AIRCOM

Fabricio Martinez, Services Director, AIRCOM - on TelecomTV's panel discussion

Hear Fabricio Martinez discuss 'LTE and the ROI problem: how important will HSPA+ be over the next three years?'  Part 1, on  a TelecomTV  panel  discussion.

 

Tip of the week : With LTE Hype Machine in Overdrive, Network Planning Must Be Addressed

At the risk of gross understatement, the LTE hype machine is going full bore over the last week. Of course, the big news today was that Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) won a $7 billion contract to deploy an LTE network for Harbinger Capital Partners. This news comes on the heels of yesterday’s announcement that NSN plans to acquire the majority of Motorola’s network business for $1.2 billion.

Two days ago, the FCC announced plans to open a total of 90MHz in the 2GHz band, which Harbinger wants for its planned LTE network. Last week, major WiMAX infrastructure provider Alvarion announced plans to add TD-LTE to its 4G lineup. Also last week, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse fueled LTE rumors at his company when he told The Financial Times that Sprint had enough spectrum to run both LTE and WiMAX.

Once the hype of these announcements cools, the real work of network planning will begin, especially for NSN and Harbinger, as well as Sprint and – if industry acquisition/merger rumors are true – T-Mobile.

What will these companies need to consider for their network planning in the brave new world of 4G? Operators will need a comprehensive LTE radio- and traffic-modeling tool to accurately  address where to deploy capacity and how much they will need. Proper planning should provide a centralized view of multi-technology, multi-service coverage, capacity planning, and design for LTE, GSM to LTE, UMTS to LTE, and CDMA to LTE.  Accommodating the various 3G technologies will be critical given the complex, heterogeneous architectures of today’s networks. Optimally, planning tools should offer GIS mapping of network assets; equipment inventory; financial analysis, including capital management tools; and backhaul traffic analysis, just to name a few “must-have” features.

All these moves toward 4G mobile broadband will be great for marketing and ultimately the consumers.  But for network planners, the fun is just beginning.

To find out more about how operators can properly plan for LTE given the complexity of today’s networks, contact LTE@aircominternational.com

Tip of the Week: The Multi-Network Dilemma for Tier 2 and Tier 3 Operators

Last week, we discussed creative spectrum re-farming strategies that operators can employ to help move to LTE.  But what about tier 2 and 3 service providers that do not have not enough spectrum to even get creative with reallocation?

Because of limited spectrum availability, tier 2 and 3 operators must choose whether to have a GSM or UMTS or LTE network.  They must choose one, because they cannot afford to run multiple technologies.

Generally, when an operator re-farms spectrum, it is a good thing because it phases out technology.  When operators buy new spectrum, it can add trouble to a network, not due to the addition of a new technology as much as the requirement to manage another network, thereby increasing OPEX and demands on human resources to manage multiple networks.

Since tier 2 and 3 operators cannot sustain GSM, 3G, and LTE technologies over the next five to ten years, they will be compelled to make difficult decisions about phasing out one of them (probably 3G before GSM).  Also, like it or not, tier 2 and 3 operators will be forced to consider network-sharing options to perform medium- to large-scale LTE deployments.

AIRCOM's consultancy services can help operators evaluate their networks to determine the right strategy.