RAN Sharing Solution

RAN MKT
PART 1: Overview
PART 2: Key technology takeaways
PART 3: Commercial Cases
Driving Force of Network Sharing Options
Driving Force of Sharing

Cost
Limited budget for network construction, saving CAPEX & OPEX Nationwide
Co-build network to reduce investment and boost
network rollout speed, needed higher coordination

Spectrum
No enough spectrum resource to provide 5G service by single operator

Dense Urban
High capacity requirement, but hard to acquire sites or
Site Acquisition limited spectrum resource
It is not easy to get site acquisition for new site deployment

Fast 5G Rollout Rural Area

Saving network construction period, especially for new operator Wide coverage and basic capacity requirement ,but
with lower returns

Application Scenarios
Different Network Sharing Modes

Passive Sharing Active Sharing Domestic Roaming

Operator A Operator B
Operator A Operator B Operator A Operator B

5GC1 EPC1 EPC2 5GC2 5GC1 EPC1 EPC2 5GC2

DR agreement

eNodeB gNodeB BS1 BS2

• Tower, rooftop or equipment room • RAN elements such as gNodeB, AAU, • Independent networks for Operator A
sharing transmission can be shared & Operator B
• Independent networks for Operator A • Resources sharing between operators • Operators operate their own regions
& Operator B • Need strategy agreement between • Roaming agreement between
• Easy implementation operators operators are necessary
Scenarios for Choosing Sharing Models

Passive Sharing Active Sharing Domestic Roaming

Dense Urban & Urban area Dense Urban & Urban area

• Difficult to find available sites • Difficult to find available sites

• Need to cut down network costs • Strict local regulations limit new sites
(rents) setup or limit network mode
• Fully control operator’s own network • Lack of spectrum
by passive sharing

Areas without coverage

Rural area Rural area
• Reduces RAN investment & OPEX
• Site investment & OPEX reduction • Site investment & OPEX reduction • The coverage level improvement of
• Providing wider coverage • Lack of spectrum resource the operators
 Network Sharing Solution Contrast I (MORAN VS. MOCN)
23.251 R6 The introduction of GWCN R10 The introduction of R15 The introduction of
Network Sharing and UTRAN MOCN MOCN GERAN MOCN NR

R8 The introduction of LTE R11 The introduction of FULL-

MOCN MOCN-GERAN feature

Operator A CN Operator B CN Advantages Challenges

 Independent carrier frequency share RAN, each
operator uses own independent carrier frequency
 Redundancy sites could be dismantled
 No special requirement for terminals.
f1
 RRU capacity and output power are the bottle neck
for multi-mode
 No reduction of equipment investment
 No optimum utilization of spectrum

f2

Advantages Challenges
Operator A CN Operator B CN
 Public carrier frequency share RAN, high spectrum  Legacy sites do not support MOCN
efficiency  BSC/RNC/CN should support MOCN and re-route
 High resource efficiency procedure
 Smooth for future evolution  According to 23.122, 4G subs can’t reselect from 2G to
 Low OPEX 4G (MOCN for 2G and 4G simultaneous)
f1
Checklist Before Merge
No. Item Description

 Confirm LAU/RAU/TAU Reject reason in existing network: Whether there is FPLMN in USIM/SIM card
 Confirm with USIM/SIM card vendor: Whether EHPLMN or FPLMN list in USIM/SIM
1 Merge Solution Confirm
 CN version in existing network: Whether CN can support MOCN/GWCN/Multi-PLMN
 RAN version in existing network: Whether RAN can support MOCN/Multi-PLMN

 Frequency integration: LTE expansion? 2G refarming?

2 RAN  Network re-planning: Couple sites dismantle rule? New sites introduction? Network optimization?
 Site engineering investigation: Site location and rent price? Antenna type? Feeder reused? Tower space and load?

