichwas 13.4% higher compared with theprevious year. The revenue growth wasdriven by continued growth <strong>of</strong> incomefrom emerging markets and increasedsales in developed countries.(<strong>ZTE</strong> Corporation)<strong>ZTE</strong> Teams with Two Leading European TelecomSystem IntegratorsZT E s i g n e d s t r a t e g i ctelecommunications s<strong>of</strong>twareagreement with two leadingproviders in Europe and Latin Americato optimize its <strong>of</strong>ferings for targetcustomers in developed markets. Thetwo partners are ATOS Origin (“ATOS”),the second largest consulting companyin Europe, and Indra, the largest ITintegrator in Spain.<strong>ZTE</strong>s<strong>of</strong>t, a holding subsidiarys<strong>of</strong>tware company <strong>of</strong> <strong>ZTE</strong>, whichfocuses on global telecommunicationsIT system s<strong>of</strong>tware, facilitated the twosignificant deals. The unit’s flagshipproduct ZSmart BSS/OSS has beenattracting tremendous interest in themarket, resulting in <strong>ZTE</strong> forging severalkey collaborations with providersglobally. Under the ATOS partnershipagreement, both companies will jointlymanage market bids and collaborativelyimplement projects, enabling <strong>ZTE</strong>’sZSmart series <strong>of</strong> s<strong>of</strong>tware solutions tosmoothly penetrate European marketswhere ATOS has a strong foothold.On the other hand, <strong>ZTE</strong>’s partnershipwith Indra will allow the company toeffectively expand its global outreach.The agreement is a win-win situationfor both companies—<strong>ZTE</strong> will helpenhance Indra’s competitiveness in thetelecommunications technology field,while Indra’s rich experience in highendmarkets and solid IT s<strong>of</strong>twareintegration capability will help <strong>ZTE</strong>to get a solid presence in the LatinAmerican telecom markets.(<strong>ZTE</strong> Corporation)<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008
Corporate News<strong>ZTE</strong> Launches First <strong>SDR</strong> Base Station atGSMA Mobile World Congress 2008ZT E l a u n c h e d t h e Z X G WB8036, the world’s first precommercialS<strong>of</strong>tware DefinedRadio (<strong>SDR</strong>) base station at theGSMA Mobile World Congress 2008.The ZXGW B8036 supports GSMand WCDMA simultaneously withins<strong>of</strong>tware rather than requiring separatehardware components like currentbase stations as well as providing LTEreadiness and a smooth evolution path.It can significantly lower networkinfrastructure costs for operators, whileimproving network integrity, continuityand stability.<strong>SDR</strong> can tune to different frequencybands and receive any modulationacross a large frequency spectrum byusing s<strong>of</strong>tware to process digitizedsignals. With <strong>SDR</strong> technology, mobileoperators will be able to extend thelifespan <strong>of</strong> their network systems, hencedecreasing total cost <strong>of</strong> ownership (TCO)and significantly lowering investmentrisks. In addition, the<strong>ZTE</strong> <strong>SDR</strong> base stationis built on an innovativeμ T C A p l a t f o r m t h a t<strong>of</strong>fers additional savingscompared to a traditionaldesign; its modular andscalable architectureallows flexible networkdesign capabilities thusr e d u c i n g O P E X a n dCAPEX for the operators.The technology, whichruns radio functionality ass<strong>of</strong>tware modules on an integrated andunified hardware platform, also enablesoperators to easily roll out new mobileservices and features.“Integrating key functions intoone unified solution is a critical trendin mobile networks today,” saidFang Hui, <strong>ZTE</strong>’s General Manager,WCDMA Products. “With <strong>ZTE</strong>’s <strong>SDR</strong>technology, we take pride in introducinga new breakthrough in base stationdevelopment for all waveforms. TheZXGW B8036 can also be designedto support CDMA and WiMAX in thefuture, and so meets telecom operators’demands for a solution for networkintegration and smooth LTE evolvement,which we expect to help them increasecompetitive advantage and add on newfeatures.”(<strong>ZTE</strong> Corporation)<strong>ZTE</strong> Helps Hutchison 3G Enhance MobileBroadband Services<strong>ZTE</strong> signed a global deal withHutchison 3G UK Limited(“H3G”), the world’s leading3G operator and the largest 3G networkoperator in the UK and Europe, tomake its 3G modems available to allHutchison operating companies.Under the agreement, <strong>ZTE</strong> willdeliver its HSDPA MF622 modem to3UK and 3 Ireland to enhance H3G’sefficiency <strong>of</strong> its supply chain capability.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s MF622 modem supports asignal boosting technology called“Receive Diversity”, a unique featurethat improves cell efficiency and datathroughput rate, particularly under “edge<strong>of</strong> cell” conditions. Cell efficiency isparticularly important to operators,as more data traffic is allowed to passthrough a cell. It boosts receiver signalstrength and consequently reduces theenergy required to be transmitted toany given subscriber. This increases anetwork’s subscriber capacity whichcan be translated into significant costsavings.(<strong>ZTE</strong> Corporation)March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
Industrial News4G Subscribers to Hit 90 Million by2013February 29, 2008The number <strong>of</strong> subscribers to next generation wireless services worldwide,including both LTE and WiMAX, is expected to top 90 million by 2013.Analyst house ABI Research said that it expects migration to HSPA+ to beginin early 2010, with migration to 4G technology LTE commencing by the middle<strong>of</strong> the same year.ABI forecasts the total number <strong>of</strong> WCDMA and HSPA subscribers toapproach 720 million in 2013.(www.telecoms.com)Tata Plans World’s Largest WiMAXNetworkMarch 6, 2008Tata Communications is planning the world’s largest commercial WiMAXrollout, with full coverage in 15 cities across India.The Indian telco has contracted US vendor Telsima to build the network,which it expects to capture 200,000 retail customers in 2009.The network <strong>of</strong> 3000 base stations will provide limited coverage forenterprises in 110 cities and full retail coverage in 15 major cities. The firstphase will cover Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Cochin,Chandigarh, and Kolkata.(www.telecomasia.net)Sony Ericsson Says Reviewing Tieswith NTT DoCoMoMarch 10, 2008Sony Ericsson said that it was reviewing its business ties with NTT DoCoMo,Japan’s top mobile telephone operator, which is struggling amid an industryprice war.But the company, a joint venture between Japan’s Sony Corp andSweden’s LM Ericsson, declined to confirm reports that it will stop makinghandsets for DoCoMo.“It is true that Sony Ericsson is reviewing part <strong>of</strong> its product developmentplans with DoCoMo,” said company spokesman Toshiyuki Kawamura. But hesaid the firm would continue to provide products to DoCoMo.(www.cn-c114.net)T-Mobile TestsFemto IndoorMobile TechnologyMarch 10, 2008T-Mobile’s venture capital armT-Ventures has put money into femtocellmaker Ubiquisys, and the operatorsays it plans to run a trial <strong>of</strong> the indoorbase station technology. T-Mobile isfollowing rival operator O2, whichannounced a femto trial with Ubiquisysat the Mobile World Congress 2008.Femtocells are consumer deviceswhich deliver 3G access in a building,and connect to the mobile network overbroadband, improving indoor coverageand <strong>of</strong>fering cheaper calls and betterdata traffic while indoors. Currently, thedevices are being tested in operators’labs, with user trials expected from theend <strong>of</strong> 2008.(www.cn-c114.net)Rivals ChallengeVirgin-Tata DealMarch 7, 2008Tata Teleservices and Virgin Mobilehave spent all week defending theirbrand partnership in India as rivaloperators have kicked up a stink overthe deal, claiming it is a roundabout wayfor Virgin to become an illegal mobilevirtual network operator (MVNO).Even before the two companiesannounced their joint venture onMarch 2, 2008, the Cellular OperatorsAssociation <strong>of</strong> India, which representsIndia’s GSM-based operators, wasinsisting to the Department <strong>of</strong> Telecom(DOT) that the deal violates regulations.(www. unstrung.com)<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008
Press ClippingNew World Order(Selected from the February 2008 issue <strong>of</strong> Mobile Communications International magazine)According to one analyst firm, <strong>ZTE</strong> won more networkcontracts than any vendor in 2007. And the company has itssigns set on more growth in 2008.Fo u n d e d i n S h e n z h e n i n1 9 8 5 a s t h e Z h o n g x i n gSemiconductor Co. Ltd, <strong>ZTE</strong>listed on the Shenzhen StockExchange in 1997. The following year itwon a $95m turkey contract in Pakistan,which it claims was the first majoroverseas telecoms project to be awardedto a Chinese vendor, and opened its firstresearch and development operation inthe US. Today <strong>ZTE</strong> operates 14 R&Dcentres across North America, Europeand Asia.Being one <strong>of</strong> the largest Chinesetelecommunications infrastructureand handset vendors that are gainingin international market share andrecognition, <strong>ZTE</strong> is doing its bitto change the mobile industry. Asestablished Western vendors haveembarked on mergers and acquisitionsin a bid to manage expenditure andimprove scale, <strong>ZTE</strong> has taken advantage<strong>of</strong> the cost structure that comes withbeing headquartered in China.Z T E i s p e r f o r m i n g s t r o n g l y.According to a report published byanalyst Gartner, the firm won moremobile network contracts in the first half<strong>of</strong> 2007 than any other vendor. For thesame period, the firm’s revenues were$2.1bn, an increase <strong>of</strong> 43.9% on thecorresponding half year for 2006. Pr<strong>of</strong>itsin the six months to June 2007 were$63.7m, up 32.5% year on year.<strong>ZTE</strong> has built market share bytargeting operators in emerging markets,where cost is more likely to be adominant factor in supplier selection,and through strong relationships withcarriers in its home market.<strong>ZTE</strong> is likely to be a big winner in theTD-SCDMA space, should that be thetechnology that China’s mobile carriersselect for their 3G deployments. Even ifthose carriers opt for another technology,or decide to wait and leapfrog to aflavour <strong>of</strong> 4G, the nature <strong>of</strong> the Chinesemarket means that <strong>ZTE</strong> will likely scorea sizeable win. It’s biggest customer,China Mobile, is also the largest operatorin the world by subscriber base.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s initial strength was in 2GCDMA, with GSM and subsequentlyWCDMA disciplines developed later.Latterly the firm has been investing itstime and budget in WiMAX—it won acommercial deployment contract for thetechnology in Libya early in 2008. Thecontract will see <strong>ZTE</strong> deploy an 802.16enetwork covering eight major Libyancities, including the capital, Tripoli.T h i s w a s t h e f i r s t Wi M A Xdeployment in Africa, and the vendor’schief representative in Libya says that heexpects it to stimulate further contractwins, which it feels well positioned tocapitalize on. <strong>ZTE</strong> is the only Chinesefirm to sit on the board <strong>of</strong> the WiMAXForum and has 21 commercial trials <strong>of</strong>the technology underway in marketsincluding Singapore, Thailand and SaudiArabia.In China, according to a report fromanalyst firm Forward Concepts entitledWiMAX'08: The 3G+ BroadbandAlternative, <strong>ZTE</strong> envisions thetechnology working in conjunction withGSM and CDMA voice services and isworking to support dual-mode terminalsthat could provide end users with asingle handset solution. <strong>ZTE</strong> has alreadywon a deal to supply WiMAX terminalsto US carrier Sprint Nextel.According to <strong>ZTE</strong>, 33% <strong>of</strong> thecontracts that it won in the first half <strong>of</strong>2007—there were 188 deals in total—were in Asia Pacific and emergingmarkets. As well as China Mobileand China Unicom, it highlightedMarch 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
