UMTS Network RAN Sharing Solution

RAN Sharing Solution

Overview of RAN Sharing Key Techniques in RAN Sharing ZTE RAN Sharing Solution

Drivers of Network Sharing

Operators are facing challenges of cutting cost when ARPU decreases continuously

Cost Driver

Network sharing can save the rental and number of sites dramatically Coverage in rural areas is unprofitable Hard to acquire site

Market Driver

Fast deployment in the initial stage Win additional revenue to provide network sharing Green and environmental concerns Government encourage network sharing to save resources and protect environment, provided that competition is not weakened Government encourage operators to share their infrastructure to expand coverage and foster the market in early 3G deployment Operators share one 3G license in some countries

Regulation Driver

Cost Analysis of Network Construct and Operating

Incumbent network cost structure

New entrant network cost structure

2%

5% 24%

Core Network RAN 36% Billing System Service Platform NMS Rollout Cost

30% 46%

14% 2% 5%

29%
1%

0% 4% 2%

Transimission

Source: Coleago Consulting

Typical European 3G site cost breakdown (FY07/08e) Capex Backhaul (microwave) RAN equipment Civil work 37% 27% 36% Opex Rentals/ leases Maintenance

Source: Vodafone 41% 22% 16%

Backhaul (leased lines) 21% Other (inc energy) 4

Standardization of Network Sharing

RAN sharing is standardized in 3GPP release 6 Only shared carrier RAN sharing need to be standardized. Other forms of network sharing has no impact on 3GPP standard, they are fully compliant with pre-R6 standard.

3GPP specification TS 23.251 gives the technology specification of common carrier RAN sharing, and defines the specification of UE, Node B, RNC and Core network elements
Network Architecture MOCN Carrier Configuration Carrier dedicated Carrier shared GWCN Carrier dedicated Carrier shared
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Network Architecture in RAN Sharing

RAN Sharing GWCN

RAN Sharing MOCN

Common sharing of RAN equipment and carrier Gateway core network is shared UE select operator based on PLMN ID GW core routes message to the right operator

Common sharing of RAN equipment and carrier Independent core network UE select operator based on PLMN ID RNC routes message to the right operator
Core of operator A Core of operator B

Core of operator A (HLR,GGSN,VAS)

Core of operator B (HLR,GGSN,VAS)

GW CORE (MSC/SGSN/MME) Shared RAN Shared RNC Shared carrier Shared NodeB Shared carrier f1 f2 f1 f1 f2 f1 Shared NodeB Shared RAN Shared RNC

Carriers Strategies in RAN Sharing

Dedicated Carrier RAN sharing

Shared Carrier RAN sharing

Further sharing of RNC and NodeB Logical independent access network with each operator has its own frequency

Further sharing of RNC and NodeB Logical independent access network with each operator has its own frequency

Balance between cost saving and network independence

Balance between cost saving and network independence

CN Shared RAN Shared RNC F1 of operator A Shared NodeB F1 of operator A and B Shared RAN

CN

Shared RNC

f1 f2 F2 of operator B

f1 f2

f1

f1

Shared NodeB

Operators Cooperation in RAN Sharing

Geography Sharing

MVNO

separated network that have different geography coverage Provide service to each other through network sharing agreements

MVNO has no radio access network. It may or may not have its own core network. It has its own VAS platform

MVNO rent MNOs network to provide service, but it has its own brand and channel

Used to provide national coverage for small operators or in underserved areas

Core of operator A Core of operator B

Core of operator A

MVNO VAS

GW Core of operator A

RNC sharing agreement

RAN of operator A

RNC

RAN of operator A

RAN of operator B

NodeB f1 f1

Operators Cooperation ScenariosBoth Operators own frequency resources

When operators have their own frequency resources

Dedicated Carrier MOCN RAN sharing is the most applicable solution Dedicated Carrier GWCN RAN sharing is also a possible solution

CN A

CN B

CN A

CN B

GW CORE (MSC/SGSN) RAN of A RAN of B RAN of A Shared RAN Shared RAN RAN of B

A and B share RAN in some areas.

A and B share RAN and part of CN in some areas.

Operators Cooperation ScenariosOnly One Operator has frequency resources

When one operator have not their own frequency resources

Shared Carrier MOCN RAN sharing is the most applicable solution Shared Carrier GWCN RAN sharing has the least possibility.
CN B CN A

CN A

CN B

RAN A

Shared RAN by B

Shared RAN by A

RAN B

RAN A

Shared RAN by B

RAN B

A and B provide shared RAN in different geographical areas.

A provides shared RAN to B.

