Nokia Siemens Networks Extending 3G coverage with cost

Nokia Siemens NetworksExtending 3G coverage with cost- efficientWCDMAfrequencyrefarming

1 ElisaCustomerTestimonial

Seeking a smarter, safer way to broaden coverage

FoundedinHelsinkiin1882,Elisa providesvoice,telecommunication,andcustomizedcommunications servicestoprivate,corporate,and institutionalcustomers,servingover1.3millionwirelinesubscribers.Elisa is the broadband market leader in Finland with 0.5 million subscriptions and a forerunner in providing new mobile and content services with over 2.5 million cellular subscribers.

Gearing up to grow revenues with 3G 3G services are among Elisa’s key competitiveassets.InFinland,operatorsare free to sell 3G packages comprising thesubscriptionanduserequipment, a business model that has paid dividends forElisa.ButthemarketischangingwiththegrowingpopularityofPCcards,USBsticks,andotherdevicessuitedfor using wireless broadband services withPCs.Andgrowingnumbersofsubscribers are using mobile handsets todothingslikepushe-mail,navigate,and download maps.

Elisa saw that customers with 3G access were far more willing to embrace data services.Thecompanywasalsokeento afford people in sparsely populated rural areas the same access to more

sophisticated mobile services that urban customersenjoy.SoElisadecidedtogear up for 3G services throughout its mobile network.

Onewaytodothiswouldbetodeployaconventional2100MHzWCDMAnetwork.Onthedownside,a3Gsystemoperatinginthe2100MHzfrequencyband requires threefold more new sites thansystemsoperatingat900MHzbecause each base station’s coverage radius is smaller and in-building propagation is weaker. So the cost ofWCDMA2100MHzwasfoundto be prohibitive – even a significantly bigger subscriber base and revenues boostwouldhardlyjustifytheexpense.

HelpingElisaboostspeedandextenditsreachacrossFinland Eager to connect with customers beyond city limits and take its 3G performancepromisenationwide,ElisaCorporation,aleadingFinnish communicationsservicecompany,optedtogowithNokiaSiemens Networks’WCDMA900solution.

Roll-outofWCDMA900canbereallyfastcomparedtoWCDMA2100.Basedon our experience we can practically skipnewsiteacquisitionandbuilding,and still get an excellent 3G coverage. Fromthereon,itisprimarilyupdatingtherental contracts and refarming the 900 frequencyband.Rental,electricityandtransmission costs stay in check when youdon’thavetoaddnewBTSsites.EetuPrieur,HeadofAccessNetworksPlanningandOptimization, ElisaCorporation.

Photo:EetuPrieur,HeadofAccessNetworks PlanningandOptimization,ElisaCorporation


The daunting technical challenges of frequency refarmingOnpaper,WCDMAatafrequencyof900MHzlookedtobetheidealchoice.Butwhataboutintherealworld?2Gequipmentalsorunsat900MHz,sothese networks would have to co-exist inthesameband.What’smore,planning,testing,andimplementingaWCDMA900 overlay requires a great deal of highlyspecializedexpertise.

Keeping legacy services alive and customers satisfied Beyondallthis,Elisa’sbiggestconcernwas protecting legacy business interests andsustainingcurrentoperations.Themajorityofsubscriberstodayrelyon2Gservices.Tosafeguardthismobilerevenuebase,thecompanypersistedin finding a solution that would have no adverse impact on its 2G business. WCDMArefarminglookedpromisingbecause

• AprovenWCDMArefarmingsolution is commercially available.

• GettingintoWCDMA900earlyon,Elisa couldinfluenceitsevolutionarypath.

• 3Gdataratesareincreasingthanks totheavailabilityofHighSpeed PacketAccess(HSPA)functionalities,includingfor900MHz.

• WCDMA900speedsupandcutsthe cost of 3G rollout because it requires fewer sites and allows legacy sites to be reused without site acquisition efforts or civil works.

• 3Gcoverageat900MHzcostsfarlessthanat2100MHz.

Making WCDMA frequency refarming work for Elisa Thecompanysoonfoundthesolutionit was seeking. Spearheading advances inWCDMArefarming,NokiaSiemensNetworks was the first to come up with acredibleWCDMA900solution,andhad the equipment and expertise to make the solution work in the real world.

OurproductsmetElisa’sbottom-lineneeds on how to:

• RefarmGSMfrequencieswithoutimpairingGSMperformance

• Selectandsetparametersforoptimizingthenetworkandrefarming spectrum

• ChangeGSMconfigurationsanduse measurement-based frequency allocationtoaccuratelyoptimizetheeffectonGSMperformance

• MeasureWCDMA900networkperformance

Launching the world’s first WCDMA 900 network It all fell into place in late 2007 – the timing was perfect for launching WCDMA900.TheequipmentandHSPAfunctionality for high-speed data services wereavailable,andtheregulatorybodyhad given the green light.