key relationships with Indian playerReliance, Middle Eastern specialistEtisalat and Norwegian carrier Telenor,which has a portfolio <strong>of</strong> operations inthe less developed markets <strong>of</strong> EasternEurope.India alone is <strong>of</strong> vital strategicimportance to <strong>ZTE</strong>, which revealed latein 2007 that it is aiming to generate $1bnin revenues from the Indian market in2008. India generated more than $800min revenues for <strong>ZTE</strong> in 2007 and thefirm has marked it out as the secondmost important market for its businessoutside <strong>of</strong> China.Handsets represent a significant part<strong>of</strong> <strong>ZTE</strong>’s play, with Informa Telecoms& Media ranking the firm just insidethe top six handset vendor listingworldwide. 2007 saw <strong>ZTE</strong> win a handsetsupply deal with Vodafone for terminalscarrying the operator brand, and thecombined handset and infrastructure<strong>of</strong>fering is a strength that <strong>ZTE</strong> is lookingto leverage going forward.Scale built at home and in emergingmarkets is being used by <strong>ZTE</strong> to pushinto advanced Western territories and<strong>ZTE</strong> says it has established partnershipswith more than 500 carriers in morethan 120 countries around the world. Itsmobile infrastructure has been deployedby 120 operators in 70 countries, thefirm says.R&D has been a victim <strong>of</strong> thedownturn at many Western Vendors,which have had to slash headcount ina bid to remain competitive. <strong>ZTE</strong> iskeen to stress its continued investmentin research as an advantage over otherplayers. The firm says that 40% <strong>of</strong> itsworkforce is employed in research anddevelopment, and that 10% <strong>of</strong> annualrevenues are ploughed back into itsvarious research projects. By 2005,says <strong>ZTE</strong>, this had resulted in 3,000national and international patentsapplied for, the vast majority <strong>of</strong> whichare IPR related.Like all big vendors in the mobileindustry, <strong>ZTE</strong> sets great store by thequality <strong>of</strong> its people. It has an employeebase <strong>of</strong> 27,000, with over 70% educatedto degree level or higher. It is perhapsunusual in that the average age <strong>of</strong> itsemployee base is just 30 years old.There is little doubt that therapid growth <strong>of</strong> the Chinese vendorcommunity has given more establishedWestern players serious cause forconcern. Given the relatively low cost<strong>of</strong> operations that companies like <strong>ZTE</strong>enjoy, they simply have not faced thekind <strong>of</strong> pressures that have forcedEuropean and North American playersinto round after round <strong>of</strong> redundanciesand mergers and acquisitions that, atbest, have yet to prove themselvesstrategically and commerciallyrewarding.When <strong>ZTE</strong> first appeared on thewireless scene, it was <strong>of</strong>ten portrayed asa company that had little to recommenditself other than the low cost <strong>of</strong> itsproducts. But as more and moreoperators—including, crucially, those inthe upper tier—have given these vendorstrials and commercial deals, writingthem <strong>of</strong>f simply as cheap is no longeracceptable.All <strong>of</strong> the Western vendors havemade inroads into the Chinese market,attracted by the sheer scale <strong>of</strong> theopportunity. Simultaneously, that nationhas been exporting its own firms, like<strong>ZTE</strong>. It simply remains to be seenwhether or not the Western players cando as well in <strong>ZTE</strong>’s market as it clearlyhopes to do in theirs.<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008
Tech FeatureLi LiangboWhat is <strong>SDR</strong>?So f t ware D e fi n e d R a d i o(<strong>SDR</strong>) is a term adopted bythe international S<strong>of</strong>twareDefined Radio Forum (<strong>SDR</strong>F)to describe radios that provides s<strong>of</strong>twarecontrol <strong>of</strong> a variety <strong>of</strong> modulationtechniques, wide-band or narrowbandoperation, communicationssecurity functions (such as hopping),and waveform requirements <strong>of</strong> currentand evolving standards over a broadfrequency range. This technologyuses a generic hardware platform toaccommodate different communicationsstandards, frequencies and modulationschemes via s<strong>of</strong>tware modules. Awide range <strong>of</strong> radio applications likeBluetooth, WLAN, CDMA, GMS,W C D M A a n d Wi M A X c a n b eimplemented using <strong>SDR</strong> technology.<strong>SDR</strong> is a cost-effective and perfectsolution for 2G/3G network integrationand future HSPA+ and LTE evolvement.Using <strong>SDR</strong>, hardware resources canbe shared and base stations need onlya s<strong>of</strong>tware adjustment to handle a newstandard, saving considerable expense.March 2008<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
Benefits from <strong>SDR</strong><strong>SDR</strong> is a rapidly evolving technologythat is receiving widespread popularity inthe commercial wireless communicationindustry. It facilitates implementation <strong>of</strong>multi-band and multi-standard wirelesscommunications systems. Mobileoperators, manufacturers and subscriberswill all benefit from the vastly improvedcommunications available through <strong>SDR</strong>.With the <strong>SDR</strong> technology, mobileoperators will be able to upgrade theirnetwork systems to the latest versionwithout any hardware change, hencedecreasing total cost <strong>of</strong> ownership(TCO). They can roll out new servicestailored to the various tiers <strong>of</strong> userson a common hardware platform. Thedeployment <strong>of</strong> <strong>SDR</strong> equipment canhelp operators transit from “networkproviders” to “service providers”, whichwill create a substantial new source <strong>of</strong>revenue. Moreover, the <strong>SDR</strong> equipment<strong>of</strong>fers improved time to market,significantly reducing the operators’investment risks.From the manufacturers’ perspective,the <strong>SDR</strong> technology is adopted toremove the development gap amongdifferent technologies, which can lowerthe R&D cost and shorten the time tomarket for new products and services.As the <strong>SDR</strong>-based air interfaces andfrequency bands accommodate multipleand evolving technical standards, the<strong>SDR</strong> platform addresses a wide range<strong>of</strong> market requirements. The <strong>SDR</strong>products are modularized and enable“s<strong>of</strong>t” update <strong>of</strong> new services, featuresand security mechanisms. With the<strong>SDR</strong> technology, the manufacturers canenhance product integrity, continuityand stability.For subscribers, the <strong>SDR</strong> terminalmeans a single platform for multipletechnical standards that allowscustomization and access to a variety<strong>of</strong> new features and services with aneasy upgrade path. Subscribers can usethe <strong>SDR</strong> terminals to seamlessly roamacross operator boundaries and achievetrue mobility. The <strong>SDR</strong> technologyincreases the lifetime <strong>of</strong> a terminalinvestment and provides insuranceagainst obsolescence.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s <strong>SDR</strong> System Solution<strong>ZTE</strong> is a pioneer in the <strong>SDR</strong>technology development. The companyplans to commercially launch its <strong>SDR</strong>product series in the Q3 2008. <strong>ZTE</strong>’s<strong>SDR</strong> products based on the innovativeμTCA platform feature modular design,distributed architecture and highintegration. Through s<strong>of</strong>tware upgrade,they can be implemented on multipletechnical standards including GSM,WCDMA/HSPA, CDMA2000 1X EV-DO and WiMAX. Therefore, operatorscan easily expand, manage andmaintain their communications systemswhile effectively reducing TCO. Thedevelopment roadmap <strong>of</strong> <strong>ZTE</strong>’s NodeBseries is shown in Figure 1.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s <strong>SDR</strong> products include dualmodeRNC and <strong>SDR</strong> BTS series. Inthe dual-mode RNC, BSC and RNCare co-located in the same cabinet tosave equipment room. The <strong>SDR</strong> BTSseries consists <strong>of</strong> indoor BTS, outdoorBTS, macro BTS, BBU and RRU. TheFigure 1 Development roadmap <strong>of</strong> <strong>ZTE</strong>’s NodeB seriesbaseband unit (BB) supports GSM/WCDMA/CDMA standards and theradio unit (RU) supports multi-bandsolutions. The combination <strong>of</strong> differentBBs and RUs forms different types <strong>of</strong><strong>SDR</strong> BTS. <strong>ZTE</strong>’s <strong>SDR</strong> products havethe following key features:Large-capacity and multi-bandcapabilitiesIn the GSM/WCDMA dual modes,one macro BTS can support a maximumcapacity <strong>of</strong> 24 TRXs and 12 CSs. In aGSM or WCDMA single mode, it cansupport 36 TRXs or 12 CSs. <strong>ZTE</strong>’s <strong>SDR</strong>products support multi-frequency bandsincluding 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800MHz, 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz. OneBTS normally contains 6 RF modules,each supporting 1 WCDMA carrier and4 GSM TRXs. With large-capacity andmulti-band capabilities, the <strong>SDR</strong> systemensures smooth upgrade and CAPEXsavings.High-efficiency power amplifier<strong>ZTE</strong>’s <strong>SDR</strong> products adopt theunique digital predistortion (DPD)and Doherty PA technology to reacha PA efficiency <strong>of</strong> 33% at present and50% in future. The high-efficiencyPA considerably reduces the powerconsumption <strong>of</strong> RF modules and hencedecreases the operator’s OPEX.<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008