 Inter-connection: Backbone transmission should be inter-connected before consolidation

3 Transmission  Expansion: Couple sites, New LTE carrier on air
 MW Re-route: To unique the backhaul transmission

 Operator name on UE display: NITZ function should be activated in target CN

 Roaming strategy for international roaming: Roaming strategy for different users based on IMSI
4 Core Network  User integration: Uniform QoS configurations need to be made for original users of the two operators (PCRF)
 Service for customized MBB device: Customized MBB devices register to network based on Multi-PLMN
 Expansion: Based on merge solution, core network should expanded if necessary
PART 1: Overview
PART 2: Key technology takeaways
PART 3: Commercial Cases
PART 2
1: Compatibility Technology
2: Common Technology
3: 5G New Technology
Message Routing with Lower Version UE in MOCN
Non-support
HLR C MSC/SGSN C MSC/SGSN B MSC/SGSN A RNC
UE
1.RRC Connection
Established
3.Initial UE
2.Initial Direct
(Attach request,
 Lower version UE cannot indicate the correct Redirect attempt flag)
Transfer

core network that it belongs to because it 4.Identity Req

cannot resolve the PLMN list. 4.Identity Req

IMSI
 Possibly network name display is a problem, Not allowed for HPLMN of IMSI
and NITZ or SIM card customization should be 5.Re-router
command
used.
6.Initial UE (Attach request,
Redirect attempt flag, IMSI…)

Not allowed for HPLMN of IMSI

7.Re-router command
8.Initial UE (Attach request, Redirect attempt flag, IMSI…)
9.Authraction & Ciphering t

10.Re-router completed
11.Attach accpet
12. Attach Completed
 Logo Display with Lower Version UE in MOCN

Network Name Display in PLMN List pre-stored in UE

Carrier Sharing Solution:
UE pre-stores the PLMN list of almost all operators worldwide
 The Network Name or Operator Name
is mapped from the PLMN
ID(MCC+MNC). SIM Card Customization
 Pre-R6 UE needs NITZ (MM
information from CN)or its own PLMN For customized SIM cards, only 10-20 PLMNs can be stored
to display the operator logo.
 R6 UE can recognize home PLMN ID
NITZ Method
from PLMN List in broadcast Msg.

The Network Identity and Time Zone (NITZ) function is enabled

☞Notes: NITZ is an optional feature in 3GPP Release R99 (refer to TS22.042 for more details).
 FPLMN Confirm for 2G MOCN
 Cause value = 11 PLMN not allowed
The mobile station shall delete any LAI, TMSI and ciphering key sequence number stored in the SIM/USIM, reset the location update attempt
counter, and set the update status to ROAMING NOT ALLOWED (and store it in the SIM/USIM). The mobile station shall store the PLMN identity
in the "forbidden PLMN list" and if the MS is configured to use timer T3245 then the MS shall start timer T3245.
The MS shall perform a PLMN selection when back to the MM IDLE state according to 3GPP TS 23.122.
From 3GPP 24.008
If a "PLMN not allowed" message is received by an MS in response to an LR request from a VPLMN, that VPLMN is added to a list of " forbidden
PLMNs" in the SIM and thereafter that VPLMN will not be accessed by the MS when in automatic mode. FPLMN list is retained when the MS
is switched off or the SIM is removed.
From 3GPP 23.122

Cause Value PLMN Forbidden List NR/2G MOCN/2G GWCN Enabled How to solve if UE not access to

Not access to the consolidated site Manual select network and access
PLMN NOT ALLOWED Yes
automatically successfully (difficult to normal users)

 Confirm which update reject reason will be sent to users not Location Update Reject
belonging Operator in existing network during location registration PLMN not allowed
procedure. Operator A User
 Confirm whether FPLMN list had been stored in existing SIM/USIM
for both Operator A and B Backhaul

 Forbidden PLMN List should be erased or New PLMN should Operator B

be applied before network consolidation CN
Forbidden PLMN Erase
Short Message When n FPLMNs are held in
Gateway Application(STK) the EF, and rejection of a
EEPROM further PLMN is received by
Mode File the ME, the ME shall modify
the EF using the UPDATE
TELECOM File
Network command.
ROM From ETSI 131.102
OTA Application OTA Service COS (Card
Platform OS)

 The OTA platform can customize the application on SIM card via SMS.  RAN should configure 4 Dummy PLMN in A interface, each dummy cell
 And the application can read/write the EEPROM. So it is easy to modify should broadcast different PLMN to erase the FPLMN List in USIM/SIM
the FPLMN list as needed.  FPLMN is erased cluster by cluster

