Winners

45 46DEC 2014

By Liao Yingchuan & Zhou Wenwen Editor: Morgan timothymorganhatrick@huawei.com

Thanks to stable and robust networks, enthusiastic sports fans shared the World Cup experience like never before. The entire world was mesmerized by the digital transmission of sixty-four battles for national glory. The rise of 4G and the popularization of social networking apps enabled football fans to experience the World Cup more completely than ever before – they witnessed more and shared more, anytime, anywhere. Digitization multiplied the value of this sensational event and delivered it to grateful fans around the world.

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2014 FIFA World CupAn unprecedented data-fest

45 46DEC 2014

A data-fest

During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazil welcomed over 1.5 million tourists and over 3.3 million fans watched the games live. Outside the

stadium, millions of fans gathered at Copacabana Beach and at various bars and hotels. They used smartphones, laptops, tablets, and even smart watches and glasses to access the Internet and update Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and WeChat. They shared in real time every highlight of each game by uploading pictures and video clips or chatting with friends and families using these popular social media and messaging apps. Media agencies from over 100 countries and regions also broadcast the event live to the whole world.

Statistics show that during the games, the number of mobile users in Brazil increased by 48% and data traffic quadrupled. During the final game, more than 70,000 live spectators uploaded 2.6 million pictures comprising 1.43TB of data. Compared to the 2010 World Cup, which was supported by only 3G coverage, this year’s event was a massive data-fest for enthusiastic device-wielding fans.

Efforts behind the success

The FIFA Wor ld Cup can a cce l e r a t e a host country’s communication infrastructure development. It attracts dignitaries and media from around the world and is an ideal opportunity for carriers to boost business revenue and promote their brand and services. However, if network faults occur and network communication cannot be restored quickly, a carrier’s reputation or even the host country’s national image can be blemished. All carriers rushed to accelerate their infrastructure construction and launched 4G services in many of the host cities.

The 2010 World Cup was held in South Africa when the world was upgrading from 2G to 3G. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil took place as the world moved to embrace 4G. Carriers prepared for the massive data traffic that would be generated during the World Cup. Numerous hotspots, complicated user behaviors, and unpredictable business models all presented challenges to network operations and maintenance with the assurance of data and 4G services being the top priority. To support the World Cup, Brazilian carriers were in urgent need of a professional and competent partner with experience providing guaranteed

Winners

47 48DEC 2014

Previously, carriers simply relied on continuous network monitoring and troubleshooting to ensure communications during large events, but proactive prevention has proven to be vastly more effective

network performance for large-scale international events.

Creation and verification of proactive prevention solutions

In the past, carriers simply relied on continuous network monitoring and troubleshooting to ensure communications during large events. More recently, joint planning and proactive prevention has been proven to be vastly more effective. Comprehensive proactive prevention solutions enable carriers to clearly understand network behavior and foresee potential risks so that they can act in advance to prevent the network from breaking down. In the case of the 2014 World Cup, proactive prevention guaranteed stable and reliable network performance. As they say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

During the year leading up to the World Cup, four Brazilian carriers (Vivo, Tim, Oi, and Claro) cooperated with Huawei to conduct traffic model analysis, traffic volume forecast, network evaluation, network coverage and capacity analysis , and user behavior and experience assessment to identify network risks and examine the gap between current network performance and service requirements. Special analysis and forecasting of the LTE traffic model was also

performed. After comparing the World Cup with other large sports events such as the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil and analyzing the solution impact and value, Huawei and the carriers’ project assurance teams worked together to ensure successful coverage.

Expert teams and contingency plans to ensure stable communication

Network assurance case studies for large events and similar historical data were essential to the success of this project. Using a historical database containing data from similar large-scale events as a resource and by examining user behavior and traffic patterns generated at sporting events, Huawei analyzed hotspot areas and accurately predicted the number of users and corresponding traffic volume. After conducting two rounds of deep inspection of over 30,000 network elements (NEs), Huawei evaluated the current network resources and capacity and gave targeted suggestions and solutions. During the World Cup, hundreds of Huawei experts were positioned to conduct real-time network monitoring, problem analysis, and dynamic parameter optimization. In collaboration with carriers, they also developed contingency plans for possible network emergencies. These measures

47 48DEC 2014

ensured immediate response through quick fault analysis and location, providing optimal network performance at all times. Following the World Cup, Huawei restored and optimized network parameters to provide stable network performance during normal daily operations.

Reputation and revenuesThe peak traff ic volume of data services

increased by 92% during the World Cup compared to normal operations. The networks belonging to the four carriers supported by Huawei achieved KPIs that surpassed expectations. For example, during the final match between Germany and

Huawei analyzed user behavior and traffic patterns generated at similar sporting events to accurately predict hotspot areas, number of users, and corresponding traffic volumes during the World Cup.

Argentina, the two carriers that provided coverage for the stadium reached an access success rate of over 96% for traditional voice service and over 98% for 3G data services. Surprisingly, the access success rate for 4G services reached 99%. Throughout the entire event, networks guaranteed by Huawei reported “zero faults and interruptions”. Ultimately, Huawei’s achievements earned praise from all four carriers.

Robust networks can handle extreme spikes in traffic, thus increasing revenue and reputation at the same time. Huawei also took the opportunity to help the carriers develop traffic policies to boost the revenues generated during daily operations. Germany wasn’t the only victor of the 2014 World Cup.