HUAWEI COMMUNICATE APR 2009 ISSUE 48

APR 2009 ISSUE 48

Intel: WiMAX Is MTN chooses WiMAX: WiMAX: at your Fast track to the
Here. Now. the right tool for the job finger tips broadband market

WiMAX: new broadband

for home and enterprise
 Opening a new WiMAX era
Broadband and mobile access are spearheading the future development
of the telecom industry. As a next generation wireless broadband access
technology, WiMAX incorporates broadband, mobile, and IP to embrace the
direction of future mobile networks and emerges as the focus of an increasing
number of operators.

Sponsor: According to current WiMAX Forum statistics, WiMAX service providers

Huawei COMMUNICATE cover 430 million global population, and this is predicted to rise to 800 million
Editorial Board, by the end of 2010. Over 135 countries and regions testify to the strong and
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. sustained growth of the WiMAX industry by deploying 460 fixed and nomadic
WiMAX networks.
Consultants:
Hu Houkun, Xu Zhijun, Xu Wenwei Many countries and regions in the world are still unable to widely
Tao Jingwen, Zhao Ming, Yu Xiangping deliver wired broadband services due to a lack of copper wire resources. An
Editor-in -Chief: independent consulting report estimates that over 500 million homes and
Gao Xianrui (sally@huawei.com) enterprises will demand broadband network access over the next five years, but
at least 100 million of them will not be covered by wired networks. For the
Editors: regions that lack wired resources, WiMAX is the only wireless access technology
Liu Zhonglin, Yao Haifei, Huang Zhuojian to enable large-scale, mature quasi-ADSL services over the next three to five
Zhou Huajiao, Fan Ruijuan, Xue Hua years. WiMAX represents the optimum choice for these homes and enterprises
Chen Yuhong, Xu Ping, Xu Peng to enjoy broadband access services rapidly and at a low cost.
Li Xuefeng, Pan Tao, Mike Bossick
Gary Maidment, Zhou Shumin As a world-leading telecom solution provider, Huawei has identified
WiMAX and LTE as dominant future wireless broadband trends, and
Contributors:
has implemented a long-term investment program to stimulate WiMAX
Hou Jinlong, Wu Hui, Shao Yang
development. Huawei is an active member of both the WiMAX Forum and the
Zhu Yonggang, Xie Jingping
Open Patent Alliance (OPA). Thanks to its 2,000-plus WiMAX R&D staff,
Zhu Haobing, Cai Mengbo
Huawei has submitted about 5% of the total initial WiMAX patents to the
Lu Xingang, Yan Yun, Liu Silu
OPA for standardization.
Zhou Jianhua, Zhao Yuan
Lei Yanping, Li Guodong
The corporate ethos of Huawei centers on building a sustainable and
Xu Youjun, Lu Yuliang, Lan Yun
cohesive business environment. In 2009, it partnered with Intel to establish its
Tel: +86 755 28780808 third global joint WiMAX Interoperability Testing (IOT) laboratory in Beijing,
Fax: +86 755 28356180 following its Shenzhen and Hong Kong labs. By Q1 2009, Huawei had
Address: A10, Huawei Industrial Base, deployed 37 pre-commercial networks and 41 commercial WiMAX networks
Bantian, Longgang, Shenzhen, designed to smoothly evolve into 4G networks.
China 518129
E-mail: HWtech@huawei.com To rise to the challenges ahead, Huawei will utilize its extensive experience
Publication registration No.: in the wireless and IP data fields to develop end-to-end wireless broadband
Yue B No.10148 access solutions for operators to step confidently into a new era of home and
enterprise broadband access.
The information contained in this document is for
reference purpose only, and is subject to change
or withdrawal according to specific customer
requirements and conditions.

Copyright © 2009 Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

All Rights Reserved.
Wu Hui
No part of this issue may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means without prior written Director of Huawei Global
consent of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. WiMAX Solution Sales Dept.
What’s inside:

P.18P.13 P.33

Global Digest 09 Huawei: openness and cooperation

01 WiMAX Forum launches interoperability drive WiMAX development
testing with Clearwire help By Lu Yuliang

04 StarHub launches Asia-Pacific’s first

HSPA+ network
Industry Forum
05 Intel: WiMAX Is Here. Now.
As the initiator and the strong
advocate of WiMAX, what are
Intel’s strategy to further promote
the ecosystem and expectations for
WiMAX development? Mr. Sean
Maloney, Intel EVP, Chief Sales and
Marketing Officer will tell us...
Expert’s View
12 NGBWA and WiMAX in 2009
New opportunities for wireless
broadband
WiMAX deployment is on the rise along with
the demand for wireless broadband. The current
worldwide economic downturn brings not only
pressure but also great opportunity for WiMAX
technology.
By Ye Weichen

By Julia Yao
15 Seize the opportunities in fixed
broadband market
07 MTN: the right tool for the job
By Zhong Xiaofang
We invite Mr. Joos Louw, Senior
Technology Strategist at MTN
Group R&D, responsible for the
MTN Group’s WiMAX strategy–to
Main Topic
reveal MTN’s WiMAX strategy and
concerns.
17 Bringing broadband to the masses
By Julia Yao By Li Guodong
 Let’s COMMUNICATE beyond technology and share understandings of the latest industry trends,
successful operational cases, leading technologies and more. Based on in-depth analysis of the
matters that lie close to your heart, we will help you stay on top in the competitive telecom industry.

P.13 P.22

19 Fast track to the broadband market 31 Boosting WiMAX indoor coverage

Creating new profit growth points and improving By Zheng Yuanyuan
future 4G market competitiveness through WiMAX
let operators fully explore the broadband market.
Mobile operators enjoy four distinct advantages in Solution
facilitating WiMAX network construction.
33 Make the best of WiMAX
By Li Zheng
By Hu Huihui

22 New thinking on the WiMAX

business model 35 ViewMAX: smart wireless
By Chen Shirui surveillance
By Jin Can

How to Operate
25 Finding the right way 37 WiMAX: at your finger tips
When an operator deploys a WiMAX network, By Li Pengcheng
obtaining the optimum solution is most often found
through examining frequency bands, networking
modes, coverage methods, base station models, types 39 Site resource sharing of WiMAX
of access bearer networks, integration with existing By Liu Wang
networks, and so on.

By Li Rong
Leading Edge
28 How to plan and optimize WiMAX 41 Wireless broadband: what will
networks the future be?
By Lai Guoting By Liu Nanjie & Li Guodong
 GLOBAL DIGEST
News
WiMAX Forum launches interoperability testing with
Clearwire help
The WiMAX Forum launched
its Interoperability Testing (IOT)
Certification program that will
leverage Clearwire's commercial
WiMAX network experience to ensure
interoperability in the 2.5GHz band.
The move makes sense given the fact
Clearwire owns most of the 2.5GHz
Skype is world’s largest international voice carrier
Skype became the largest long-
distance phone company in 2008,
delivering 8% of all international
traffic, says Telegeography.
In total, 417 billion minutes
worth of long distance calls were
made in 2008, up 12% from
2007–two points lower than in
2007, where minutes grew 14%,
Telegeography said.
By contrast, international Skype
traffic grew 41% in 2008 to 33
billion minutes. Around a quarter–8.4
billion–of these minutes were from
Skype's paid-for SkypeOut service,
Clearwire starts WiMAX Innovation Network
in Silicon Valley
U.S. WiMAX operator Clearwire
will launch a WiMAX Innovation
Network to accelerate mobile
broadband development in Silicon
Valley, California. The WiMAX
Innovation Network will initially
cover more than 20 square miles
in Silicon Valley and bring wireless
service to campuses of technology
specialists including early partici-
pants Google and Intel.
Service is expected to be avai-
lable to developers by late summer
of 2009 giving them a head start
on commercial service launching
1 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
spectrum in the U.S. In addition to
contributing its technical expertise,
Clearwire will share its extensive
commercial network test cases to the
WiMAX Forum. These will be used
to validate interoperability between
all submitted 2.5GHz mobile WiMAX
products.
generating revenue for wholesale
international carriers.
“Skype’s traffic growth has
been remarkable–only five years
after its launch, Skype has emerged
as the largest provider of cross-
border voice communications in
the world,” Telegeography analyst
Stephan Beckert said.
Against the growth in traffic, ILD
revenues have been mainly flat due
to declining call prices. The average
price for an international call has
fallen by over 80% in the last 15
years, and declined 7% in 2007.
in the Bay Area in 2010. Service
will be provided free to a limited
number of qualified developers for
one year. Clearwire will provide
WiMAX USB Modems for 49.99
USD.
In addition to the mobile
WiMAX network in the Bay Area,
Clearwire expects to launch its Clear
mobile Internet service in more
than 80 cities in 2010, including
cities such as Atlanta, Las Vegas,
Baltimore, Chicago, Charlotte,
Dallas/Ft. Worth, Honolulu,
Philadelphia, and Seattle in 2009.
Globe targets nationwide WiMAX in the Philippines
Globe Telecom has launched
in the Philippines what it claims will
eventually be the biggest 802.16e
network at 2.5GHz in Southeast Asia.
Using equipment from Huawei, Globe
is offering a wireless broadband service
(speeds of up to 512Kbps) at a monthly
cost of P795 (around 16 USD).
Globe’s WiMAX service is initially
available in selected areas in South
Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. It
WiMAX benefits from deep-pocketed operators
Of the “top” 22 WiMAX operators
worldwide, which the research
firm identifies as having enough
cash and spectrum to make a
profitable WiMAX business case in
the long term, 45 percent of those
interviewed had more than 100
million USD in cash.
These operators include obvious
names such as Clearwire, as well
as operators who currently enjoy
a relatively small subscriber base
but for whom Maravedis believes
there is still great potential, such
Comsys has designs on WiMAX/GSM smartphones
Based on the ComMAX CM1125
baseband processor, Comsys the
latest design incorporates all the
features and functionalities required
of smartphones, from antenna up to
application processor.
OEM/ODMs can now receive
a complete pre-integrated form-
factor solution enabling maximum
optimisation and reduced time-to-
market.
In addition to multimode mobile
WiMAX/GSM-EDGE, the CM1125RD
integrates WLAN, BT, FM radio
and GPS connectivity, enabling
coexistence of radios for all usage
reportedly has plans to continue rolling
out hundreds of more WiMAX sites
in the Philippines, using them as a
complement to its existing DSL and 3G
services and so extending broadband
access throughout the country.
Globe’s CAPEX levels are expected
to reach between 350 million USD
and 400 million USD in 2009, around
150 million USD of which is allocated
to consumer broadband services.
as Scartel (Russia). Other such
“strategic” WiMAX operators
include: UQ Communications
( J a p a n ) , F a r E a s To n e ( C h i n a
Taiwan), BSNL (India) and Telmex
International.
According to Maravedis, the
t o p 2 2 o p e ra t o r s w o r l d w i d e
will contribute nearly 2.5 million
WiMAX subscribers by the end
of 2009–up from 1.24 million
today (and around half the current
WiMAX total)–and close to four
million by the end of 2010.
scenarios. The solution complies
with WiMAX Forum mobile WiMAX
requirements and 3GPP GSM/EDGE
standards, and supports multimode
mobile WiMAX/GSM-EDGE voice
call continuity between WiMAX
VoIP and GSM CS voice based on a
standard IMS platform.

China Unicom to spend 16 billion USD on networks in 2009
After announcing a 58% increase
in full-year profit thanks to the sale
of its CDMA network, China Unicom
said it would spend 110 billion
CNY (16 billion USD) on its capital
equipment in 2009.
Net income rose to 33.91 billion
CNY (4.96 billion USD), from 21.4
billion a year earlier, the company
announced.
The company will increase its
CAPEX by 56%, of which 35.2% will
be spent on its 3G networks and
23.7 billion on GSM.
China Unicom took over fixed-
line rival China Netcom and sold
its struggling CDMA business to
China Telecom in 2008 as part
of the nation’s telecom industry
restructuring.
Growth in its mobile business,
fixed broadband and data commu-
nication remained strong in 2008,
but traditional fixed-line continued
to decline. Mobile revenue, which
Sprint announces 4G rollout schedule
Sprint Nextel said it will launch
its 4G service at the same time
Clearwire rolls out WiMAX service.
Sprint will operate as an MVNO
to Clearwire and offer mobile
WiMAX products and services. The
operator holds a 51 percent stake in
Clearwire.
Sprint has said it would launch
Sprint 4G service in Atlanta,
Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas/Ft.Worth,
Honolulu, Las Vegas, Philadelphia,
Portland and Seattle in 2009. Sprint
also said it plans to launch service
in Boston, Houston, New York,
San Francisco and Washington,
D.C., in 2010. All of these market
deployments are in line with
represented 44.1% of the company’s
total revenue, grew 4.3% to 65.25
billion CNY, of which 24.9% derived
from value added services.
Its fixed broadband and data
communication businesses rose
23.9% to 25.17 billion CNY, while
fixed-line declined 4.4% to 82.77
billion CNY in 2008.
Unicom chairman and CEO
Chang Xiaobing said Unicom’s
WCDMA network would cover
55 cities by June, and expand to
284 cities nationwide by year-end.
The company expects its 2G and
3G networks to cover 96% of the
country’s population by 2010.
what Clearwire projected when it
announced its buildout plans earlier.
The operator said it will launch
multiple 4G devices in 2009 and
2010, including a 4G data card,
embedded laptops, a small-office
broadband modem and a tri-mode
handset. Sprint has hinted in the
past that it may launch a WiMAX
capable tri-mode handset in early
2010 running on Google's Android
platform but that has not been
confirmed.
Right now, Sprint is offering a
dual-mode data card in Baltimore
branded Sprint 4G. The service
costs 20 USD more than its 3G data
service.
Data
137 billion
The mobile Internet market
will be worth 137 billion USD in
2014, growing by over 450% from
2008, but user growth will be
much faster than revenue growth,
according to Ovum.
Users of mobile services are
projected to grow from 181 million
in 2008 to over 2 billion by 2014 –
a 1024% growth. Around 40% of
70 billion
Revenues generated by Long
Te r m E v o l u t i o n ( LT E ) m o b i l e
broadband subscribers are expected
to exceed 70 billion USD globally
by 2014, according to a new report
from Juniper Research. The firm said
LTE will usher in a new connected
environment for consumer elec-
tronics devices such as portable
522 million
The WiMAX sector generated
revenue of 522 million USD in Q4
2008, even amid a tumultuous year
for the technology, research firm
Maravedis said.
Operators worldwide added
a combined 1.45 million WiMAX
subscribers in 2008. As of December,
there were around 3.16 million
WiMAX subscribers, up 87% year
145 billion
Operators worldwide will spend
145 billion USD on outsourcing
and managed services in the next
five years, telecom analyst firm
Yankee Group said.
Asia-Pacific will contribute to
26% of the global outsourcing and
managed services spend during
this period, the analyst added. This
puts the region behind Europe,
which will contribute 40%, but
these customers are expected to
be from APAC.
At a global level, revenues
grow at just 44% of the rate of
users, Ovum senior analyst Michele
Mackenzie said.
The number of users accessing
mobile broadband through laptops
will grow 1022% to 258 million in
2014, Ovum said.
game consoles and digital cameras.
However, some hurdles remain to
LTE's success. The main challenge:
how mobile operators price the
service. Their challenge is to keep
prices low enough for droves of
subscribers to sign up despite
the fact it will be the fastest data
technology available in the market.
on year. Over one million of these
subscribers are from the US. Nearly
450 operators are deploying or
trialing WiMAX, the researchers said.
Over 138,000 base stations were
deployed in 2008, a 14% quarter-on-
quarter growth. WiMAX operators
took in an ARPU of 43.70 USD from
the residential segment and 122 USD
from the business segment.
ahead of North America, at 24%.
Rapid subscriber growth in EMEA
will push its contribution from 7% in
2008 to 9% by 2013, while supplier
distrust will keep the Latin American
market small, growing just 1% to
reach 4% by 2013.
B u t o p e ra t o r s s h o u l d n o t
expect outsourcing to cure all
the problems they currently face,
Yankee Group warned.
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 2
 GLOBAL DIGEST
Huawei News
Huawei joins Board of Directors of both the WiMAX Forum® and the Open Patent Alliance
26 March 2009, Shenzhen,
Huawei announced that it has
joined the Board of Directors of
the WiMAX Forum, the leading
non-profit organization in WiMAX
standardization and certification,
shortly after having been appointed
as a board member of the Open
Patent Alliance (OPA), an organization
spearheaded by Intel Corporation to
Huawei showcases world’s first M2M 3G embedded module
for extreme working environments
3 April 2009, LAS VEGAS,
Huawei showcased the world’s
first industrial strength machine-to-
machine (M2M) UMTS embedded
module at the International CTIA
Wireless 2009 event in Las Vegas.
Huawei's EM700 module has
been designed to endure extreme
conditions, such as temperatures
ranging from -30°C to +75°C, as
well as providing a more superior
mobile broadband performance. The
new EM700 module is also resistant
to very high and low humidity (5%-
95%), shock, air pollution and
congested wireless network traffic.
"Consumers today need reliable
and robust wireless equipment and
connections while on the move and
it is becoming increasingly important
for people to be able to stay
3 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
provide WiMAX intellectual property
rights solutions.
Ron Resnick, President and
Chairman of the WiMAX Forum
said, "Huawei is a global telecom-
munications leader, and we are very
pleased that Huawei has joined our
Board to help promote the WiMAX
ecosystem. We look forward to
Huawei's further involvement to
connected regardless of their location
or the conditions. The world's
first industrial strength embedded
module–Huawei's EM700–meets this
need by providing a vastly improved
wireless performance that can be
experienced in any environment."
said Mr. James Chen, Director
of Huawei Terminal Marketing
Department.
The EM700 module also features
a broad range of performance
enhancements, including Firmware
Over-the-Air (a technology that fixes
device software remotely), multiple
interfaces that allow flexible usage
and connections to other devices,
voice and SMS services, and
support for mainstream operating
systems such as Windows2000, XP,
Vista and Linux.
help accelerate WiMAX deployments
worldwide. As a leading advocate
of WiMAX technology, Huawei has
proven its willingness and ability to
deliver standards-based, end-to-
end products and solutions to its
numerous operator customers. This
knowledge will serve the WiMAX
Forum Board well."
"Huawei has been developing
WiMAX technologies for the past 10
years, and as a board member of the
WiMAX Forum and the Open Patent
Alliance, we are firmly committed
towards driving the development of
WiMAX," said Zhao Ming, Huawei's
Vice President of Wireless Product
Line and President of WiMAX
Product Line. "By facilitating a
process that will ultimately offer
broader choice and lower total cost
Huawei Marine wins contract for submarine cable
system to bridge Tunisia and Italy
Huawei Marine Networks
("Huawei Marine") announced in
March 2009 a turnkey contract
signed with Tunisie Telecom in Tunisia
for the supply of a submarine cable
system called "HANNIBAL System"
project linking Tunisia and Italy.
The "HANNIBAL System" will
stretch about 170km and connect
Kelibia, Tunisia and Mazara, Italy
across the Mediterranean Sea, with
a maximum capacity of 3.2Tbit/s.
On its completion at the end of
2009, the "HANNIBAL System" will
supply a capacity of 10Gbit/s × 80
wavelengths per fiber pair, with
the potential of being upgraded to
40Gbit/s solution in the future to
meet the growing requirement to
international communication.
"HANNIBAL System will play
of ownership (TCO) for WiMAX
technology, we can deliver more
high-quality products around the
world."
Huawei will assist OPA to focus
on aggregating patent rights for
the implementation of the WiMAX
standard to provide more choices
and lower and more predictable costs
for vendors and telecom operators.
Huawei will also educate the industry
about intellectual property rights
pertaining to this IP-based broadband
wireless technology.
As one of a handful of manu-
facturers that are able to provide
full end-to-end WiMAX solutions,
Huawei has received both 2.5GHz
and 3.5GHz Mobile WiMAX™
certification for its base station
products from the WiMAX Forum.
an important role in the external
communications of Tunisia. Huawei
Marine Networks is a reliable partner
with excellent solutions and proven
delivery capability, which is the reason
to choose Huawei Marine." said Mr.
Montassar Ouaili, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Tunisie Telecom.
Tunisie Telecom is the largest
national integrated telecom operator
in Tunisia. In recent years, Tunisie
Telecom has expanded its business
ranging from mobile and fixed
communications, Internet services,
to business data and intelligent
network. The completion of this new
submarine cable system will also help
the operator extend its international
coverage and offer a redundancy
for Tunisia's international telecom-
munication traffic.
StarHub launches Asia-Pacific’s first HSPA+ network
27 March 2009, Singapore,
StarHub, in partnership with Huawei
announced the launch of StarHub's
HSPA+ network in Singapore. This
announcement makes StarHub the
first operator in Asia-Pacific to have a
mobile broadband network capable
of speeds of up to 21Mbps.
StarHub's customers will be
among the first in the world to
experience the fastest mobile
broadband speed and superior
services than anytime previously
through its HSPA+ network and
devices provided by Huawei.
Mr. Chan Kin Hung, Head of
StarHub's Personal Solutions and
Advanced Multimedia Services,
said: "Today will be a milestone
in the mobile broadband industry
as StarHub's HSPA+, the fastest
mobile broadband network that
delivers speeds of up to 21Mbps,
Huawei and Intel develop a new WiMAX test lab
Recently, Huawei together with
Intel Corporation announced the
launch of a new WiMAX Interopera-
bility Testing (IOT) laboratory in
Beijing.
Jointly designed and built by
Huawei and Intel, the completion of the
testing lab represents another milestone
in the ongoing effort to enhance the
speed of interoperability and delivery
of commercial-ready WiMAX devices
throughout the global WiMAX industry.
"Huawei is delighted to play
an active role in the development
of WiMAX with Intel through its
partnership. This state-of-the-art test
laboratory in Beijing that will further
advance WiMAX technology," said
Mr. Zhao Ming, President of Huawei
CDMA & WiMAX Product Line. "The
systematic and rigorous testing in our
would enable us to offer even better
customer experience such as faster
response time for high-definition
video streaming, high-speed Web
surfing, Web conferencing and other
next-generation wireless applications
with high bandwidth requirements."
HSPA+ increases StarHub's
mobile broadband network capacity
to support speeds of up to 21Mbps,
from 14.4Mbps previously.
In May 2008, StarHub appointed
Huawei to expand and upgrade its
nationwide 3.5G mobile broadband
network to HSPA+. The HSPA+ service
launch is part of StarHub's overall
strategy to provide an unparalleled
mobile broadband experience that
can deliver better surfing experience,
higher resolution on streamed mobile
content, improved interactivity and
other wireless applications with high
bandwidth requirements.
new Beijing test lab will accelerate
the development of WiMAX market
segments for worldwide operators."
Sriram Viswanathan, Vice Presi-
dent of Intel Capital and General
Manager of Intel's WiMAX program
office said: "Intel is dedicated to
providing market-ready, fully-tested
and interoperable WiMAX-enabled
devices. We applaud Huawei's
leadership in helping to continue to
advance the global WiMAX industry."
As a leading WiMAX solution
supplier, Huawei has been involved
in WiMAX research since 2001 and
now has more than 2,000 engineers
engaged in WiMAX R&D. Huawei
and Intel first signed an agreement
in April 2005 to cooperate in the
development WiMAX technology
and market development.
Huawei to provide CDMA technology
for Cox Communications’ wireless network
30 March 2009, PLANO, Texas,
Huawei has been selected to provide
its end to end CDMA solution and
services to Cox Communications.
Cox, the third-largest cable provider
in the United States, will launch
its 3G wireless network utilizing
Huawei's LTE-ready SingleRAN
solution and industry-leading 3900
Series base stations.
"We are committed to enhancing
the experience of our customers
Huawei WiMAX DBS3900 obtains 3.5GHz WiMAX Forum
Certified seal of approval
AT4 wireless, a Designated
Certification Laboratory by the
WiMAX Forum, has announced in
April 2009 that the Huawei WiMAX
DBS3900 has obtained the 3.5GHz
WiMAX Forum Certified seal of
approval.
AT4 wireless is a wireless
certification and testing laboratory.
Huawei DBS3900 WiMAX was
tested at the AT4 wireless facilities.
Company officials said that the
testing included radio, protocol and
interoperability against different
vendors.
As specified under the WiMAX
Forum Certification Program rules,
the Huawei DBS3900 WiMAX has
successfully completed all the steps
required to get the approval of the
WiMAX Forum.
Huawei DBS3900 WiMAX operates
at 3.4–3.6 GHz band–5, 7 and 10 MHz
bandwidth. The successful completion
of the steps now enables it to meet
different operators’ requirements of
band-width utilization, said officials.
“After being awarded 2.5GHz
Wave2 certification last year, Huawei
through the addition of wireless
service to the Cox bundle," said
Stephen Bye, Cox's Vice president
of Wireless. "In working closely
with Huawei's dedicated support
team and through the use of its
wireless technology and systems,
we have made monumental strides
in the development of our wireless
network, enabling us to move
quickly toward the launch of Cox's
wireless services."
WiMAX DBS3900 gains the 3.5GHz
Wave2 approval from WiMAX
Forum,” said Zhao Ming, President
of the CDMA and WiMAX product
line at Huawei, in a release.
He said that the achievement on
the Wave2 certification underlines
that DBS3900 is a type of proprietary
WiMAX base station based on the
IEEE802.16e protocol and features
low power consumption, extended
coverage, easy installation and
operation, flexible networking and
more.
Jose de la Plaza, telecommuni-
cations laboratory manager at
AT4 wireless, added that based
on the continuous investment and
leading R&D strength, Huawei
once again has demonstrated its
WiMAX equipment’s maturity and
interoperability.
The WiMAX Forum is a not-for-
profit organization that has been
established to certify and promote
the compatibility and interoperability
of broadband wireless products
based upon the harmonized IEEE
802.16e/ETSI HiperMAN standard.
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 4
 Industry Forum
Intel: WiMAX Is Here. Now.