Disadvantage Disadvantage
 The application is based on STK. The OTA platform must be deployed  A large data redundancy in OMMR
in the network  The successful rate of erase is only more than 75%
 It is only useful to the phone based on STK.
ZTE Commercial Case
ZTE Commercial Case  Pakistan Jazz
 Italy Windtre  Average success rate is 72% after RAN broadcast dummy plmn during
 95% success rate after OTA send SMS to users consolidation time (the worst cluster is only 42%)
PART 2
1: Compatibility Technology
2: Common Technology
3: 5G New Technology
E2E RAN Sharing Overview
O&M Controller Backhaul Base Station

Controller Radio Resource

Spectrum
Resource
Resource
Interface
Transmission Transmitting Power
Control Plane
GSM TRX
CS Traffic Capacity Resource
O&M HSUPA Users
PS Data Throughputs Bandwidth
Configuration CE Resource
Differentiated IP message
Fault & Alarm PRB
KPI & Counter RRC Connect
License Users
 Flexible Radio Resource Sharing Strategy for Operator
Flexible Radio Resource Sharing Solution Policy Details of Case 4
X% Dynamic
sharing Y%
Public radio resource
Case 1 X% Y% S% Resource usage of operator A is less than X%, and the remaining
sharing mode
resource is bigger than the slide window. New access users from
operator A will be granted access using its own resources. Operator B has
the same processing flow.
Static radio resource
Case 2 X% Y% X% Dynamic
sharing mode sharing Y%
Resource usage of operator A is bigger than X%, resource usage of
operator B is less than Y%, and the remaining resource is bigger than
Dynamic radio the slide window. New access users from operator A will be granted
Case 3 X%+Y%=100% access at the dynamic shared area and vice versa.
resource sharing mode
X% Dynamic
sharing Y%
Resource usage of operator A is bigger than X%, and resource usage of
Case 4 X% Dynamic
sharing Y% Over booking operator B is nearly Y%. New access users from operator B will be granted
access while operator A releases the resource beyond the ratio by
reducing user rate or releasing users by QoS defined by operate A.
 Flexible Radio Resource Sharing Strategy for Operator Group
Flexible Radio Resource Sharing Solution Policy Details of Case 5
X%+Y%=100%
X%+Y%=100% Normal
Network load is not congestion, operator group A and operator group B
Case 5
Guaranteed
share all radio resource.
X% Y% GBR Congestion Guaranteed
X% Y% GBR

Network load is congestion, resource are allocated between two operator

Static Reserved radio groups. Resource usage of operator group A is X%, resource usage of
Case 6 X% Y%
Reserved Reserved S% operator group B is Y%. the configured GBR service will give priority to the
resource sharing mode
allocation of resource, regardless of the proportion of resource division.
Policy Details of Case 6
For admission control, including PRB resource, RRC connected user, CE
resource, HSUPA users, downlink power and transport bandwidth X% Y% S%
Reserved Reserved

Operator group A and operator group B have their own fixed radio resources.
Resource usage of operator A is X%, resource usage of operator group B is
Y%, the remaining public resource is S% that can be shared. Operator group
Radio Downlink Transport with higher priority can preempt the resource of the same or lower priority
Users
Resource Power Bandwidth operator group. Each operator group has reserved resource, which cannot
be preempted by other operator groups
Operator Specific Controller Resources
Control Plane
 Dedicated carriers can be configured with dedicated control plane boards.
 Shared carriers share the control plane board.

User Plane
 Operators can purchase controller hardware processing resources, including CS traffic capacity and PS data
throughput based on licenses
 Operators can buy different quantity of capacity licenses.

Interface
 Interface to the base station should be shared
 Interface to the CN can be dedicated in MOCN mode, but shared in GWCN mode

CS Service Capacity(Erlang) PS Service Capacity(Mbps) Carrier/TRX

Operator
Purchase/Total Purchase/Total (Dedicated+1/2Shared)/Total
Operator A 40% 70% 68%
Operator B 60% 30% 32%
 Resource Sharing Based on QoS
 Different operators can be set to different priorities. System resources will be distributed to the high-priority operator first.
 For each operator, service priorities can be defined separately.