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Network Sharing in Europe UK

Summary of the market

Adequate competition market with five mobile operators: O2, Vodafone, Orange, H3G, T-Mobile
Full sharing

Operators hope to strengthen their market position through network sharing

Regulation

UK Government encourage network infrastructure sharing to improve coverage and service quality, but network sharing should not threaten competition
Full sharing

Network sharing

T-Mobile and O2 began site sharing and H3G uses O2s network for national roaming from 2003 In June, 2007, Vodafone and Orange announced their network sharing plan, having a long term object of consolidate current network and jointly build out new network, to improve coverage, quality and lower cost
National roaming

Site sharing

In Dec, 2007, T-Mobile and H3G announced their 3G network sharing plan, aiming at build the largest HSPA network in Europe 11

Network Sharing in Europe Sweden

Summary of the market Adequate competition market with four operators: Teliasonera, Tele2, Telenor, HI3G Teliasonera and Tele2 are competitors share one 3G license and jointly build the 3G network Regulation Operators are obliged by regulators to provide 100% 3G coverage nationwide, 30% of the coverage must be provided by their own network and the other 70% can be provided by shared network Network sharing Teliasonera and Tele2 setup their joint venture Svenska UMTS Nt AB to build and operate their shared UMTS network Telenor and H3G setup their joint venture 3GIS to build and operate their shared UMTS network, which covers 70% of the population In April 2009, Telenor and Tele2 setup joint venture Net4Mobility to build their shared GSM and LTE network, and replace their own GSM outdated network All shared network in Sweden are common carrier RAN sharing 12

Svenska UMTS Nt

3G Infrastructure Services AB

Net4Mobility

Network Sharing in Asia

Regulation

Encourage and requires passive & active RAN sharing. Spectrum sharing is not permitted in some countries. MOCN/GWCN with dedicated carrier. Renting mode is the main required operation mode. Some operators require priority of resource utilization by dedicated resource allocation.

Network sharing mode

Main Features required by Operators

Flexible dynamic resource sharing between operators. Operator specific resource and license control and management. Flexible carrier configuration, non continuous segment for example.

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Overview of Network Sharing Key Techniques in RAN Sharing ZTE Success Stories

3GPP Consideration on RAN Sharing

Deploying RAN sharing in the network, should face some key issues: message router, PLMN ID display and mobility management

Regarding the various UE type and compatibility, the network should solve the issues on all UE mode. And ZTE consider the UE mode as pre-R6 mode and R6 mode when they stay in idle or connected status.
Key Technologies:

Message Routing & Network Logo display

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3G Message Routing GWCN with Support UE (R6)

GWCN:
The

system broadcasting information includes network sharing status. UE could selects the network which it can attach. Then UE send the request to the SGSN and the SGSN could determine if the UE belong to the any one of its shared operators. SGSN send back the accept or reject information.

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3G Message Routing GWCN with Non Support UE

GWCN:
The

system broadcasting information includes network sharing status. UE cannot decode the network sharing information, choose the common information and send to CN Then UE send the request to the SGSN and the SGSN could determine if the UE belong to the any one of its shared operators. SGSN send back the accept or reject information.

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3G Message Routing MOCN with Support UE

MOCN:
The

system broadcasting information includes network sharing status. UE decode the network sharing information, choose the correct CN Then RNC send the request to the correct SGSN depends on the sharing information decoded by the UE and the SGSN could determine if the UE belong to the any one of its shared operators. SGSN send back the accept or reject information.

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3G Message Routing MOCN with Non Support UE

Network Protocol Updating

Common frequency Sharing In MOCN: Network update to support R6 signaling protocol with reroute command. Reroute command may repeat some times and increase the network load and time delay.

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PLMN ID/Name Display Overview

The PLMN Name or Operator Name is mapped from the PLMN ID(MCC+MNC).

How UE display the correct PLMN ID is a key issue because pre-R6 UE can only read primary PLMN ID from the broadcasting information.

RAN Updating and NITZ can be major methods for Name Display, and SIM Card customization can be auxiliary method.

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PLMN ID/Name Display SIM Card Updating

The UE could store at least 10 PLMN ID and the corresponding operator name. The operators write the sharing network PLMN ID which is a common ID into the SIM card. And UE could display the correct operator name by the common ID. i.e, Operator A PLMN ID = 460 01 i.e, Operator B PLMN ID = 460 03 If Operator A and Operator B have a sharing network and make a common ID for that, Common ID = 460 08 Then Operator A SIM store: 460 01 = 460 08 = Operator A Name And Operator B store: 460 03 = 460 08 = Operator B Name The Operator Name could display
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Operator A