Tech FeatureUnified μTCA platform<strong>ZTE</strong>’s <strong>SDR</strong> products are built ona unified μTCA hardware platformthat delivers a bandwidth as high as40 Gbps. Its baseband units can beconnected to the radio modules in star,chain and ring networking topologies.With the same hardware structure,the <strong>SDR</strong> products can support GSM,WCDMA/HSPA, CDMA2000 1X EV-DO and WiMAX standards by s<strong>of</strong>twareupgrade, helping operators reduceconstruction and management costs andfacilitate the smooth evolution from 2Gto 3G.<strong>Smooth</strong> evolution<strong>ZTE</strong>’s <strong>SDR</strong> products are capable<strong>of</strong> meeting the requirements for multibandsand mixed networking <strong>of</strong> GSM/EDGE/CDMA/WCDMA/HSPA. Theycan operate over a wide frequencyrange from 850 MHz to 2100 MHz.For example, the operator who ownsboth GSM900/1800 and UMTS2100networks can use one <strong>SDR</strong> BTS toreplace the two kinds <strong>of</strong> BTS hardwarepreviously required. The <strong>SDR</strong> productssupport co-frequency and interfrequencynetworking. For the samefrequency, the UMTS900 and GSM900can be implemented in one <strong>SDR</strong> BTS;for different frequencies, the UMTS2100and GSM900 can also be implementedin one <strong>SDR</strong> BTS. As shown in Figure2, the conventional GSM900 BTS isreplaced by a dual-mode <strong>SDR</strong> BTS andit will evolve to the UMTS900/2100NodeB in the future.Field-proven 2G/3G interoperationWith significant R&D investment on2G/3G integrated networks, <strong>ZTE</strong> hasgained experience in delivering total2G/3G network interoperation solutionsranging from business platform, corenetworks and access networks toterminals, as well as comprehensiveand versatile end-to-end infrastructuretechnologies. Its unified core network,HLR, and dual-mode BBU/RRU areFigure 2 <strong>Smooth</strong> upgrade with <strong>SDR</strong> BTSwidely deployed, while PLMN, NMPand 2G/3G interoperable technologieshave been implemented in more than 20countries in Western Europe, South Asiaand Africa. <strong>ZTE</strong>’s <strong>SDR</strong> products arefully compatible with legacy networkequipment.High-performance HSPA<strong>ZTE</strong>’s <strong>SDR</strong> products support HSPAfunctions, allowing simultaneous accessby 64 HSDPA subscribers in eachcell at 14.4 Mbps peak rates on thedownlink and 5.76 Mbps peak rates onthe uplink. The high-performance HSPAhelps operators <strong>of</strong>fer varieties <strong>of</strong> highspeeddata services. Additionally, the<strong>SDR</strong> products are future pro<strong>of</strong> and cans<strong>of</strong>tware upgrade to support HSPA+ andLTE.The <strong>SDR</strong> technology is evolvingto support more flexible and low-costapplications. More and more companiesand organizations will join the <strong>SDR</strong>family. With continuous investment in the<strong>SDR</strong>-related research and development,<strong>ZTE</strong> will provide competitive <strong>SDR</strong>product series to meet various marketrequirements.<strong>ZTE</strong> Challenges with S<strong>of</strong>tware Defined Base StationSome day all base stations will be s<strong>of</strong>tFebruary 14, 2008, Tony DennisA challenge to the established way <strong>of</strong> building cellular infrastructurewas thrown down at Mobile World Congress (MCW) 2008 in Barcelona.<strong>ZTE</strong> claims to have shown the world’s first <strong>SDR</strong> base station.Although presently at a “pre-commercial” stage, when <strong>ZTE</strong> initiallyships the ZXGW B8036 it will support both standard 2G (GSM) plus 3G(W-CDMA) for any territory in the world.Given that the B8036 can be tuned to almost any frequency usings<strong>of</strong>tware to process digitized signals, it should readily support esotericversions <strong>of</strong> GSM operating at 450 MHz and 800 MHz. It could do 700 MHzif you were mad enough to waste that spectrum.The beauty <strong>of</strong> <strong>SDR</strong> is that it makes the base station almost future pro<strong>of</strong>.So if a network operator installs this bit <strong>of</strong> kit now, when 4G (in the shape<strong>of</strong> LTE) eventually becomes a reality, the B8036 will be ready for it.(www.theinquirer.net)10 March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
<strong>ZTE</strong>’s Distributed S<strong>of</strong>t BTS SolutionMou YongjianRequirements for 3G BTS EquipmentWith the increase <strong>of</strong>voice traffic and wideapplications <strong>of</strong> highsp e e d p a c ket d a t aservices, larger capacity for voiceservices and broader bandwidth for dataservices are required. To meet theserequirements, most traditional mobileoperators have to construct 3G networksbased on their current 2G networks.However, the Base Transceiver Station(BTS) equipment used in the existing2G networks is generally unableto be directly upgraded to support3G services. As a result, new BTSequipment is needed in constructing 3Gnetworks.One critical problem most operatorsface is selecting a proper site andfinding enough installation space for thenew BTS equipment. Most operatorshave difficulties in site selection, andtheir equipment room spaces are <strong>of</strong>teninsufficient. Therefore, among others,an important requirement for 3G BTSequipment is that it should be designedto save the installation space and beflexibly applied in different installationscenarios.Another problem in 3G networkconstruction is standard selection. Atpresent, there are three mainstream 3Gstandards: CDMA, WCDMA and TD-SCDMA. Each standard has severalversions used for different evolutionarysteps. For example, the CDMA20001xEV-DO involves Rel.0, Rev.A andRev.B. Most operators have alreadydecided which 3G standard is to beused, but as to the evolution from 3Gto 4G (UMB, LTE and WiMAX), or tothe transitional releases (e.g., EVDORev.B), they are still adopting a waitand-seeattitude. Before investing in3G networks, they have to considerhow to evolve their networks, hopingthat the evolution route they choosecan facilitate a graceful and lowestcostupgrade from 3G to 4G in thefuture. Hence, the BTS equipment for3G networks should be upgradeable tosupport the 4G standard the operatorschoose, thus, better protecting theirinvestment in 3G networks.Figure 1 Traditional BTS vs. distributed BTS<strong>ZTE</strong>’s Distributed S<strong>of</strong>t BTS SolutionTo solve the above problems, <strong>ZTE</strong>first proposed the distributed BTSsolution in the telecom industry. Unlikethe traditional centralized BTS, thedistributed BTS physically separatesits baseband unit and radio frequency(RF) unit and connects them via thestandard baseband/RF interface (e.g.,Common Public Radio Interface/OpenBase Station Architecture Initiative, orCPRI/OBSAI). As shown in Figure 1,the baseband unit and the RF unit <strong>of</strong> thetraditional BTS are separated into twoindependent function modules in thedistributed BTS: Base Band Unit (BBU)and Remote RF Unit (RRU).The RRU <strong>of</strong> distributed BTSintegrates three RF units <strong>of</strong> traditionalBTS: Transceiver and Receiver (TRX),Power Amplifier (PA) and RF Front<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008 11
Tech FeatureEnd (RFE). With a protective enclosurethat meets the IP55 standard, the RRUcan be directly installed in an outdoorenvironment and in several modes:on a pole, on a wall, on a tower or inan integrated cabinet. Therefore, noequipment room space is required.Being highly integrated, the BBUsupports the same capacity as thebaseband unit <strong>of</strong> traditional BTS but ismuch smaller. In an indoor environment,it can be installed on a wall or on anexisting rack; thus, no extra indoor spaceis occupied. In an outdoor environment,it can be easily placed into the powersupply cabinet or transmission cabinet<strong>of</strong> the BTS.The distributed BTS is suitable forvarious installation scenarios as shownin Figure 2. If the equipment roomhas space constraints, the BBU can beinstalled in the equipment room, whilethe RRU is installed outdoors togetherwith the antenna. In case the indoorinstallation space is not available, theBBU can be installed in the outdooraccessory cabinet, where the accessoryequipment such as power supply,battery and transmission are placed,and the RRU can be directly installedoutdoors, either with the antenna or inan integrated BBU & RRU cabinet. Thisintegrated cabinet and the accessorycabinet can be installed on the groundor on top <strong>of</strong> the building; consequently,no indoor space is required. In the case<strong>of</strong> indoor coverage, the BBU can beinstalled in the basement or corridor,while the RRU can be mounted on thewall <strong>of</strong> the storey to be covered.To support a smooth evolution in thefuture, <strong>ZTE</strong> adopts the S<strong>of</strong>t DefinedRadio (<strong>SDR</strong>) technology in its distributedBTS, called distributed s<strong>of</strong>t BTS. Withthis technology, the BTS can be appliedin a 4G network by only upgrading thes<strong>of</strong>tware or replacing some basebandboards. <strong>ZTE</strong>’s distributed s<strong>of</strong>t BTS hasthe following attractions:Figure 2 Installation scenarios <strong>of</strong> distributed BTS■ Real <strong>SDR</strong> technology supportshardware <strong>of</strong> different standards,maximally protecting operators’investment.The BBU can support differentstandards such as CDMA, WCDMA,GSM, WiMAX, UMB and LTE byinstalling the related s<strong>of</strong>tware. But theChannel Processing Module (CHM)board has to be replaced for otherstandards only when special chips areused on the board (at present, onlythe CDMA system uses special chips,i.e., Application-specific IntegratedCircuit, or ASIC). As to the RRU, if thefrequency band remains unchanged, itis only necessary to install the relateds<strong>of</strong>tware when supporting a differentstandard.■ A variety <strong>of</strong> BBU/RRU productsdeliver full coverage solutions,m e e t i n g o p e r a t o r s ’ va r i o u sr e q u i r e m e n t s f o r n e t w o r kconstruction.The RRU products with differentpower specifications, such as 60 W,40 W and 5 W, are available, and theycan meet the coverage needs in urbandense areas, suburbs and countryside.Moreover, the 200 mW pico RRU canbe applied for indoor coverage.■ BBU/RRU products feature highintegration, large capacity, smallsize and light weight, making easyinstallation and maintenance whilereducing operators’ CAPEX.With the standard 2U height design,the BBU can support a capacity <strong>of</strong> 36carrier-sectors for the CDMA2000 1Xor EV-DO system. The RRU, which is16.5 kg in weight and has a dimension<strong>of</strong> 380 × 330.2 × 152.4 mm (H × W × D),can support a maximum capacity <strong>of</strong> 6CDMA2000 1X or EV-DO carriers anda maximum transmit power <strong>of</strong> 60 W atthe cabinet top. Both the BBU and RRUprovide the highest integration amongthe like products in the industry.ConclusionThe distributed s<strong>of</strong>t BTS solution caneffectively solve the problems operatorface in constructing their 3G networks:insufficient equipment room space anddifficult site selection, helping themquickly deploy their networks at a lowcost. Adopting the <strong>SDR</strong> technology,<strong>ZTE</strong>’s distributed s<strong>of</strong>t BTS solutionallows a smooth upgrade <strong>of</strong> the BTSin the future, maximally protecting theoperators’ investment in 3G networks.12 March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
