STRATEGIES FOR 4G/LTE DEPLOYMENT IN UNDERGROUND METROS:

AN INNOVATIVE SOURCE OF REVENUES

Dr. Cdric LVY-BENCHETON, Christian GROBOST

Egis Rail
Claire GUIOMAR
Egis Rail, Centrale Lyon

1. INTRODUCTION

With the rise of 4G/LTE networks around the world, there is no doubt that
several new applications will benefit from the deployment of 4G/LTE in the
near future. However, mobile communication is currently unavailable in
underground metros, except in a few cities (New York, Paris, Tokyo).

The next step for radio operators is to provide unlimited connectivity to their
customers by deploying 4G/LTE in underground metros. This will enable true
multimodal services with a continuous Internet connectivity for passengers.
However, the cost of such high-end system is important: it is necessary to
follow a holistic approach in order to reduce the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX)
and the Operational Expenditure (OPEX).

In this paper, we examine how 4G/LTE deployment may constitute an

innovative source of revenues to the transport authorities. We think that
4G/LTE is a chance for transport authorities to monetize their infrastructure
and lead more people to travel with the metro. In order to enable 4G/LTE
deployment, radio operators and transport authorities have to agree on a
business model which presents advantages to both parties. This first step
proves to be very difficult, due to the challenges tied to the implementation
and operation of 4G/LTE in the premises of an underground metro. Hence, we
need to explore several strategies to find the most adapted business model
before installing a public radio system in this context.

Section 2 details the constraints linked to the deployment of 4G/LTE in

underground metros. Section 3 presents different business models for the
4G/LTE deployment and their impact on CAPEX and OPEX. Section 4 details
a case-study for a newly constructed metro. Section 5 concludes.

2. THE CONSTRAINTS OF 4G/LTE DEPLOYMENT IN UNDERGROUND

METROS

In this section, we detail the constraints impacting the deployment of 4G/LTE

in a confined space. We focus on the key differences between a newly
constructed metro and an existing one with the goal to reduce CAPEX/OPEX.
AET 2013 and contributors
1
 1. Network Access

3. Passive Components 2. Active Components

Figure 1 The scopes of study for underground deployment of 4G/LTE

2.1. Several Constraints to Consider

The following constraints shall be carefully studied in order to determine the

most adapted solution for 4G/LTE deployment.

Legislation and Regulation

The deployment of a radio system in underground tunnels is constrained by
several laws and practices. Usually, every radio transmission must be
authorized by the national frequency agency, to ensure that they do not
interfere with other systems. Hence, legislation and regulation shall be
carefully studied since some radio systems might be mandatory by law in
tunnels (eg. Public Safety radio) and 4G/LTE must not affect them.

The issue of responsibilities is also a critical aspect to consider during and

after deployment. In order to minimize the risks in case of intervention, it is
important to set the limit of responsibility between the transport authority and
the radio operators before any deployment.

Infrastructure constraints
Several infrastructure constraints arise before, during and after deployment:

Before deployment: new equipment shall be installed only if they can be

removed later with no impact on the infrastructure. It is also necessary to take
into account the prerequisite of space to enable 4G/LTE deployment.
During deployment: components are deployed in a confined space. They
require cables and antennas in stations and tunnels along with dedicated
technical rooms (with Air Conditioning and Uninterrupted Power Supply).
After deployment: because of the large number of staff involved, strict access
control policies are required to guarantee the security.

Technical requirements
When deploying 4G/LTE in stations, three scopes of study appear, as
presented on Figure 1:

AET 2013 and contributors

2
 1) Network Access, which connects the station to the outside world, usually
through fibre optic cables.
2) Active Components manage the LTE network. They comprise base stations,
repeaters and small cells (if any). Installed in technical rooms, they require
network access.
3) Passive Components, antennas and/or radiating cables in stations and
tunnels, which allow users to connect to the LTE network. They are connected
to active components. They shall be compatible with the 4G/LTE frequencies.
Health & Safety concerns
Radio waves are a real concern for the general population and transportation
workers. Even though these concerns are neither proven nor disproven,
4G/LTE can reduce exposure to radio waves thanks to its lower power output
and higher capacity. Moreover, antennas enhancements and a smaller cell
size allow limiting the power output with no impact on the global performance.

Political and economic constraints

Political and economic constraints may limit 4G/LTE adoption: CAPEX/OPEX,
responsibilities, property rights Indeed, the main concern is to determine
who will invest, install, maintain and operate the 4G/LTE network. Each step
may be realized by independent actors, and the cooperation between public
radio operators may be complicated. Moreover, the transport authority/metro
operator may be reticent to let external personnel access their premises.