Operator B

460 01 460 08

Name A Name A

Name B Name B

460 03 460 08

Common ID 460 08 Operator A & Operator B

Sharing Operator A 460 01 Operator B 460 03

PLMN ID/Name Display RAN Updating to R6

Add a PLMN ID list in the broadcasting information in MIB field which need RAN Updating R6 UE could read the whole list and find out the correct PLMN ID and display the operator name. The pre-R6 UE could not read the list while only read one PLMN ID, normally this ID will be the common ID which is one of the sharing operators ID. Then the UE perhaps could not judge the correct operators name. That means the UE could be allowed register but could not display the correct operator name
Operator A

Operator A

460 01

460 03 460 01 460 01

Sharing

Operator B

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PLMN ID/Name Display NITZ

Network Supports NITZ, Network Identity Time Zone, which includes the local time , date and the operator name. The NITZ information will include the correct PLMN ID and operator name after the UE register success. UE decode the NITZ information and display the operator name, also synchronizing the time and date. When UE dose not support NITZ, use the default content.
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Register Requirement

Display the Operator Name

NITZ include Operator ID After Register

CMCC

Sharing

China Unicom

Mobility Sharing Network Mobility Management

SNA ( Shared Network Area ) Area consisting of one or more LAs to which access can be controlled. . CN sends SNA and LA mapping table to RNC, when RNC initiation. After UE attachment, the mapping among the SNA and TMSI is send to RNC and stored in RNC.

Handover based on SNA

During the connected status CELL_DCH, handover is supported Handover between the shared network and the non shared network. Handover inside the shared network.

Location Area Update Cell Update Based on SNA

Location area update and cell update are supported based on the SNA when UE is idle status or no connected status Update procedure between the shared network and the non shared network. Update procedure inside the shared network

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Overview of Network Sharing Key Techniques in RAN Sharing ZTE RAN Sharing Solution

ZTE RAN Sharing Solution Overview

Main Investment

Base Station Sharing

Base Station

BP resource and RU sharing Static/Dynamic Power Control Large capacity and flexible configuration

Radio network controller

Radio Network Controller Sharing

Resource distribution and management Transmission interface resource sharing

O&M Sharing
Operation & maintenance mode Access authorization control and management Features launching and license

Operation & Maintenance

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Base Station-BBU Sharing

UMTS BP Board
UL 192CE, DL 192CE/BP UL 15Mbps, DL 43.2Mbps/BP

Module Name CC Board FS Board UBPG/BPC Board SA/SE PM Module FAM

Shared Y Y Y Y Y Y

Dedicated N Y Y Y N N 27

Min/Max Configuration 1/2 1/2 1/5 SA: 1/1, SE:0/1 1/2 1/1 Some boards can be dedicated for multi-PLMN

Base Station-RRU Sharing

Sector
Cell-1 Cell-2 Cell-3 Cell-4

RRU sharing:

Dedicated carrier: Operators distinguished by

PLMN2 ID

Sector
PLMN-1 PLMN-2 PLMN-3 PLMN1 ID PLMN3 ID PLMN4 ID

frequency point. Shared carrier: operators distinguished by PLMN-id in cell broadcasted information.

BSC/RNC

Operators can share one RRU based on cell level. Operators can share one RRU based on cell level.

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RRU Support Multi PLMN Configuration (3G)

RRU Unit 20MHz RF Bandwidth 4 Carriers Supported
5MHz

Multi-PLMN 4 carriers configured to 4 operators

Operator B Operator A

20MHz

RSU Module Multi-PLMN configuration Operator A Operator B Operator C Operator D R S U R R R S S S U U U

20 MHz

1 RU to 3 RU

3 RU to 6 RU

R RR R R R S SS S S S U UU U U U

BBU BBU S1+S1+S1+S1

BBU BBU S111+S111+S111+S111 29

BBU BBU S222+S222+S222+S222

BP Resource Sharing Methods

BP Board BP Board

Three types of BP resources sharing for different scenarios

Operator A Operator A

BP Pool
Operator B

Operator B

Dynamic

Operator A Operator C

Operator B

BP Dynamic Sharing
available BP resources dynamic shared by operators

BP Flexible Allocation
09Q4 BP resources static reserved by operators

BP Hybrid Allocation
09Q4 Dynamic shared + Reserved shared

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PA Output Power Sharing- Static Configuration

Multi operators have same TOC.

Static output power configuration

Multi operators have un-equivalent TOC.