Time Users Device type Services

10:00-18:00

HSS SPR
PCRF

eNodeB
MME
Backhaul
Service Quality S-GW PCEF(P-GW) Internet Server

User DL Rate UL Rate

VIP 2048 384
Gold 512 128
Sliver 256 64
Bronze NA NA
 Dynamic Radio Resource Scheduling based on QoS customized by RAN

eMLP (enhanced MAC Logic channel Priority) for Radio resources scheduling

• Allows several QCIs/5QIs bundled together in one eMLP scheduling queue configured by different operators (QCI/5QI mapping)
• Relative QCI/5QI priority can be achieved in the combined eMLP, with a newly introduced fairness factor for each QCI with operators
configurable
• QCI5/5QI5 is IMS signaling, the recommended scheduling algorithm is RR (Round Robin).
• The recommended scheduling algorithm for other QCIs is EPF (Enhanced PF).
Principle of Fairness Principle of Competitiveness (Highest for Operator 1 st)
Services Operator eMLP Strategy Services Operator eMLP Strategy
(Specific) (Specific)
QCI1/5GC1 (VoIP) 1 2 Semi-Persistent QCI1/5GC1 (VoIP) 1 2 Semi-Persistent
Scheduling Scheduling

QCI2/5GC2 (VoIP) 2 2 Semi-Persistent QCI5/5GC5 1 1 Round Robin

Scheduling
QCI6/5GC6 1 3 Enhanced PF
QCI5/5GC5 4 1 Round Robin (Video)

…… ……

QCI6/5GC6 4 4 Enhanced PF QCI1/5GC1 (VoIP) 2 4 Semi-Persistent

(Video) Scheduling

QCI7/5GC7 6 4 Enhanced PF QCI7/5GC7 6 6 Enhanced PF

**** 1 (Video)
is the highest priority (Video)
 Mobility Management

RAN Sharing
Operator B

Operator A

In RAN sharing, the principle of neighbor UE of UE in a RAN sharing cell will only be handed
cell configuration follows the policies UE of operator B over to a shared cell or a non-shared cell of the
defined by 3GPP, they can be: operator A operator that the UE belongs to.
 Ran sharing cell  Inter-PLMN handover
 Operator A’s cell  IMSI based handover
 Operator B’s cell  Subscription Based Mobility Management
 Inter-PLMN Handover
Source
UE Source Cell Target Cell Target MME
MME
 Inter-PLMN PS handover
1. Decision to trigger a
signaling flow is the same with relocation via S1
intra-PLMN PS handover 2. Handover Required 3. Forward Relocation
Request
scenario based on S1.
4. Handover Request
 Core Network is required to
5. Handover Request Acknowledge
send Handover Restriction List
6. Forward Relocation
to eNodeB, then eNodeB Response

selects handover target 8. Handover

7. Handover Command
Command
cell/target PLMN according to
9. Handover Confirm
this list: 9. Handover Notification
EPLMN of operator A 10. Forward Relocation
EPLMN of operator B Complete Notification

11. Forward Relocation

 The inter-PLMN handover is Complete Acknowledge
controlled by the inter-PLMN 12. UE Context Release Command

handover switch parameter. 13. UE Context Release Complete

 Subscription Based Mobility Management
E-UTRAN UTRAN GERAN
SPID
Subscribers Carrier Carrier Carrier
Value
Priority Priority Priority

Operator A 256 high low medium

Operator B 255 high medium low GERAN/UTRAN
E-UTRAN
UE LTE Cell MME

Initial Context
Setup Request

Reserve SPID  SPIDs correspond to the UE-specific priorities that are mapped by
Information
the CN in accordance with the UE subscription information.
Initial Context Setup Request including CSFB Indicator
 When the eNodeB triggers mobility management, the eNodeB
CSFB Policy Control Based
on SPID
maps the SPID to locally defined mobility management strategy to
select a suitable RAT or frequency for the UE:
Initial Context Setup Request without CSFB Indicator
 Idle Mobility based on SPID
Intra/Inter RAT Handover Policy  CSFB Based on SPID
Control Based on SPID  PSHO Based on SPID
…  Redirection Based on SPID
 Home PLMN Based SPID
 Flexible Transmission Resource Sharing
MORAN Architecture Operator A
x%

Operator A Physical link

Case 1 Operator B y%
Operator owns its
own logical cell

A Physical link Operator

A + B
100%

B Operator B Case 2
C Operator C
D
Operator A m%

Operator D Physical link

Case 3 Operator B n%
OverBooking

MOCN Architecture
Operator A
Operators could use different vlan id for service
Operators share separated of different mode
one logical cell