Intel: WiMAX Is Here. Now.

Year 2008 has witnessed WiMAX’s accelerated growth. Currently, there are more than 460 fixed and mobile WiMAX trials and
commercial deployments in 135 countries. As the initiator and the strong advocate of WiMAX, what are Intel’s strategy to
further promote the WiMAX ecosystem and expectations for WiMAX development under the financial downturn? With these
questions in mind, COMMUNICATE met with Mr. Sean Maloney, Intel EVP, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for an exclusive
interview during the GSMA Congress Barcelona.

By Julia Yao

5 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48


H
ow do you see the market
opportunities for WiMAX
under the current financial
downturn?
The next 3 years are going to be
economically challenging for many
countries. And many of the markets
that Huawei and Intel operate in would
be more economically challenged. But
governments all around the world are
going to deploy broadband to connect
their citizens and wireless networks. That’s
where WiMAX fits perfectly. It’s ready. We
think WiMAX is a perfect technology for
an economic downturn. It is a low cost
way of connecting people to the Internet.
That’s what the world needs, low cost
mass standard. So we believe that there
Huawei Communicate
are huge opportunities for WiMAX and
companies like Huawei and Intel in this
new economic environment.
How will the financial downturn impact
Intel’s investment strategy on WiMAX?
I think everybody in the next year or
two is going to face tougher economic
times and the winning companies would
be companies like Huawei and Intel that
invest for the future, not companies that
are cutting back and eliminating research
and development.
Our philosophy has always been to
invest during tough times. We’ve done
that since the company was founded. Intel
has been through many recessions. In the
tougher economic time, you must invest, Mr. Sean Maloney
you must do research and development, Intel EVP, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer
you must produce new technology. We
think WiMAX is the right technology
this leadership role.
at the right time. So we plan to carry on
investing in WiMAX. I’m glad to see that
People always compare WiMAX with
Huawei is committed to doing that as
LTE. How do you view the relationship
well. This approach is always the winning
between the two?
approach in tougher economic times.
Whenever there is a new standard in the
industry, people always talk about battles
How would you comment on the
between standards. That’s always been
ecosystem of the WiMAX industry?
the case. We saw the closure of the 16e
I think if you look at the progress that
standard in 2005 that led to the progress
WiMAX has made over the last year and
during 2008. I think things are going to
half, we now have dozens of different
move more quickly now. There is a broad
computers that are going to be WiMAX
IEEE agreement on 802.16 and I think
ready, new kinds of lower cost computers
the standard is going to carry on moving
like Netbooks. We have the emergence of
ahead just the same as Wi-Fi did a few years
Smartphones, and a very broad ecosystem
ago. It has a really unstoppable momentum
all the way around the world. In some
worldwide. WiMAX is here now. It’s ready,
ways it is a convergence of the computer
and sometimes ahead of LTE. Over the
and communication industries. It is
next year or two years, WiMAX is going to
a healthy ecosystem with tremendous
build up a very large global install base.
opportunities for Huawei and Intel.
What message would you like to give
Would you please comment on Huawei’s
to operators worldwide who take a
role and contributions to the whole
wait-and-see attitude towards WiMAX
WiMAX industry and the cooperation
adoption?
between Intel and Huawei?
Huawei WiMAX equipment is I think now is the time to build these
tremendous, it’s advanced and it’s ready now. networks out. It always seems paradoxical to
Intel and Huawei have worked together invest in a recession. But in many ways that
closely in the last year and are helping lead is the right time to invest. The right time is to
the global WiMAX ecosystem. There’s prepare for the next boom. And the best way
now a very broad movement of dozens of to do that is to deploy high speed broadband
companies around the world, and Huawei wireless network now. WiMAX is the perfect
has stepped into a leadership role there. Intel choice.
is delighted to be working with Huawei in Editor: Gaoxianrui sally@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 6
 Industry Forum
MTN: the right tool for the job

MTN: the right tool for the job

The WiMAX versus HSPA and LTE debate continues, yet the experience of MTN, the dominant mobile operator on the African
continent, is a positive proof that the two technologies are complementary and not competitive. The GSM based operator
has already deployed three successful commercial WiMAX networks and more are slated in the near future. In an exclusive
interview with COMMUNICATE, Mr. Joos Louw reveals their WiMAX strategy and concerns. He is a Senior Technology
Strategist at MTN Group R&D, responsible for the MTN Group’s WiMAX strategy.

By Julia Yao

A
s a GSM operator, where do
you see WiMAX’s unique
value and your advantages of
deploying WiMAX?
I think it’s important to look at what
was the initial reasoning for the IEEE
802.16 set of standards. Also known
as the Wireless MAN standard, it is
always envisaged that 802.16 will do for
metropolitan area networks what Wi-Fi
did for local area networks; that is being
a wireless version of an Ethernet cable,
providing data connectivity. Obviously
technology evolved and the IEEE
standards 802.11 (Wi-Fi) and 802.16
(WiMAX) moved towards mobility–a
technology segment that was previously
only served by mobile network operators
using the well-established GSM standard.
GSM in turn was initially designed as
a mobile wireless circuit switch network
technology, primarily used for voice
communications. But early technologists
saw the potential for data usage. The GSM
technology evolved not only into better
voice services, but also included data
services, yet still based on circuit switch
network architectures. Circuit switch
technologies are ideal for the symmetrical
nature of voice communications. It
is not as efficient compared with the
asymmetrical and burst nature of general
data communications. Today the natural
evolution path for mobile network
operators is the next generation of 3G
standards for GSM called UMTS and
most mobile network operators have
deployed or are in the process to rolling
out UMTS networks supporting HSPA
data services.
So what we have now are two streams
of technology standards evolving beyond
their original scope and intended purpose.
Sometimes when people argue the merits
of one technology against another, they
forget to look at the most important
aspect; that is the user and the application
of the technology. Users care very little
about the actual technology used to do the
job. The most important question they ask
is: “how much will it cost me?” If the user
asks that question the network operator
needs to ask the same question: “what
will it cost to serve a bit of data?” Cost
is directly related to the efficiency of a
technology. Now this is not to say that one
technology is more efficient than another.
It is about what technology is best suited
and therefore most efficient in delivering a
service.
We have invested billions of dollars in
our existing GSM and 3G networks and
will continue to do so to ensure we offer
mobile networks of the highest quality. But
as we move into the converged telco era
and as the line between traditional mobile
operator and data service provider becomes
less defined, we are constantly developing
new business models and products
which include services with less focus on
mobility. This is where we see WiMAX as
an important instrument in our toolbox. If
we can off-load static wireless data services
from our 3G and GSM networks onto a
WiMAX network, it means we can have a
better mobile voice and data network and,
at the same time, offer high-speed, high
quality fixed wireless data services.
How do you see the value of WiMAX
in the African market particularly, and
the relationship between HSPA/LTE and
WiMAX?
One of the biggest under served market
segments in emerging markets is the
Fixed Wireless Application (FWA) users-
base. In developed markets, like Europe,
these users have ADSL, cable or fibre
available. In other words, they have a well
established infrastructure. The problem
in Africa is that the fixed communication
infrastructure is non-existent or very
limited in coverage. As explained earlier,
we found WiMAX to be an excellent and
cost effective technology to deliver FWA
services and complement the existing
GSM and 3G networks.
What is MTN’s WiMAX strategy?
MTN have a very straight forward strategy
of using the right tool for the job. And as
such, we will investigate every opportunity
to ensure we get spectrum for 3G, LTE and
WiMAX in the countries where we operate.
Ours is an inclusive strategy.
What is MTN’s progress with WiMAX
so far and your future plan on WiMAX?
To date we have 3 commercial WiMAX
networks, 1 in trial, 1 just completed a
tender process. The latest development is
that one of our networks has successfully
bid for spectrum and is entering into the
planning and deployment phases. Our

7 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48


future plans are to actively search for
opportunities to expand our products and
services and, at the same time, leverage our
existing investment in GSM/3G.
Would you be willing to share your
opinions on marketing strategy for
WiMAX focusing on (1) target market
segment, (2) pricing and (3) promotion?
In your opinion, what kind of market
strategy may help on the WiMAX
business?
I can’t share too much without giving
away some strategic information. All I
want to say on this topic is: if an operator
thinks that just deploying a WiMAX
Joos Louw: ”We found
WiMAX to be an excellent
and cost effective technology
to deliver Fixed Wireless
Application services and
complement the existing
GSM and 3G networks.”
network is the answer to wireless data,
they are in for a surprise. In our experience
most of the work goes into developing a
business model around the network. The
WiMAX network is the vehicle and road.
What you are using the road for and the
services you offer are more important.
The network is a commodity, a bit pipe
transporting data.
The WiMAX standardization process is
settling down and vendors are building
products. What do mobile operators
expect from technology vendors to
realise the WiMAX ecosystem?
MTN Group is a public company,
Huawei Communicate
which means we have strict rules and
responsibilities on how we engage with
vendors and any decision on a particular
vendor must be found on good technical
capability and commercial terms. For
that reason, we will engage more than
one vendor in a technology area, not only
to keep vendors competitive but also to
ensure we always use the best of breed
technology equipment.
WiMAX is a new technology making
inroads into the mobile operator’s space.
All WiMAX equipment vendors are in
some phase of development and refinement
of their equipment. A product that might
be inferior today compared to another
vendor’s product, but in a month’s time
the situation could be vastly different.
Although current WiMAX deployments
will not be at the scale of our GSM
networks, it is important that our vendors
can scale with our business, constantly
refine and develop their products to
leverage synergies between deployed
technologies and understand and improve
the total cost of ownership of these
technologies. Innovation on all aspects of
product development and customization
are important aspects of any vendor.
In terms of new converged business
models, how do mobile operators see the
role of technology vendors?
Mobile operators and equipment
vendors are entering a new era of products
and services. Up to now, mobile operators
offered a voice service with some mobile
data and value-added services. This model
makes good money! Financial analysts say
this is not a bottomless cup and as with all
industries revenue growth will eventually
flatten off. Mobile operators need to
diversify their product and service offerings
and together with the convergence of
circuit switch and packet switch network
technologies, it makes sense to expand with
ISP products. These product offerings are
driven by totally different business models.
We need our vendors to understand our
changing needs and to help us to develop
these opportunities with innovative
technology equipment and strategies. Not
just on WiMAX but across the spectrum
of technologies.
Mr. Karl Toriola, CTO of MTN Nigeria
Editor: Gaoxianrui sally@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 8
 Industry Forum
Openness and cooperation drive WiMAX development
Huawei: openness and cooperation
drive WiMAX development
How can we predict the future development of WiMAX in the rapidly changing market? What are Huawei’s latest achievements
in terms of WiMAX technology and market penetration? How does Huawei determine and tailor its WiMAX strategy? To answer
these questions, COMMUNICATE interviewed Zhao Ming, President of Huawei CDMA & WiMAX Product Line.
As an active advocate of the
WiMAX industry, Huawei
is committed to fortifying
its advantages in 2009
while cooperating with all
members in the WiMAX
industry chain to firmly drive
the development of this key
wireless access technology.
9 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
Sustainable industry
development and growth
COMMUNICATE: In 2007, it was
commonly predicted that the large-
scale commercial application of WiMAX
would happen across the globe in
2008. Now it is early 2009, what’s your
opinion on the performance of the
WiMAX industry over the past year?
Zhao Ming: As a key 3G and 4G
convergent technology, one of the chief
advantages of WiMAX is its broadband
access capabilities. The increasingly
mature end-to-end (E2E) industry chain
greatly accelerated the global commercial
application of WiMAX in 2008, and we
saw WiMAX networks deployed and
commercialized on a large scale in some
of the world’s most prominent markets,
including North America, Europe, Japan,
and India.
Several milestones were achieved with
WiMAX in 2008: WiMAX chips were
integrated in laptops and various terminals,
including mobile terminals; large-scale
WiMAX networks were commercialized
by several leading operators; the Wave2
certification system was introduced;
and dozens of devices were certified in a
short-time, including base stations and
terminals. These events demonstrate that
the WiMAX industry is systematically
developing and expanding.
The WiMAX industry performed
By Lu Yuliang
more or less as expected in 2008, and
we can broadly view last year as the key
time for WiMAX commercialization.
Sufficient WiMAX spectrum resources,
mature network devices, progress and
breakthrough with chips, diversified
terminals, and effective price strategies are
driving subsequent WiMAX development.
We expect the WiMAX industry to grow
at a rapid pace over the next year.
Huawei WiMAX
well-received
COMMUNICATE: Has Huawei
WiMAX been affected by the global
recession? What did Huawei WiMAX
achieve in 2008?
Zhao Ming: The economic turmoil
has affected Huawei customers. However,
this doesn’t mean operators will simply
lower or cease the relevant investment,
but instead will be more prudent and
rational. The WiMAX operators will pay
more attention to the CAPEX, OPEX,
and business models. They demand more
eagerly for the profitability of the WiMAX
networks. We view the current situation as
more of an opportunity than a challenge,
as Huawei has always maintained a strong
customer-focus.
Huawei has been investing heavily in
WiMAX, particularly its R&D, with a
strong emphasis on meeting customer
demand. We have in place an ongoing