IP GERAN BSS SolutionChang Jian, Ran LiWith the advent <strong>of</strong> theconverged networke r a , I P s e r v i c e sare driving the IPnetwork transformation. The IPbasedservices like EDGE and 3Grequire operators to provide a highbandwidth,high-efficiency and lowcostnetwork infrastructure suitablefor carrying IP services. The IP-basedGSM/EDGE Radio Access Network(IP GERAN) leads the trend <strong>of</strong> networktransformation. The IP-based GERANadapts to the network evolution, andis <strong>of</strong> strategic significance to networkinvestments protection. After the corenetwork has fulfilled IP transform, itcan save transcoder and transmissionresources, enable reliable and flexiblenetworking, and improve QoS andresource utilization, bringing hugepr<strong>of</strong>its to operators.<strong>ZTE</strong> started R&D work on unified IPhardware platform in 2003. Designedwith new digital signal processing (DSP)technology, its hardware platform hasthe advantages <strong>of</strong> large capacity, highintegration and small footprint. <strong>ZTE</strong>’sGERAN and UMTS equipment are allbased on this innovative IP platform. Byfar, this platform has been put into largescalecommercial applications in morethan 20 countries around the world.<strong>ZTE</strong> is poised to lead the industry in theresearch <strong>of</strong> related patents, standards,BSS equipment, terminal, networkoptimization and value-added services,<strong>of</strong>fering a successful evolution path toall-IP networks.As shown in Figure 1, IP GERANFigure 1 <strong>ZTE</strong>’s all-IP mobile broadband network convergence<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008 13
Tech FeatureBSS is an important part <strong>of</strong> <strong>ZTE</strong>’s all-IP network solution. <strong>ZTE</strong>’s GERANIP BSS equipment mainly includes thebase station controller (ZXG10 iBSC)and the pico base transceiver station(ZXG10 S8001).The ZXG10 iBSC, based on the all-IP hardware platform, is compatiblewith the ZXWR RNC (WCDMA) andZXTR RNC (TD-SCDMA) in hardwarearchitecture. It can be dual-rack mounted,supporting the industry’s largest capacity<strong>of</strong> 3072 TRXs. Moreover, it supportssmooth upgrade to future mobiletechnologies, enabling integration withAP controllers (RNC and UNC) intoa universal physical NE compatiblewith a multitude <strong>of</strong> authorized radioaccess technologies such as GSM/EDGE/WCDMA/TD-SCDMA andunauthorized radio access technologiessuch as WiFi and WiMAX.The ZXG10 iBSC supports Abis, Gband A interfaces over IP, as shown inTable 1. In addition to the traditional E1/T1 or STM-1, they all support FE ports.Table 1 Interfaces supported by theZXG10-iBSCInterfaceANEConnectionMGWBearer TypeSTM-1, E1/T1,FEGb SGSN E1/T1, FEAbis BTS E1/T1, FEThe ZXG10 S8001 is the newest picoIP BTS released by <strong>ZTE</strong>. It is small insize and weighs only 2 kg. Its physicaldimensions make it easier to deploy,install and swap. It adopts the Abis overIP technology to provide fast and lowcostdeployment, helping operators solvethe problem <strong>of</strong> indoor coverage andemergency communications in hotspotareas, as shown in Figure 2.The ZXG10 S8001 is ideal forFigure 2 ZXG10 S8001 for indoor coverageindoor mobile coverage and wirelessconnection with high-speed datacommunications. Its distinct advantagesinclude good coverage performance,effectively satisfying voice and dataservices requirements, IP transmissionfor fast networking, and voice QoSguarantee.Good coverage performanceOne S8001 can cover two to threefloors <strong>of</strong> a building. For 900 MHzfrequency band, the average wallattenuation <strong>of</strong> each floor is 15 to 20 dBm.The S8001 can provide a transmit power<strong>of</strong> 23 dBm. Therefore, one S8000 usedfor two to three floors can well satisfythe coverage need.Effectively satisfying voice and dataservices requirementsEach S8001 supports one TRX. Withthe traffic model (0.025 Erl per user,GOS=2%), if one control channel andseven traffic channels are configured,one S8001 have the capacity support <strong>of</strong>up to 117 lines; if one <strong>of</strong> the seven trafficchannels is configured for EGPRS, oneS8001 can support a capacity <strong>of</strong> 91lines.IP transmission for fast networkingAs the S8001 adopts the IP-basedAbis interface, mobile operators canbuild its own IP network or rent theexisting IP network for rapid and costeffectivetransmission deployment.When the S8001 is fully loaded,the bandwidth it occupies over IPconnection is about 180 kbps.Voice QoS guaranteeThe S8001 delivers a voice qualitycomparable to that <strong>of</strong> the conventionalBTS. Even in case <strong>of</strong> 200 ms IPtransmission latency and 2% packet lossrate, it can guarantee good voice quality,which reaches MOS3 level.T h e I P B S S s o l ve s t h e “ l a s tk i l o m e t e r ” p r o b l e m i n m o b i l eIP networks. On one hand, thecommunications network needs fixedmobileconvergence to deliver andmanage IP services in a unified mannerand to break the operating barrier; on theother hand, IP radio access applicationsare necessary for saving resources andenergy costs.14 March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
<strong>ZTE</strong>’sMVNOSolutionWu ChangyongGeneralAMobile Virtual NetworkOperator (MVNO) is a newtelecom service providert h a t h a s n o l i c e n s e dwireless frequency spectrum, but itutilizes infrastructure and spectrumowned by another mobile operator toprovide wireless services under its ownbrand name.MVNO is a new business mode<strong>of</strong> delivering mobile services in thetelecom value chain, which must relyon the networks <strong>of</strong> Mobile NetworkOperators (MNO). The possible MVNOscenarios are as follows:■ 2G operators having no 3G licensemay rent 3G wireless networks todeploy 3G services.■ New 3G operators having no 2Gnetwork may rent 2G networks toprovide complete network coverage,especially in the early stage <strong>of</strong> theirnetwork construction.■ Fixed network operators may rentwireless networks to tap into themobile market.■ Value-added services providers mayinvest a wealth <strong>of</strong> services to exploremore market opportunities.■ Other operators without licensedfrequency spectrum may leverage theirown advantages such as internationallines to deliver mobile services.Because there are no completes p e c i fi c a t i o n s f o r M V N O , t h e<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008 15
Tech Featurerequirements for mobile virtual networkoperation change frequently. This mayinvolve changes in the terminal, radionetwork, core network, and serviceplatform. This article mainly introducesthe MVNO solution based on corenetwork equipment.MVNO DevelopmentThe concept <strong>of</strong> MVNO originatedfrom Europe in 1998. Today, Europeis still the best booming market forMVNO. There are more than 100MVNOs in the European market, amongwhich, the most successful is VirginMobile UK.When Virgin entered the UnitedStates in 2002, MVNO got developmentboost in the North American telecommarket. At present, nearly 30 MVNOshave emerged in the United States. Theprepaid MVNO services have attractedover 9 million users, providing apromising growth prospect.In contrast, the MVNO developmentin the Asia-Pacific region is relativelyslow. It was not until the end <strong>of</strong> 2005when MVNOs began successfuloperations in Australia, New Zealand,Japan and Hong Kong.There are four major attributes to theemergence and development <strong>of</strong> MVNO:■ Support <strong>of</strong> government regulationpolicies■ Booming <strong>of</strong> mobile multi-mediaservices■ Fierce competition and surplusn e t work c a p a c i t y i n m o b i l ecommunications industry■ MVNO brand recognitionIn the past few years, the MVNOmarket has grown at an enormous rate.According to a report by the YankeeGroup, MVNO subscribers will reachhundreds <strong>of</strong> millions by the end <strong>of</strong>2010. With the support <strong>of</strong> governmentregulation policies, growing demandsfor feature-rich services, and opencompetition environment, MVNOs willbe flourishing all over the world.MVNO Operation ModeMVNOs may adopt different networkoperation modes based on their telecombackground and current network status.Typical operation modes includewholesaler, simple MVNO and fullMVNO, as listed in Table 1.A wholesaler can implementindependent management and marketingto attract customers under its own brandname after entering into an agreementwith the mobile operator. However, ithas difficulty in delivering varieties <strong>of</strong>services, because it has no value-addedservice platform. Virgin Mobile USA isa typical wholesaler.A simple MVNO has its own valueaddedservice platform, HLR (or VirtualHLR) and billing system to deliverdifferentiated services through the selfdevelopedinformation and interface.Virgin Mobile UK is a typical simpleMVNO.A full MVNO has its own switch andHLR to deliver voice and value-addedTable 1 Three MVNO operation modesWholesaler Simple MVNO Full MVNOHaving no licensedfrequency spectrumHaving no licensed frequencyspectrumHaving no licensedfrequency spectrumIssuing its own SIM cards Issuing its own SIM cards Issuing its own SIM cardsBuilding its own billingcenter and customercenter, etc.Having no independentservicesHaving no independentpriceOwning independentbrandBuilding its own HomeLocation Register (HLR) oradopting virtual HLR; buildingits own Wireless IntelligentNetwork (WIN), billing center,and customer centerHaving partially independentservicesHaving independent priceOwning independent branddata services. Virgin Mobile Australiaand Tele2 Norway are typical fullMVNOs.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s MVNO SolutionBased on the advanced V3 all-IP unified hardware platform, <strong>ZTE</strong>can provide all core network entitiesincluding ZXWN HLR, MSC Server(MSCS), MGW, GGSN and ServingGPRS Support Node (SGSN). Thesenetwork entities are all designed withMVNO features to meet the multi-levelvirtual operation needs.Simple MVNO solutionAs shown in Figure 1, a simpleMVNO can usually construct its ownHLR (or virtual HLR), WIN/CAMELplatform, billing center and customercenter.The ZXWN HLR is able to delivera super-large capacity <strong>of</strong> up to 40Mdynamic subscribers, and it can supportvirtual HLR functions. <strong>ZTE</strong>’s simpleMVNO solution enables the MNO tomaximally benefit from the existingHLR while allowing the MVNO toBuilding its own GatewayMobile Switching Center(GMSC), Gateway GPRSSupport Node (GGSN),HLR, WIN, and billingcenterHaving independentservicesHaving independent priceOwning independentbrand16 March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