Average power allocation

Un-equivalent power allocation PA Output power 80W

time

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RNC Sharing and Dedication

RNC
BGSN Operator 2 BGSN BGSN Operator 1

Dedicated Shelf

Control plane sharing User plane dedicated and sharing management

Shared Shelf
BCTC

Interface dedicated and sharing management

BPSN

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ZTE innovative solution for Message Routing

RAN support NRI analysis, avoid CN upgrade and reiterate message procedure For initial access, MS will send IMSI to RNC, and RNC will extract the PLMN-id from IMSI, then the attach message is directly routed to the correct CN. For the Non-initial access, MS will send TMSI to RNC, and RNC will get NRI through TMSI. If the NRI is valid, the NRI will be analyzed, will be sent to corresponding CN. If the NRI is invalid or can not be correctly decoded, such as roaming subscribers H-PLMN is not matched in NRI codes, RNC will reiterate all CN supported by the carrier.
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IMSI

PLMN ID

TMSI

NRI NRI Valid

Find correct CN
NRI Invalid

reiterate all CN

CN A

CN C

RNC Interface Resource Sharing & Dedication

ll Ce 3

1 Cell 1 TRX

MSC MSC

Iu-CS

SGSN SGSN

Iu-PS

Ce

ll 2 TR X

Iu-b Node B RNC Iu-r

All the interface

Resources Pool: dynamic sharing

Dedicated interface: Static reservation (09Q4)

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Iub Transmission Resource Dedication

Shared bandwidth Operator A bandwidth Operator B bandwidth BSC/RNC

ATM/IP(3G) TDM/IP(2G) BTS/NodeB

Realized

10Q4

10Q4

Dynamic pooling

Flexible partitioning

Hybrid mode

Dynamic pooling: high usage efficiency. Flexible partitioning: Convenience to separate. The hybrid one : CAC bandwidth assignment and congestion avoidance.
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QoS Level for operators by PLMN in RNC

Operators Priority

ZTE BSC/RNC could provides the access control, call control and load balance by the operators QoS level

Operators could be set with different priorities, the system resource will be distributed to the high priority operator first

Services Priority

For each operator, the services priority could be defined separately.

128K 64K

When the limitation occur , for the transmission or the code resource, the lower level UE will be handed over to lower speed or other cells

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ZXWR UTRAN Sharing Solution Roadmap

2010Q4
Operator B Operator B (Joint Venture) (Joint Venture)
Read/Write

UTRAN Operator N Operator N (Renting) (Renting)

Read

Sharing Phase3:

Operator QoS Priority Operator Specific Iub/Iur Transmission Operator Specific Feature Control

Only

U10.1

Operator A Operator A (Host) (Host)

Reserved

& SW Setting for A QoS & SW Setting for N OMC OMC

Total

QoS

2009Q4
U9.2
UTRAN RAN

resource for A

Reserved resource for B

available resource: BP CE, RNC capacity, Backhaul bandwidth

Sharing Phase2: Specific FM/PM/CM

Resource dynamically shared

Sharing with Shared Carrier

Operator

2008
Operator A CN

Operator A

V408

UTRAN Multi

Sharing Phase1:

PLMN Support RAN Sharing Support Networks Access Control Sharing with Dedicated Carrier

Basic RAN

Shared
Operator B Operator N

Operator N CN Released Released

Planned Planned Planning Planning

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Unified EMS System,Multiple North Bound Interface

Operator A Operator A NMS NMS
Ift-N In Ift-N Inte terface rface

Shared EMS Shared EMS

ace rffac e Intte r In e Ifftt--N I N

Operator B Operator B NMS NMS

Operator A Operator A

Operator B Operator B

Shared Shared RAN RAN

A shared NETNUMENM31 manages all O&M functions, mainly including: RNC/BSC/Cell level configuration (Hardware, Transmission,) RNC/BSC/Site level software upgrade and status query. RNC/BSC/Site level FM and PM. LMT /EMS will not be distinguished according to different operators. Support independent NMS interface.
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North-bound Interface
The maximum number of concurrent connections to NMS is 4 Cell-level FM/PM/CM can be distinguished on NBI for different operators

Operator A

Operator B

Operator C

EMS

CM/PM

FM/IM

CM/PM/FM/IM

CM/PM

FM/IM

Host Operator A Partner Operator B Partner Operator C Host Operator As cells Partner Operator Bs cells Partner Operator Cs cells R/W R/W R/W
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--R ---

----R

Resources & Features Control between Operators

License control type
License control principle Date authorization:
Network operation is valid until a defined date. Feature authorization: Different cell, BSC or RNC can be authorized with different function. Capacity authorization: Restrict authorized network hardware capacity based on TRX or Cell. Support capacity reconfiguration without reactivation. All three methods can be used in conjunction with each other.

Example:
Operator A Capacity Feature
2010-8-4

Operator B 50K TRX FRHR

Implement Date 2008Q4 2010Q4

EMS Level Cell Level

100K TRX FRHRAMR

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Summary for Network Sharing

Architecture: GWCN and MOCN Carrier: Dedicated or Shared Network Sharing Specification detailed in R6 Options for Network Name Display in Pre-R6 Terminal ZTE RAN Network can be fully shared, and Resources flexibly controlled. ZTE Innovative solution to avoid CN upgrade for pre-R6 terminals in RAN Sharing Solution.

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