process of optimizing our E2E WiMAX solutions.
In 2008, Huawei’s WiMAX solutions were
commercialized on a large scale in numerous markets.
One of our WiMAX base stations and two WiMAX
terminals were certified with Wave2 approval by the
WiMAX Forum in the same year, positioning us as
the vendor with the greatest number of WiMAX
products passing the certification at a single time.
In consideration of the overall influence of
the total cost of ownership (TCO) on WiMAX
network construction efficiency, profitability, and
eco-friendliness, Huawei has developed a green
WiMAX solution to reduce TCO. Underpinned by
our industry-leading fourth generation base station
platform, the Huawei solution enables WiMAX,
CDMA, GSM, and UMTS systems to share
platforms, sites, transmission resources, and power
supply. By integrating multiple systems, our solution
maximally utilizes existing network resources and
effectively protects investment. Increases in power
amplification efficiency, breakthroughs in MIMO
technology, and distributed architecture maximize
the capacity and efficiency of base stations, and thus
greatly reduce the number of sites required to cover
the same area. Our innovative RRUs adopt natrual
cooling and can be mounted on towers to reduce
TCO and improve overall network performance.
Currently, Huawei provides comprehensive and
E2E support for deployment of the whole WiMAX
network, delivering E2E products, solutions,
and services that cover network planning and
optimization, network management, operational
support, and business consulting.
—Mr. Karl Toriola, CTO of MTN Nigeria
Huawei Communicate
By the end of Q1 2009, Huawei had won 41
commercial mobile WiMAX contracts covering
Europe, North America, CIS, the Middle East,
Africa, and the Asia Pacific, outpacing all of our
competitors. Global mainstream operators, such as
Telefonica, Vodafone, and SingTel, all chose Huawei
to deploy WiMAX in their sub-networks. Huawei
has successfully delivered well-received WiMAX
solutions by unfailingly focusing on customer
requirements.
Normally, opportunities and threats co-exist in
business, regardless of shifts in economic cycles.
Some enterprises back off and hope to overcome
the economic winter by reducing investment
and expenditure, but our ethos centers around
a confident and proactive approach to reaching
achievable goals. By focusing on the requirements
of operators, Huawei closely cooperates with them
to seek out development opportunities, which
guarantees our continued existence amid the
economic downturn. This is a completely different
philosophy of business, requiring wisdom as well as
courage.
COMMUNICATE: In early 2009, media
reported that Huawei had deployed the world’s
first LTE commercial network, and thus
established its leading position in the 4G era.
What do you think of Huawei’s success in
WiMAX and LTE?
Zhao Ming: Why was Huawei selected by
a European operator to deploy the world’s
first LTE commercial network?
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 10
 Industry Forum
Openness and cooperation drive WiMAX development
Broadly, it’s because that our leading
position and comprehensive strengths
in LTE have been recognized; more
specifically, it owes much to our R&D
capability, operational experience, platform
strategies, and E2E solutions.
As broadband wireless access
technologies, both WiMAX and LTE are
based on OFDM and MIMO within a
flat and open All-IP network structure.
Huawei’s success in LTE also proves
our leading position in the field of core
WiMAX technologies such as OFDM and
MIMO.
In terms of evolution toward 4G,
Huawei does not regard the competition
between WiMAX and LTE as a simple
choice between the two. We don’t view
WiMAX and LTE as mutually exclusive;
on the contrary, they have the necessary
foundations for integration.
On the one hand, WiMAX and LTE
are based on the same technologies and
network architecture. Huawei’s strategy
for integrating the platform with multiple
systems ensures that both share a single
platform, which yields greater collaborative
advantages in R&D investment and
resource sharing.
On the other hand, both WiMAX
and LTE share common ground in terms
of both target markets and customer
positioning. However, according to
global LTE development, the industry
consensus holds that it will take two
to three years to realize the large-scale
commercial applications. In contrast,
the currently mature WiMAX industry
chain is capable of realizing large-scale
commercial applications. The next two
to three years are critical for WiMAX
development. This is the advantage of the
WiMAX, and is also the opportunity for
the whole industry chain to make use of.
The difference in timeframe between the
large-scale commercial applications of the
two technologies makes their convergence
possible. WiMAX lays a foundation
for LTE and provides a reference for
pre-utilizing spectrum resources and
accumulating experience in constructing
and operating networks. Currently,
Huawei has completed an interoperability
test for WiMAX and LTE on the network
layer.
11 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
Openness and
cooperation drive WiMAX
development
COMMUNICATE: In the fourth
global WiMAX summit in September
2008, you said the development of
the WiMAX industry has entered the
practical stage. What do you think are
the current opportunities for WiMAX?
Zhao Ming: My opinion is based on the
axiom that any technology requires a process
from development to application, including
speculating concepts, gathering experience,
practical development and large-scale
applications. Several years ago, WiMAX
speculation started, but WiMAX has entered
the practical stage as commercial networks
are constructed and launched.
Demands for broadband have failed to
be met for quite some time due to globally
insufficient broadband access resources.
Now, however, the situation is improving
which, together with the increasing
availability of WiMAX spectrum resources,
has opened a huge market space for
wireless broadband access via WiMAX.
For example, mobile operators will
invariably feel more competitive pressure
in the coming stages of development,
as the majority of their subscribers are
individuals and the dominant service
remains voice. How can they attract home
and enterprise subscribers, and how can
they introduce diversified data services
to win a full-service edge? These are now
the most pressing questions asked by
mobile operators, which also frame a new
WiMAX development opportunity.
COMMUNICATE: What do you
think will determine the continuous
development of the WiMAX industry in
2009?
Zhao Ming: Several powerful vendors
in the WiMAX industry chain alone
cannot form a robust industry chain. The
continuous development of the WiMAX
industry depends on the collaboration
and maturity of the whole industry chain,
which includes operators, equipment
vendors, system integrators, and terminal
chip vendors.
As a member of the board of directors
of the WiMAX Forum, Huawei insists
on openness and cooperation to develop
WiMAX. In 2008, we established two
global WiMAX Interoperability Testing
(IOT) laboratories in Shenzhen and
Hong Kong to carry out interoperability
tests with mainstream chip and terminal
vendors. The aim of the testing process
is to boost the commercialization of
terminals and devices across the entire
WiMAX industry.
Huawei is also actively seeking
opportunities for point-to-point
cooperation with leading members of the
WiMAX industry. After 2005, Huawei
established a strategic WiMAX alliance
with Intel to drive research on WiMAX
technology and business models, and in
2008, we established a joint WiMAX IOT
lab in Beijing.
In February 2009, Huawei joined
the Open Patent Alliance (OPA) as
one of its board of directors. OPA was
established by several vendors including
Intel, with the aim of granting vendors
in the WiMAX industry chain the right
to use WiMAX patents at low cost. OPA
covers, for example, vendors of consumer
electronics, computers, and network
devices. Expanding and easing the use of
patents will eventually benefit WiMAX
end users, and the participation of Huawei
has greatly diversified the WiMAX patent
pool. On the basis of a ten-year investment
and cumulative experience in broadband
wireless technologies, including OFDM
and MIMO, Huawei intends to continue
boosting the whole industry chain.
Given the pessimism surrounding
the current global economic conditions,
WiMAX industry members hold
different opinions: some support vigorous
investment in WiMAX, others prefer to
watch and wait, and a few vendors and
operators have simply announced their
withdrawal.
As an active advocator of the WiMAX
industry, Huawei is committed to
fortifying its advantages in 2009 while
cooperating with all members in the
WiMAX industry chain to firmly drive
the development of this key wireless access
technology.
Editor: Liu Zhonglin liuzhonglin@huawei.com

Expert’s View
“Batelco’s NGN will deliver our promise
Dr. Ye Weichen, joined Intel in July 2007 and then became the CTO of the China WiMAX Division, leading
to bring affordable broadband
the Intel (China) accessresearch
WiMAX standardization to allteam
of to promote WiMAX technology in China.
Bahrain’s households, making them among the
best connected in the world.
NGBWA and WiMAX in 2009
New opportunities for wireless broadband
T
he financial crisis is a major
WiMAX deployment is concern for the IT and
communications industries.
on the rise along with G l o b a l l y, t h e e c o n o m y i s
the demand for wireless are proactivelyintegrated
increasingly and governments
stimulating the economic
broadband. The current recovery with sizeable investments.
Investing in the communications
worldwide economic industr y is an effective way to spur
economic growth and developing wireless
downturn brings not only broadband network applications fuels
further growth.
pressure but also great
opportunity for WiMAX New-generation
technology. broadband wireless
access
To deliver broadband wireless network
applications to consumers, especially
low-cost broadband services, we need to
leverage the new generation broadband
wireless access (NGBWA) technology.
NGBWA technology is endowed with
four basic attributes: advanced, efficient,
innovative, and economical.
Advanced refers to high radio spectrum
utilization. Based on OFDMA-MIMO
air interface technology, the NGBWA
technology enables high spectrum
utilization.
Efficient refers to the capability
of supporting high-speed and high-
throughput data services which requires an
All-IP and flat network structure.
Huawei Communicate
By Ye Weichen
Innovative refers to keeping the network
platform open. An open network platform is
helpful to enabling various applications. Then,
develop a safe, manageable, and sustainable
business mode through market testing.
Economical refers to cost-effective
network construction and low operational
expenditures. This requires a mature
ecosystem that is equipped with diversified
devices.
Among the technologies which have
been commercialized on a large scale,
WiMAX based on IEEE802.16e is a
typical NGBWA technology.
Wi-Fi is widely deployed and can
supplement WiMAX well in multi-mode
networks. WiMAX is suitable for wide
area coverage and Wi-Fi for hot spot
coverage. This combination will certainly
play a critical role in wireless construction
in urban areas.
Home & Enterprise Broadband
proposed by Huawei is an important
NGBWA application scenario. Fixed
broadband (such as ADSL) is the current
major access mode of the home market.
In the near future, the home market
will become an important segment of
broadband wireless access.
T h e i d e a o f Ho m e & E n t e r p r i s e
Broadband unifies home and commercial
applications and proposes the combination
of individuals (home) and collectives
(businesses) to ensure that subscribers
experience the same quality of wireless
broadband service.
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 12
 Expert’s View
New opportunities for wireless broadband
“1-2-3-4-5” indicates
WiMAX 2009
WiMAX achieved a lot in 2008 as the
typical NGBWA technology. Six leading
enterprises initiated the establishment of
the Open Patent Alliance (OPA). Sprint/
Clear wire began to deliver WiMAX
commercial services in the USA.
The products certification of 802.16e
Wave2 has been carried out. Laptops with
embedded Intel WiMAX/Wi-Fi dual-mode
13 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
chips have been delivered. Clearwire raised
3.2 billion USD from five enterprises and
invested in WiMAX network deployment
across America. Expect even more
achievements in 2009 which are described
in “1-2-3-4-5” below.
1
1 stands for 1.00 USD.
On June 9th, 2008, Intel, Cisco,
Samsung, Alcatel-Lucent, Sprint, and
Clearwire jointly established the OPA,
aiming to lower the patent royalties of
relevant technologies by establishing an
open WiMAX patent pool. It was agreed
that less than one USD would be paid
as the patent royalty for each WiMAX
terminal, which is the common mission of
OPA and many enterprises in the industry.
In fact, the idea of a patent pool has
been the wish of Chinese enterprises and
regulatory authorities for years. It is worth
mentioning that Huawei is a member of
the board of directors of OPA. This not
only helps to increase the influence of

Huawei on the global WiMAX industry,
but also further boosts the overall WiMAX
industry chain.
2
2 is for “on both sides of the Taiwan
Strait”. 2009 is a critical year for enterprises
on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to
rise to leading positions in the global
WiMAX industry. This also marks the first
year that Chinese enterprises will take a
leading position in the global mainstream
information communications technology
industry.
On the mainland, vendors, such as
Huawei have many advantages over others
in terms of WiMAX networks and systems.
They are playing an increasingly important
role in the WiMAX forum and the IEEE,
having obtained considerable WiMAX
network construction contracts.
Under the M-Taiwan plan formulated
by the Taiwan administrative authority,
a complete industr y chain has been
formed and six WiMAX licenses have
been issued. Today, Taiwan has developed
into the largest WiMAX base in the
world, integrating manufacturing, testing,
application, and operations.
Both mainland China and Taiwan
are known as the factories of the world
producing electronic information devices
and enterprises like Lenovo, ASUS, Acer,
and HTC have taken the lead in launching
diversified WiMAX terminals. Both sides
of the Taiwan Strait have complementary
advantages and will become the new
engines of the next WiMAX development
stage.
3
3 means WiMAX would be commercialized
three years ahead of LTE.
WiMAX is no longer the solo
performer, but the competition is enabling
innovation and progress. As LTE is
driven to quicken its pace of growth, the
final beneficiaries will be the market and
subscribers.
Early time to market helps WiMAX
attract numerous operators in emerging
markets, while operators in mature
markets are also glad to take WiMAX as
an effective broadband access technology
that is helpful to creating new competitive
advantages.
WiMAX was first commercialized
d u r i n g 2 0 0 7 . To d a y, t h e W i M A X
ecosystem is increasingly mature and chips
and terminals have gradually generated
economies of scale. According to ABI
research, the average price of a WiMAX
chip decreased to 23 USD in 2008 from
32 USD in 2006 and is predicted to
drop to 6 USD in 2013. Since Wi-Fi and
WiMAX will be further integrated, the
cost of a multi-mode chip of WiMAX will
be reduced to less than 5 USD.
4
4 is for the four attributes of NGBWA,
as mentioned above.
As a typical NGBWA technology,
WiMAX is well endowed with four
important basic attributes: advanced,
efficient, innovative and economical.
WiMAX is mainly a data service access
technology. The Senior Vice President
of Huawei, Mr. Xu Zhijun said, “We
do not identify WiMAX as a mobile
communications system, but as a fixed
wireless broadband access solution to
supplement the overall broadband access
solution.”
This idea is being accepted by
worldwide telecom operators. Operators
with 3G licenses take WiMAX as a
necessary supplement to voice networks
and those without 3G licenses place
WiMAX in an even more important
position. It is clear that as an efficient and
economical broadband wireless access
solution for data services, WiMAX will
occupy a wide market space.
5
5 represents the five new focuses in the
global WiMAX market.
In the past two years, WiMAX
penetrated both developed and emerging
markets through its superior technical
features and unique position as a wireless
broadband access solution. There are five
focuses in the global WiMAX market:
developed markets like America and Japan,
typical emerging markets like India and
Huawei Communicate
Russia and the important engine of the
WiMAX ecosystem, Taiwan.
First, the United States is representative
of WiMAX application. The operator,
C l e a r w i re , w i l l c o n t i n u e t o d e p l oy
WiMAX networks in America.
Second, UQ started pilot commercial
applications in three Japanese cities in
February and will begin formal commercial
application on July 1st.
Third, the Indian government
has selected WiMAX as the primar y
broadband access technology for the whole
country. Its 2.5GHz frequency band will
be auctioned very soon. Then, BSNL will
begin to deploy WiMAX networks and
deliver commercial services in 2009.
Fourth, in Russia, Yota has deployed
W i M A X n e t w o r k s i n Mo s c o w a n d
St.Petersburg, covering about 20 million
people, and Comstar is actively preparing
t o l a u n c h t h e c o m m e rc i a l Wi M A X
application.
Fifth, Taiwan VMAX will activate
WiMAX commercial service in the first
half of 2009.
By measuring the above five focuses
from the perspective of WiMAX industry
development, the American and Japanese
markets indicate that mainstream markets
have moved into the popularity stage. The
Indian and Russian markets indicate the
beginnings of the introduction stage in
emerging markets and the fourth year of
implementing “M-Taiwan” shows how the
WiMAX ecosystem is going to be further
optimized and upgraded, changing the
local industry’s economy in the process.
WiMAX will drive the wireless
b ro a d b a n d m a rk e t i n A f r i c a , L a t i n
America, Eastern Europe and the Middle
East while achieving several milestones in
markets that influence the global market.
In 2009, the WiMAX industry chain will
show its developmental rule in diversified
markets.
The prosperity of NGBWA and WiMAX
is built upon sufficient market requirements
and the suitable positioning of technologies.
The development of wireless broadband
networks will no doubt become a highlight
in this special period. As a champion of
WiMAX, we take a bullish stance about
development this year.
Editor: Xu Peng xupeng@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 14
 Expert’s View
IMS: the time is now
Expert’s View
中国电信为CDMA产业注入活力
Zhong Xiaofang, a telecom solution expert from Huawei, has extensive experience in telecom industry
research, and specializes in the fields of cost structures of mobile networks and business modes of
broadband networks.
Seize the opportunities
in fixed broadband market
The home and enterprise broadband market represents not just a fresh opportunity for mobile operators to increase
income, but also a new engine and a key strategic drive for them to maximize core competitiveness.
Seeking a new growth
point
S
everal years of rapid development
and market maturity have
consistently slowed the annual
growth in new global mobile
subscribers. By Q3 2008, the global
mobile penetration rate had risen to
57%. In Western and Eastern Europe,
the rate actually exceeds 100%, while in
the heavily populated Asia Pacific region,
mobile penetration has topped 40%. We
can say that the global market of potential
consumers is approaching saturation, if
not considering the non-target market (the
poor/the elderly/children).
Moreover, for mobile operators the
amount of traditional voice service traffic is
increasing while the revenues are dwindling.
The EBITDA margins are dropping to their
lowest levels. If mobile operators continue
to focus on traditional mobile services only,
new growth space will quickly evaporate. To
increase shareholder value, mobile operators
are seeking new business growth points, of
which the home and enterprise broadband
access market forms a key component. The
following are some examples:
After launching its xDSL and mobile
15 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
service bundled package in the U.K.,
O2 extended its reach into Germany in
October 2006 by providing the service to
homes and enterprises via the network of its
parent company, Telefonica.
In Q 3 2 0 0 6 , Vo d a f o n e l a u n c h e d
Homezone, its innovative bundled xDSL
and mobile service. Moreover, French
second largest mobile operator SFR, which
is jointly owned by Vivendi and Vodafone,
has deployed its fixed WiMAX network in
the southern area Paris to enable broadband
access.
Te l e f o n i c a w i l l e x p a n d i n t o t h e
broadband market in South America
and intends to increase the region’s fixed
broadband subscribers to 5 million during
2009. Vodacom has formally launched its
Best Effort service to replace xDSL with
WiMAX to access homes and enterprises.
SingTel has delivered 1M Internet wireless
broadband access in Singapore and its
subsidiary, Globe, has defined its strategy to
deploy WiMAX networks on a large scale to
realize wireless broadband access for homes
and enterprises.
Moreover, WiMAX forms one of the
six strategic services promoted by France
Telecom; the company has launched
integrated WiMAX and Wi-Fi services for
homes and enterprises, which it underpins
By Zhong Xiaofang
with converged diversified services.
Fresh opportunities
Although the broadband markets
in Japan, Korea, and several Western
European countries are close to saturation,
the broadband subscriber bases in China,
America, Germany, India, Russia, and
South America are still growing rapidly,
which is driving the overall rapid growth
of the global broadband access market.
Statistics from PointTopic reveal that,
by Q3 2008, global broadband access
subscribers totaled 398 million, up 21.2%
annually; global broadband popularity (the
proportion of broadband access subscribers
against total population) reached 6.9%,
reflecting an annual rise of 1.1%, while
global home broadband popularity was
25.3%, 4.1% higher than the year before.
The services provided by mobile operators
focus on individuals, which clearly inhibits
integrated service provision, reduces these
operators’ competitiveness with integrated
operators, and wastes a wealth of growth
opportunities. Once integrated operators
deliver diversified integrated services, they
will attract high numbers of subscribers
that will in turn increase the churn rate and