greatly decrease HLR investment, toshorten service deployment time, and toindependently manage its own user data.The call detail records (CDRs)generated in both the MNO’s MSC/G M S C / S G S N / G G S N a n d t h eMVNO’s Service Control Point (SCP)are sent to the MVNO’s billing systemfor final settlement.The pre-paid MVNO calls aretriggered in the MNO’s Visited MobileSwitching Center/Gateway MobileSwitching Center (VMSC/GMSC) andsent to the MVNO’s SCP system.Full MVNO solution<strong>ZTE</strong>’s core network entities supportMSC Server Pool and SGSN Pool. Ifthe pool technology is supported atthe radio network, a full MVNO canbuild a complete suite <strong>of</strong> core networkequipment including VMSC Server,GMSC Server, HLR, SGSN and GGSN;service platform including SCP, ShortMessaging Service Center (SMSC),Multimedia Messaging Service Center(MMSC), streaming platform andContent Delivery Server (CDS); as wellas billing and customer center. In thiscase, the MVNO only needs to rent theMNO’s radio access network.If the radio network does not supportthe pool technology, a full MVNO canbuild parts <strong>of</strong> core network equipmentsuch as HLR, GMSC Server and GGSN;service platforms such as SCP, SMSC,MMSC, streaming platform and CDS;as well as billing and customer center.However, the MVNO needs to rent theMNO’s VMSC Server, SGSN and radioaccess network.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s full MVNO solution is shownin Figure 2.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s MVNO solution has thefollowing attractions:■ Flexible network capacity control■ Expandable CDR type and contentfor easy settlement between MNOand MVNO■ Support for pre-paid MVNO servicesFigure 1 <strong>ZTE</strong>’s simple MVNO network structureFigure 2 <strong>ZTE</strong>’s full MVNO network structure■ Customized report system to meetthe statistical requirementConclusionWith increasing fierce competitionin the telecom industry, it is urgent tointegrate all kinds <strong>of</strong> telecom networks,improve resource efficiency and perfectrelative government regulation policies.The MVNO business will continue tosee a great deal <strong>of</strong> growth potential.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s MVNO solution, based onits self-developed V3 all-IP unifiedplatform, adopts high-performance,h i g h - i n t eg r a t i o n a n d ve r s a t i l eequipment to <strong>of</strong>fer flexible MVNOnetworking, meeting the multi-levelMVNO needs.<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008 17
Tech FeatureTD-SCDMA Industry DevelopmentLiu MinIndustry ChainThe TD-SCDMA industryc h a i n h a s b e e n w e l l -established and is nowexpanding rapidly in China.Currently, a total <strong>of</strong> over 50 enterprisesare dedicated to the research anddevelopment <strong>of</strong> TD-SCDMA. Amongthem, Datang Mobile (DT Mobile),<strong>ZTE</strong>, TDTech are major TD-SCDMAinfrastructure suppliers in China;Ericsson, Alcatel and Nokia-Siemensare overseas TD-SCDMA equipmentvendors; Spreadtrum, Commit, T3G,CYIT, and MTK are actively involvedin the development <strong>of</strong> TD-SCDMAchipsets; DT Mobile, <strong>ZTE</strong>, Chinabird,Lenovo, Hisense, Amoi, Samsung andLG are active players in the terminalmarket; Tektronix, Shibasoku, Agilentand Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) aremajor TD-SCDMA testing equipmentproviders, as shown in Figure 1. Thebooming <strong>of</strong> each link in the industrychain will undoubtedly promote ahealthy, open and stable development <strong>of</strong>TD-SCDMA.Figure 1 TD-SCDMA industry chainTechnical InnovationsTo drive the industry growth andgenerate more revenue for operators,TD-SCDMA equipment vendors areconstantly keeping pace with technicaladvances. The most remarkable technicalinnovations they have achieved in theTD-SCDMA field are given as follows.■ Compact smart antennaHow to minimize the physical size<strong>of</strong> the smart antenna (SA) to lowerwind resistance and enable easyinstallation has always been a majorconcern <strong>of</strong> TD-SCDMA equipmentvendors. Today they have rolled outthe SA designed with orthogonal dualpolarizationand compact structure,as shown in Figure 2. Compared withthe conventional SA, the enhanced SAis reduced by half in size and by twothirdsin weight. The research anddevelopment on TD-SCDMA SA lays asolid foundation for future development<strong>of</strong> the multiple input multiple output(MIMO) system in the coming 4G era.■ Power savingBy adopting the technology <strong>of</strong> smartshutdown <strong>of</strong> boards and timeslots, theenvironment-protected TD-SCDMANodeB series supplied by <strong>ZTE</strong> is toutedto <strong>of</strong>fer the lowest power consumptionamong the like products in theindustry, saving around 39% <strong>of</strong> powerConventional SAFigure 2 Smart antennaPolarizedSAconsumption.■ MBMSThe Multimedia Broadcast/MulticastService (MBMS) is defined in 3GPP asa point-to-multipoint service in whichdata is transmitted from a single sourceentity to multiple recipients, allowingthe network resources to be shared. Asa pure downlink service, MBMS is wellsuited for time division duplex (TDD)operation. <strong>ZTE</strong> is capable <strong>of</strong> deliveringMBMS service on the TD-SCDMAsystem simply through s<strong>of</strong>tware upgrade.As a major vendor for ChinaMobile’s TD-SCDMA commercialtrials, <strong>ZTE</strong> was chosen to build radionetworks in cities such as Beijing,Tianjin, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Xiamen,Qinhuangdao and Qingdao, accountingfor 50% <strong>of</strong> the total deployment; andto build core networks in cities suchas Beijing, Guangzhou, Xiamen,Qinghuangdao, and Qingdao. It has alsomade a strategic breakthrough in theoverseas market by building the TD-SCDMA network for SKT, the majorcarrier in South Korea.18 March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
IMS:RestructuringCommunicationsServicesMuhammad Asaf SiddiqiGeneralThe industry is interested in the value proposition<strong>of</strong> IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) because itis an enabling technology for a variety <strong>of</strong> newservices and allows the operators to have greatercontrol over their own network while increasing operationalefficiency. The operators need to overcome the danger <strong>of</strong>becoming a data pipe for end users that rely on broadbandconnections for voice.All network operators benefit from the operationalefficiency <strong>of</strong> IMS. They will be able to launch new servicesthrough reusing their existing IMS infrastructure, willbe able to shape their business model according to therequirements <strong>of</strong> users and will be able to provide muchricher services than the traditional voice/data <strong>of</strong>ferings. IMSpresents major opportunities for the infrastructure provider,new revenue streams for third-party service providersand quicker response to user’s needs. In short, IMS ischaracterized by the following benefits for the operators:new revenue opportunities, new services, faster time-tomarket,investment protection, lower OPEX, fixed-mobileconvergence, and higher control <strong>of</strong> the network.IMS is an open and standard architecture for mobileand fixed IP-based networks, using the Session InitiationProtocol (SIP) and Voice over IP (VoIP) over communicationnetworks in order to <strong>of</strong>fer multimedia services to end users.The user can access services through any terminal, whilethese are network agnostic. A non-exhaustive list <strong>of</strong> servicesthat are most likely to emerge with IMS are as follows:IP Telephony (VoIP), Video Calling, Web Browsing,Presence, Push-To-Talk/Push-To-Show, Instant Messaging(IM), Multimedia Conferencing, and Personal InformationManagement (PIM) services.<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008 19
Tech Feature<strong>ZTE</strong>’s IMS Service Solution<strong>ZTE</strong>, as a leading global provider<strong>of</strong> telecommunications equipment andnetwork solutions, <strong>of</strong>fers a standardbased,state-<strong>of</strong>-the-art,and carrier-grade IMSsolution to wireless,wireline, and integratedoperators. <strong>ZTE</strong>’s IMSservice solution can betailored for operatorspecific requirement.<strong>ZTE</strong> puts forwardsthe integrated ServiceDelivery Platform(SDP) that provides aset <strong>of</strong> 3G/NGN/IMS-oriented solutionsand lies in the control layer <strong>of</strong> servicesolution. Its architecture is shown inFigure 1.The SDP system is divided into fivefunctional parts: interface encapsulationl a y e r, s e r v i c e l o g i c exe c u t i o nenvironment (SLEE), adaptation layer,service development test environment,and integrated service managementplatform (ISMP).Interface encapsulation layerThe interface encapsulation layer isused to encapsulate network capabilityFigure 1 <strong>ZTE</strong>’s integrated SDPinterfaces into standard API functionsfor invocation by third parties. Itsupports Parlay X API, Web Service,and Parlay API interfaces.<strong>ZTE</strong> puts forwards theintegrated Service DeliveryPlatform (SDP) that providesa set <strong>of</strong> 3G/NGN/IMS-orientedsolutions and lies in the controllayer <strong>of</strong> service solution"SLEESLEE is the control center <strong>of</strong> thewhole OMA Service Environment(OSE) service logic. It implementsservice logic capability control suchas CP/SP access authentication,authorization, log statistics, capabilitymanagement, SLA control, and checkon black and white lists. It uses theService Creation Environment (SCE) <strong>of</strong>the OSE to load services that have beendeveloped and tested.Adaptation layerThe adaptation layer is southboundinterface <strong>of</strong> SDP with lower layernetwork element. It adopts differentprotocols to communicate with serviceenablers for both voice and dataservices.Service development testenvironmentThis part consists <strong>of</strong> SCE and ServiceTest Environment (STE). SCE acts as aninterface between a telecom network anda service designer, helping the servicedesigner rapidly introduce value addedservices in the network. Service logicis created using SIBs and is simulated.Finally, STE is used to test the serviceto ensure that it is safe in the telecomnetwork.ISMPISMP provides unified servicemanagement functions such asauthentication, billing management, usermanagement, SP management, servicemanagement, content management,and Operation & Maintenance (O&M).It is essential to set up a data andmanagement center for operation andcontrol.Salient Features <strong>of</strong> SDPAmong abundant powerful features<strong>of</strong> SDP, some are presented below:■ It provides unified portal, access,authentication, charging, and servicemanagement.■ It provides standard and open thirdparty interfaces for their activeparticipation so that services areprovided by a market-driven mode.■ It adopts different interface protocolssuch as ISC, INAP, CAP, SMPP,SMGP, MM7, Le, PAP, and SIMPLEto communicate with differentnetworks and service enablers fornetwork convergence. Through thisconvergent platform, feature-richintegrated multimedia services canbe cost-effectively deployed andmanaged in different networks.■ It supports three application server20 March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
