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By Xu Ping, Luo Yaofeng & Tang Zhipeng Editor: Michael huangzhuojian@huawei.com

By cooperating with primary equipment vendors during the indoor network deployment process, including the survey, design, testing/optimization, and indoor/outdoor network interoperation phases, China Unicom Jiangxi (Jiangxi Unicom) has significantly enhanced its 3G network performance at reduced cost.

Enhancing the indoor experience in Jiangxi

China Unicom

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n September 22, 2012, over 20,000 s c reaming f ans ga the red a t the Jiangxi Sports Center for a concert by Mayday, a leading Taiwanese rock

band. However, noise from this event extended into cyberspace, as over 2,200 smart devices utilized Jiangxi Unicom’s 3G services for photo posting, video upload, and blogging, making for a hefty amount of data traffic. But thanks to the operator’s sound indoor coverage and O&M efforts, a seamless concert experience was delivered, burnishing its brand image as a 3G leader.

Large-scale indoor rollout

In January 2009, China Unicom secured a 3G license and selected WCDMA technology for network rollout in eastern China’s Jiangxi province. In August 2012, Jiangxi Unicom began a campaign to enhance its network coverage, particularly indoors, involving eleven cities and over 1,000 new indoor sites. However, such a large-scale indoor network deployment could hardly be planned or executed using traditional means.

Indoor and outdoor networks are typically deployed separately, and their interoperability is often not a priority, as the indoor work typically is done by contractors who do not plan, deploy, monitor, or optimize at a network level, either in

terms of scope or rigor, leading to a pedestrian indoor experience.

Use of these network integrators can also lead to complexities in project monitoring and management, with responsibilities shifting between parties. Management and coordination are also tricky, as multiple contractors are likely to be used (Jiangxi Unicom employed eight for the provincial capital alone), each with its own capabilities and rollout standards. Other third parties may also join in for the network design and project monitoring stages, further muddying the waters.

A new rollout mechanism

Jiangxi Unicom wanted a network rollout mechanism that covers both indoor and outdoor sites, with enhanced planning and interoperability so that network performance stands out. The operator selected Huawei as its primary supplier for the two most important processes – network planning and benchmarking/optimization for the indoor network. Put another way, Huawei is now fully responsible for Jiangxi Unicom’s indoor network quality.

Huawei also joined in the project monitoring process to ensure that key technologies are implemented with targets met. With Huawei, all those third-part integrators are eliminated, making for a much simpler management process.

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Thanks to its unified project management process, Jiangxi Unicom’s network rollout speed has quadrupled, with 600 indoor sites deployed within 150 days, covering over 20,000 square meters.

An optimized process

Jiangxi Unicom has optimized the indoor network rollout process by clearly defining the input & output for each step, including community access permission, site survey & design, equipment integration, commissioning, testing, and acceptance, with each clearly detailed and assigned a specific interface person.

For indoor site survey and design, Jiangxi Unicom has added items such as test evaluation, signal source planning, handoff policies, and indoor/outdoor network inter-operation. They have also unified the indoor site survey & design templates, as the originals were from different vendors who employed different styles and standards.

Jiangxi Unicom has also strengthened its test efforts by cooperating with primary equipment vendors. Each site must be fully tested by both parties before it accesses the network, while the test cases and acceptance methods are also optimized.

Enhanced network performance

For cells that share the same frequency, received signal code power (RSCP) may be solid, but Ec/Io will be poor, resulting in good coverage in corridors but degradation behind walls; network access becomes difficult. Inter-frequency cells, on the

other hand, have difficulties with handover, Ec/Io cell reselection, and signal leakage.

Together with Huawei , Jiangxi Unicom developed a guidebook for inter-frequency indoor site rollout that contains various templates for troubleshooting. This has led to over 70% inter-frequency use for indoor sites in Jiangxi’s capital, which helps to limit pilot pollution and enhance indoor Ec/Io.

Jiangxi Unicom also optimized its network planning efforts for both indoor and outdoor networks. In a certain residential community, the operator now uses distributed base stations indoors and micro base stations outdoors, as opposed to installing beautified antennas in front of each dwelling. This has led to a savings of USD21,000, while the voice traffic processed by indoor base stations has increased from 7.5 to 21.1 erlangs.

Smooth coordination

Jiangxi Unicom has set up a coordination mechanism to ensure smooth cooperation between different parties. For network planning & design, the operator optimizes its network KPIs with future upgrade in mind, so the design scheme is jointly reviewed by Jiangxi Unicom, its research institute, and its primary equipment vendors. The parties responsible for site construction and network optimization are also invited to join in the review

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of deployment schemes for critical sites. Jiangxi Unicom and Huawei have developed

standard operating procedures (SOPs) for site deployment, while the operator also conducts scheduled and/or unscheduled quality checks to prevent any potential fault.

Huawei’s contr ibut ions to the project’s implementation have been highly recognized by Jiangxi Unicom. A thank-you note from the latter noted impressive execution and professionalism from Huawei engineers, as reflected in the speed of optimization for key indoor sites and solid technical analyses related to user complain resolution; the Huawei team also impressed Jiangxi Unicom with their disciplined attitude, solid technical acumen, and outstanding team spirit.

Continued optimization

Thanks to its unified project management process, Jiangxi Unicom’s network rollout speed has quadrupled, with 600 indoor sites deployed within 150 days, covering over 20,000 square meters. The operator has also slashed its management costs. After the primary equipment suppliers joined the network planning process, Jiangxi Unicom adopted comprehensive network planning & coverage schemes that combine macro-cell coordination, outdoor antenna beautification, indoor base station

distribution, and other elements. As a result, the operator has reduced its material cost per covered square meter to roughly nine cents (USD), a 30% reduction, while the coverage percentage has increased by 40%.

Jiangxi Unicom has enhanced its indoor network efficiency and reduced micro-network offloads, thanks to its optimized solutions for indoor/outdoor coverage and inter-frequency adjustment, as well as other optimizations for cell reselection, handoff, etc. Cell traffic volume has also increased significantly, with some jumping 450%, from 20 erlangs per week to 85.

The 3G user experience has also been enhanced. Each new indoor site promises a minimum of 5Mbps downlink speed and 1.5Mbps uplink. Users can also smoothly switch between 2G and 3G networks, while VIPs can secure higher service quality; all help to reduce user complaints. Thanks to the enhanced network performance and user experience, Jiangxi Unicom has expanded its 3G user base four fold since 2010 (as of September 2012).

In 2011, Jiangxi Unicom deployed 611 indoor distributed base stations, with 358 more planned for 2012. Other legacy base stations will also be optimized by the primary equipment vendors. The operator has also cataloged its successful experiences for future project implementation, making for a solution that keeps on solving.