subscriber retention cost (SRC) of mobile
operators.
Vo d a f o n e r e s e a r c h e d s u b s c r i b e r
consumption habits in 2006 and found that
in the home application environment 4% of
the subscribers use mobile communication
services only, and that just 1.1% of potential
subscribers will confine their use to mobile
communications services. However, 94.9%
subscribers require multiple access modes.
In Europe, home mobile phone services
account for 30% to 40% of total usage, but
this figure is higher in America, at between
40% and 50%. Mobile operators failing to
deliver home-customized solutions will lose
considerable service opportunities; as such
many are now aiming to share the home
market with fixed network operators.
Combining home and enterprise
services with individual mobile services can
enable mobile operators to develop various
applications and auxiliary packages, increase
service attractiveness, promote service
development, and maximize their core
competitiveness.
In 2006, Vodafone adjusted its mobile
service strategy to include packages that
integrated mobile, fixed, and broadband
p a c k a g e s . Vo d a f o n e i d e n t i f i e d t h e
combination of fixed and mobile services as
one of its five key development strategies,
and placed it as its drive to boost business
development and maintain its leading
position.
Vodafone implemented a range of
measures globally to penetrate the fixed
service market. In Italy and Spain, it
acquired Tele2 broadband services; in
Germany, the company bundled the
broadband services of its joint venture
concern, Arcor; and then targeted Italy with
its Vodafone Fastweb broadband service.
Vodafone acquired iHUG in New Zealand
and partnered with BT in the U.K. to
provide fixed services in both. In Germany,
Italy, France, Hungary, and Portugal, the
company delivered its “Zonal Traffic” voice
service. In Germany, Italy, the U.K., Spain,
Portugal, Egypt, Malta, and New Zealand,
Vodafone deployed xDSL services.
B y 2 0 0 7 , “ Vo d a f o n e a t H o m e ”
subscribers totaled 3.25 million, and
its “Vodafone at the Office” service had
attracted 2 million subscribers across 14
countries and regions. The company has
achieved considerable gains with this
strategy, and has boosted its income,
competitiveness and brand equity
considerably.
Choosing the right
strategy
As fixed networks increasingly converge
with mobile networks, several operators
have strategized a customized innovation
approach to enter home and enterprise
markets in different regions.
France Telecom proposed a strategy
named New Experience in Telecom services
(NExT) for transformation in June 2005,
and specifically defined a unified brand
“Orange” for its global mobile, broadband,
convergent and commercial services. This
approach allows operators to deliver a
series of new telecom services for homes
and enterprises by recombining services
and networks according to subscriber
requirements as opposed to designing
services around network technologies. For
individuals and homes, France Telecom
hopes to combine telecom services with
personal entertainment and the daily life
environment. Connecting Wi-Fi and
LiveBox, for example, can send music
from computers to sound or home theater
systems wirelessly, and can be remotely
controlled by mobile phones or laptops.
Vodafone set its five key strategic
objectives in 2007: Revenue stimulation
and cost reduction in Europe; Innovating
a n d d e l i ve r i n g o n c u s t o m e r s’ t o t a l
communications needs; Delivering strong
growth in emerging markets; Actively
managing the portfolio to maximize returns;
Aligning capital structure and shareholder
returns policy to strategy. Based on new
development strategies, Vodafone is actively
boosting the evolution of mobile networks
with a focus on mobile services, while
implementing fixed-mobile convergence
step by step. Integrating its network system
with various advanced technologies,
Vodafone keeps its technological advantages
and the leading service position. By
gradually integrating mobile services with
Internet services, Vodafone is laying a
foundation for new service development.
Huawei Communicate
In emerging markets, MTN has already
determined homes and enterprises as its
next developmental focus. As the largest
mobile operator in Africa, MTN owns
mobile networks in eleven countries:
South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, Swaziland,
Cameroon, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia,
Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
and Botswana. After acquiring Investcom,
which operates as Areeba, MTN deployed
mobile networks in Benin, Cyprus, Ghana,
Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Yemen, Guinea,
Sudan, Afghanistan, and Syria. After a 12-
year expansion drive, MTN has emerged as
a multi-national conglomerate that covers
nearly 500 million population and owns 21
subnets.
MTN holds that the arrival of the
integrated telecom era has blurred the
barrier between mobile and data operators,
noting that one of the largest potential
customer groups in emerging markets is
fixed wireless data subscribers. Its resulting
strategy MTN embodies a new business
model and products, including those which
are less dependent on mobility. Moreover,
MTN has realized the unique value of
WiMAX. By shifting static wireless data
services from GSM and 3G networks to
WiMAX networks, MTN is effectively
coordinating GSM/UMTS and WiMAX
networks. The company has improved
mobile voice and data service experiences
and developed personal mobile broadband
data ser vices through GSM/UMTS
networks. It delivers high-quality wireless
broadband data services with WiMAX to
enter the home and enterprise broadband
market. By Q1 2009, MTN had developed
three WiMAX commercial networks and
one WiMAX pilot network, with plans to
deploy more.
The Chief Information Officer (CIO)
of MTN-Uganda subnet, Phinda Ncala
expressed his view on WiMAX, “MTN has
invested in WiMAX to deliver broadband
applications. We believe that the MTN
broadband applications help improve
Internet usage in Uganda. High data
speeds, competitive pricing, and subscriber
satisfaction promote the increased use of
WiMAX technology and users are satisfied.
WiMAX is not just a possibility. Here, it is
a reality.”
Editor: Liu Zhonglin liuzhonglin@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 16
 Main Topic Bringing broadband to the masses
Bringing broadband to the masses
Broadband for homes
and enterprises
I
n emerging markets, WiMAX
achieves high-performance,
convenience, and affordable Internet
access for home and enterprise
wireless broadband access needs, especially
in regions where telecom infrastructures
are lacking.
For developed countries, WiMAX is
mainly used to deliver mobile broadband
(MBB) services to individuals as a path for
operators to enter the personal broadband
market. Currently, in regions where wireline
resources are inadequate, WiMAX network
construction is accelerated to provide home
and enterprise broadband (HBB) services.
WiMAX is changing the usage patterns
of home and enterprise subscribers, new
broadband business modes, and the way
technology is being developed. It has become
a key force globally for bringing broadband
to most of the world’s population.
Six key competitive
advantages
Earlier market entry
The key to a successful technology
standard lies in the timing of market
entry rather than its technical importance,
especially in the current climate where
technologies change rapidly.
In 1993, there was a total of one million
global GSM subscribers, but it took until
1996 for the number of global CDMA
subscribers to reach one million. Even if
CDMA has more advantages than GSM in
terms of technology, the number of CDMA
subscribers is increasing less than the GSM
subscribers. Today, the number of global
GSM subscribers is over three billion, but
17 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
As a last-mile wireless
broadband network
construction technology,
WiMAX promises to offer
operators a powerful
new competitive edge
based on high throughput
performance, excellent QoS,
mobility and flexibility. That
is precisely why WiMAX
is a hot topic right now,
everywhere in the world.
CDMA subscribers are around 500 million,
illustrating that early market entry to
attract high level customers is an important
prerequisite to the success of a technology.
Compared to other 4G technologies,
WiMAX has the ability to capture the new
home and enterprise broadband access
market. Voice service revenue is shrinking
and the ARPU is decreasing considerably,
while the need for broadband data services
is growing at a fast pace. WiMAX is the
first wireless technology that supports
broadband data access within 30 MHz. Such
technological advantage allows the operators
to attract numerous high-end customers
within a short term by launching fast speed
broadband services at affordable prices, and
thus reap the potentially huge benefits.
The past tells us that a communication
technology is well-developed when it has up
to a million subscribers, and WiMAX 16e
has already successfully attracted more than
4.8 million.
Sufficient frequency resources
By Li Guodong
WiMAX outguns other technologies
with the availability of a standard 500 MHz
frequency band. This is also the prerequisite
for WiMAX high-speed broadband data
services. Most operators can lay a solid
foundation of 30 MHz frequency resources
in their target countries to deliver WiMAX
services for serving home and enterprise
subscribers on a large scale.
Compared to individuals, home and
enterprise subscribers focus more on
performance changes that are subject to
bandwidth. As a result, home and enterprise
subscribers minimally require a data rate of
at least 200 Kbps to enjoy broadband data
applications like online streaming movies.
The following conclusion can be drawn
from the same simulated environment
and traffic model: Other 3G technologies
use one frequency point (5 MHz) to serve
service provision needs for 120 subscribers
per square kilometers, equivalent to a 4%
broadband penetration rate, while WiMAX
generally employs 30 MHz spectrum
resources to address the needs of service
provisioning for 400 subscribers per square
kilometer, equivalent to a 14% broadband
penetration rate. WiMAX clearly can carry
more subscribers than other technologies
under the same conditions.
L a r g e Wi M A X n e t w o rk c a p a c i t y
readily achieves scale effects which allow
the operators to easily benefit. WiMAX
also helps improve service performance
by providing wider bandwidth at the
same price or cheaper services with the
same performance. User satisfaction is
enhanced as is the overall competitiveness
of WiMAX operators.
Leading 4G technology
Mo s t v e n d o r s e m p l oy O F D M a s
their core downlink technology, which is
recognized as the preferred technology for
wireless broadband communication. The
major 4G technologies, WiMAX and LTE

employ OFDM because it offers:
Powerful bandwidth scalability:
The OFDM system signal bandwidth is
subject to the bandwidth and quantity of
used sub-carriers, so the OFDM system
is highly scalable. For example, it is easy
for the OFDM system to scale down
to hundreds of KHz and to scale up to
hundreds of MHz. The effective support
of large-bandwidth application scenarios
enables the OFDM system to have a
decisive advantage over single-carrier
technologies. As defined by 3GPP, CDMA
is used to support applications within 5
MHz, while OFDM supports applications
within 20 MHz, allowing operators to
flexibly establish networks under different
distribution of large-bandwidth spectrum
resources.
Anti-multi-path fading: OFDM
helps reduce TCO and enhance network
performance by converting broadband
transmission into narrowband transmission
on multiple sub-carriers, and channels
on each sub-carrier can be identified as
horizontal fading channels. This considerably
eases the work of equalization in receivers
and lowers manufacturing costs for devices.
However, the complexity of the multi-
path equalization of single-carrier signals
dramatically increases with the bandwidth,
so many capacity resources are required–
The larger the bandwidth, the more
complex the multi-path equalization. As a
result, the OFDM system does not readily
support larger bandwidth, such as 20 MHz.
Flexible allocation of spectr um
resources: The OFDM system can select
a proper sub-carrier for transmission
according to the transmission environment
to dynamically allocate frequency domain
resources to fully utilize frequency diversity
and multi-user diversity, achieving the best
system performance.
Easy adaptation of MIMO: Channels
within every OFDM sub-carrier can be
identified as horizontal fading channels
and the extra complexity (subject to the
number of antennas) arising from the
MIMO system can be controlled, further
increasing system capacity and coverage.
However, the complexity of a single-carrier
MIMO system is proportional to the power
of the number of antennas multiplied
by the number of multi-paths, which is
disadvantageous to MIMO application.
High spectrum efficiency: In the
OFDM system, adjacent sub-carriers
overlap. Theoretically, spectrum utilization
of the OFDM system is close to the Nyquist
limit. OFDM-based OFDMA enables
orthogonal subscribers in cells, effectively
avoiding inter-subscriber interference and
providing high cell capacity.
Healthy ecosystem
The development of the new home
and enterprise broadband market based
on WiMAX is closely related to terminal
development. Under the prerequisite of
sufficient market requirements, terminal
Huawei Communicate
development is mainly subject to the
support of chip vendors and maturity of
the ecosystem. Due to the particularity of
chip manufacturing technology, there are
strict requirements on chip manufacturing.
The support and investment of mainstream
chip vendors significantly affect overall
market development.
Intel plays a critical role in the semicon-
ductor era. Presently, Intel invests more
in WiMAX than Wi-Fi. Due to the active
attitude of Intel in the entire WiMAX
a l l i a n c e , m o re d i v e r s i f i e d Wi M A X
terminals with more powerful functions
will emerge in the future.
IP-based network structure
Simplified IP-based WiMAX
networking structure is an important
feature of the future IP-based
communication network. As predicted,
IP-based features are increasing in future
networks. An IP-based network is free
from the defects of the old network
structure, such as high delays, high TCO,
and complex maintenance. It simplifies
network structure and reduces delay,
easing complexity and lowering the
networking cost. Actually, LTE is making
a revolutionary shift in the whole 3GPP
architecture so that the architecture leans
towards a typical IP-based broadband
network structure.
Cost competitiveness
Cost and price are decisive factors. In
terms of granting licenses, a WiMAX license
is cheaper. For example, in XX country, the
reserve price of a WiMAX license auction
is 75% less than a 3G license. WiMAX
is more competitive in terms of cost per
bit and WiMAX operators can have more
room for profit and pricing choices when
implementing low price strategies. For
home and enterprise subscribers who
are sensitive to performance and price,
operators should consider prices after
realizing service availability requirements.
The price advantage arising from
technology, equipment, networking,
terminals and licenses will be the WiMAX
trump card for winning big in the home
and enterprise broadband market.
Editor: Li Xuefeng xuefengli@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 18
 Main Topic Fast track to the broadband market

China Mobile: full-service operation made simple

Fast track to
the broadband market By Li Zheng

19 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48


Creating new profit growth
points and improving future
4G market competitiveness
through WiMAX let operators
fully explore the broadband
market. Mobile operators
enjoy four distinct advantages
in facilitating WiMAX network
construction.
I
n 2008, WiMAX made significant
achievements in emerging wireless
broadband markets. Developing
countries or regions lacking
fixed broadband resources are optimal
environments for WiMAX development
thanks to their rich spectrum resources
and limited broadband access. Moreover,
WiMAX certified devices, cheaper ultra-
portable laptops and network access terminals
are frequently launched–all contributing
to enhanced customer satisfaction and
marketing efforts.
Statistics shows that over 60% of
Huawei’s WiMAX market share last year
came from developing countries, examples
include operators such as Vodacom,
Globe, MTN, and Mobilink. Broadband
drives the demand for WiMAX. According
to statistics from Juniper, WiMAX is
suitable for countries and regions where
telecom services are undersupplied and
g ove r n m e n t a l p l a n s b o o s t Wi M A X
development.
WiMAX will grow at a faster pace in the
next few years. Global sales revenues from
the WiMAX 802.16e market are expected
to reach 23 billion USD by 2013. More
WiMAX frequencies will become available
in developing countries and end users
will have a stronger need for broadband
services. As a result, more experience on
successful WiMAX operations will be
shared.
Creating new profit growth points
and improving future 4G market
competitiveness through WiMAX
networking let operators fully explore the
broadband market. Mobile operators enjoy
four distinct advantages in facilitating
WiMAX network construction.
Two drivers
As competition grows in many
developing countries, increase of ARPU
for 2G mobile operators significantly
slowed down and operators shifted to
higher value-added data services. In
these countries, telecom infrastructure is
underdeveloped and in many regions, data
services are not readily available due to
bandwidth limitations.
Wi M A X n o t o n l y a l l ow s m o b i l e
Huawei Communicate
operators to deliver data services, generate
new profit growth points and improve
competitiveness, but also helps them gain
necessary experience to guarantee the
smooth evolution to 4G networking.
New profit streams
Data services like the WiMAX-enabled
home/enterprise broadband ser vice
generate ARPU 3-8 times as much as
that of the mobile voice service. In India,
the ARPU of mobile voice service is 6
USD, while that of the broadband service
package at the lowest data rate (256
Kbps) amounts to 28 USD. In Pakistan,
the ARPU of the mobile voice service is
2 USD, while that of the data service is
15 USD (traffic is limited to be less than
10GB.)
WiMAX network CAPEX is also lower
than ADSL CAPEX and normally ADSL
network construction costs 1,500 USD per
user, while WiMAX network construction
is less than half at around 600 USD per
user. Prices of WiMAX terminals are also
decreasing year by year.
WiMAX beats fixed ADSL service
hands down when it comes to low-
cost, fast deployment, quick ser vice
provisioning, and fast ROI.
Current statistics reveals that the
number of global broadband users is over
320 million and is expected to exceed 500
million in ten years. In the next five years,
over 500 million homes, governments, or
enterprises require broadband access and at
least over 100 million subscribers will need
wireless network coverage. That is where
WiMAX fits in with its unique wireless
technology that features performance
comparable to ADSL, making it the
first choice for areas with a lack of fixed
resources.
To add value to services and increase
ARPU, operators can implement the
business model that combines personal
wireless voice service and home wireless
broadband service, supplemented by value-
added services, such as VoIP and VOD.
To reduce WiMAX network CAPEX,
operators can implement network
construction successively, from one region
to another. At the initial stage, operators
can expand coverage while operating
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 20
 Main Topic Fast track to the broadband market
the network before full commercial
deployment.
Early 4G entry
As core WiMAX technologies, OFDMA,
MIMO, and All-IP also play a key role in
evolution towards 4G technologies like
802.16m and/or LTE. WiMAX network
construction at the current stage is critical
to retain subscriber loyalty and accumulate
experience in utilizing leading technologies.
Most likely spectrum resources will
become increasingly scarce. In developing
countries, 2×5MHz spectrums are
generally used for HSPA, which falls
behind home/enterprise demand for high-
throughput broadband applications. With
existing site distribution, HSPA traffic at
one frequency provides 3-4% broadband
coverage for homes and fails to generate
considerable profit. Yet, WiMAX normally
works on 30MHz spectrum to support
home broadband access.
A flat WiMAX network structure
enables operators to expediently construct
networks by securing 4G spectr um
resources and core 4G technologies, while
laying a solid foundation for future market
development and keeping a lead on the
competition.
Large subscriber number spurs mobile
operators to focus on new technologies
for sustainable growth. WiMAX, based on
4G technologies, is a proven way to meet
customer demands for new technologies
while helping mobile operators to secure
more future market share.
Four advantages
Constructing a WiMAX network helps
mobile operators to reuse resources in
four different ways to provide broadband
services for homes or enterprises.
Mobile operators have a large subscriber
base, which facilitates expansion. WiMAX
networks reuse GSM sites, saving 70%
of network CAPEX. Diversified channels
help operators to effectively capture market
shares as soon as possible. Operation and
maintenance (O&M) experience allows
operators to reuse O&M teams while
constructing WiMAX networks and
reduce O&M expenditures.
21 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
Cultivate existing subscribers
A large subscriber base, sound brand
image and high recognition, high customer
loyalty and familiarity with user habits
combine to enable 2G mobile operators
to readily offer value-added services to
existing individual subscribers and develop
broadband service packages for enterprises
and homes.
Mobilink, the largest mobile operator
in Pakistan, uses WiMAX to deliver
broadband data services to 33 million
subscribers that account for 45% of the
mobile market. They spent very little
on advertising for WiMAX, notifying
subscribers by text messages instead. As
a result, numerous existing subscribers
turned into broadband data subscribers
with virtually no advertising costs. In
October 2008, Mobilink commercialized
its WiMAX network and in the week
following deployment, signed up
thousands of subscribers.
Although enterprises are still new
customer groups, they highly regard
WiMAX service. Mobile subscribers in
these enterprises can help operators to
promote services and expand the enterprise
by word of mouth in conjunction with
operators’ strong brand image.
Reuse 2G resources
Mobile operators have constructed widely
distributed sites and can considerably reduce
WiMAX network CAPEX by using legacy
resources to their maximum potential when
constructing WiMAX networks, such as
sites, equipment rooms, and transmission
resources.
Huawei has launched its 4th generation
BTS, a unified hardware platform that
supports GSM, CDMA, UMTS, WiMAX
and LTE wireless technologies.
The Huawei WiMAX distributed base
station enables operators to house base
band units (BBUs) in existing cabinets
such as those for GSM, advanced power
managers (APMs), and transmission,
without adding new cabinets. Remote
radio units (RRUs) can be mounted to
towers, poles, walls, cabinets or racks,
making it no longer necessary to establish
a new base station or lease a new site.
WiMAX networks can share sites with
GSM base stations, lowering total site
investment by 70% and are expected to
recoup investment in just four years.
Reuse marketing channels
Mobile operators possess flexible
and hierarchical marketing channels,
including customer service centers, sales
teams, exclusive sales counters and shops,
agents (including common and franchised
agents), franchised marketing personnel,
and widespread sales outlets. Using these
effective marketing channels significantly
assists operators to rapidly promote WiMAX
services to end users and attract subscribers.
For example, in customer ser vice
centers, subscribers can experience
WiMAX services in person and make
selections based on their individual
broadband access needs. Operators can
also sell WiMAX services online by adding
items to their portals for subscribers to
purchase. Operators can also deploy
agents, such as convenience stores and
supermarkets. Subscribers can quickly
access WiMAX services without the hassle
of registering in a designated customer
service center, which makes growing the
subscriber base fast and easy.
Leverage O&M resources
Mobile operators have set up
p ro f e s s i o n a l m a i n t e n a n c e t e a m s t o
guarantee normal wireless network
operations. After a short training period,
the teams can become qualified for
Wi M A X n e t w o rk m a n a g e m e n t a n d
maintenance, so the need for new O&M
teams and OPEX are substantially reduced.
In terms of equipment, most existing
network management systems and
charging systems can be reused to lower
total cost of ownership (TCO). Huawei’s
WiMAX solution supports unified GSM
and WiMAX network management.
Individual GSM mobile subscribers,
who are also WiMAX home broadband
subscribers, can be authenticated and
charged under one account name.
In addition to facilitating network
maintenance, this enhances ser vice
experience and boosts the reputation and
promotion of WiMAX services.
Editor: Xuehua xuehua@huawei.com
 Huawei Communicate

What is the major role of WiMAX? What business

models apply to give value to operators and subscribers
through WiMAX? An analysis of the mobile Internet
industry can shed some light on these questions.