Each operator is allocated with a certain proportion

Operator B of transmission resources.
Operator C
A/B/C/D
Operator A can use a part or all of transmission
Operator D resources of other operator with the same working
mode
O&M Architecture for RAN Sharing
CN

NMS Operator A NMS Operator B S-GW MME S-GW MME

Northbound
Operator A Operator B
Interface
CN
Interface
Southbound
Interface

EMS Operator A (Host )

Remote Client
Operator B (Guest)
RAN
Operation Right Management

Operation Right Set

Whether related Common Data dedicated for Host Data dedicated for Guest Role/User
User
to PLMN Data Operator (PLMN A) Operator (PLMN B) Management

Admin (Own by
N R/W R/W R/W R/W
Host)
User 1
N R/W R/W R/W N/A
Operator *
A (Host)
User 2 Y R/W R/W N/A N/A

User 3
Y R(Optional) N/A R N/A
Operator *
B (Guest )
User 4 Y R(Optional) N/A R/W N/A
 Common data: Data without PLMN.
 R/W: The right of query, modify, create and delete.
 R: The right of query.
 N/A: Permission denied.
 R(Optional): Whether display the common data or not depends on the setting by admin.
*: Recommend.
Recommend Access Right

UME O&M Data Category

R/W
Read-only Data without PLMN

Operator A
(Host) R/W Data dedicated for Host
Operator (PLMN A)

Read-only
Data dedicated for Guest
R/W Operator (PLMN B)
Operator B
(Guest)

 The access rights of Guest Operator is assigned by Host Operator, default is read-
only for data dedicated for Guest Operator.
 NBI For RAN Sharing

NMS Operator A (Host) Operator B (Guest)

EMS CM/PM/IM FM CM/PM/IM FM

Operator A (Host) Operator B (Guest)

Configuration Management Common Data + Data dedicated for Operator A + Common Data(Optional) +
(CM) -- SFTP Data dedicated for Operator B (Optional) Data dedicated for Operator B
Performance Management Common Data + Data dedicated for Operator A + Common Data(Optional) +
(PM) – SFTP Data dedicated for Operator B (Optional) Data dedicated for Operator B
Inventory Management Common Data + Data dedicated for Operator A + Common Data(Optional) +
(IM) -- SFTP Data dedicated for Operator B (Optional) Data dedicated for Operator B
Fault Management Common Data + Data dedicated for Operator A + Common Data(Optional) +
(FM) – SNMP Data dedicated for Operator B (Optional) Data dedicated for Operator B

 The CM/PM/IM/FM data of shared NEs can be distinguished on NBI for different operators.
PART 2
1: Compatibility Technology
2: Common Technology
3: 5G New Technology
 Flexible Architecture & Construction for 5G NSA

Operator A Operator B Operator A Operator B

 Anchor carrier and 5G NR carrier

X2 X2 should be one vendor to establish X2
interface
NR NR
LTE LTE
MOCN MOCN
MORAN MOCN
 Both MORAN & MOCN are supported
UE UE
which could be applied combination
Operator A Operator B Operator A Operator B flexibility:
 Anchor MORAN + NR MOCN
 Anchor MOCN + NR MOCN
 Anchor MORAN + NR MORAN
X2 X2
 Anchor MOCN + NR MORAN
NR NR
LTE LTE
MORAN MORAN
MORAN MOCN
UE UE
 NSA+SA Dual-mode with RAN Sharing

