Making LTE Work for You

Making LTE work for you

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By Yu Wenyong

Huawei’s solutions keep operators on the cutting edge of user expectations. Its LTE offerings enable all-purpose functionality for the consumer or enterprise, while its eMBMS solution will keep advertisers coming back for more.

LTE will enter the mainstream in 2012, as evidenced by the latest GSA statistics. As of May 2012, 72 operators have[y1] launched commercial LTE services, with 186 more firmly committed to commercial deployment. For these roughly 250 operators, one critical question is “we’ve got a fat pipe, but how do we fill it?” Huawei introduces its Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) solution, with the aim of helping operators wisely utilize and profit from LTE networking through diversified data services.

LTE-Wi-Fi

In recent years, smart devices have seen explosive popularity, especially those that are Wi-Fi-enabled. Strategy Analytics expects over 2.6 billion consumer Wi-Fi-enabled devices to be in use by 2014. However, Wi-Fi largely fails to fulfill its potential in traditional networking scenarios as access points (APs) are largely connected to the data network through fixed lines. Such an arrangement depends heavily on the availability of fixed infrastructure, which hardly fits in with what we expect from Wi-Fi (bus, subway, or remote location use). LTE networking, on the other hand, is ideally suited for mobile applications, with its ability to excel in terms of bandwidth and QoS in equal measure. However, LTE-capable mobile devices are currently quite limited, making LTE-Wi-Fi integration all the more sensible. A large number of LTE operators are beginning to favor it as it is relatively easy to deploy and inexpensive, while offering a quick turnaround.

Huawei delivers just such a solution in BWA, which covers deployment, authentication, maintenance, and billing. The latter is particularly important as this solution has the flexibility to encompass both specific (where individual users must be distinguished) and non-specific scenarios. Wi-Fi users can connect to the Internet through LTE, in a variety of situations.

The first is through a fixed location such as a home, school, or commercial district. In areas with poor fixed infrastructure, mobile operators can fill the data service void by providing a superb LTE-based mobile data experience to users of Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

The second involves mobile scenarios such as buses and subways. These places have proven tough to cover with Wi-Fi, but no longer. In March 2012, China Mobile Zhejiang (Zhejiang Mobile) teamed up with Huawei to deploy the world’s first TD-LTE bus line in Hangzhou city, covering twenty Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stops and 55 vehicles with 130 LTE-Wi-Fi (LTE-Fi) devices. Users with Wi-Fi-enabled devices are free to connect to the Internet via the TD-LTE network, whether at a bus stop or in transit. For this trial period, 8,000 users have logged on daily, sending & receiving roughly 100MB a piece (totaling 800GB). Bus commutes, which are frequently quite long & tedious on China’s chaotic roads, need no longer be so, as passengers can now enjoy a wide range of data-rich services, including games, videos, and SNS.

The third scenario involves remote locations where coverage is often spotty. This solution greatly adds to the experience by enabling the sort of real-time feedback and interaction that SNS addicts have come to depend on.

The final situation involves special events (concerts, festivals, sporting events) that often pose an extreme challenge for any network, fixed or mobile. By offloading data traffic through LTE, this solution effectively relieves data pressure on GSM/UMTS networking while enhancing user experience.

LTE for enterprise

According to market research firm IDC, global small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) totaled 73.7 million in 2011, with IT spending for this segment growing faster than it is for large enterprises. SMBs are no longer satisfied with just a telephone line or an email address, as broadband and other wireless solutions are now in demand. Huawei’s LTE for Enterprise solution is here to help mobile operators better exploit the SMB market segment, which once was the exclusive domain of fixed operators.

Most SMBs are relatively constrained in terms of time and budget when it comes to ICT. Traditional business networking, which is slow and an OPEX sink, relies heavily on fixed infrastructure, with voice & data services separated. Such a mode cannot flexibly adapt to frequent business relocation, making its viability for the rural SMB all the more dubious.

Huawei’s LTE for Enterprise solution (LTE4E), on the other hand, integrates both voice & data, as well as routing & switching. It fulfills basic SMB needs for voice, data, and fax, while also providing secure VPN and rich cloud-based services. It also delivers IP PBX functionality (IVR, forwarding, pickup, three-party talk), while supporting network interface for high-speed data access.

The solution works well for both single and multisite establishments, with VPN-based interconnection available for the latter. Traditional enterprise solutions use static VPN channel technology, making for a bandwidth-wasting virtual point-to-point connection between HQ and the branch offices. LTE4E, on the other hand, employs VPN technology that is both dynamic and intelligent, carrying out its functions on the network section by section. Statistical multiplexing is achieved on the transmission and backbone layers, thus enhancing bandwidth efficiency while assuring information security. This greatly relieves the operator’s network burden, with the enterprise’s investment also reduced.

eMBMS

According to ABI Research, one of the primary causes of the data surge is an increasing amount of video traffic. Video and TV streaming should surpass web and Internet traffic in 2015. Similarly, Global Industry Analysts (GIA) predicts that the global mobile video market will reach USD30 billion by 2017. LTE availability will surely fuel this growth and put operators in the driver’s seat as far as what consumers come to depend on.

Based on LTE’s speed and standardized eMBMS (enhanced Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services) technology, Huawei’seMBMS solution supports live SDTV or HDTV broadcast as well as push VOD. With this solution, mobile operators can not only provide live TV broadcast to any intended terminal, fixed or mobile, but it can also extend the viewing experience to any handheld terminal within the LTE coverage range that supports eMBMS technology.

This solution also makes flexible viewing possible via push VOD, where media servers first deliver content to STBs or CPEs for storage; users can then retrieve it and watch it at their leisure. At the beginning of 2012, India’s Reliance Industries Ltd., (the only operator with nationwide LTE licenses) successfully demonstrated eMBMS LTE service with Huawei, making for the world’s first solution of its kind; the results were very encouraging.

Push service is an area that eMBMS can expand. It is currently used for news, music downloads, advertising, stock tickers, and public service information. However, due to network constraints, most push services are displayed in the form of SMS or MMS. With an LTE network available, operators can push more video contents, such as movie trailers. This means a better experience for users and higher ARPU for operators. Moreover, it gives operators a competitive edge in the mobile advertising arena, which should make a clear difference in their bottom line.

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[y1]与美籍专家确认了，“when we say as of, it is as if we were talking about today. So “have” is better here.”