New thinking on the

WiMAX business model
By Chen Shirui

Business positioning generally divided into three stages: primary

Internet, personal broadband, and personal
terminal performance.
In the final stage of personal
infotainment. infotainment, terminals are equipped with
Some doubts Primary Internet covers basic Internet the necessary hardware and software to

T
access, for which service experience is deliver diversified services and will have
he development of WiMAX
limited to low-traffic services such as Email, evolved from traditional phones into devices
from 16d to 16e has led to
IM and Web browsing. In this scenario, that comprehensively provide information
doubts about its business
prohibitive fees restrict multimedia service and entertainment. Subscribers expect
positioning. Application
applications. Several emerging markets or individualized wireless broadband services
scenarios propose that WiMAX 16e can
regions that lack wired broadband access and uniform multimedia services at any
replace fixed wired access and deliver
are in this stage, including India and South time, any place, and through any terminal.
mobile voice and data services, but it is
Africa. The Apple iPhone, Google Android phone,
this very flexibility that obscures the exact
A f t e r t h e p r i m a r y In t e r n e t s t a g e and Amazon Kindle reader are examples of
nature of its commercial application. What
develops, adequate bandwidth resources current terminals that have arrived at this
can WiMAX actually deliver? Should it
enable subscribers to experience personal stage. Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs),
compete with existing 3G technologies or
broadband at which point Internet access smart phones, laptops, and Netbooks
supplement 3G technology for Internet
rate accelerates, becomes wireless, and gives access the Internet over wireless broadband
access? The questions and disputes over
subscribers unrestricted individualized networks to deliver high-speed and high-
WiMAX ’s business positioning have
services. The increase in the ADSL data traffic Internet services, such as video and
affected both R&D investment and also the
rate and the high sales of HSPA data cards audio services.
technology’s commercialization.
in Western Europe show that this market The fixed access mode mainly supported
Good fit for Internet access has reached the personal broadband stage. by ADSL/FTTx meets application
However, devices such as HSPA data requirements in both the first and second
The major purpose of WiMAX is cards provide an access channel only, and stages, while 3G technologies have limits in
to enhance Internet access, which is diversified VAS development is inhibited by providing high bandwidth. As the first to

APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 22

 Main Topic New thinking on the WiMAX business model
SFR’s new core network
use advanced technologies such as OFDM
and MIMO, WiMAX 16e can deliver high-
bandwidth access services in fixed and
mobile scenarios to address the Internet
access requirements of all three stages,
which explains why WiMAX has become
increasingly attractive to operators.
What are the business
models?
Three possibilities
The WiMAX business model considers
the technology’s application in terms of
timeframe, location, market demographics,
service profile and, of course, the terminal
devices that can harness the technology.
Internet access requirements promote three
possible business models for WiMAX,
w h i c h v a r y i n re v e n u e g e n e r a t i o n ,
target customers, products and services,
transactions, marketing, device selection,
and network infrastructure.
The first business model is wireless DSL,
which focuses on regions where Internet
development is lagging, and wired resources
are inadequate for home and enterprise
access. Terminals are mainly fixed customer
premises equipment (CPE), and the bulk
of profits derive from access fees. However,
broadband Internet access services are
expensive, though this business model
does not require a complicated transaction
mode.
The second model is mobile broadband,
which provides broadband solutions to
individuals mainly through USB Dongles
and laptops embedded with WiMAX
chips. Again, the major profits come from
access fees, and the model’s mobility feature
ensures that wireless access is better priced
than fixed access; it also positions mobile
broadband as a supplementary VAS. Due
to the personalization involved in mobile
applications, networks should provide wide
area coverage, and so terminals need to be
equipped with roaming capabilities.
The third business model is mobile
media, as represented by the iPhone and the
Sprint XOHM (the new Clearwire). Similar
to HSPA/LTE, WiMAX forms a wireless
data access technology in this model, and
aims to access diversified Internet services
23 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
at a high speed through various terminals at
any location. Handy terminals can be used,
such as mobile phones, MIDs, UMPCs, and
Netbooks. Alternatively data terminals can
be embedded with various WiMAX chips,
for example, as in the Amazon Kindle.
Operators supply the platform and CPs or
SPs provide diversified service applications.
Operators generate profits not only from
Internet access, but also from content
provision. A broad cooperation chain
complicates business operations, which in
turn adjusts the position of operators; Sprint
XOHM provides a typical example.
Selecting the appropriate business
model depends on various internal and
external factors, including local market
characteristics and global development.
Practical path
The third WiMAX business model
is still restricted by the development of
WiMAX terminals as high-performing
handy terminals are required to compute
media applications and facilitate user-
friendly interfaces, voice over WiMAX,
and dual or multi-mode (GSM/WiMAX/
Wi-Fi). HTC has launched dual-mode
mobile phones, Lenovo’s U8 MID is
WiMAX enabled, and WiMAX phones
based on the Android system are currently
on the market. As WiMAX chips become
cheaper, terminals are being developed for
mobile payments; Kindle reader and MIDs
are examples that lay a solid foundation for
a viable mobile media business model. In
2009, such terminals are likely to achieve
remarkable breakthroughs, but their large
scale commercialization will take some
time.
In 2008, both the WiMAX CPE and
USB Dongle dropped in price and reached
maturity. In this context, the wireless DSL
business model is already in place, and the
arrival of mobile broadband is imminent.
The communications environment and
decreasing computer prices have led to the
broadband market’s explosive growth. Many
regions lack broadband access resources, but
wired access is developing too slowly and
last-mile access difficulties have impacted
fixed network operators. Many operators,
especially those in the mobile field, have
identified three emerging benefit points: the

personal, home, and enterprise broadband
markets. WiMAX wireless broadband access
provides a range of positive opportunities
in various markets, including small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) and high-end
home subscribers in emerging markets.
Globe in the Philippines and Mobilink
in Pakistan are presently focusing on
home broadband access and have made
considerable gains in the broadband market
with WiMAX; Vodacom South Africa has
utilized WiMAX to enter the enterprise
market with a business model that is set to
grow robustly in other emerging markets,
such as India and Indonesia. These clear
positioning and market strategies are
demonstrably effective in the present
communications environment.
After securing a strong foothold in the
home and enterprise broadband markets,
WiMAX operators can penetrate the
wireless broadband market by providing
service and pricing packages given that high
bandwidth throughput enabled by WiMAX
is more or less guaranteed.
New opportunities from
homes and enterprises
Right market positioning
As the technology matures and
the industry develops, WiMAX may
experience four major stages. During stage
one, WiMAX targets homes and SMEs
and focuses on regional coverage under the
wireless DSL model. Stage two will shift
the focus of WiMAX to improving quality
and capacity to accommodate enterprises’
application needs. Indeed, operators have
already launched the VPN service for
enterprises, and will continue to explore
new markets and increase penetration. In
stage three, WiMAX will cover personal
mobile applications by supplementing
regional coverage and evolve wireless
broadband to mobile broadband. Stage
four will extend the reach of WiMAX
into providing diversified applications on
terminals.
With the evolution of WiMAX
technology and its associated business
models, the optimum development path
is to apply WiMAX to the home and
With the evolution of WiMAX
technology and its associated
business models, the
optimum development path is
to apply WiMAX to the home
and enterprise broadband
markets. In this case, WiMAX
serves as a fixed wireless
broadband access solution
that assists operators’ holistic
broadband access solutions
and supports traditional 3G
technologies.
enterprise broadband markets. In this
case, WiMAX serves as a fixed wireless
broadband access solution that assists
operators’ holistic broadband access
solutions and supports traditional 3G
technologies. Traditional HSPA technology
targets personal broadband applications,
while WiMAX prioritizes home and
enterprise applications. Combined, the
two form a coherent solution to smoothly
evolve networks and overcome inadequate
radio spectrum resources.
The strategy for exploring the personal
broadband market through the home and
enterprise markets suits the current industry
chain development. Many operators lack a
clear understanding of WiMAX’s position,
and thus miss a wealth of opportunities.
At present, an understanding of customer
demand and profiles while guaranteeing the
input of adequate resources are crucial for
mobile operators to develop WiMAX.
Well-designed service provisioning
Broadband access under different SLAs
accounts for the majority of WiMAX
ser vices and monthly fees form the
dominant billing mode.
Several operators have implemented
a series of ideas for service packages and
promotional strategies. For example, Korea
Telecom has launched its U-Campus
service for university students, which targets
Huawei Communicate
specific regions. Increased laptop sales
have stimulated the greater consumption
of data services by delivering obvious
mobility, which has mitigated inadequate
WiMAX network coverage in the early
developmental stages. Clearwire provides
a VoIP and broadband package, and also
bundled sales of fixed modems and data
cards, while Unwired Australia has launched
its “broadband + fax” and “broadband +
voice” packages.
During later development, operators
can fully utilize their home and enterprise
customer resources to implement strategies
for developing the personal/home markets
and the personal/enterprise markets to more
fully utilize existing resources and accelerate
WiMAX development.
Overcoming terminal hurdles
Mobile operators must solve the problem
related to marketing and intelligent
management of the indoor CPE. In 2009,
the increased number and scale of WiMAX
CPE/USB Dongle vendors will lower
terminal prices. Intel, for example, supports
embedding WiMAX chips in various
mobile terminals, especially laptops. In the
second half of 2009, WiMAX terminals
similar to Netbooks will emerge at lower
prices, which will stimulate market growth.
Another operational problem of WiMAX
development is service provisioning through
fixed WiMAX terminals. CPE, which is
not plug and play, cannot be retailed in
the same way as consumer electronics as
vendors need to engage professionals to
install CPE in consumers’ homes.
In the early stages of WiMAX
development, many mobile operators
are not staffed with sufficient technical
engineers to install terminals for users
and meet after-sales service needs, which
significantly affects service provision. This
scenario is operationally difficult for mobile
operators who are used to retailing mobile
phones, as they must now manage WiMAX
terminals, consolidate human resources,
and fortify technical strength. Currently,
CPE and equipment vendors are attempting
to provide a series of solutions to help
operators shatter the bottleneck during the
early stages of WiMAX development.
Editor: Liu Zhonglin liuzhonglin@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 24
 How to Operate
Finding the right way
When an operator deploys a WiMAX network, obtaining the optimum
solution is most often found through examining frequency bands,
networking modes, coverage methods, base station models, types of
access bearer networks, integration with existing networks, and so on.
25 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
C
urrently, the exiting 2G/3G mobile
networks, and fixed networks that
operators had deployed in limited
regions are proving to be insufficient in
providing ultra-high speed wireless broadband access
for homeand business users. Thus, more and more
operators are now placing their eyes on a black horse,
WiMAX.
Now, WiMAX is proving to be a very effective
solution for the last mile of broadband access.
According to statistics recently released by the
WiMAX Forum, over 460 WiMAX networks have
now been set up in 135 countries around the world,
and 170 of them are presently in commercial use.
Over 4 million users currently have access to high
speed broadband networks via WiMAX. Therefore,
through studying existing WiMAX networks in
various ways, a lot can be learned about network
deployment by operators who are planning to deploy
WiMAX networks.
Frequency selection
Presently, the spectrum profiles most frequently
being used by existing WiMAX networks are 2.3GHz
(10%), 2.5GHz (40%) and 3.5GHz (50%). 2.5GHz
is currently the most ideal spectrum in terms of
frequency characteristics, terminals maturity, future
global roaming and other relevant factors. Therefore,
operators should first consider 2.5GHz when apply
frequency for new WiMAX networks.
In addition, operators should apply as many
spectrums as possible for networking with multiple
frequencies, in order to ensure maximum network
performance, reduce interference, and enhance fast
availability and user experience. For example, Pakistan
operator, Mobilink recently adopted a multiple
frequency networking strategy, and even a six-frequency
networking mode was adopted in some regions,
thus, allowing them to achieve faster user growth.
The interference of the entire network is small, even
at points where there are overlapping areas of cells.
Moreover, the carrier to interference-plus-noise ratio
(CINR) is reasonable, even in areas with weak signals.
So, all of these positive aspects are contributing to make
each user’s experience better.

Networking modes
We c a n p r e d i c t t h a t W i M A X
applications will consist of two main
phases, based on current applications of
WiMAX. The first phase covers a period
from 2007 to 2012, when the main
applications of WiMAX will be fixed and
nomadic, and the dominant demand will
be for customer premises equipment (CPE)
and USB Dongles. The second phase will
start in 2013. Along with the development
of mobile broadband, multi-mode mobile
terminals which are integrating with
WiMAX, 2G and 3G will be widely used,
and WiMAX will be combined with
IT consumer electronics. In this phase,
WiMAX will help to make people’s life and
work much more convenient and enjoyable.
In terms of economy and investments,
different networking strategies should be
applied in regard to the two phases. During
the first phase, operators will be very cautious
when deploying WiMAX networks. Our
study finds that at present, most WiMAX
users use indoor CPE to provide access
for PCs, and the application scenarios are
relatively fixed. Most operators generally
consider WiMAX as a wireless broadband
solution for home and business users, and tend
to use 2G/3G to provide wireless broadband
services to individual users. Sprint uses 2G/3G
networks to provide voice and mobile data
services to individual users, and uses WiMAX
Finding the right way
to provide ultra-high speed wireless broadband
services to home and business users in fixed
and nomadic conditions. Sprint’s WiMAX
and 2G/3G networks have different brands
to complement each other, which provide
optimal differentiated services to its customers.
Therefore, it is suggested that the fixed
networking mode should be adopted in
the first phase, and the mobile networking
mode may be gradually adopted later,
according to the var ying conditions
of terminals and services. Further, the
numbers of base stations required by these
two modes are quite different, so operators
should select the appropriate mode that
best meets their conditions or needs.
Coverage strategy
Generally, operators already have
mobile or fixed networks providing data
services. However, they will need to deploy
WiMAX networks in order to provide users
with higher speeds and streaming media
services, which they are not currently able
to do because of the frequency limitations
and local deployment conditions of their
existing networks. So, how can operators
select the proper method for them when
looking at a variety of coverage methods?
Point coverage
Operators tend to use WiMAX to
carry high traffic data services, which are
often provided at certain hotspots. Point
coverage means setting up a few base
stations at these hotspots, which form
isolated networks.
Operators select this method to save
investments in base stations. However,
this coverage method will be hard to
achieve business success, because the air
interface rates of WiMAX are dramatically
improved compared to GSM, CDMA
and HSPA, thus, more transmission
resources will be required. Furthermore,
if independent transmission equipment is
provided for these “isolated networks”, it is
also nearly impossible to achieve large-scale
effectiveness and savings in investment.
Moreover, advantageous speeds of WiMAX
cannot be achieved, without further
transmission equipment being provided.
In addition, this method often causes
insufficient indoor coverage, which spoils
user experience. Hence, operators become
trapped in a vicious cycle where neither
the network scale, nor the user base can be
Huawei Communicate
expanded.
Block coverage
To achieve large-scale effectiveness,
most operators choose to adopt block
by block coverage. Residential areas,
CBDs and suburban areas lacking wired
access resources are prioritized areas for
deployment.
Initially, KT of South Korea selected
cities including Seoul and Inchon to adopt
point coverage at hotspots when it started
deploying WiBro in 2006. The result
was that there was only a slow increase
in the number of users in the following
year. However, after KT changed its
coverage strategy by adopting block by
block coverage, network quality has been
dramatically improved, and more users have
been attracted.
The coverage of KT’s WiBro network is
carried out block by block, according to the
priorities of target users. The first step was
to cover both office and residential areas
around Coex in Seoul, and then gradually
cover neighboring university facilities. The
second step was to cover other areas in
Seoul, and the third step involved covering
the entire capital ring, that is, Seoul and
the neighboring 19 cities (including 70
universities and all metro lines) by 2008.
The entire area of coverage represents
approximately 11,700 square kilometers,
which means that about 40% of the
By Li Rong
population are covered.
This coverage strategy has consequently
resulted in better network quality and fast
growing of users. By June 2008, the number
of KT WiBro users surpassed 200,000.
Hence, only with a large number of users, can
operators have revenues available for further
investment in network expansion, thereby
achieving an exponentially increasing user
and revenue cycle.
Wide coverage
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 26
 How to Operate
Finding the right way
Wide coverage means continuous coverage
in large areas, which allows users to roam
across these areas and enjoy good service
experiences. Sprint has adopted this type of
strategy. The downside to a wide coverage
strategy is that initial investments would be
substantially high, so it poses a huge challenge
to operators’ financial strength. It is not
suitable for most operators during early stages
of networking.
Taking into account the three coverage
strategies outlined above, it is suggested that
operators should give priority to block by
block coverage. Blocks should be selected
based on the attributes of customer groups
and the penetration rates of DSL and PCs.
Along with the increase of users, popularity
of USB Dongles and terminals, users will
pose higher requirements in mobility and
roaming. At this time, wide coverage may
be considered, even by way of city by city
deployment.
Selection of base station
equipment
Most mobile operators will encounter
challenges of limited equipment rooms and
difficult acquisition of base station sites,
but they still have to deploy their networks
quickly. To tackle challenges, operators may
choose distributed base stations to share
resources with existing mobile networks.
The distributed base station solution,
“without equipment room”, can be flexibly
applied to various indoor and outdoor
conditions. Further advantages include:
low requirements on auxiliary facilities,
effectively TCO saving, and greatly
shortened construction periods. Distributed
base stations provided by Huawei are
currently being used in the WiMAX
networks of STC in Saudi Arabia and
Vodacom in South Africa.
Distributed base stations of Huawei
incorporate advanced technologies, such as
MIMO and OFDMA, improve spectrum
effectiveness, the signal quality and coverage
of each station, considerably reduce the
number of base stations required for coverage,
allow sharing of sites, power supply, antenna
and feeder, and transmission systems with
exiting 2G/3G base stations, thus, instantly
reducing CAPEX and OPEX.
27 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
Requirements on access
bearers
Rates of WiMAX air interfaces are much
higher than those of 2G/3G networks,
so access bearer networks from base
stations to Access Network Gateways pose
higher requirements on the transmission
bandwidth. For instance, if E1 is used for
transmission bearing in the traditional
manner, then investments in transmission
have to be dramatically increased. However,
the negative side to using E1 is that benefits
do not increase in the same proportion. In
the real world, it is possible that the rent
for 20M transmission resources would be
20 times that for renting 1M transmission
resources. However, it is virtually impossible
to raise the fee by 20 times if the speed rates
are increased from 100Kbps to 2Mbps.
Therefore, a new transmission networking
mode needs to be adopted for access bearer
networks, in order to meet the requirements
on bandwidths and to reduce costs.
In order to realize savings in bandwidths,
it is essential to achieve service convergence
on the access bearer layer. An ideal
architecture is “two layers and one node”,
which means to divide the access bearer
layer into the access layer, convergence layer
and access node.
It is currently a mainstream practice
to use FE/GE for the access layer, not
only because it meets the requirements of
WiMAX on bandwidths, but also because it
results in lower costs and makes expansion
more convenient. To expand the capacity of
transmission equipment by 10M, only data
configuration adjusting is needed in FE/GE
networking. However, five E1 lines and new
hardware are needed for base stations and
transmission equipment in traditional E1
networking.
E x i s t i n g M A N s a re u s e d f o r t h e
convergence layer. GE networking is usually
the choice of many operators, especially as
All-IP networks become more prevalent.
One benefit of this kind of networking
mode is that it allows L2/L3 switches and
routers to take advantage of RPR network,
incorporate the intelligent features of IP,
economy of Ethernet, as well as the high
bandwidth effectiveness and reliability of
optical fiber ring networks.
The access point lies between the
access layer and convergence layer, to help
facilitate the convergence of transmission
ports and convergence of services, conduct
statistical multiplexing, and ensure QoS.
In addition, according to the most
recent analysis of most 2G/3G networks,
50-80% of all access network problems are
directly linked to access bearers. Therefore,
the deployment of WiMAX access bearers
should ensure reliability, maintainability
and QoS.
Integration with existing
networks
Because WiMAX is a technology that is
specifically tailored for broadband wireless
access, it is not capable of defining session
control functions and service control, but
simply acts as data bearer channels. However,
most operators deploy WiMAX to provide
not only wireless DSL services, but also
VoIP, VPN and VOD services. Therefore,
operators need to add session control
functions to WiMAX, in order to control
calls, sessions and media streams initiated by
terminals. It is also a good choice to integrate
WiMAX networks with exiting 2G/3G core
networks, NGNs and IMSs. Benefits of the
WiMAX+IMS solution are obvious: WiMAX
can use IMS networks to provide better data
services and rich services, while WiMAX
gives more access types to IMS.
Integration of WiMAX with existing
networks also includes convergence of
network management, authentication,
authorization and billing. Moreover, besides
saving investments, convergence also allows
operators to merge management of various
services, achieve continuous deployment,
realize objectives of operability, and
provide low-cost integrated data and voice
solutions to end users. Among the above
mentioned benefits, integration of network
management is the most important step
for system management and network
maintenance.
In summary, the integration of WiMAX
with exiting networks is proving to be a
viable solution that offers operators the
ability to form a more operable, manageable
and maintainable architecture.
Editor: Xue Hua xuehua@huawei.com
 Huawei Communicate

How to plan and optimize

WiMAX networks
Fine WiMAX network planning and continuous network optimization can improve interference control, enable effective
coverage and enhance user experience to meet new business development needs and maximize profits.