N26 N26 EPC 5GC

5GC_A 5GC_B
EPC_A EPC_B
S1-C S1-U S1-U NG-U NG-C

RRC
S1-U SDAP RRC
S1-U
S1 NG X2
PDCP NR PDCP NR PDCP
NG
S1
RLC RLC NR RLC NR RLC

MAC NR MAC NR MAC

NSA+SA Dual MeNB(LTE) NSA&SA NR NSA UE CP
Anchor Mode
LTE NSA UE UP

NSA UE SA UE SA UE CP

UE SA UE UP
NSA Cell SA Cell

Advantages: Compatible with NSA UEs, 5G experience

guaranteed for the first batch of 5G users.
Disadvantages: One NR site needs to connect to at least 4
core networks and with many interfaces, the complicated
networking brings huge challanges to O&M.
gNB upgrade to support NSA+SA
 Support both NSA and SA protocol stacks
 Configure NSA and SA cell simultanously
 NSA and SA terminals are connected simultanously
 5G Logo will be displayed when NSA UE camp on anchor cell
Standard by GSMA
Scenarios
A B C D • Config A to D defined by GSMA
4G 1 Idle or connected to LTE cell not supporting NSA 4G 4G 4G 4G
and terminals to display 5G
1 Idle to LTE cell supporting NSA and no detection of NR 4G 4G 4G 5G
logo under different scenarios
2 Connected to LTE cell supporting NSA and no detection of NR 4G 4G 4G 5G
when received SIB2 from
NSA 3 Idle to LTE cell supporting NSA and detection of NR 4G 4G 5G 5G
anchor cell. Most terminals
4 Connected to LTE cell supporting NSA and detection of NR 4G 5G 5G 5G
5 Dual-connected to LTE cell supporting NSA and NR 5G 5G 5G 5G choose config D as the display
SA 5G 1 Idle or connected to NG-RAN while attached to 5GC 5G 5G 5G 5G mode, while config A is the
strictest mode.
SystemInformationBlockType2 from 3GPP 36.331
• The mode can not be
configured by network or
users.
• China Operators use A+D
policy
UE will display 5G logo when it receives the SIB2 with “upperLayerIndication”, that only
configured in anchor cell
 Separator Logical cell with Dedicated Strategy for 5G MOCN

PLMN A PLMN B
Operator A Logical Cell Operator B Logical Cell
Shared Logical Carrier
Shared Physical Carrier
In 5G MOCN mode, shared logical carrier
can be separated to dedicated logical cell.
All configuration based on cell can be
separated to different operators:
 Dedicated network planning for gNB ID, cell
ID, TAC and etc.
 5G evolution path for different operators
 Data service strategy for different operators
 Voice service strategy for different operators

Shared Spectrum
Hardware/spectrum sharing with services
Resource isolated to reduce influence between
Hardware operators.
Voice Evolution Path for 5G
N26
EPC EPC 5GC EPC N26 5GC

LTE NR LTE NR LTE NR

UE UE UE UE
NSA SA + NSA Hybrid LTE SA
(Option3x) (Option3x + Option2) (Option2)

VoLTE + SRVCC VoNR + EPC Fallback

 Little impact on existed EPC  Simultaneous 5G data & voice



No need of 5GC
Fast roll-out of 5G NSA VS SA  N26 is essential between 5GC
and EPC to support inter-
working
 Voice over 5G MCG, same
with LTE voice
 5G new services

 It is crucially important to deploy NSA voice at the initial stage of 5G era

Key Points  VoNR is the final target to provide unrivaled 5G experience
 NSA + SA hybrid phase is a transient phase
PART 1: Overview
PART 2: Key technology
takeaways
PART 3: Commercial Cases
ZTE Mobile Network Merging Project Practices

Italy China
In 2016, H3 & WIND & Iliad 2019, China Unicom & China Telelcom

Macedonia Japan
In 2015, VIP & ONE 2015, SBM & WCB

Austria Pakistan
In 2013, Hutchison & Orange 2016, Mobilink & Warid

Sri Lanka India

2019, Hutch & ET In 2018, Vodafone & Idea
Italy
 No.1 Operator in Italy-Scale and Leading Technology
Largest Network Scale in Italy
7% After
Before

32%
25,000+ 21,000+
34%
Market Share based on Subscriber • Totally 30,000,000+ sites sites
TIM VDF WinTre Others
27%
subs

Innovative & Future Proof ZTE Solution, WindTre’s Choice

Multi-mode Compact Radio Once Deployment
Multi-band Product Leading Future

ZTE, the new partner, will assist

Single Lower Future
WindTre to construct a premium
RAN TCO Proof
quality network with diverse
industry-leading solutions, to
• 4*4 MIMO: RRUs are ready
•GUL • 800-900 UBR: R8892N construct a converged 2G/3G/4G
• NB-IoT: Software upgrade
•800/900/18002100/260 • 4T4R RRU: R8854 network with lower TCO, and to get
• Massive CA: Capacity Accelerate to X Gbps
0 • All in one AAU: A8292A
• Pre5G: Bridge to 5G readiness for evolution to 5G era.
penta-band
Network Consolidation Overview