modes defined for IMS: OSA/Parlaygateway mode, SIP applicationserver mode, and traditionalintelligent network mode.■ It provides powerful and flexiblecharging functions, supportingcharging based on duration, traffic,contents, and QoS.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s IMS ServicesVoice and text message servicesare no longer sufficient for today’scommunication services. Multimediacommunication services are emerging ata fast pace. With the introduction <strong>of</strong> IMS,a lot <strong>of</strong> multimedia services are enabledsuch as multimedia conferencing, IMSmessaging and Multimedia Ring BackTone (MRBT).<strong>ZTE</strong> has put forward a lot <strong>of</strong>integrated multimedia services. IPtelephony service and IP Centrexsupporting point-to-point voice andvideo calls are implemented throughcore network PSS server. <strong>ZTE</strong> <strong>of</strong>fers2G and 3G services through the sameunified and converged platform. Theservices include Account Card Calling(ACC), One Number Link You (ONLY),Click-to-dial, MRBT, Multimedia RingAlert Tone (MRAT), Unified MessageService (UMS), Instant Messaging(IM), Presence, Group Management(GM), Multimedia Conference, VideoMail, Multimedia Sharing, S<strong>of</strong>t DigitalAssistant (S<strong>of</strong>tDA) and so on, as shownin Figure 2. Some important multimediaservices are introduced here.MRBT/MRATMRBT is an advanced service<strong>of</strong> CRBT in which called party’scustomized multimedia contents aredisplayed on caller’s terminal during thealert period.MRAT, unlike CRBT and MRBT,is caller’s service in which caller’scustomized multimedia contents aredisplayed on called party’s terminal.<strong>ZTE</strong> provides colorful GUI interfacedFigure 2 Feature-rich IMS servicesmanagement portals for operators, SPs/CPs, and end users.Multimedia sharingMultimedia sharing includes photo,audio, and video sharing. It is a newmultimedia service that enriches 3Gmobile users’ communication byallowing them to share a photo, an audioclip, or a live camera view or a videoclip while speaking on their mobile. Itprovides the users with an instant way<strong>of</strong> adding a visual element into a phoneconversation. During the conversation,sharing can be initiated or terminatedeither by the calling party or calledparty. When the conversation is over,this feature is closed as well.Multimedia conferenceMultimedia conference can bedivided into three kinds <strong>of</strong> conference:audio conference, video conference, anddata conference.Data Conference is composed <strong>of</strong>electronic whiteboard, applicationsharing, and file transfer in order toassist collaborative work.Some <strong>of</strong> the abundant featuressupported by Multimedia Conferenceare listed below:■ Conference can be an instantconference or a reserved one.Notification <strong>of</strong> a conference can besent to the members through SMS orvoice call.■ Conference chairman can managethe conference in real-time on a GUIinterface.■ Sub-conferences can be createdwithin a conference and participantscan be moved from and into a subconferenceby the chairman.■ Conference members’ rights can bemodified. For instance, speakingrights can be withdrawn or grantedto a member.■ Conference can be set to be recordedat the time <strong>of</strong> reservation. Later itcan be listened by dialing specificservice code, conference number,and entering password.S<strong>of</strong>tDAS<strong>of</strong>tDA is an IMS client designedby <strong>ZTE</strong> that can <strong>of</strong>fer rich integratedmultimedia services to assist commonusers as well as enterprise users. Aimedat the business sector, it is a personaltelecoms portal <strong>of</strong>fering a wide variety<strong>of</strong> data and voice applications. It runson all type <strong>of</strong> terminals regardless <strong>of</strong>whether it is fixed telephone, 2G/3Gmobile, PC, or WLAN phone andconverges all types <strong>of</strong> access means.The telecom and IT applications andtheir features supported by S<strong>of</strong>tDAinclude voice/video calling, voice/video conferencing, instant messagingand presence, unified messaging andcollaborative working.<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008 21
Tech Feature<strong>ZTE</strong>’s IMS-based Multi-networkConvergence SolutionZhang JianWith the continuoustracking <strong>of</strong> networkevolution and manyyears <strong>of</strong> accumulatedtechnical advantages, <strong>ZTE</strong> rolledout ZIMS, a complete IMS-basedinnovative solution supporting theFixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) andCT-IT convergence. ZIMS helps atraditional telecom operator to transforminto an integrated communication andinformation service provider that candeploy a convergent Next GenerationNetwork (NGN).ZIMS is an end-to-end solutionincluding terminal, access, core, andservice platform. Based on a number <strong>of</strong>standards like 3GPP, 3GPP2, TISPAN,ITU-T and OMA, ZIMS features openarchitecture, integrated services platformand unified user data managementsystem. It has proven interoperabilitywith various access technologies such asWCDMA, TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000,WLAN/LAN, WiMAX, cable broadbandaccess and xDSL. Moreover, it simplifiesservice creative environment, enablingpowerful service provisioning; itsupports flexible network deployment,enabling centralized and distributednetwork planning; and it is built onthe unified all-IP hardware platformto support smooth evolution to NGN,protecting the operators’ investment.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s IMS solution leads the industry inquality, interoperability and technologyinnovation.■ Flexible system designZIMS is designed with openarchitecture to provide unified sessioncontrol and home services to fixed,mobile and other networks with differentIP accesses, bringing great convenienceto full-service operators while reducingFigure 1 <strong>ZTE</strong>’s IMS-based multi-network convergence solutiontheir OPEX.To create IMS-vendor operationenvironment, ZIMS providesstandard and open interfaces thatensure smooth interworking withIMS equipment from other vendors.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s IMS-based core network (CN)products have successfully passed IMSinteroperability testing at the GlobalMSF Interoperability (GMI) 2006 event,demonstrating excellent compatibility,flexibility and stability. They support22 March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
interconnection with different externalnetworks while delivering topologyhidingfunction to prevent outsidersfrom knowing about the internal details.ZIMS can optimize networkresources as required, providingenhanced IP-based QoS managementand service-based local control. Withadvanced network resource reservationcapabilities, it can deliver classifiedservices to authorized subscribers.With a highly integrated and flexibledesign, ZIMS can be deployed tomeet the actual requirements. For asmall-scale application, its Proxy-CallSession Control Function (P-CSCF),Interrogating-CSCF (I-CSCF), Serving-CSCF (S-CSCF) and Breakout GatewayCall Function (BGCF) are integrated;for a middle-scale application, itsI-CSCF, S-CSCF and BGCF are colocatedwhile P-CSCF is independentlydeployed; for a large-scale application,P-CSCF, I-CSCF, S-CSCF and BGCFare all distributed independently.■ Unified service platformT h e k ey o f F M C l i e s i n t h econvergence <strong>of</strong> the service layer.ZIMS provides an integrated serviceplatform (ZXUP10) to support fullyconverged IMS multimedia applicationenvironment.ZXUP10 supports three IMS-basedservice provision modes: SessionInitiation Protocol Application Server(SIP-AS), Open Service AccessApplication Server (OSA-AS) andCAMEL IP Multimedia ServicesSwitching Function (CAMEL IM-SSF)to facilitate deployment <strong>of</strong> multimediaservices. It has standard and openinterfaces, allowing more service andcontent providers to be introduced inthe IMS industry chain; it provideshorizontal service structure that supportsboth ISC and CAMEL protocols,allowing simultaneous service deliveryacross different networks; it incorporatesa flexible charging mechanism thatsupports time, flow, content and QoSbased charging capabilities; it adoptsa distributed structure that shares theworkload among application servers,avoiding traffic congestion andenhancing system stability.Field-proven applications<strong>ZTE</strong> started the research andFigure 2 IMS-based Servicesdevelopment <strong>of</strong> IMS strategic productsin 2002. As one <strong>of</strong> the few vendorsin the industry that can provide endto-endsolutions, <strong>ZTE</strong> has developeda complete IMS solution, ZIMS,using 3GPP Releases 6,7 and TISPANNGN Release 1. By focusing on FMC,ZIMS provides a graceful solutionwithout any misalignment betweenfixed and mobile roadmaps.In March 2006, <strong>ZTE</strong> partnered withChina Unicom to trial the IMS FMCnetwork, which is the world’s firstconvergence <strong>of</strong> WCDMA, CDMA2000and fixed networks. The strategiccooperation for NGN between <strong>ZTE</strong> andChina Unicom paved the way for activeexploration and practice on FMC.At the end <strong>of</strong> 2006, <strong>ZTE</strong> was thesole vendor to win an IMS commercialdeal from China Mobile. <strong>ZTE</strong> providedChina Mobile with IMS communicationsservices on the unified service platform,bearer network and terminals. Theconvergence <strong>of</strong> multiple means <strong>of</strong>communication such as fixed phone,mobile and PC helps users increase theirwork efficiency while saving costs.<strong>ZTE</strong> has also scored victoriesone after another in the global IMSmarket. Early in 2006, the companypartnered with France Telecom (FT)to develop IMS clients and handsetsand was shortlisted in April 2007 forthe FT’s IMS project. In November2007, it demonstrated the integration<strong>of</strong> its innovative IMS products withTelemanagement Forum’s (TMF)New Generation Operations Systemsand S<strong>of</strong>tware (NGOSS) framework aspart <strong>of</strong> the TMF’s Catalyst Project. InDecember 2007, it worked with OrangePoland to successfully launch the firstIMS trial based on the EV-DO Rev.Atechnology. In January 2008, it inkeda framework agreement with LibyaTelecom & Technology (LTT) to buildan end-to-end IMS network based onWiMAX access.<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008 23