By Lai Guoting

WiMAX networks, operator P adopts the

Partial Usage of Subchannels (PUSC) with
all 2×3×6 networking. The bandwidth
of each channel is 5M, while 2M and
3M are used as protective bands on both
sides. Compared to PUSC with all 1×3×3
networking with a channel bandwidth
of 10M, though the uplink coverage is
somewhat limited, the spectrum efficiency
of operator P’s WiMAX network is
reduced by 0.2 bps/Hz and the uplink
coverage is increased by 6%.
Improved spectrum utilization is a
primary concern when operators build
WiMAX networks, while coverage should
also be ensured. Fractional frequency
reuse (FFR) based on denser frequency
multiplexing can better resolve the
dilemma. FFR 1×3×3 hybrid networking
fully addresses the need for interference
control and spectrum efficiency–in areas
Fine network planning spectrum resources, these resources can
be irregularly and loosely distributed.
with poor signal quality, PUSC 1/3 is
adopted; while in all areas with good signal

G
Capacity requirements are not high during quality, PUSC with all is adopted. For
ood network planning at
the early phases of network building, but example, if the channel bandwidth is 10M
the beginning sets the stage
networks are sensitive to coverage and and FFR is used, more terminals with
for successful building
interference. poor signal quality can access PUSC 1/3,
and operation of WiMAX
Networking with multiple frequencies improving the access rate of terminals by
networks. It is recommended for proper
can be used to reduce interference in the 25%.
network planning to fully consider the
early phases of network building. The uplink coverage of WiMAX is
following three aspects.
For example, operator P has 3 frequency somewhat limited, so attention should
bands of 35M: 12M+10M+13M. Because be paid to reducing uplink interference
Optimal spectrum planning
adjacent frequency bands of the 12M and and improving uplink signals. Compared
Though some operators have sufficient 13M bands are used by other operators for with the traditional receiving technology

APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 28

 How to Operate
How to plan and optimize WiMAX networks
of maximal-ratio combining, the
combination of interference cancellation is
used to better remove inherent correlation
of signals, to reduce or inhibit related
interference signals, and to improve uplink
signals. Increase of interference sources
and interference correlation can improve
the gains of interference cancellation
combination.
Simulation results indicate that the
gain from a combination of interference
cancellation is in proportion to the
number of receiving antennas if the other
parameters are the same. Gain from the
combination of interference cancellation
= increased percentage of antennas ×
previous antenna gain.
Complete service application
planning
Currently, WiMAX is positioned to
provide broadband access for homes,
enterprises and governmental departments.
Considering the need for high speed
broadband services, it is necessary to use
multiple antennas and other technologies
to increase capacity and fulfill requirements
for broadband data services. For dense
urban areas such as CBDs, capacity can
be increased through the combined use of
technologies such as multiple antennas,
beam-forming and power control.
Compared with the traditional transmit/
receive antenna selection of 2×2 self-
29 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
adaptation, 4×4 self-adaptation and beam-
forming can increase capacity by 10% and
30% respectively.
Different technologies may be used
as needed during different phases of
network building and for different service
applications (voice traffic models) and
application scenarios.
When an operator builds a network in
the suburbs or ordinary urban areas in the
early stages, multi-antenna self-adaptation
can be used for it is more mature and
stable. A capacity solution that is more
suitable and competitive for commercial
use can then be adopted to facilitate
network building and commercialization.
To accommodate high speed data
services that need a lot of bandwidth,
multi-antenna, hybrid automatic repeat
request (HARQ) and other technologies
can improve the quality of the entire link,
plus reduce the packet error ratio and
packet loss ratio of specific services.
After 1–3 hybrid repeated transmissions,
HARQ can optimize the packet error
ratio to meet QoS requirements for the
applications at coverage edges with poor
signal quality.
Unified cross-layer planning
WiMAX has introduced a number of
new technologies and features, and
ser vice applications on various
layers have different overheads.
The impact of overheads on WiMAX
link budgets and capacity planning are all
important considerations for operators.
The HARQ of the physical layer
requires the addition of a cyclic
redundancy check (CRC); the MAC layer
requires addition of a generic MAC header,
packing subheader and fragmentation
subheader. IP and TCP layers need to
handle the encryption overhead and 22-
29 bytes should be reserved, depending on
the number of fragments.
At the same time, for the overhead of
IP, RTP and UDP headers at the IP and
TCP layers, header compression needs to
be considered for service applications when
traffic models and service rates are to be
decided. Take VoIP of G.729a for example.
With header compression, the bandwidth
for the service can be reduced to 74.2%
of the previous. Capacity planning in this
manner is more inclusive and relevant to
actual commercial use scenarios.
Three measures for
network optimization
Besides fine network planning during
preliminary phases, continuous network
optimization is necessary in follow-up
operations to improve the competitiveness
of WiMAX networks. There are three
measures for network optimization.

Optimizing interference control
Ba s e d o n n e t w o rk p l a n n i n g , t h e
preliminary interference control can be
performed for the entire network, through
adjustment of bearing angles, heights,
transmission power and beam directions of
antennas.
For example, operator D encountered
high uplink code error ratio and frequent
network connection failures due to co-
channel interference at overlapping areas
of WiMAX. Various methods had been
used, but the source of failure had not
been identified. Later, the operator tried
to turn off cells of the same frequency
at adjacent base stations and keep the
standing-wave ratio at about 1.4dB.
As the result, the downlink Carrier to
Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (CINR)
was notably improved, but it still did
not match corresponding received signal
strength indication (RSSI).
Finally, the failure was resolved by
taking measures to reduce the inference
of the back lobe of the sector antenna
with other cells of the same frequency.
After correction, the downlink CINR
of terminal has been stable. High-order
modulation can be used and the error code
ratio of the uplink remains low.
After the interference control of the
entire network has been preliminarily
controlled in terms of algorithm
cooperation, interference can be further
controlled through a power control
algorithm, system load algorithm and
HARQ.
For example, operator N’s network
was not able to meet QoS requirements
or caused increased interference with
neighboring systems due to improper
settings of the power control algorithm
after the outer loop power control was
enabled.
The problem was solved by correcting
the settings for relevant parameters. In
addition, in the case of low interference
a n d we a k i n t e r f e re n c e c o r re l a t i o n ,
maximal-ratio combining can be used for
the uplink. In case there is severe local
interference and concentrated interference
sources, a combination of interference
c a n c e l l a t i o n c a n b e u s e d t o re d u c e
interference for the uplink.
Improving network coverage
Based on interference control, operators
can improve network coverage at various
aspects.
First, it is necessary to consider the
impact on coverage caused by external
transmission environments and physical
devices. In the example mentioned above,
after operator D found that signals were
poor around WiMAX base stations,
they analyzed and examined network
elements one by one and found that all
network elements worked well. Finally it
was discovered that a microwave antenna
blocked the WiMAX antenna and led to
poor coverage around the base station.
Operator D properly adjusted the bearing
angle and beam direction of the microwave
antenna and solved the problem.
In another example, operator M found
that the downlink coverage around a base
station was poor and loss of signals was
severe. All devices and their connections
were found to be working well after
examination of network elements and
other factors. The problem was the
antenna and after replacement the system
worked fine.
Second, if transmission conditions and
devices have no problem, the improvement
of overall coverage mainly depends on
novel networking schemes and frequency
multiplexing to ensure competitive
Huawei Communicate
coverage. FFR networking is an option,
because it takes into account coverage and
spectrum effectiveness.
When analyzing a WiMAX network
optimization project, Huawei recommends
giving priority to a PUSC 1/3 when
t e r m i n a l s a c c e s s t h e n e t w o rk . T h i s
improves successful access rate. To increase
system capacity and spectrum utilization
once the network is accessed, PUSC with
all should be used if possible. In the case
of inter-zone handover, PUSC 1/3 can be
used again when the signal quality cannot
support QPSK 1/2. The PUSC with all
1×3×3 networking has a network access
rate of 75%; while FFR 1×3×3 and FFR
1×3×4 will allow the network access rate to
increase to 93% and 97% respectively.
Maximizing the QoS experience
The QoS experience is mainly related
to algorithms and their relationships. If
certain algorithms are not properly set
or combined, specific applications may
stop working normally and affect QoS
experience of users.
For example, operator P encountered
a situation where no uplink service was
possible. No abnormality was found after
examining one by one the parameters and
related factors. The failure was eventually
traced to version upgrading and resolved
after removing the bug in the new version.
Another operator had terminals that
were not able to access the network or
conduct uplink services after access, due
to improper settings of QoS parameters at
the terminal and system sides. The solution
was correcting settings of QoS parameters
at the terminal and system sides.
More algorithms do not necessarily
mean better commercial use conditions.
If both ARQ and HARQ are enabled,
speeds available to users are no higher than
those when either one is enabled. When
HARQ is enabled, the PER of the system
is considerably improved. ARQ is more
suitable for situations with high PERs. In
the case of a low PER, the overhead due
to repeating would overshadow benefits of
the capacity increase, and the capacity is
actually decreased.
Editor: Xu Peng xupeng@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 30
 How to Operate
Boosting WiMAX indoor coverage
Boosting WiMAX indoor coverage
In the mobile telecom market where competition is fierce, optimum indoor coverage can help operators take the lead in
the market and improve user experience. Therefore, indoor coverage grows in importance to operators.
A key focus for operators
A
ccording to NTT DOCOMO’s
statistics, indoor 3G traffic takes
up 70% of the total; however,
the indoor areas only take up
20% of all covered areas. Based on years
of experience in planning and study of 3G
data services, Huawei also concludes that
90% of the data traffic takes place indoors.
High spectrum utilization and
throughput are the prominent advantages
of WiMAX 16e, and WiMAX has
attracted global operators’ attention once
it was proposed. Considering the non-
line-of-sight features of WiMAX brought
by high frequencies, most operators
select the frequency band of 2-6GHz
to realize wireless broadband access.
However, higher frequencies mean more
transmission loss of radio wave in open
space, poorer ability to diffract or bend
around obstacles, and greater penetration
loss. These require that operators need to
design appropriate intervals between base
stations and frequency multiplexing before
building WiMAX networks. Moreover,
through optimization of antenna azimuths
and downtilt at outdoor, radio signals can
directly penetrate buildings to cover indoor
spaces. Structural optimization is also
required at later stages to further improve
indoor coverage.
Guarantees from
advanced technologies
A comprehensive indoor coverage
solution can not only resolve coverage
problems in dense environments,
particularly residential areas where high-
31 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
end users distribute, but also reduce the
number and configuration of outdoor base
stations. This helps to lower the overall
interference level of outdoor networks,
improve the average throughput of the
entire system, and better satisfy users’
requirements on network quality.
Of course, all these need to be ensured
with advanced technologies.
WiMAX is a combination of advanced
MIMO and OFDM technologies, together
with flexible configuration of subcarriers
and advanced coding and modulation
(ACM). WiMAX can realize rates up to
37.44Mbps downlink and 8.06Mbps
uplink per sector, in the case of 10M
1×3×3 PUSC with all SC networking and
2:1 of TDD, fully meeting requirements
of high speed indoor data services.
For channel bandwidth, WiMAX
allows flexible channel selection among
1 - 2 0 M H z . T h i s m e e t s o p e r a t o r s’
requirements on channel bandwidth,
avoiding competition for spectrums and
promoting harmonious utilization of
spectrum resources. Meanwhile, this merit
helps operators fulfill needs in special
coverage scenarios. For example, operators
can provide a bandwidth of 30MHz
or above for networking at hotspots
with intense traffic, while providing a
bandwidth of 5MHz for networking in
rural areas to allow basic Internet access.
Enhanced design based
on services
In recent years, the IEEE802.16 series
of broadband wireless access has become
gradually matured. Intel and other major
WiMAX advocators have set up the
WiMAX Forum, which is intended to
By Zheng Yuanyuan
coordinate the interoperability of network
equipment and drive the development of
WiMAX. However, IEEE802.16 standards
define only the air interface, providing the
flexibility for upper layer applications. No
matter how WiMAX evolves from fixed-
nomadic or portable-mobile services,
it is always for the last mile coverage.
Traditional coverage uses outdoor base
stations to meet basic indoor coverage and
switching, and depends on further and
dedicated coverage for blind points at later
stages.
Compared with 3G technologies,
WiMAX is more focused on home and
enterprise broadband services. Needs for
indoor high speed data services have driven
the diversification of coverage modes
of WiMAX networks, such as gradual
coverage from local hotspots to MANs and
even WANs, or simultaneous coverage for
both indoor and outdoor areas.
WiMAX indoor coverage design begins
with investigating of coverage targets
and capacity requirements. For example,
a commercial building has a coffee bar
on the top floor, offices on middle floors
and a shopping mall on lower floors.
The designer first estimates the capacity
requirement of each floor, through
investigating the layout of each floor,
analyzing network access requirements of
users, and determining different quality
objectives. Then, the designer tests indoor
signal environments to identify blind
points or weak signal areas, and ensure
seamless coverage.
After that, the designer finds locations
where cable laying and hole drilling are
allowed, and determines whether existing
transmission cables can be used. For
indoor coverage design, proper location
and management of transmission resources

Outdoor
30.3%
Indoor 69.7%
Fig.1 Indoor traffic of 3G services (Source: NTT DOCOMO statistics)
are important, because they are related
to not only esthetic considerations but
also networking costs. Moreover, it is also
important to determine the mounting
types, locations and antennas’ quantities
on each floor based on floor plans of
the building. For example, mushroom
antennas are favored by operators, thanks
to their appealing appearance, low power
consumption and low radiation.
With years of experience in 2G/3G
indoor coverage planning, Huawei is able
to provide tailored solutions for coverage.
By reusing traditional indoor distributed
systems of 2G networks, Huawei solutions
can help operators maximize their
utilization of existing network resources,
realize unified network management,
authentication and billing, and reduce
WiMAX CAPEX.
Fitting into different
scenarios
Home broadband
Home broadband is a major market
of WiMAX, and the typical scenario
is to replace xDSL. If a Wi-Fi network
already exists, indoor customer premise
equipment (CPE), a terminal only in the
size of a modem, can resolve the need for
wireless backhaul and avoid high costs due
to addition of a new indoor distribution
system. In combination with the existing
Items of indoor
Home
25.1%
Station
25.8%
Wi-Fi network, the CPE can realize
satisfied indoor coverage, dramatically
reduce costs, and shorten the construction
period of the network.
If no existing Wi-Fi network can be
utilized, the indoor coverage will be quite
different. In the case of a residential area
with dense high-rise building, multi-path
effects would cause the signals received
by a user to be dramatically decreased.
In this case, high gain indoor CPE is an
effective low cost solution. The equipment
can improve uplink quality, allowing users
to enjoy continuous services anytime and
anywhere. In the case of a residential area
with open and flat spaces (suburban), high
gain outdoor CPE is an ideal solution,
which allows line-of-sight transmission
and avoids losses of tens of dBs due to
walls or glass windows, thus improving
indoor signal quality.
Enterprise broadband
For small and medium enterprises,
good network coverage is represented by
strong indoor signals. Pico base stations,
which are light and compact, are the ideal
low-cost solution for indoor coverage. Pico
base stations may be mounted on ceilings,
walls or pillars. Small power base stations
can achieve seamless coverage, and they
are suitable for indoor scenarios such as
apartments, cafes and hotels.
If there are sufficient floor or vast
office spaces, distributed base stations of
Huawei Communicate
Restaurant 6.1%
Underground 5.6%
Amusement center 4.4%
Shopping center 4.0%
Office
29.1%
RRU/BBU+DAS can be used for indoor
coverage. Based on Huawei enhanced
radio technology, distributed WiMAX
base stations are of high capacity, compact
and can support networking with multiple
frequency bands. The base stations can
be easily mounted, dramatically reducing
sites, equipment rooms and auxiliary
costs. By combining with the data analysis
system (DAS) and by properly arranging
power dividers, combiners, couplers and
other passive devices, the base stations can
enable distributed power consumption,
insure indoor signal quality in spaces
separated by walls, and meet needs for
fixed, nomadic and mobile services.
In summary, WiMAX indoor coverage
should take into account costs, indoor
wiring, control of outdoor interference
and others. To meet increasingly higher
requirements on services and network
quality, operators can employ advanced
technologies and combine different indoor
coverage solutions.
Home and enterprise users who have
high requirements on indoor coverage
often require high speed services and are
valuable users with high ARPU. Along
with further improvement of indoor
coverage, operators not only can obtain
higher revenues but also build outstanding
brand images, attracting more high-
end users and boosting the steady and
continuous growth of WiMAX.
Editor: Li Xuefeng xuefengli@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 32
 Solution
Solution
Make the best of WiMAX
Broadband access alone does not guarantee the maximum use of WiMAX. On a broader level, operators
require a controllable and secure network coupled with a manageable service platform.
A
s a new generation wireless
broadband access technology,
WiMAX represents a growing
choice for operators as it
effectively caters to the increased demand
for broadband, mobility and IP of wireless
access. To maximize its advantages,
operators must construct access control
networks and service platforms that can
ensure service security and reliability.
Network control
Traditional wireless broadband access
networks lack an end-to-end QoS
mechanism and this prevents operators
from fully understanding service types, their
characteristics, and traffic models. Services
cannot be differentiated and traditional
networks are prone to problems including
congestion and service delays. Internet
services have been provided through
uncontrollable “pipes” for some time, which
has stifled the development of operators
and reduced their income from broadband
services.
As operators shift from traditional voice
service providers to full service providers,
33 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
their new broadband networks are often
independent from existing networks.
Moreover, authentication, billing and
multiple-network management are mutually
separated. This model is inconvenient to
existing network customers, who have also
subscribed to the new broadband services,
and tends to impact customer loyalty
and increase churn. WiMAX network
construction must therefore consider
network security, end-to-end QoS, and
integration with existing networks in order
to ensure effective service provision and a
solid customer base.
Guaranteed end-to-end QoS
WiMAX can guarantee end-to-end QoS
based on service requirements. The 802.16e
standard stipulates that the MAC layer
allows different QoS parameters for each
connection, including speed and latency.
The Huawei base stations (BSs) and user
devices support the five QoS classes (UGS,
ertPS, rtPS, nrtPS and BE), as defined in
802.16e. These apply to various applications
with graded QoS requirements. As BSs and
GWs support priority mapping between air
interfaces and IP bearer networks (DSCP
By Hu Huihui
and 802.1p/Q), DiffServ can classify and
mark QoS, monitor and shape traffic, and
manage and largely prevent congestion.
The WiMAX QoS mechanism combines
with the All-IP QoS mechanism, including
for wired MANs and backbone networks.
The QoS system controls and guarantees
end-to-end quality and executes both
applications and operators’ billing policies.
Reliable disaster tolerance
Disaster tolerance ensures that operators
consistently provide high quality and
uninterrupted services. Node failures are
inevitable in communication networks
due to, for example, mis-operations,
equipment malfunctions, and detrimental
environmental conditions. The WiMAX
connectivity service network (CSN)
equipment and hardware platforms supplied
by Huawei have inherited the characteristics
of universal switching routers (USR), and
were developed on the same platform as
GSM/UMTS/CDMA/LTE products.
The equipment incorporates single-board
class backup, which significantly improves
network reliability. In tandem with the
growth of network scale, operators place

