Huawei Communicate

Get ready for

900MHz refarming
900MHz refarming solutions
based on Huaweis SingleRAN
let operators use the GSM
frequency to quickly deploy
a low-cost UMTS network
with wide coverage. Users get
seamless 2G and 3G services
with two networks integrated
on the same platform.
By Li Chunlin

900MHz refarming: a
growing trend

UMTS network can be

constructed in the GSM900
frequency band at a lower cost
with better coverage than a
UMTS2100 network.
According to radio wave propagation
features, radio signals are transmitted
farther at a lower carrier frequency and
allow one site to cover a wider area. This
makes the UMTS900 an excellent wide
coverage solution. Therefore, investment
for mobile networks goes down as wider
coverage per site means fewer sites.
Second, the UMTS900 network is
better for indoor coverage and has better
network coverage performance. Lowfrequency carrier signals suffer less loss
when penetrating building walls. Thus,
with a UMTS900 network quality of

service (QoS) is improved and better user

experience enabled.
W h e n c o n s t r u c t i n g a U M TS 9 0 0
network, operators can protect their
investment in the original GSM network
by reusing infrastructures like the antenna
and site.
However, due to limited spectrum
resources on the GSM900 band, most
operators cannot provide a complete
5MHz frequency band to build the
UMTS network. In addition, the existing
GSM900 network has accumulated a large
subscriber base and is an important source
of profits for operators. This is why the
GSM/UMTS 900MHz refarming solution
was proposed in the hope of constructing
l ow - c o s t U M TS 9 0 0 n e t w o rk s w i t h
wide coverage and implementing joint
networking between UMTS and GSM
networks while ensuring the continuous
capacity expansion and QoS of the GSM
network.

Due to the advantages of a UMTS900

network, increasingly more countries have
begun to formulate policies regulating
the deployment of 3G networks on the
900MHz band.
The EU passed a new resolution on
July 27, 2009, approving refarming the
900MHz band and requested that its
member countries enforce the bill within
six months to drive the development of
the 3G mobile communications industry.
900MHz operators can utilize the
frequency for any technology, at their own
discretion, without license restrictions.

SingleRAN based
refarming solutions
When performing 900MHz refarming,
operators need to address the following
four key issues: 1) The interference
between GSM and UMTS networks must
FEB 2010 . ISSUE 54

36

Solution
Get ready for 900MHz refarming
be minimized; 2) Feeder and Antenna sharing to
protect existing investment; 3) Guarantee of GSM
network capacity enhancement and continuous
development; 4) Unified operation and maintenance
of the two networks to reduce OPEX.
As a leading Next Generation Mobile Network
solutions provider, Huawei has launched innovative
SingleRAN solutions based on 4th generation
base stations. Huawei then releases its end-to-end
commercial SingleRAN based refarming solutions,
which effectively address the four key issues above.

GSM/UMTS site sharing solution

For GSM/UMTS joint networking, two scenarios
can be applied: site sharing and non-site sharing.
As the coverage radius of a UMTS network is larger
than that of a GSM network, in the non-site sharing
scenario, the number of UMTS sites can be reduced
and equipment investment thus less.
This also has some disadvantages. First, sites are
not shared and network deployment cannot be
performed as per the original cellular structure. The
original GSM site resources cannot be completely
utilized, which will give rise to a large number of
new sites and cost more for auxiliary equipment.
Second, when the GSM and UMTS networks do
not share sites, the interference between GSM and
UMTS networks will increase.
In the site sharing scenario, interference between
G S M a n d U M TS n e t w o rk s i s re d u c e d , a n d
operators do not have to construct new sites, saving
money on auxiliary equipment. By adjusting the
transmitted power of the UMTS network, the GSM
coverage area and that of UMTS networks may be
basically the same. When antennas are not shared,
by adjusting the downtilt angle and azimuth, each
network can achieve the best coverage performance.
T h e Hu a w e i S i n g l e R A N b a s e d 9 0 0 M H z
refarming solutions can effectively meet the site
sharing requirements for GSM/UMTS joint
networking. Also, the GSM and UMTS networks
can use the same RF module through software
upgrades and cut equipment costs.

Adjacent frequency guard band solution

Huawei SingleRAN based frequency refarming
solutions mainly support two types of frequency
allocation: edge-type and sandwich-type allocation.
Figure 1 shows the edge-type GSM/UMTS
frequency allocation method.
Frequency gap (f1) between the GSM band edge
and the center of the UMTS band can be configured
based on the gap requirement of the product. For
f2, the frequency gap with other carriers band must
37 FEB 2010 . ISSUE 54