Legacy Network During Swap After Swap

WIND
Core

National National

H3G Wind H3G Roaming Wind H3G Roaming Wind

Core Core Core Core Core Core

H3G site

Wind site

WindTre Site

 The WIND and H3G networks are merged to form a new WindTre network (built by ZTE) after
swap.
 Merging of the wireless networks are based on the WIND network, and the H3G network is
merged into it.
 National roaming protocol(H3G -> WIND) is enabled between the WIND and H3G core networks to
support the merging of the wireless networks.
User Experience is the Most Concern During Consolidation
Considerate Preparation
 A series of standardized activities:
• Inter-vendor interconnection √
• Permit acquisition √
• National roaming protocol enabled
√
• WIND CN expansion (If needed)
√
• H3G transmission backbone
√
interconnection to Wind
• Transmission expansion(If needed) √

Technical Related Project Implementation

• Multi-PLMN Broadcasting and
NITZ: merger process is no
perception to users
• QoS Strategy: same or even more
better user experience after merger
• Reasonable Traffic Planning: guarantee the traffic of dismantle site to be
absorbed by the remain sites
• Rigorous roll-out plan: Once permit is approved, make sure the remain site
reaching the final configuration during swap to provide larger capacity
• Reasonable cluster arrangement: guarantee the coverage continuity
during the whole swap process
 Spectrum Selection after Negotiations

• Spectrum selection is defined through several multi-party negotiations which involve Wind,
H3G, Italy telecom regulator(AGCOM), Italian Antitrust Authority and operator Iliad
• WindTre has the most abundant spectrum resource which is 80Mhz in total Spectrum

800Mhz 900Mhz 1800Mhz 2100Mhz 2600Mhz

832 842 950 955 960 1845 1860 2110 2125 2670 2690

70MHZ 10M,4G 5M,3G5M,2G 15M,2G 15M,3G 20M,4G

925 930 1810 1825 2140 2155 2630 2640

45MHZ 5M,3G 15M,4G 15M,3G 10M,4G

832 842 950 955 960 1810 1825 1845 1850 2110 2125 2140 2145 2670 2690

80MHZ 10M,4G 5M,3G5M,2G 15M,4G 5M,2G 15M,3G 5M,3G 20M,4G

 Principle of the Consolidated Site Selection

Decommissioning Sites Selection Rules Site Type Definitions

Name Description

> 100m <100m H3G Couple Site Couple Site ， keep H3G site after swap
Wind Couple site Couple Site ， keep wind site after swap
H3G no Couple H3G only site ， the site will be kept after
site swap
H3G Site Wind Site H3G SiteWind Site
Wind no Couple Wind only site, the site will be kept after
Single Site Couple Site site swap

19,000+ sites are chosen to remain from 25,000+ sites.

And 1401 new sites will be deployed.
Single Site
• The sites with inter-site spacing>100m are defined as Single Sites
• Remain all single sites to perfect topology
Couple Site
• All sites with adjacent sites in 100m are defined as Couple Sites to adjacent ones
• Remain ONLY one site and dismantle the other ones
• Select the Remain Sites based on consideration of: Rent Cost, Transmission Resource, Pole Bearing
Capability……
 Make the Best Use of Exist Equipment
Outdoor Site Indoor Site
3. Antenna System
Outdoor Antenna 40% reused, 60% swapped by 8 ports antenna Indoor
Site Feeder 100% reused Site
TMA 70% reused (70% standard AISG2.0,30% private)
Combiner 60% reused (reuse when meet the requirement)
2. Main Equipment
RRU
BBU+RRU 100% swapped by ZTE’s equipment RRU

Outdoor Cabinet Transmission 80% reuse (microwave re-route and reuse)

(BBU, Power, Battery) Microwave
Microwave
Power & Battery 0% reused 80% reused (20% power renew)
Air-condition
1. Site Infrastructure Environment Power/
monitoring Battery
Environment Monitor Inside Cabinet 100% reused Transmissi
Air-Conditional No need 100% reused on