higher requirements on network security,
including off-site disaster tolerance and
backup. Huawei has designed its access
ser vice network (ASN)-GW POOL
solution to meet these requirements.
Unified authentication and billing
A WiMAX network forms part of a
whole network, which in turn necessitates
the integration of WiMAX management,
user authentication, and billing with the
voice, data and mobile services of existing
networks.
The Huawei WiMAX solutions provide
user-based authentication methods,
including Web authentication and EAP-
TTLS. Users can apply for network access
passwords by SMS, and then use WiMAX
services after their mobile phone number
and password are verified. Fees are recorded
in phone bills and levied as part of the
overall charges.
By applying for WiMAX ser vices
through mobile phones, it is unnecessary
for users to subscribe at operators’ customer
service centers. Bill payments are also
simplified as subscribers can apply for
multiple services from a single operator, and
are discouraged from seeking supplementary
services from another operator.
Service management
Although numerous operators have
deployed broadband access networks, many
act simply as ISPs–or bit pipes–and collect
minimal fees for transmitting bit streams
between users and ICPs or other users.
This situation arises because operators lack
control of the services provided across their
networks, so the revenue from high profit
services flows to SPs and CPs.
In countries and regions where local
networks lack content resources and
users have low bandwidth requirements,
operators are in a position to provide
attractive service packages that enhance the
appeal of broadband networks.
With the Huawei WiMAX networks,
operators can increase revenue by providing
Web hosting, Email servers, enterprise
VPN, VoIP, eSpace, IMS and other
services that satisfy the needs of home and
Huawei Communicate
enterprise users for broadband services. board content. The solution integrates
with enterprises’ existing information
Unique enterprise VPN systems, such as Notes, and additionally
offers a host of value-added functions for
Huawei has applied its extensive data
meetings, including recording, storage, and
communication experience in wireless
searches. Conference participants can access
broadband access technologies to the VPN
solutions in its WiMAX systems. The
networks at any location and through any
terminal with greatly improved efficiency
enterprise VPN solution is tailor-made for
and flexibility.
operators to provide unique services for
The IP Centrex platform is easy to maintain
users and achieve a win-win result.
and manage, and supports a variety of services
In enterprise VPNs, the tunnel which
for individuals, groups and enterprises. The
bears the VPN has inherent security
platform also offers conference services and
characteristics, which separate tunneled
uses multimedia Centrex services to bind
messages from external networks. Moreover,
PCs and telephones. This not only brings
the VPN solution provides notably tight
an innovative new service experience for
security through IPSec encryption, which
customers, but also helps fixed and integrated
broadens its application scope to, for
operators boost their market competitiveness
example, reading electric and water meters;
and enter the enterprise communication
the wireless backhaul of ATMs; and the
market where profits are high.
wireless access applications of banks,
security companies, and national security Integrated eSpace solution
departments.
The solution works with enterprise edge WiMAX+eSpace embody an integrated
routers to provide efficient VPN services communication solution designed by
and offers multiple tunnel modes, including Huawei for enterprises. The solution offers
VLAN, GRE and MPLS. It also provides a an integrated ICT platform by merging
variety of billing methods, including hour- VPN call services, mobile phones, IM,
based or traffic-based billing, fixed monthly inter-computer VoIP, Presence, and Email.
payments, and targeted discounts for VPN Moreover, the solution can connect a
users. mobile phone with PC and, through
the innovative use of eSpace, allocate a
Full IMS services single number to both. This conjoins the
The introduction of IMS effectively
terminals in supporting VoIP, two-way and
group conferences, and multi-user IM. The
enhances the ability of WiMAX to provide
solution thus combines traditional and
services that integrate with existing network
Internet communications to give much
services to ensure QoE consistency. The
richer, more convenient, and complete
addition of IMS allows more complete and
communications experience for enterprise
flexible service control and management, in
users.
particular for real time multimedia services.
As a result, increasing numbers of
Currently, Huawei-enabled IMS services
operators are investing in WiMAX networks.
include voice over broadband (VoBB),
The end-to-end WiMAX solutions provided
conference, IP Centrex, IM, and Presence.
by Huawei aim to create controllable,
Among these, IMS-based VoBB provides
manageable and profitable wireless broadband
the same QoE as traditional networks, and
networks for operators; they provide more
delivers highly reliable, secure and good
convenient user access and enable high-speed,
quality communication services across the
personalized and easy-to-use broadband
Internet platform.
services. With controllable, secure networks
The conference platform supports
and manageable service platforms, operators
multiparty voice and data communication,
can step through the door that WiMAX
content sharing, and incorporates powerful
opens to high-value service provision and
meeting control functions. Enterprise users
really enjoy the fruits that this technology
can easily activate various media sharing
offers.
services in conference systems to share text
and verbal communications, files, and white Editor: Pan Tao pantao@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 34
 Solution
ViewMAX: smart wireless surveillance

ViewMAX
smart wireless surveillance
By Jin Can

F
rost & Sullivan forecasts that the
total revenue from the IP video
surveillance market will reach
2 billion USD in 2009, and
that the compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) will remain at least 40% up to
2012. This huge development potential
can be explained by the fact that video
surveillance is penetrating increasing
numbers of fields.
Umpires and referees are often unable to
accurately call decisions in sporting events,
and on-site video surveillance is invaluable
in mitigating bad or contentious decisions.
For example, China Mobile used WiMAX
to transmit video coverage for 2008
Olympic Regatta. The technology was not
only used to collect data and competition
results, but it also contributed significantly
to guarantee event security.
Wireless video backhaul represents a
breakthrough in WiMAX application by
providing a series of services including
mobile security surveillance, mobile video
conferencing, and high speed Internet
access.
Video surveillance has hit the
mainstream in recent years as society
places a growing emphasis on security. The
range of remote video surveillance required
by organizations has extended from
traditional security surveillance that is
common in enterprises such as banks. For
example, it is now often applied to help
manage production and operations for
businesses, monitor traffic, and safeguard
home security.

35 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48


Wireless surveillance
comes to play
A number of solutions currently exist to
support IP video surveillance systems, and
these fall into two categories: fixed/wired
solutions and wireless solutions.
The greatest advantages of wired
surveillance solutions are high bandwidth
and stability, and they are especially
suitable for applications that require
high definition video. Wired surveillance
is widely used in China and other
countries with comparatively higher
penetration rates of broadband access.
Most of the recent “Peaceful City” projects
implemented in Chinese cities use wired
solutions that have been extremely
effective in practice. However, in many
countries and regions, broadband access
penetration rates are still below 1%,
causing immense difficulties and cost
pressures when seeking to implement
wired video surveillance solutions. This
is further exacerbated by privately owned
land issues or impenetrable terrain that
hinders optical fiber connections. In most
cases, monitored areas are distributed and
located far from the central control center,
which renders the traditional wiring
modes prohibitively expensive, especially
when there are obstructions from rivers
and mountains.
The advantages of wireless surveillance
in these scenarios are explicit. Wireless
surveillance has already been widely
applied in modern residential areas,
traffic, transportation, water conservancy,
s h i p p i n g , s e c u r i t y, a n d f i re s a f e t y.
Convenient installation, flexible control,
and a high performance to cost ratio
have encouraged its use in numerous
industrial surveillance systems to connect
surveyed sites with surveillance centers.
Monitored areas link to control centers
by wireless network bridges, which can be
installed extremely quickly. Internet video
streams that comply with the H.264 video
compression standard can be stably and
reliably transmitted, and records can be
stored on computers for later access.
However, wireless video surveillance
requires high bandwidth and high rate
data transmission. Ordinary wireless
technologies fail to meet all application
requirements for a number of reasons,
including bandwidth resource limitations,
technical bottlenecks, and interference.
Huawei’s two-year research program led
it to finally select WiMAX as the basis
of wireless video backhaul and, through
the company’s cumulative expertise,
successfully develop its end-to-end video
surveillance solution–ViewMAX.
The smart ViewMAX
The ViewMAX video surveillance
solution can be applied to a wide range
of scenarios, including controlling traffic
and monitoring unattended and urban
areas, mobile environments, homes
and enterprises. The solution combines
advanced 4G technologies with mainstream
encoding technologies to ensure backhaul
quality and real-time imaging. Compared
with traditional surveillance methods, the
solution is faster, easier and cheaper to
deploy; networking is simpler and more
effective; and O&M costs and subsequent
problems are minimized. The solution’s
most prominent feature is its ability to
access and capture videos anytime, at
any place, and under high speed mobile
conditions. Notably, it is effective up to
motion speeds of over 120km/h.
The entire network structure is
logically divided into five layers: front
end access, network access, media service,
service control/management, and service
application.
Front end access layer: Includes IP
cameras and CPE. Currently, Huawei has
partnered with several leading domestic
and foreign security equipment providers
to deploy front end equipment in different
application scenarios. The equipment
includes IP cameras, analogue cameras and
Internet video servers; all support H.264
and MPEG-4 and work with Huawei’s
high gain outdoor CPE terminals to ensure
signal quality in different environments
and provide graphic quality from QCIF to
D1.
Network access layer: Incorporates
WiMAX bases stations and ASN-GWs.
WiMAX provides network access and
video backhaul channels. With WiMAX-
Huawei Communicate
enabled wireless access, networks can be
constructed anywhere with few difficulties.
4th generation BTSs are used to achieve
rapid and flexible deployment and shorten
construction time.
Me d i a s e r v i c e l a ye r : E m b o d i e s
various servers and storage devices. Mass
storage devices meet practical application
needs, and the layer forwards and stores
media streams from the entire system. It
supplies media services to external users in
surveillance systems, and schedules media
streams through the service control layer.
Service control/management layer:
Houses the Content Management System
(CMS), which forms the core of the
system and controls signaling. The service
layer implements the interaction and
management of all system devices, handles
requests from the front and client ends,
and allocates and schedules precise routing
information.
Service application layer: Comprises
systems on the client end, including
monitoring arrays, PCs, PDAs, and
handsets. The layer accesses and schedules
video images to satisfy multiple-access
needs and ensure that users can use VOD
in all scenarios.
Huawei has deployed and verified its
solutions in several regions in China.
The company assisted China Mobile in
providing surveillance during the Olympic
Regatta; developed port surveillance for
China Mobile Zhuhai; and facilitated
WiMAX video surveillance for China
Telecom Anji to monitor the International
Bamboo Expo, all with flawless results.
Data services are a new profit point that
is becoming a central focus of domestic
and foreign operators in the 3G era. By
utilizing subscriber information and sales
channels, operators can adopt WiMAX
video surveillance to transmit video
images and provide homes and enterprises
with mobile and fixed video surveillance
services. The systems can be applied to
care for the elderly and children, monitor
houses, traffic, and dangerous work
environments such as mines. The Huawei
ViewMAX represents a solid platform
through which operators can garner a
greater competitive edge.
Editor: Chen Yuhong chyhong@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 36
 Solution
WiMAX: at your finger tips
WiMAX: at your finger tips
Mike’s troubles
What caused them?
M
ike rented an apartment which
had no wired broadband
access in the suburbs of a
big city. Days without the
Internet had made life inconvenient and he
missed playing games. He wanted wireless
broadband service, but the price and rates of
wireless broadband service were too much
and too low respectively for an avid gamer
like Mike. He had taken to hanging out in
smoky, dank Internet cafes near his office
every night.
Then he saw a poster in his building
announcing a newly launched WiMAX-
based wireless broadband access with rate
of 1Mbps and the price was no higher than
wired broadband. Suddenly, there was a
37 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
ray of hope and he immediately called the
service hotline. The operator told him that
their engineer would come and see if the
apartment was covered by WiMAX service.
Anxiously waiting
Mike waited the entire following
week and no one called, so he dialed the
operator’s hotline again. There were a large
number of applications and not enough
engineers to handle the load, he was told to
be patient and keep waiting.
After two long days, Mike finally saw
an engineer who informed him that they
worked ten hours a day, with only 4 hours
were spent on testing and the rest were on
the road. It would take at least half an hour
to identify a location with coverage. Signals
were found and Mike could use the service,
but he had to buy a terminal and subscribe
By Li Pengcheng
to the service.
The next day, he went to the operator’s
customer service center and subscribed to
the service. He rushed home, powered on
the terminal and his computer, then started
surfing the web and playing online games at
home.
However, things deteriorated a mere
two weeks later. The speed became sluggish
and the network connection was unstable.
A technical support hotline technician told
Mike to upgrade the software of his terminal.
He decided to do it himself by following
the instructions. However, he was not able
to open Web pages although the terminal
indicated normal signal conditions. He called
the technical support hotline again and was
told that an engineer would come to fix the
problem. Thoroughly disappointed, he could
do nothing but wait again.
Three days later, the engineer came

and found that there was no network
connection because Mike had changed the
configuration of the terminal. The problem
was simple and resolved by correcting the
configurations. It took only three minutes
to fix the problem, but there were days for
waiting. Mike did not try any more DIY
operations and gingerly surfed the Internet,
living in fear of potential problems and the
long downtime if anything happened.
Lucky Lucy
Six months later, a beautiful new
neighbor named Lucy moved in next
door. She worked at home and needed
to communicate with colleagues and
customers through Email, IM or video
conferencing. One day, Lucy came over to
Mike’s place and asked about the wireless
broadband service. Though she worried
about the waiting period, she thought that
the price was reasonable and she called the
operator’s service hotline.
On the second day after Mike came
home after work, Lucy popped over and
told him that her broadband access was
great. Mike asked, “You are already online?
How could that be possible? Mine took a
long time!” He went to Lucy’s apartment
and found that Lucy’s terminal was
different, yet had the same WiMAX logo.
“How it was installed so fast? Is it because
you are beautiful?”
“I did not have to wait for an engineer to
install the system,” Lucy said. “Last night, I
called the hotline and the operator told me
that I can use the service in just one minute.
She mentioned nothing about home
testing. She also told me to buy a terminal
at a certain store and then visit a website to
sign up for the service.”
Mike went back to his apartment and
looked at a bill sent by the operator along
with a CD. The instructions on the CD
said that it was for automatic upgrading and
management for the terminal and it must
be installed. After installation, Mike found
that the software could not only enable
automatic downloading and installation of
terminal upgrades, but also offered functions
like the weather forecast, calendar, voice time
announcements, memos, schedule reminders
and discount information.
“How could Lucy have her broadband
ready so fast? Why was the software not
available before?” He mused, and went back
to playing a game.
The answer revealed
It was Sunday and Mike was playing
World of Warcraft, when someone knocked
on his door. It was Jimmy, the operator’s
sales representative. Since Mike was one
of the first hundred WiMAX users in the
area, Jimmy wanted to know how he felt
about their service. Mike took the chance to
tell Jimmy about his doubts and troubles.
Jimmy explained that a month ago, the
operator adopted three new solutions:
Coverage Map, Portal and AP Manager to
make WiMAX more user-friendly.
Coverage Map
The Coverage Map is a solution for early
phases of commercial use, when network
coverage is insufficient. It helps operators
to identify whether WiMAX can be used
at a subscriber’s specific location. It saves
manpower hours, improves both QoS and
customer satisfaction.
Generally, Coverage Map has three
versions:
The Standalone Coverage Map (the
version for technical support engineers)
is used by engineers in the operator’s
network department. It can estimate the
signal conditions at every point within
the covered area through inputting road
test data and analogue algorithms, so the
operator can know the actual coverage
details of their network.
The Server-side Coverage Map (the version
for sales and customer service personnel) is
used by sales representatives, customer service
representatives or agents. They can view
the coverage conditions in each area on the
Coverage Map and judge whether or not the
applicant can use the service.
The Web Coverage Map (the version
for end users) is used by WiMAX service
applicants. They can view the Coverage
Map and check whether their locations are
covered.
When Lucy called, the operator checked
on the server-side Coverage Map, and knew
instantly that Lucy’s apartment had network
coverage and she could get the service.
Huawei Communicate
Portal
After coverage confirmation, Lucy
bought a terminal and logged in to the
Portal for subscription. She completed
registration, authentication, and self-
service subscription through the Portal.
In addition, Lucy had various payment
options, such as prepaid with a top-up card
or credit card, or billing together with other
services (such as GSM or CDMA).
Lucy could now log on to self-service pages
of the Portal to change password, add, search,
or modify her personal information, check
billing information, select service options
(voice, data, VPN or their combinations)
and packages (speed, time, and price), enable
automatic topping-up and bind other services
(GSM/CDMA + WiMAX).
AP Manager
The main functions of the AP Manager
include subscribing and cancelling services,
managing configuration, software, and
failures of terminals, as well as managing
security, system and tasks.
With the AP Manager, Mike will not
have the frustrating problems he had before
in upgrading. If upgrades are necessary, the
AP Manager will automatically notify him
and he only needs to click “Yes” to confirm.
At the same time, if the terminal
encounters a software problem or incorrect
parameter configuration, the operator’s
engineers can log on to his terminal through
the AP Manager to locate and resolve the
problem. In addition, if the same problem
occurs in a number of terminals, the
AP Manager allows batch upgrading or
parameter modifications to fix the problem
for the entire batch of terminals.
For the AP Manager itself, operators
can ensure the security and stability of the
system through security management, task
management and system management
functions.
Jimmy, the sales representative summed it
up when he said, “These three solutions have
dramatically improved our efficiency. Thanks
to them, I have time to visit you today! If it
were one month ago, I would be somewhere
else dealing with some kind of problem!”
In other words, with increased efficiency and
ease of use, the time for WiMAX is now.
Editor: Pan Tao pantao@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 38
 Solution
Site resource sharing of WiMAX
Site resource sharing of WiMAX
Difficulties in site
acquisition
T
he first thing to be considered
in WiMAX deployment is the
costs for wireless coverage,
which usually account for
over 70% of all total investments. Among
them, the most typical costs come from
site leasing, construction, and management
and maintenance. Take for example, Hong
Kong SAR. Hong Kong has a mixture of
complex and typical conditions as it relates
to network building, such as, flat areas,
bays and dense commercial areas. Needless
to say, the conditions for acquiring
base station sites are quite onerous. For
instance, the monthly rental for the
roof top area of a five star hotel is about
40,000 USD, and another hotel asked
for an admission fee of 210,000 USD in
additional to rental!
Besides high rental fees, operators usually
spend much time negotiating with owners
of property about leasing fees for prospective
sites, thus many operators may miss good
opportunities in the market. However, if an
operator already has sufficient base station
sites, then the TCO can be reduced by up to
70%, compared with operators who have no
existing sites. In addition, the operator already
has a base of mobile service subscribers and
rich experiences in building wireless networks.
Hence, all these factors may help the operator
achieve success in the market.
Other reasons contributing to the
difficulty in site acquisition would include:
environmental protection conditions and
urban landscape design. Therefore, a practical
solution would entail sharing base station
sites with 2G networks.
Potential of base station
When building hybrid WiMAX/2G
39 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
networks, sharing of base station sites helps
operators not only obtain economic benefits,
but also secure windows of opportunity.
WiMAX/2G shared base station includes
such features as, a shared equipment room,
transmission equipment, power supply,
roof top resources (such as towers, poles
and outdoor wire channels) and other
auxiliary facilities (such as monitoring
equipment and air conditioning). However,
because existing equipment rooms already
have GSM equipment, switching power
supply, transmission cabinets and floor air
conditioners, the equipment rooms intended
to accommodate new WiMAX equipment
should have plenty of free space. It is preferred
that spaces set aside for new cabinets should
be reserved when operators decide to expand
their networks.
In addition, when considering the room
between equipment sets, more extra spaces
should be made available. In regard to
sharing of equipment rooms, the weight
bearing conditions of the rooms should also
be examined. Lastly, it is necessary to plan
in advance for the arrangement of the main
equipment and power supply (particularly,
capacity expansion of batteries), examine
and reinforce equipment rooms (particularly,
leased ones).
Is it feasible?
Any feasibility study done on sharing of
base station sites should cover the following
four aspects:
First, there are differences in planning
strategies among different networks. For
instance, 2G and WiMAX networks are
oriented to the provision of voice and
broadband services, respectively, and the initial
goals for building the two types of networks
are different. Moreover, 2G networks initially
focus on coverage, and as the user base begins
to increase, the coverage radius of a base
station will become smaller and smaller. As
By Liu Wang
a result, more base stations will be deployed.
WiMAX networks initially focus on block by
block coverage, and gradually shift to wide
and in-depth coverage, because adopting this
type of optimum networking policy provides
better possibilities for sharing of base station
sites. Further, coverage of the 2.5GHz band,
64Kbps and 2T2R indoor customer premises
equipment (CPE) in dense urban/urban/
suburb, urban/rural scenarios is equivalent to
that of GSM900. Considering that WiMAX
networks require urban coverage in the initial
stage and that the capacity of GSM is limited
in urban areas, then the actual coverage radius
of a GSM base station is about 500 meters in
urban areas, and can even be 200-400 meters
in dense urban areas. Therefore, WiMAX and
GSM 900MHz/1800MHz are able to share
most of the base station sites.
Second, different systems usually have
various kinds of interference between
them. Interference is inevitable, especially
when different systems coexist. The major
types of interference between mobile
telecommunication systems are generally
spurious interference, barrage jamming,
and intermodulation interference. Spurious
interference is when out-of-band emissions
occur and the receiving devices are not
able to overcome this type of interference.
Barrage jamming relates to the out-of-pass-
band suppression of receiving devices, and
involves carrier transmitting power and the
characteristics of filters in receiving devices.
The receiving devices will usually be aversely
affected and may fail to work due to over
saturation. Intermodulation interference
relates to the nonlinearity of the transmitting
devices and receiving devices. Hence, system
interference problems can be resolved by
employing specific technologies and measures
that will allow sharing of base station sites.
Huawei reduces interference through the
addition of bandwidth separators and other
technologies.
The distance between the upper and lower
platform of a tower is usually 3–5 meters, so