2.2. Comparison Between a Newly Constructed Metro and an Existing One

We now compare the impact of the aforementioned constraints on the

deployment of 4G/LTE in a newly constructed metro and in an existing one:

For a newly constructed metro, 4G/LTE deployment is relatively easy as long

as the preliminary studies take into account its different needs (technical
rooms, cabling, power supply). One difficulty may be to dimension the
equipment accurately to support future users.
For an existing metro, the deployment of a new system shall impact neither
the metro operation nor the other systems. Existing infrastructure may be
reused to optimize the CAPEX (fibre optic, antennas). However,
deployment in an existing metro can lead to a very high CAPEX, with night
shifts to limit the impact on daily operation, underground excavations to create
new technical rooms

For each constraint, Table 1 details the main points to consider for the
deployment of a 4G/LTE network in an underground metro. We notice that the

AET 2013 and contributors

3
 technical choices shall be made according to the infrastructure and to the
operators networks, with a strong influence on the CAPEX and the OPEX.

Consequently, there is a need to reduce individual investment from each

participant and propose a fair retribution to every actor of 4G/LTE deployment
to reduce both CAPEX and OPEX.

Table 1 Constraints for a newly constructed metro and an existing one

Constraints Newly constructed metro Existing metro
Legislation 4G/LTE operators can reuse 4G/LTE operators can reuse
and regulation their frequencies. their frequencies.
Other radio systems shall be Other radio systems shall be
taken into account. taken into account.
Deployment shall not impact
day-to-day operation.

Infrastructure None, if preliminary studies May require underground

include the prerequisite for excavations to create new
4G/LTE deployment. technical rooms.

Technical Equipment compatibility with Equipment compatibility with

requirements the public radio operators. the public radio operators.
Components in tunnels shall Components in tunnels shall
take into account the rolling take into account the rolling
stock dimensions. stock dimensions.
Existing equipment (cables,
antennas, fibre optic) may not
be compatible with 4G/LTE.
Impact on the minimum
requirements for power supply
and air conditioning.
Higher CAPEX due to more
constraints during installation

Health & safety Transmission power output shall be limited.

Political and Access policies to set up.

economic
CAPEX and OPEX.

3. BUSINESS MODEL COMPARISON

In this section, we present four business models for 4G/LTE deployment in an

underground metro.

AET 2013 and contributors

4
 Operators Premises X Y Z X Y Z

Station N Station N+1 Station N Station N+1

Technical
X Y Y Z X Z
Rooms

X X X Y Y Y X X X Z Z Z
Antennas Y Y Y Z Z Z X X X Z Z Z

a) b)

Operators Premises X Y Z X Y Z

Central Location
Station N Station N+1 Station N Station N+1

Technical all all all all

Rooms

all all all all all all

all all all all all all
all all all all all all
Antennas all all all all all all

c) d)
Figure 2 - The investments for each business models a) Operator-centric, b)
Shared costs, c) Independent third-party, d) Joint-venture

The goal of a business model is to generate revenues to the entities which

invest on the 4G/LTE deployment. For that purpose, we evaluate the actors
investment at each phase of the deployment:

Who realizes the prerequisite for components installation?

Who installs the technical equipment?
Who finances these costs?
Who operates and maintains the network?

A good business model shall deal with these questions in order to propose a
fair retribution to all participants of the 4G/LTE deployment, in relation to their
investment.

In Figure 2, we detail the investments for each actor in each of the four
business models. We represent how three operators (X, Y and Z) can deploy
4G/LTE in an underground metro, with two stations linked by a tunnel. Each
business model is tied to a specific architecture, represented by cabling, the
active equipment (squares) and the antennas (hexagons). The letters inside
each form denote who invests on this particular equipment.

3.1. Operator-Centric

In the Operator-centric business model, presented on Figure 2a), every public

radio operator desiring to transmit 4G/LTE in the metro premises shall deploy
its own equipment in stations and tunnels. The metro owner may need to

AET 2013 and contributors

5
 create new technical rooms, a potential concern in existing metros. Moreover,
newer operators may have difficulties to propose their services afterwards.

For the operation, 4G/LTE is only available to the radio operators customers
in selected stations, which restricts the interest of underground deployment.
For maintenance, each public operator requires its own staff to access the
premises, which shall be managed with adapted access policies.