Case StudyContinued Development Road <strong>of</strong>Vietnam’s EVN TelecomBai Xiaomei, Hu YuanJuly 2003March 2004May 2005November 2006May 2007June 2007November 2007December 2007<strong>ZTE</strong> started the cooperation with EVN Telecom by signing a contract to build thePhase 1 CDMA2000 1X network in Southern Vietnam.<strong>ZTE</strong> signed a contract with ETN Telecom to build the Phase 1 CDMA2000 1X & EV-DOnetwork in Ho Chi Minh City.<strong>ZTE</strong> signed a network expansion contract with ETN Telecom to build the Phase 2CDMA2000 1X network in Southern Vietnam.<strong>ZTE</strong> signed a network expansion contract with ETN Telecom to build the Phase 3CDMA2000 1X network in Southern Vietnam.<strong>ZTE</strong> signed a network expansion contract with ETN Telecom to build the Phase 4CDMA2000 1X network in Southern Vietnam.<strong>ZTE</strong> signed a network expansion contract with ETN Telecom to build the Phase 2CDMA2000 1X & EV-DO network in Ho Chi Minh City.<strong>ZTE</strong> signed a network expansion contract with ETN Telecom to build the Phase 5CDMA2000 1X network in Southern Vietnam.<strong>ZTE</strong> signed a network expansion contract with ETN Telecom to build the Phase 3CDMA2000 1X & EV-DO network in Ho Chi Minh City.24 March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
In 1995, Vietnam governmentissued licenses to encouragec o m p e t i t i o n i n t h ec o m m u n i c a t i o n s i n d u s t r yfor the purpose <strong>of</strong> achieving atelephone penetration rate <strong>of</strong> 35%across the country. From then on, thecommunications industry gained rapiddevelopment and Vietnam becameone <strong>of</strong> the fastest growing countriesin terms <strong>of</strong> telephone penetration. Insuch a competition environment, alloperators endeavor to provide customerswith satisfactory service, maintainrobust growth in subscriber base, and togenerate more revenue to their business.EVN Telecom, a subsidiary <strong>of</strong> theElectricity <strong>of</strong> Vietnam (EVN), wasestablished in 1995. The company islicensed to run a nationwide 450 MHzband CDMA network and its businessrange covers fixed wireless phone(E-Com), inter-provincial mobile phone(E-Phone) and mobile phone (E-Mobile)telecommunications services. EVNTelecom is committed to providingaffordable communication servicesin Vietnam. Within just 2 years, itssubscriber base has exceeded 1.5 millionand it is regarded as the fastest-growingtelecom operator in the country.Differentiated Services to Seize theMarketTo secure a position in the Vietnamcommunications industry, EVNTelecom needs to explore a new way inthe market. As a leader in the CDMAmarket, <strong>ZTE</strong> leverages its CDMAtechnical advantages to help EVNTelecom find solutions for continueddevelopment that can fully exploit itspotentials.To survive the competition, EVNTelecom needs to enhance serviceexpansion capability while reducingt o t a l n e t work o p e r a t i o n c o s t s .Considering customers’ differentneeds for voice and data services, <strong>ZTE</strong>provides network deployment solutionsdesigned for developed regions andrural areas respectively. Flexibleservice modes are created to takeadvantage <strong>of</strong> the 450 MHz frequencyband: E-Com is pretty popular amongaverage consumers as it can solve theproblem <strong>of</strong> voice coverage in the ruralareas; E-Phone and E-Mobile can meetthe needs <strong>of</strong> consumers for mobileservices. EVN Telecom achieved overone million subscribers 18 months afterrolling out CDMA service package.Creditable Service to StrengthenCooperationTo speed time to market andcreate new revenue opportunities,EVN Telecom’s Southern NetworkMaintenance Department requiresthat the network equipment providerc o m p l e t e e a c hphase <strong>of</strong> networkconstruction in 120days. During theseveral phases <strong>of</strong>network capacityexpansion, <strong>ZTE</strong> ishighly recognizedby EVN Telecomfor its honest andcreditable service,which lays a solidf o u n d a t i o n f o rfurther strategicc o o p e r a t i o n i nthe years to come. <strong>ZTE</strong> is viewed asthe most capable supplier that canguarantee the project execution andmeet the commercialization plans. Ithelps EVN Telecom achieve the goal <strong>of</strong>fast deployment, wide coverage, largecapacity and high voice quality set forits CDMA network project.With the joint effort <strong>of</strong> both sides,the customer satisfaction is greatlyincreased and EVN Telecom becomesthe operator with the highest subscribergrowth rate in Vietnam.All-IP Network to Enable <strong>Smooth</strong>Migration While Reducing TOCFrom the perspective <strong>of</strong> networkevolution and technical innovation,all-IP is the key to success in thefuture. <strong>ZTE</strong>’s all-IP solution helpsEVN Telecom to save CAPEX andOPEX using more flexible networkingm o d e s a n d t o c o s t - e ff e c t ive l yintroduce information technology tooutermost regions. Its S<strong>of</strong>tswitch andIP transmission can save up to 60%transmission resources and over 30%vocoder resources; its large-capacitycentralized core network can alsoreduce maintenance costs.<strong>ZTE</strong> is actively delivering state-<strong>of</strong>-thearttechnical solutions for EVN Telecom.By now, the network equipment in HoChi Min city has all been based on the all-IP platform, which not only reduces TCOfor the operator but also <strong>of</strong>fers a smoothevolution path for future enhancements.This is the first all-IP solution in Vietnamand <strong>ZTE</strong> is so far the only vendor thatsupplies all-IP network equipment in theVietnam market.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s all-IP solution is designedto meet future trends <strong>of</strong> mobilecommunications, laying a soundfoundation for EVN Telecom tosmoothly upgrade existing networks todeliver EV-DO Rev.A broadband dataservices.<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008 25
Case StudyDomain-based NMS Solution foran MSAN ProjectYue WandeBackgroundOne <strong>of</strong> the largest telecomoperators in Middle Eastissued a Multi-ServiceAccess Node (MSAN)tender for the upgrade <strong>of</strong> its existingRemote Access Node (RAN) andin preparation <strong>of</strong> the coming NextGeneration Network (NGN). In additionto the common MSAN requirements inthe tender, the operator asked for 10 GEinterfaces for the optical line terminal(OLT) transmission. It also required aunified network management system(NMS) for transmission at both the coreand access layers. The MSAN is locatedin the access domain, while the 10GE interfaces belong to the core layerinstead <strong>of</strong> the access layer. Therefore,the boundary <strong>of</strong> the core and accesslayers is, however, blurred in this NMSsolution, which would result in a series<strong>of</strong> problems.NMS Requirements <strong>of</strong> the OperatorThe NMS solution required by theoperator is illustrated in Figure 1, wherethe big white blocks in the STM-64ring are transmission network elements(NEs) at the core layer, the small whiteblocks in the MSAN STM-16 ring aretransmission NEs at the access layer,and the small grey blocks in the MSANring are optical network units (ONUs).All transmission equipment used inboth the core and access layers shouldbe managed by a unified transmissionNMS, which is a product-based NMSsolution. However, this solution hassome distinct disadvantages, and theyare the following:■ The network structureis not clear.■ It is hard to implementunified equipmentm a n a g e m e n t a tt h e a c c e s s l a y e r,u n i f i e d a l a r mm a n a g e m e n t a n dunified performancemonitoring.■ End-to-end servicesc o n f i g u r a t i o n i scomplex.■ It doesn’t support asmooth evolution toNGN.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s Domain-based NMS Solution<strong>ZTE</strong>’s domain-based NMS solutionis shown in Figure 2. In this solution,<strong>ZTE</strong> considers the ONU unit (U300)and the transmission unit (S300) in theONU as a whole (or a domain) at theaccess layer, which complies with thetelecommunication management network(TMN) structure. The transmissionNEs in the core layer are managedby the core NMS; and then, they areconnected to the higher level GenerationOperation Support System (NGOSS)through the standard interfaces such asCORBA, SNMP, MML and SYSLOG.Meanwhile, the NEs in the accesslayer including U300 (ONU) andS300 (embedded transmission NE) aremanaged by the MSAN NMS, and theyare then connected to the higher levelNGOSS through the standard interfaces.Figure 1 Product-based NMS solutionThis domain-based NMS providesthe following benefits:Configuration <strong>of</strong> end-to-end servicesThe end-to-end service configurationprocess <strong>of</strong> NetNumenTM N31 isintroduced here using PSTN and DSLservices for example.PSTN servicesWithout the domain-based NMS, atypical configuration process <strong>of</strong> PSTNservices is described as follows:◆ Search the E1 connection relation<strong>of</strong> S300 and U300◆ Configure E1 cross-connectedtime slots on S300◆ Enable E1 on U300◆ Configure V5 ports and V5 linkson U30026 March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