So Elisa and our consultants teamed up to devise an end-to-end solution for smoothWCDMAfrequencyrefarmingthatmakesthemostofGSMcapacityandservicequality,andenables successful3GandGSMco-existence.Tothisend,ElisarolledoutaWCDMA900 radio access network based on ourFlexiWCDMAbasestationandRNC,usingNetActOptimizertooltoplanandmanagethetransition,andmake the most of legacy assets. It would become the world’s first full-fledgedWCDMAnetworkoperating inthe900-MHzband.

Nokia Siemens Networks’ solution can lower the site count by a remarkable65%,andtotal cost of ownership by an equally noteworthy 60%overfiveyears.

3ElisaCustomerTestimonial

Smart moves to sustain GSM performance

Several smart moves satisfied Elisa’stoppriorityofsustainingGSM performance:Onewastospare bandwidth by condensing carrier spacing.Reservingjust4.2MHz– thatis,21channels-fortheWCDMAcarrier left more frequencies available forGSMuseandminimizedtheimpactonGSMperformance.ElisaalsoemployedourNetActOptimizertool forGSMnetworkfrequencyre-planning.Itgoesstraighttothesources,usinghard facts - actual radio network measurements - as the basis for allocating new frequencies.

Elisa was compelled to remove some GSMTRXfromtheWCDMA900MHzareatoreallocatechannelsfromGSMtoWCDMA.AMRHR(AdaptiveMultiRateHalfRate)wasusedtoboostGSMspectralefficiencybecauseit enables the same hardware to provide doublethecapacity,makingGSMTRXeasy to replace.

Off the drawing board and into the field

TheresultsofElisa’sfieldtesting confirmedexpectations.WCDMA900coverageiscomparabletoGSM900coverage,albeitwithhighdatarates.ElisadeployedHSDPAwithfivecodes,16QAMmodulation,andHSUPAactivatedintheWCDMA900network.Theair interferencepeakratewas3.6Mbps. TheperformancewaseverybitasgoodasthatofaWCDMA2100systemwiththesamefeatureset.AndNokiaSiemens Networks lived up to its performance promise,completingthelaboratorytrial,fieldtesting,andcommercial implementation right on schedule.

Fastfact:Re-plannedwithpowerfulNetActOptimizer,theGSMnetwork’s performance actually improved!

“Conventionalplanningtoolsmay notbeoptimalforrefarming.Thespecializedoptimizationtool,NetActOptimizerisreliable,fast,andeasytouse,andimprovesGSMplanninginmany cases where far fewer channels areavailableforGSMusage.”VesaOrava,NetworkManager, ElisaCorporation


Going strong with GSM, getting stronger with 3G

Elisa’s decision to go with Nokia Siemens Networks’ brand of frequency refarming paid big dividends. Some of the many benefits include

• Moresatisfiedsubscribers,acompetitive edge with improved

3Gcoverage,andamilestone on the way to nationwide 3G • CourtesyofthesharedfrequencyandtheFlexiWCDMABTS’zerofootprint,sites,hardware,antennas,and accessories were reused to slash costs and speed deployment.

• PowerfulNetActoptimization,implementation,andperformancemonitoringtoolsenabledfast,easyroll-out and made the most of Elisa’s spectrum assets.

• Acost-effective3Gupgradeandeven better quality 2G service

AllthismadeWCDMAfrequency refarming a success story for Elisa.

An end-to-end solution, sourced from a technology leader

Nokia Siemens Networks indeed designs,develops,anddeploys systems.Butwearefarmorethanmerely a vendor; we are a true partner toElisa.Wewerehereyesterday, helpingElisadeployWCDMAinto 900MHz,sharingbandwidthwith GSMtoefficientlyprovide3Gcoverage.Andwewillbetheretomorrow,whenthis cost- and energy-efficient refarming solution delivers a genuine broadband experience to users’ handsets throughout the country.

“Atthetime3Gwasintroduceditwas,morethananythingelse,about hotspots and the like in urban centres – the perspective wasquitedifferentfromwhatitisnow.WCDMA2100suitsthispurposeverywellbutasithasturnedout,thecustomerisnotinterestedinwhethershe’satahotspotornot,shejustwantsittoworkeverywhere.WhenwefirstlearnedthatWCDMAwasgoingtousethe900frequency,itwasquiteabigdeal.WCDMA900providesgoodcoverageand,fromafinancialstandpoint,makes the most out of our existing sites and investments.”TimoSippola,TechnologyManager,ElisaCorporation


www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

Nokia Siemens NetworksP.O.Box1FI-02022NOKIASIEMENSNETWORKSFinlandVisiting address:Karaportti3,ESPOO,Finland

Switchboard+358714004000(Finland)Switchboard+4989515901(Germany)

Order-No.C401-00256-R-200810-1-EN Copyright©2008NokiaSiemensNetworks. Allrightsreserved.

Nokia Siemens Networks and the wave logo are registered trademarksofNokiaSiemensNetworks.Othercompanyandproduct names mentioned here in may be trademarks or trade names of their respective owners.

Thispublicationisissuedtoprovideinformationonlyandisnottoformpartofanyordercontract.Theproductsandservicesdescribedhereinaresubjecttoavailabilityandchange without notice.

6ElisaCustomerTestimonial

Documents

Nokia Siemens Networks Extending 3G coverage with cost