be no less than 2.6MHz. If less than 2.6MHz, the

other carriers GSM network, given its unknown RF
performance, may interfere with the UMTS network,
especially when the system is used on the Broadcast
Control Channel (BCCH) or Packet Data Channel
(PDCH). Since the power control is disabled, more
interference will be generated on the UMTS.
For the frequency gap f1, Huawei SingleRAN
based 900MHz refarming solutions support a
minimum bandwidth of 2.4MHz in urban areas
and 2.2MHz in rural. For the frequency gap f2, if
the adjacent frequency is idle, the solutions support
a minimum bandwidth of 2.5MHz. If the adjacent
frequency is occupied as other carriers GSM band,
the bandwidth spacing must be no less than 2.6MHz.
Figure 2 shows the sandwich-type GSM/UMTS
frequency allocation. Within the carriers frequency
band, the UMTS frequency is placed in the middle,
with GSM frequency band on its two sides. The
frequency gap between the center of UMTS and the
GSM on its two sides, is equal and can be configured
based on the gap requirement of the product.
If f1 and f2 are equal and both are less than
2.6MHz, the frequency bands on two sides of the
UMTS can share spectrum resources with the GSM
system. Compared with edge-type allocation, this
method doubles the number of the GSM carrier
spectrums.
According to sandwich-type allocation, the UMTS
carrier spectrums can be placed anywhere within the
spectrum of the operators (not necessarily the center
of the spectrum). This can be determined based on
the operation strategies of the operators. For example,
the carrier may split some spectrums in the future to
obtain 2 UMTS bands, which can reduce subsequent
UMTS frequency adjustments.
For the frequency gap of f1 and f2, Huawei
SingleRAN based 900MHz refarming solutions
support a minimum bandwidth of 2.4MHz in urban
areas and 2.2MHz in rural.

Co-frequency buffer zone solution

When the UMTS and the GSM networks use
the same frequency band, the signal of base stations
or terminals in one system falls within the reception
area of the other system. This interference cannot be
suppressed by the receiving filter. Instead, only an
appropriate frequency buffer zone can be set between
the two systems within the same frequency band to
accelerate attenuation of the interfering signal and
guarantee normal operation of the two systems.
For this purpose, Huawei has developed an
innovative co-frequency buffer zone solution,
resolving co-frequency interference between two

Huawei Communicate

systems. The solution has been put into

successful commercial use by Optus in
Australia.

GSM system

f1

GSM system of
other operators

UMTS system

Bringing multiple values

Huaweis SingleRAN based 900MHz
refarming solutions bring value in four
major ways:
First, they optimize the RF filter of base
stations and use an advanced algorithm
to provide frequency refarming solutions
for small frequency spacing in various
scenarios minimizing the impact of the
UMTS900 on existing GSM by making
full use of scarce 900MHz frequency
resources.
Second, by adopting SDR technology,
Huawei SingleRAN-based 900MHz
refarming solutions enable the GSM and
UMTS to output signal on one power
amplifier and share antennas naturally,
reducing the network construction costs.
Third, with the Huawei SingleRAN
based 900MHz frequency refarming
solutions, GSM and the UMTS networks
are fully integrated on the same hardware
platform. Co-RRM (co-radio resources
management), Co-O&M (Co-operation
& maintenance), and Co-RNP/RNO (Coradio network planning/radio network
optimization) are realized with software,
consolidating the two independent
networks to allow users to enjoy high-end
2G and 3G services without a hitch.
By using GSM/UMTS Co-RRM,
radio resources of various standards can be
flexibly allocated, with channel allocation,
power control and handover policy under
various standards optimized based on
service and capacity requirements to
maximize the utilization of radio resources.
With GSM/UMTS Co-O&M, a
unified operation & maintenance interface,
configuration control commands, as well
as normalized measurement reports and
statistics reports can reduce the complexity
and cost of maintenance. With the GSM/
UMTS Co-RNP/RNO tool, planning
and optimization of the GSM and UMTS
networks can be carried out in a unified
way to improve the accuracy of network
planning, and boost construction of
high-quality networks, while reducing

f2

Fig. 1 Edge-type GSM/UMTS frequency allocation

GSM system

f1

f2

GSM system

UMTS system

Fig. 2 Sandwich-type GSM/UMTS frequency allocation

maintenance costs.
Fourth, the improvement of network
performance and the sustainable
development of the GSM network can be
assured.
Huawei has independently developed a
series of technologies for interference preelimination and interference reduction.
They can effectively improve network
performance, increase network capacity,
enhance spectrum utilization efficiency,
improve user experience and increase
revenues. Consequently, the capacity
and quality of the GSM network can
be improved despite limited spectrum
resources.
The tight frequency reuse solution
from Huawei, together with the optimized
channel allocation policy, can effectively
reduce and suppress network interference,
increase system capacity by up to over
200% with limited frequency resources
and guarantee voice quality of the entire
network. This is especially helpful in
scenarios with low network capacity, high
traffic and an insignificant improvement
from frequency hopping.

Commercially mature
environment

Three vendors in the industry, including

Huawei, have successfully developed a
commercial UMTS900 network. So far,
Huawei has constructed and released more
than three GSM900/UMTS900 SDR
commercial networks. Ten UMTS900
networks in the industry have been put
into successful commercial use and at least
60 UMTS900 networks are being planned
or deployed in 2010.
Terminal vendors are speeding up the R&D
and manufacturing of UMTS900 terminals.
According to a survey by Global mobile
Suppliers Association (GSA), 34 terminal
vendors in the world have released 190
UMTS900-HSPA terminals, including 118
UMTS900-HSPA mobile terminals and 39
USB dongles. Routers, PC cards and built-in
modules that support the UMTS900 have also
been commercially released and all UMTS900
terminals support GSM/EDGE functions.
In Europe, Middle East, Africa and
the Asia Pacific region, the UMTS900 is
becoming a standard terminal frequency.
Growing mobile broadband service
demands, deregulation of telecom policies
on 900MHz, as well as the launch of a
large number of terminals means that
increasingly more UMTS900 frequency
refarming networks will be operational.

Editor: Liu Zhonglin liuzhonglin@huawei.com

FEB 2010 . ISSUE 54

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