it is relatively easy to meet the requirement
in regard to vertical isolation. Poles used
for height increase and masts can also easily
satisfy any necessary requirement. However,
how the requirement for horizontal isolation
is met depends largely upon individual roof
top areas. In order to reduce the need for
isolation and also minimize interference
between systems, the following engineering
measures may be used in specific designs:
adjustment of angles of declination of
antennas or bearing angles of main lobes,
a reduction in the transmitting power of
WiMAX base stations, addition of high
performance filters, and so on.
Third, weight bearing conditions and
safety aspects should be examined before
sharing procedures are initiated. Furthermore,
towers which are not able to bear necessary
weights and ensure safety should be
redesigned or reinforced.
Fourth, certain pipelines may be shared.
Usually, the cost for laying a new 500-meter
pipeline is equivalent to that of building a
new tower, so pipelines sharing is a practice
that can dramatically reduce repeated
construction efforts. Technically speaking,
this kind of sharing is completely possible
without any modification.
How to achieve?
Distributed base stations
Use of distributed base stations has proven
to be an effective way to resolve difficulties in
obtaining base station sites.
Huawei was the earliest supplier to
introduce distributed architecture and put
it into large scale commercial use in wireless
applications. WiMAX DBS3900 base
stations feature compactness, light weight and
flexible mounting, and their BBUs are only
2U in height. Additionally, if the space in
equipment rooms is limited, then BBUs can
be mounted in GSM, APM or transmission
cabinets, and RRUs of 15 kg per unit can be
mounted outdoors, together with antennas.
In scenarios where there is no indoor space
available for use, BBUs can be mounted in
outdoor auxiliary cabinets (in which power
supply, batteries, transmission and other
equipment are provided), and RRUs can be
mounted outdoors, together with antennas,
or mounted inside outdoor cabinets.
Moreover, outdoor auxiliary cabinets and
cabinets containing RRUs can be placed on
the ground, roofs of buildings, and other
outdoor environments, thus no indoor
equipment room is required.
When Globe’s WiMAX commercial
network in the Philippines was built, remote
distributed base stations represented the
majority of base stations, and these sites
shared transmission resources with Globe’s
existing GSM/UMTS equipment.
Sharing of transmission resources
WiMAX networks and 2G networks are
oriented to deliver different types of services
and have different requirements in terms of
transmission resources. For instance, a 2M
E1 line which can support 32 simultaneous
calls can only support one service stream for
broadband services. Therefore, existing 2G
transmission resources prove to be insufficient
for meeting the requirements of WiMAX.
Generally speaking, WiMAX should have
dedicated transmission systems, but it is
possible to share transmission racks. The
WiMAX base stations supplied by Huawei
are able to support various physical ports (FE/
GE/E1), thus, allowing transmission sharing,
if sufficient transmission bandwidths are
available.
Sharing of auxiliary resources
Sharing of power supply: The power
supply may be shared directly if it has
sufficient capacity. If not, it should be
expanded. If an equipment room has enough
free space, then a new power supply unit
may be provided for dedicated use, including
batteries and switching power supply.
Generally, a WiMAX and GSM/UMTS
base station site requires at minimum, a
63A AC distribution box, 300A switching
power supply, and 400–600AH batteries.
However, if it is difficult to expand the
capacity of the power supply (for example,
the switching power supply in early days
was wall mounted), then the existing
power supply may need to be replaced.
Sharing of auxiliary equipment:
Equipment to be shared mainly includes:
digital distribution frames (DDFs), optical
distribution frames (ODFs), air conditioners,
incoming lines of grid electricity and fire
Huawei Communicate
fighting devices. Generally, sharing of such
equipment is relatively easy to achieve.
Sharing of towers, masts and roof
tops: Towers and masts to be shared
would include: towers on roofs and on the
ground, and single pipe towers and poles
for height increases. It may be necessary
to renovate existing towers and masts and
justify necessary costs, in order to be able to
meet the special mounting and engineering
requirements of WiMAX antenna and feeder
systems. However, roof tops tend to be rare
resources. So, if towers and masts (such as
masts, poles for height increases, wiring
towers) can not be shared, the same roof tops
can be shared. Then it might be necessary to
consider requirements in regards to isolation.
Unified maintenance and
monitoring
Besides sharing of site resources,
environmental monitoring and alarm
equipment may likewise be shared, in
order to achieve unified maintenance and
management of different networks. Huawei’s
WiMAX DBS3900 base stations provide
standard ports for receiving signals from
environment monitoring equipment and
outputting alarms, in accordance with preset
threshold values.
In the WiMAX network that Huawei
recently built for Vodacom in South Africa,
90% of WiMAX/UMTS base stations use
shared sites. 70% of WiMAX base stations
are distributed ones and share towers with
UMTS base stations. As for microwave
expansion, transmission facilities are
shared by UMTS and WiMAX. All of the
above measures help to effectively reduce
rent for equipment rooms, roof tops
and towers, and allow unified operation
and management, and reduce operating
costs. The network was quickly put into
commercial use.
As the commercialization process of
WiMAX is speeding up worldwide, sharing
of sites and resources between WiMAX
and 2G networks is now becoming a very
attractive concept. In summary, WiMAX
can better use existing resources, protect
the investments of operators, and allows
operators to provide wireless broadband
networks more quickly.
Editor: Chen Yuhong chyhong@huawei.com
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 40
 Leading Edge
Wireless broadband: What will the future be?

Wireless broadband:
What will the future be?
Various wireless broadband technologies bring future communication dreams closer to reality. What can we predict for
the future development of wireless broadband? What experiences can wireless broadband supply for society?

By Liu Nanjie & Li Guodong

The future of wireless technology, wireless broadband networks

can provide broadband wireless access for
broadband subscribers in both low and high speed
mobile environments. Wireless broadband
economical broadband service, since single
mode networking lacks the capability.
The handover between heterogeneous
networks (or vertical handover) in hybrid

W
ireless broadband aims
to provide universal
access (UA) and always
broadband connection
(ABC) services anytime, at any place, and
across any heterogeneous network using
any terminal.
Wireless broadband incorporates
numerous technologies including multiple
types of cellular technology, fixed and
nomadic wireless access, wireless LAN, and
even Bluetooth. Combined with All-IP
can seamlessly transit between cellular
systems, regional wireless networks, and
radio/television/satellite communication
systems.
Wireless broadband networks must
optimally combine various technologies
to enhance end user’s QoE. In the future,
wireless broadband is expected to provide a
minimum single-user rate of 2×768 Kbps,
or data and protocol rates of 1Mbps/m².
It is clear that only a hybrid wireless
network is adequate to deliver a mobile,
networking will shatter the restrictions on
improving applications and performance
that occurs in the handover between
homogeneous networks (horizontal
handover). By using a single terminal
based on open wireless architecture (OWA),
the end users can drive through network
boundaries, realize UA and ABC, and then
enjoy broadband services and applications
anytime, at any location, and through any
network.
Combining technologies invariably

41 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48


present unexpected difficulties, while the
breakthrough of these difficulties can
deliver surprising benefits. For example,
the problems associated with Wi-Fi
operation and inter-network roaming will
be gradually solved, and this will greatly
improve the popularization of Wi-Fi.
The real end-to-end (E2E) application
of wireless broadband will emerge after
holistic technological maturity allows a
single terminal to seamlessly roam among
multiple networks of different standards.
This will indeed represent a milestone
feat, and is a colorful vision that motivates
industry players.
Multi-tech wireless
broadband
Combining cellular network,
WiMAX, and Wi-Fi
Balancing cost, performance, and
resource utilization drive technological
convergence. Inevitably the merger of
WWAN (3GPP/3GPP2 cellular network),
WMAN (WiMAX), and WLAN (Wi-Fi)
will form the future technological backbone
of wireless broadband networks. Moreover,
Mesh backhaul will encompass various
wireless devices within an enormous optical
fiber broadband network.
WWAN, WMAN, and WLAN possess
idiosyncratic strengths and weaknesses.
The access rate of the GPRS is dozens
of Kbps, while Wi-Fi can range between
dozens and even hundreds of Mbps.
The coverage range of GPRS is tens of
kilometers, compared with Wi-Fi’s modest
range of less than 100 meters. At the
same access rate, GPRS supports a mobile
speed of up to hundreds of kilometers
per hour, yet Wi-Fi is notably sluggish.
Considerable differences also arise in cost:
the cost per bit or service charge of GPRS
is remarkably high, while Wi-Fi is almost
free.
While WWAN, WMAN, and WLAN
have their specific core applications, the
three can be mutually supplementary.
Cellular networks such as GPRS/EDGE/
EVDO/HSPA/LTE offer broad coverage,
roaming capability, and high-speed
mobility. Wi-Fi and Mobility Ad Hoc are
Wireless broadband
incorporates numerous
technologies including
multiple types of cellular
technology, fixed and nomadic
wireless access, WLAN, and
even Bluetooth. Combined
with All-IP technology,
wireless broadband networks
can provide broadband
wireless access for subscribers
in both low and high speed
mobile environments.
the most suitable for high-rate and large-
volume indoor data services after being
upgraded to carrier-class. WiMAX can
be regarded as an upgraded version of
3G Packet Switching (PS), a quasi-4G
version, or an upgraded version of Wi-Fi.
Integrating the advantages of both cellular
and Wi-Fi networks, WiMAX represents
an optimum technology for MAN
coverage, with hybrid networking of micro
and macro BTSs.
End users are most concerned with
the balance of price and quality, and the
latter is mostly judged by download rates.
A convergence-oriented combination of
technologies is urgently required to satisfy
subscribers’ increasingly stringent demands
on fees, performance, coverage, and
mobility. Moreover, these demands span
multiple networks that are embraced by a
range of different standards.
For example, subscribers can expect
low cost and high speed Wi-Fi or WiMAX
access in the home, while Wi-Fi hotspot
coverage or WiMAX is more suitable for
airports or other places where broadband
access needs to have a wider range and
guaranteed throughput. In areas that
lack Wi-Fi or WiMAX, cellular networks
can maintain basic service availability.
Undoubtedly, the resulting QoE will be
consistently high and seamless, and the
intelligent combination of technologies
Huawei Communicate
will be welcomed by subscribers.
Transitions in service mode
In future wireless broadband networks,
an open terminal, or Intelligent Internet
Device (IID), will act as a portal. It will
integrate services and provide customer
experiences. IIDs can access networks
through different air interfaces and use
only one widget or button for a given
service application, including voice and
data services. Data services in the 3G/4G
era will be as popular as SMS in the 2G
era. Unlike voice and SMS, data services
have spawned from the Internet, and are
therefore more diversified, complex, and
flexible.
In the future wireless broadband
market, we can predict that:
1) The voice ser vice will lose its
dominant position and become a basic
service. The technical threshold of SIP-
based VoIP will continue to decrease, and
most SPs will provide a VoIP “button”.
Voice services–and especially VoIP–will
supplement other services in the same way
that voice currently supplements IM in
MSN. The traditional telecom operation
mode that only provides a voice service
will vanish.
2) Streaming media will play an even
more pivotal role in data services. The
ARPU (for data and voice) of streaming
media will be replaced by other indices
such as average bandwidth speed (ABWS)
and the average bandwidth consumption
per month (ABWC). In addition, a greater
range of business models will accommodate
ARPU of data services. Listing services top-
down in terms of requirements on network
transmission quality yields the following
order: online games, real-time videos, voice
services, streaming media, Web browsing,
and non-real-time services (such as FTP,
BT, SMTP/POP). These services have
different requirements for network indices
such as jitter, delay, bandwidth, QoS, QoE,
and security. Streaming media most closely
bonds the requirements of subscribers and
the provisioning capability of networks. As a
key broadband data service, it will no doubt
increase popularity among subscribers, and
consume the major share of bandwidth
resources.
APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 42
 Leading Edge
Wireless broadband: What will the future be?
Spectrum resources will
be the key
The spectrum is inherently a rare resource.
Shannon’s theory holds that channel capacity is
influenced by two factors: spectrum bandwidth
and SNR. It is impossible to fully eliminate noise,
and increases in signal strength are limited. Hence,
spectrum resources are vital to meeting the increasing
demand of subscribers for wireless data traffic volumes.
In most countries, high quality spectrum resources
have been historically occupied by narrowband
voice, radio, and television. This includes most
civil spectrum resources and a certain amount
of dedicated spectrum resources for the military,
civil aviation, railway, security industries, and for
radio and television. In future, these high quality
spectrum resources will be gradually released for new
communication technologies applications, albeit as
part of a very slow process. This is the reason why the
white-space spectrum is so valuable.
Among existing, advanced wireless broadband
technologies, HSPA and WiMAX possess the
advantages of precocity. In contrast to other
technologies, the two have a developmental
window of opportunity spanning 3 to 4 years, and
will be allocated frequency resources before other
technologies. The application of HSPA can target
the personal mobile broadband (MBB) market,
while WiMAX can focus on home and enterprise
broadband services. In consideration of market
competition and investment protection, HSPA and
WiMAX will form significant wireless broadband
technologies in the coming years.
New technologies and concepts
Cloud computing
For many years, computing resources have been
exploited and expanded in the information and
communication field to compensate for the dearth
and expense of bandwidth resources. Increases in
bandwidth availability coupled with a decrease
in costs will soon bring the advantages of cloud
computing into sharper relief. If the majority of core
computing resources gather into a “cloud”, only
simple processing tasks such as optimizing visual
and aural effects are required at the client level to
provide high QoE at low cost. The cloud model
thus centralizes resources, simplifies their reuse and
management, and enhances efficiency.
However, cloud computing visits problems on
43 APR 2009 . ISSUE 48
customization and diversity. Though the model gathers
computing and digital media resources into the cloud,
meeting individual requirements either via the same
cloud or through different clouds is another matter
entirely. The solution, however, lies with tailor-made and
personalized portals that allow subscribers to use any
type of terminal to obtain a personal, mobile homepage,
which is application-ready and can be customized.
Accessing information through cloud computing
is similar to Paying with Plastic in that the terminal
resembles an intelligent credit card, resource clouds
mirror virtual banks and Internet stores, and the
wireless broadband network forms an ATM or POS.
Subscribers store home pages and access these banks
and stores through a unique personal network ID (or
what we refer to as a “communication fingerprint”).
The private ID database, home page database, widget
stores of network applications, and resource and
settlement platforms all describe new NEs that exist
under cloud computing architecture.
While cloud computing may be useful in specific
contexts such as computing and for applications
in dedicated networks, it has little impact on the
architecture of wireless broadband networks.
Mesh and SON
The Mesh and Self-Organizing Network(SON)
technologies fall under the same category. The
SON technology deploys auto-configuration,
auto-discovery, auto-organization, and multi-hop
routing to form an SON comprising independent
nodes. When network topology changes or links
disconnect, the SON technology’s self-healing and
self-organization capabilities guarantee network
connectivity and can optimize network-wide
performance.
The wireless Mesh is a multi-hop network
that has evolved from an Ad Hoc network. Mesh
technology connects independent network nodes
to optimize overall performance. The expectation
on intelligent Mesh technology is relatively logical
as disorganized networks must demonstrate a
“clear and logical thinking ability” to manage a
host of complex networks, efficiently interconnect
independent network nodes, and facilitate their
inter-communication.
At present, disorganized networks such as
Wi-Fi networks cannot realize a greater “sense of
organization” than cellular networks. We hope that the
future application of intelligent Mesh technology can
arrange these disorganized networks into a complex,
SON capable of improving the performance across
entire networks.
Editor: Liu Zhonglin liuzhonglin@huawei.com
Huawei Communicate

APR 2009 . ISSUE 48 44