Huawei Technologies

Can Abis optimization really pay off?

The rapid development of mobile services has increased pressure on mobile backhaul bandwidth, especially in terms of 3G service provision. Abis optimization can to some extent ameliorate this situation by enhancing transport efficiency, but how great is the value generated?
By Chen Ni

Abis optimization in 2G and 3G networks

ncluding some well known European operators, many in the industry have already adopted leased lines or microwave technology to construct mobile backhaul networks, which incurs very high per unit bandwidth costs. As 3G traffic grows, operators are faced with greater demands on bandwidth resources, and this has resulted in huge network capacity expansion investment. Therefore, various bandwidth optimization technologies have been developed and applied in orientation to mobile backhaul, amongst which Abis optimization is an option. Voice services remain a dominant commercial interest for mobile operators. Since GSM systems differ from 3G UMTS systems in terms of voice service processing, Abis optimization technology presents different functions for them. GSM systems utilize full-rate codes to process voice services, and transmission bandwidth is occupied even in the mute period of the communication process. The Abis interface, which is located between the base transceiver station (BTS) and the base station controller (BSC), has to support two major bandwidth requirements for both voice service and mute frames. According to the general traffic model, mute frames in a GSM

system normally occupy 50% to 60% of all BTS uplink bandwidths. Ab i s o p t i m i z a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y i s developed to delete mute frames through the BTSs Abis interface and to multiplex the unused timeslots. The mute frames are then recovered before reaching the BSC. It can enhance 2G service transport efficiency by an average of 60%, and even 80% in best case scenarios. 3G systems employ adaptive multirate (AMR) technology to process voice services. As voice activation factors are introduced in coding, no mute frames exist in service bandwidth and thus 3G service transport efficiency cannot be improved by their deletions.

Limited bandwidth savings

Although Abis optimization technology creates little value for 3G systems, it seems to be an effective solution to mobile backhaul bandwidth optimization, given its 60% bandwidth optimization efficiency in GSM systems. However, the actual situation is not so simple. Operators are challenged by bandwidth pressures not just from GSM, but also from the whole mobile backhaul system that supports both GSM and 3G. As such, an evaluation of Abis optimization technology should consider the value
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HOW TO OPERATE
Can Abis optimization really pay off Table 1 Transmission bandwidth requirements of Abis interfaces BTS type  S1/1/1 S2/2/2 S3/3/3 TRX 3 6 9 OML 1 1 1 RSL 3 6 9 64K Time Slots 9.4 17.8 26.2 Traffic 0.60 Mbps 1.14 Mbps 1.68 Mbps

generated from bandwidth optimization across the entire mobile backhaul, rather than in GSM systems only.

At early phase of 3G services: at most 20%

When 3G services are initially provided, operators existing transmission networks are able to support the requirements of 2G services, and new added bandwidth for 3G services can drive mobile backhaul capacity expansion. In this instance, Node B coverage is similar to that provided by a BTS, with 95% of all Node Bs sharing the same sites as GSM BTSs. Uplink bandwidth comprises both Abis and Iub services. In e a c h G S M s y s t e m t h e u p l i n k transmission resources of individual BTSs should be configured according to the maximum bandwidth needed by the BTS type, the major ones being S1/1/1, S2/2/2 and S3/3/3. Table 1 lists the transmission bandwidths required by BTS Abis interfaces, in which Abis optimization technology is able to optimize all Abis interfaces in the GSM system. Each 3G network can be configured by referring to the typical 3G traffic model

and the service planning requirements of 3GPP. The calculations listed in Table 2 show that each 3G BTS calls for an uplink bandwidth of 5.61M in the early phase, which is 3.3 times the uplink bandwidth required by an S3/3/3 BTS, and 9.4 times the amount needed by an S1/1/1 BTS. This analysis demonstrates that most bandwidth pressures encountered by operators derive from 3G services. GSM services occupy 20% of the total bandwidth in mobile backhaul and, as it is assumed that Abis optimization technology can save 60% bandwidth, 12% can be saved across the whole network, considerably less than 20%. This is insignificant in terms of reducing overall transmission capacity expansion costs.

network by 3 to 5 times. NTT DoCoMo in Japan, for example, began constructing its 3G network with approximately 15,000 Node Bs in place, but the maturity of iMode services based on 3G broadband applications has to date stimulated an increase in the quantity of Node Bs to around 50,000. In mobile networks, only 20% - 25% of the base stations are 2G, and each requires 1E1 uplink bandwidth. The remaining 80% of 3G Node Bs require 3E1 uplink bandwidth for each, which is consistent with initial phase specifications. GSM services demand 7.7% of all bandwidth requirements (120%/(380%+120%)). When Abis optimization technology is employed to optimize these services across an entire mature 3G network, an operator can save only 4.62% (7.7%60%) bandwidth at most.

How great is the application value?