Figure 2 <strong>ZTE</strong>’s Domain-based NMS solution◆ Configure service parametersWith the domain-based NMS <strong>of</strong>NetNumenTM N31, operators onlyneed to provide service parameters.The corresponding V5 links, E1, andtimeslots will be automatically searched,matched, or configured by the networkmanagement system. The whole process<strong>of</strong> service configuration becomes rathersimple.DSL servicesWithout the domain-based NMS, atypical configuration process <strong>of</strong> DSLservices is as follows:◆ Search the Ethernet connectionrelation <strong>of</strong> S300 and U300◆ Configure the uplink bandwidth<strong>of</strong> the Ethernet board on S300(VLAN, bandwidth and EOSencapsulation configuration)◆ Configure the VLAN <strong>of</strong> theuplink port on U300◆ Configure the VLAN <strong>of</strong> the DSLport on U300The maintenance personnel haveto manually maintain the VLANrelationship <strong>of</strong> S300 and U300.Certainly, it is easy to commit errors incompleting the above process.By using the domain-based NMS,operators only need to input the VLANattributes <strong>of</strong> a certain DSL port, and theVLAN and other configurations <strong>of</strong> thewhole uplink will beautomatically completedby the NMS.Unified alarmmanagementThe unified alarmmanagement allowsoperators to locate thefailure by analyzingthe reported alarms.Take these situationsfor examples: when aloss <strong>of</strong> frame (LOF)alarm is reported onU300 due to an errorin the configuration <strong>of</strong>cross-connected time slots on S300,the domain-based NMS can locatethe error by tracking a byte on S300;when an E1 alarm occurs, the systemcan know whether the E1 cable isconnected properly or not by judgingthe receiving and sending alarm <strong>of</strong> theE1 on S300 and U300; when an EOSencapsulation alarm appears on S300,the system NMS can automaticallyfind out the services related to theEOS channel and tell the maintenancepersonnel that these services will beaffected.Unified performance monitoringAs the domain-based NMSsupports unified service configuration,it is able to perform end-to-endQoS monitoring for services. Incase <strong>of</strong> service failure, the systemcan automatically monitor theperformance <strong>of</strong> its related nodes,make a careful analysis, and finallysend information about possiblefailure happening in the system.Take DSL services for example.The system first checks whetherthe number <strong>of</strong> packets received andsent via an uplink port <strong>of</strong> U300is consistent with that <strong>of</strong> packetsreceived and sent via the relatedEthernet port <strong>of</strong> S300. Then, itchecks the bit error rate <strong>of</strong> the S300transmission channels. Finally, it checksthe number <strong>of</strong> packets received and sentby the uplink port <strong>of</strong> S300 to locate thefaulty node.<strong>Smooth</strong> NGN evolutionAlthough V5.2 and H.248 protocolsare configured for the MSAN project,the operator’s network needs to betransformed to NGN on a step-by-stepmanner.<strong>ZTE</strong>’s domain-based NMS solutionprovides well-defined networkarchitecture. Different interfaces andinterconnection protocols are specifiedfor NEs at different layers, allowingindependent evolution <strong>of</strong> each NE.When operators need broadbandservices in the future, they can usePassive Optical Network (PON) orother advanced technology to replaceMSAN to upgrade the equipment atthe access layer without any alterationto the equipment at the core transportlayer.To meet the requirements for NGNhierarchical architecture, operatorsmust adjust their operation system,and deploy and operate their networkmanagement system in a hierarchicalway. <strong>ZTE</strong>’s domain-based NMS solutionmakes possible end-to-end serviceconfiguration and monitoring, allowinga smooth and step-by-step transition toNGN.Conclusion<strong>ZTE</strong>’s domain-based NMS solutioncomplies with the layered (TMN)structure. The access layer transmissionis one part <strong>of</strong> the MSAN, whichimplements transmission function inthe TMN structure for access network.In terms <strong>of</strong> service configuration andmonitoring, <strong>ZTE</strong>’s domain-based NMSis much easier to operate and maintain.Due to the independence <strong>of</strong> the accesslayer and the NMS, the solution allowsan easy and smooth evolution to NGN.<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008 27
Handsets<strong>ZTE</strong> USA Launches First Handset for U.S. MarketHigh quality, innovative and affordable handset from <strong>ZTE</strong> isnow available in MetroPCS markets across the country<strong>ZTE</strong> USA, Inc. a subsidiary <strong>of</strong><strong>ZTE</strong>, recently announced thegeneral availability <strong>of</strong> its firsthandset for the U.S. market, the <strong>ZTE</strong>C88. The C88 delivers a cost-effectiveoption for consumers who want ahigh quality, full featured handset atan affordable price point. The phoneis now available for purchase throughMetroPCS stores, website and resellersin all markets the carrier serves.<strong>ZTE</strong> both designs and manufacturesits handsets in-house. This end-toendapproachenables <strong>ZTE</strong> to<strong>of</strong>fer featureri c h , h i g hquality phonesat an attractivep r i c e p o i n t .Offered as a sleek flip phone, the C88handset operates at the PCS and Cellularbands (1900 MHz and 850 MHz) anddelivers a wide range <strong>of</strong> enhancedfeatures including 2 inch color screen,Internet (WAP) browsing, bluetoothheadset support, camera, text messagingon a large, easy-to-use keypad, MMS/picture messaging, 60 MB internalmemory, capability to store 500contacts, embedded applications–mail@metro, metro411, mobile IM, preloaded(Sodoku) as well as downloadablegames, ringtones and wallpapers.“The C88 as our first handset forthe U.S. market is a major milestonefor <strong>ZTE</strong>,” said Dr. George Sun, CEO<strong>of</strong> <strong>ZTE</strong> USA. “The C88 handsetdemonstrates our ability to align ourproducts with the U.S. market’s needs.Consumers will find that the C88 <strong>of</strong>fersthe perfect mix <strong>of</strong> affordability, quality,and a broad feature set.”<strong>ZTE</strong> Aims for 50 Million Handset Sales in 2008February 13, 2008Source: Cellular-News<strong>ZTE</strong>’s mobile phone sales willsurge 60% year-on-year in 2008and the world’s sixth biggesthandset maker aims to “significantly liftthe portion” <strong>of</strong> sales with its own brands.In 2007, <strong>ZTE</strong> sold just over 31million mobile phones and has a target<strong>of</strong> breaching the 50 million mark in2008, according to Gu Yongchen,General Director <strong>of</strong> <strong>ZTE</strong>’s CorporateBranding and CommunicationsDepartment.“We can achieve the target throughdeep cooperation with carriers andimproved handset designs,” Gu saidat <strong>ZTE</strong>’s booth at the Mobile WorldCongress 2008 held in Barcelona.<strong>ZTE</strong> started handset business as acontract manufacturer and providedphones for the world’s top carrierssuch as Vodafone and China Mobile.<strong>ZTE</strong> aims to establish its brands in themiddle and even high-end market fromthe entry-level segment now, industryinsiders said.In 2007, about 46% <strong>of</strong> <strong>ZTE</strong>’s soldphones were with its brand (includingco-brand) and the figure will surge in2008.28 March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES
<strong>ZTE</strong>, 3 Italia and MOMODESIGN Partner toDevelop MD2 and MD3 Handsets<strong>ZTE</strong> Corporation, a globalprovider <strong>of</strong> telecommunicationse q u i p m e n t a n d n e t w o r ksolutions, and 3 Italia, the ItalianMobile Media Company <strong>of</strong> HutchisonWhampoa Ltd. have come together todevelop the MD2 and MD3 handsets incollaboration with MOMODESIGN, theItalian Design Center.MD2 is a fashionable UMTSclamshell handset with an up-to-datedesign and equipped with the latestgeneration technology. MD3 is a DigitalVideo Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H)and HSDPA videophone with theQualcomm MSM 6280 chipset and aninnovative design featuring touch screenfunctions and a screen that rotates 360°,facilitating all-rounded video viewing.“We are delighted to be chosen by3 Italia to develop their fashionableand stylish MOMODESIGN MD2and MD3 mobile devices,” said FangRong, Senior Vice President <strong>of</strong> <strong>ZTE</strong>Corporation. “With our proven trackrecord and capability in customizingterminals, we are confident that we canhelp 3 Italia to develop and manufacturenew generation handsets that meet theirspecifications and allow them to widentheir multimedia device <strong>of</strong>fer.”“The joint activity with a largemanufacturer like <strong>ZTE</strong>, with itsextensive expertise in handsetsproduction, was very valuable in thedevelopment <strong>of</strong> our Videophonesand TVphones in terms <strong>of</strong> both theircustomization abilities and theirquick response around time”, said Mr.Massimiliano Zuco, Consumer DivisionDirector at 3 Italia. “We must alsounderline the important role playedby MOMODESIGN in making ourtechnologically advanced multimediadevices truly exclusive and desirableobjects”, added Mr. Zuco.“Technology, innovation, researchand style are the core values thathave been inspiring MOMODESIGNfor more than twenty five years.The knowledge and expertise <strong>of</strong>the MOMODESIGN Style Centerare further confirmed by the closecollaboration with leading andcutting edge multinationals such as 3Italia”, said Marco Cattaneo, CEO <strong>of</strong>MOMODESIGN.Besides the production <strong>of</strong> MD2 andMD3 handsets, the companies haveplans to expand their partnership andcollaborate to develop new projects thatwill be presented in the second half <strong>of</strong>2008.About 3 Italia3 Italia, the Hutchison Whampoa Group’s Mobile MediaCompany, is the leader <strong>of</strong> the UMTS market in Italy with over8 million customers thanks to a wide <strong>of</strong>fer <strong>of</strong> multimedia,video communication and Internet services, in addition toentertainment, music, information, cinema, sport and MobileTV. 3 Italia acquired the national license as digital TV operatorin 2005 and launched the first Digital Mobile TV based onDVB-H technology in the world the following June. 3 Italia hasestablished itself on the cutting-edge <strong>of</strong> 3G mobile technologydevelopment by launching the first HSDPA commercial <strong>of</strong>fer inItaly and implementing HSUPA to access broadband in mobilitywith data transmission rates up to 7.2 Mbps in download and 1.4Mbps in upload.About MOMODESIGNMOMODESIGN is a style centre headquarteredin Milan. The company designs and develops itsown brand products and also works on designprojects for third parties and international clients.Technology, innovation, research and style are thevalues that have been inspiring MOMODESIGN forover twenty-five years, setting the company in theinternational survey as a point <strong>of</strong> reference for allthe style and design enthusiasts.<strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES March 2008 29
30 March 2008 <strong>ZTE</strong> TECHNOLOGIES