CAPEX and OPEX increase rapidly in relation to the number of radio

operators and the stations to cover. The metro owner can only benefit from
revenues by renting its premises. Table 2 sums up these investments.

Table 2 Investments for the Operator-centric business model

Investment Details Who finances?
Prerequisite Technical rooms, power supply, air Metro owner
CAPEX

conditioning
Technical Network Access, Active components, Each operator
equipment Antennas
Operation Operators transmit in selected stations Each operator
OPEX

Maintenance Maintenance staff Each operator

Access policies Metro owner

3.2. Shared Costs

In the Shared costs business model, presented on Figure 2b), the operators
collaborate to deploy 4G/LTE. For a given station, one single operator is
charged to install the access network, the active equipment and the antennas,
which are then shared with other operators on a per-station basis. However,
this agreement may be limited per operator or per station.

Like in the Operator-Centric model, the actor in charge of the deployment is

also responsible for the operation and maintenance of its equipment.

In this model, the CAPEX is lower as only one set of equipment is installed
per station and the OPEX is shared by radio operators; the metro owner may
not benefit from this business model, since it has no word on their agreement.
Yet, the metro owner shall still enforce access policies.

Again, the metro owner recovers revenues by renting its premises. The metro
owner can still improve liquidity by deploying the passive components
(antennas) and requiring radio operators to use this infrastructure for a fee.
Table 3 sums up these investments.

AET 2013 and contributors

6
 Table 3 Investments for the Shared costs business model
Investment Details Who finances?
Prerequisite Technical rooms, power supply, air Metro owner
conditioning
CAPEX

Technical Network Access, Active components, Selected operator

equipment Antennas
Antennas (if not deployed by operators) Metro owner
Operation Operators transmit in selected stations Selected operator
OPEX

Network-Sharing Agreement Each operator

Maintenance Maintenance staff Selected operator
Access policies Metro owner

3.3. Independent Third-Party

In the Independent third-party business model, presented on Figure 2c), a

third-party company deploys the 4G/LTE underground network and allows
operators to access it for a fee. This company is totally independent from the
metro owner and the providers: it is the only actor in charge of deployment.

Operation is usually performed by the radio operators: the components

installed in the metro shall be compatible with radio operators equipment. The
maintenance is realized by the independent third-party, which may require
additional training to the metro environment.

This model ensures reduced CAPEX and OPEX, with very little investment
from the metro owner and the radio operators. Another advantage is that
newer operators can access the deployed architecture after initial deployment.
However, it also limits the revenues for the metro owner and the operators,
since the third-party is independent. Table 4 sums up these investments.
Table 4 Investments for the Independent third-party business model
Investment Details Who finances?
Prerequisite Technical rooms, power supply, air Metro owner
CAPEX

conditioning
Technical Network Access, Active components, Third-party
equipment Antennas
Operation Operators transmit in all stations Third-party
OPEX

Network-Sharing Agreement Each operator

Maintenance Maintenance staff Third-party
Access policies Metro owner

3.4. Joint-Venture

The Joint-venture business model, presented on Figure 2d), is quite similar to

the independent third-party model, with one major difference: the joint-venture
is a company partly owned by all actors, the metro owner and radio operators.
Hence, the joint-venture is aware of the deployment context and can reuse the
metro infrastructure, such as the metro fibre optic for network access.
AET 2013 and contributors
7
 Since every actor participates to the deployment, share risks and revenues,
CAPEX and OPEX are lower than in the Operator-centric and Shared costs
business models. The global CAPEX and OPEX are equivalent as in the
Independent third-party, but financed by the metro owner and radio operators.

This business model shall provide revenues to each actor due to the nature of
the joint-venture. Several new services can be imagined to generate
additional revenues. Table 5 sums up these investments.
Table 5 Investments for the Joint-venture business model
Investment Details Who finances?
Prerequisite Technical rooms, power supply, air Joint-venture
CAPEX

conditioning
Technical Network Access, Active components, Joint-venture
equipment Antennas
Operation Operators transmit in all stations Joint-venture
OPEX

Network-Sharing Agreement Each operator

Maintenance Maintenance staff Joint-venture
Access policies Metro owner

3.5. Comparison of the Business Models

By comparing the business models, it seems that the Independent third-party

and the Joint-Venture are the most convenient ways to deploy 4G/LTE in an
underground metro. However, the best technical solution is not necessarily
the most suitable, as operators may find no interest in sharing their network
with competitors. Moreover, a common infrastructure may become a
complication when dealing with the diversity of 4G/LTE frequencies.