An assessment of Abis optimization technologys application in a network should not be confined to profits gained by decreased bandwidth in base stations. Consideration should also be given to bandwidth provision ability and mobile backhaul costs, which in turn determine the application of Abis optimization technology. The selection of mobile backhaul optimization or reconstruction

At mature phase of 3G services: less than 5%

When data services, especially those based on high-speed data packet access (HSDPA), become mainstream, voice service-based Node Bs/BTSs are incapable of covering data service subscribers, with the number of Node Bs in a 3G network exceeding the number of BTSs in a 2G

Table 2 Bandwidth requirements of various 3G services Traffic model Voice (mErl) CS 64 data (mErl) UDI PS 64/64 (bps) PS 384 Traffic HSDPA (bps) HSDPA minimum throughput per cell Voice activity factor Voice penetration Voice data penetration PS data penetration HSDPA penetration Subscriber per Node B 25 18 100 150 1024 1 Mbps 50% 100% 20% 40% 50% 1000 Bandwidth dimension Voice traffic CS data traffic PS 64K traffic PS 384K traffic HSDPA minimum throughput per cell (HSDPA traffic) CCH traffic Signaling & OM Engineering margin Traffic 0.33 Mbps 0.37 Mbps 0.06 Mbps 0.08 Mbps 3.00 Mbps (0.92 Mbps) 0.41 Mbps 0.43 Mbps 0.94 Mbps 5.61Mbps

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requires an analysis based on actual network conditions in terms of 3G network construction.

For leased line backhaul: just a supplementary

Fig. 1 illustrates that the booming demand for bandwidth increases leased circuit costs by tens or even h u n d re d s o f t i m e s i n t e r m s o f n e w network construction costs. While Abis optimization equipment can garner an extra 4.6% profits from bandwidth optimization, this remains inadequate when compared with leased lines longterm OPEX. In this case, necessar y measures to remove the pressure from bandwidth capacity expansion involve transmission network construction and the reduction of leased line use. In typical environments or remote areas where transmission networks cannot be constructed, Abis optimization technology can be adopted to supplement a decrease in bandwidth lease costs.

For microwave backhaul: only restricted functions

Microwave mobile backhaul generally adopts a tree networking mode in which the SDH microwave is adopted at the RNC/BSC, while PDH is utilized at the Node Bs/BTS and for tributary links. As 3G services require greater bandwidth, the 4.6% extra bandwidth profits derived

from Abis optimization does not obviate the necessity for microwave network re c o n s t r u c t i o n , w h i c h i n c u r s h i g h expenditure levels. At present, microwave backhaul follows three major trends. Firstly, the PDH microwave that supports 2 - 4 E1 channels gradually disappears at the network end, and is replaced by a microwave that supports 8 - 16 E1 channels. Secondly, the SDH microwave is progressively extended to base stations until it accounts for 40% (or more) in the network, up from the existing 20%. Thirdly, the SDH microwave, which is close to the RNC/BSC, is gradually transformed to optical fiber networking with a capacity exceeding 2STM-1. During microwave network reconstruction or expansion, maintenance and labor form the major portion of expenditure, as opposed to equipment. Current microwave soft modulation technology supports software upgrades from 1E1 to STM-1, thus effectively controlling equipment hardware and maintenance upgrade costs. For example, in order to upgrade a microwave system that supports 4E1 to a system that supports 16E1, legacy expansion methods require USUSD9,000 for equipment migration and engineering. However, present developments allow the microwave network to be upgraded by software at almost no cost. Due to improvements in microwave technology and efficient network cost control measures, the value of Abis optimization is rather limited in terms of

microwave bandwidth cost savings.

For optical fiber backhaul: a temporary means also

Optical fiber mobile backhaul construction can effectively improve network quality for mobile operators, and provide almost limitless bandwidth. The unit bit transmission cost of an optical transmission network is far less than the cost of deploying Abis optimization technology, demonstrating that in this case Abis optimization possesses negligible value. Although much time is required to extend optical fibers to all Node Bs/ BTSs, doing so is increasingly popular with numerous related projects currently underway. As FTTx projects are carried out throughout the world, the optical cable price per kilometer is falling, with a unit cost in France, for example, of between EUR150 and EUR200. Since the acquisition of optical fibers becomes easier, uplink bandwidth capacity has become unrestricted by transmission media, and Abis optimization no longer forms an expedient option for operators.

Conclusion
Abis optimization plays an important role in GSM systems and under general conditions leads to 60% bandwidth o p t i m i z a t i o n e f f i c i e n c y. In s p e c i a l circumstances, such as in remote mountainous areas, Abis optimization can remarkably improve the transport efficiency of 2G voice services. As 3G services develop, the value of Abis optimization has grew insignificant. It is insufficient to fully mitigate transmission bandwidth pressures, and can only be applied as a supplementary or temporary measure. Thus, the primary means of solving backhaul network bandwidth pressures lies in the construction of self-built transpor t networks, such as microwave with soft modulation technology or optical fiber backhaul. Optical fiber backhaul represents the most effective means for operators to drastically release bandwidth pressure.
Editor: Liu Zhonglin liuzhonglin@huawei.com
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Times

LL w/o optimization LL after optimization MW w/o optimization Fiber

Base Line
2E1 4E1 6E1 8E1 10E1 12E1 14E1 16E1 STM-1 STM-4 STM-16

Fig. 1 Comparison of capacity expansion costs among various networking modes

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