Nevertheless, we have shown that a joint-venture between a transport

operator and telecom operators offers several advantages, which guarantee
cost reductions and fair competition to all actors.

4. CASE STUDY

We study the case of a newly constructed metro and we provide some details
on its application to the future Riyadh Metro.

4.1. Deployment of 4G/LTE in a Newly Constructed Underground Metro

For a newly constructed metro, the business model shall be discussed as

early as possible in the project, since it defines the constraints for the
infrastructure, power supply The goal is to minimize these interfaces, hence
the costs, as it is not the role of the metro owner to deploy 4G/LTE directly.

With 4G/LTE, new techniques allow for a better integration of the system:

AET 2013 and contributors

8
 RAN-Sharing consists in sharing the active components between operators, in
order to limit the number of technical rooms, power consumption, cabling
Small-cells are active components, directly installed in stations and tunnels,
which alleviate the integration constraints (surface in technical rooms).

We definitely think that the choice of business model shall consider the latest
technologies as well as the willingness of the operators to cooperate.

Our proposal for a new metro is to consider the Joint-venture business

model based on these technologies: it ensures fairness between all actors
and limits their investments. Radio operators can also increase their revenues
through RAN-Sharing (Friedrich et al., 2012).

With the increasing number of mobile terminals, the deployment of 4G/LTE in

an underground metro answers the need of a ubiquitous connectivity. It
enables the creation of innovative services which can benefit not only the
passengers, but also the metro staff, the metro owner and the radio operators.
Only the number of future 4G/LTE users remains uncertain to estimate
precisely the return on investment. Nevertheless, experience has shown that
traffic forecast for new metros are often exceeded after a short time span.

Consequently, the radio operators have all interest in extending their 4G/LTE
network by going underground. For that purpose, they shall initiate contact
with the metro owner and express their interest in cooperating with their
competitors, which is the main limitation to todays deployments. They can
also provide a free dedicated access to the metro staff while underground.

4.2. Riyadh Metro

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the transport authority (Arriyadh Development

Authority, ADA) is constructing six new metro lines, with several underground
stations. Three public operators have already deployed 4G/LTE all over the
country. ADA desires to propose 4G/LTE to its passengers so that taking the
metro would be more appealing than driving.

At first, ADA has proposed a Shared costs model, where each operator
would deploy its network on a couple of lines, so that all lines could be
covered in a minimum time. This proposal limited the investments, but it
remained unfair between the operators, since the packages did not contain
the same number of stations. Moreover, this strategy has not been approved
by all operators.

AET 2013 and contributors

9
 After discussion, some operators pushed for an Operator-Centric model,
which required major modifications to create the dedicated technical rooms
and important power supply requirements.

ADA has missioned us to evaluate fair solutions for 4G/LTE deployment. We

have proposed a Joint-venture model, with a company owned by ADA and
the operators. This new company would deploy 4G/LTE equipment (passive
and active) in all stations using RAN-Sharing. Moreover, the access network
would rely on the metro fibre optic in order to limit the initial investment. ADA
is now reviewing our proposal and will take a decision before the end of 2013.

5. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, 4G/LTE can represent an innovative source of revenues for

transport authorities. We have compared several business models to enable
the deployment of 4G/LTE in an underground metro, each with their impact on
CAPEX and OPEX. We have explained why the creation of a joint-venture
between the metro owner and the radio operators is an interesting solution.

For a newly constructed metro, we have shown that the 4G/LTE system shall
be integrated as early as possible, because of the interfaces with the other
sub-systems. We have described how new technologies (small-cells and
RAN-Sharing) provide a better integration within the station. The Joint-
venture business model greatly benefits from these technologies. Finally, we
have detailed our proposal of Joint-venture for the Riyadh Metro project.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Friedrich, R., Pattheeuws, S., Trimme, D., Geerdes, H. (2012) Sharing Mobile
Networks: Why the Pros Outweigh the Cons,
www.booz.com/media/file/BoozCo_Sharing-Mobile-Networks.pdf

LTE is Available in Subway Tunnels in Tokyo (2012), www.lang-

8.com/76189/journals/140851271319634627490326221067052600531/LTE-
is-Available-in-Subway-Tunnels-in-Tokyo

New York City Subway Wireless (2013), www.nycsubwaywireless.com

SFR signs agreement for 3G and LTE in Paris metro (2012),

www.globalmasstransit.net/archive.php?id=10354

All websites accessed on July 23rd 2013

AET 2013 and contributors

10