Tower 100% reused 100% reused BBU

Site Location 100% reused 100% reused

Reasonable and Sufficient Reuse, Low TCO and Acceptance Deployment Difficulty!
Flexible Swap Solution
1 2
Cluster Prepared with Permit Cluster Preparation: Permit Delayed
Permit

One-Time Overall Swap Staged Swap

Swap Action
Network Planning
Equipment Configuration
Engineering Survey Design
Equipment Installation/Debugging
Antenna Feeder Reconstruction
& RF Optimization
In Italy, the permit shall be
Swap Action L4L WIND H3G Swap
One-time overall Swap re-applied:
√ Network Planning √
I. The external view of the Equipment Configuration √ √
√
√ antenna feeder is Engineering Survey Design √ √
√ changed, including the Equipment Installation/Debugging √ √
Antenna Feeder Reconstruction
√ azimuth, physical down- & RF Optimization
√

Carrier Frequency Expansion
Single-Site Service Test
DT (Cluster-Level)
OSS KPI Optimization
• The existing networks of H3G and WIND
are swapped at the same time, and are
directly configured in the final network
• The swap is finished at one time, saving
time, manpower, and costs
√ tilt adjustment, and RRU
√ mounting to towers
√ DT (Cluster-Level)
√
II. The target transmission
power exceeds the
maximum value allowed
in the current Permit
Carrier Frequency Expansion √
Single-Site Service Test √ √
√ √
OSS KPI Optimization √ √
• L4L(Like-for-like )WIND swap first to avoid
permit issue, then H3G swap after permit
acquisition
• Flexible to eliminate the obstacle of
Permit, fasten Swap Progress
Mobility Management During the Whole Procedure
WIND WIND3 H3G
• For Intra-PLMN mobility, using handover for all
Without technology
L2600 carrier C L2600 carrier C
Iur U2100 carrier1 • For Inter-PLMN mobility, voice HHO from H3G
to WIND3, data uses redirection
With Iur U2100 carrier2 • Handover & Re-direction threshold may adjust
during the swap
U2100 carrier Q U2100 carrier3
• Voice could handover from Wind or W3 U2100
to Wind&W3 U900
U2100 carrier W U2100 carrier W
• Voice could handover from Wind or W3 U900 to
U2100 carrier V U2100 carrier V WIND&W3 2G

U2100 carrier U
U2100 carrier U UMTS soft handover

LTE1800 GSM2GSM and LTE2LTE normal handover

LTE1800 B
Intra-sector Inter-freq handover(EcIo = -12dB)
U900 carrier R
U900 carrier R Inter-PLMN Inter-freq handover(RSCP= -95dBm)
U900 carrier4
Cell reselection
L800 carrier A L800 carrier A Inter-freq handover(RSRQ = -12dB)
Inter-freq handover(RSCP= -95dBm)
G900 G900
Inter-rat handover(RSCP= -95dBm)
 User Performance Improved in Pilot Network
 Throughput Increased Significantly
• Performance evaluation was done  Data volume increased more than 400% compared with previous H3G network.
in the pilot network in Bologna.  Average application throughput increased by 5 times in downlink.
• 25 Wind sites and 13 H3G sites
were swapped by 27 WindTre
sites.

OMC KPI Drive Test

 Coverage Improved a lot

 UMTS Post-Consolidation AVG RSCP improved by 5db.
Bologna  LTE Post-Consolidation AVG RSRP improved by 15db.

UMTS LTE
China
5G RAN sharing of China Telecom & China Unicom
World 1st 5G RAN Sharing
Support both SA and NSA RAN sharing

World largest 5G sharing network – 1.5 Million (target)

↓16 billion USD investment, ↓6 million ton carbon emission

Highest Quality
Network peak rate: 2.7Gbps

Systematic 5G network planning

User experience improved and equal quality for service

China Unicom

China Telecom 06/06/2019 09/09/2019 31/12/2019 31/12/2023

Both 5G Era Started RAN Sharing CT: 40,000 sites CT&CU: 800,000 5G sites
Started CU: 40,000 sites CT&CU: 800,000+ 4G sites
China Telecom & China Unicom – NSA & SA hybrid networking

The NSA cities those have been built are planned to upgrade to SA directly in 2021.
40% sites have been upgraded to SA mode.
NSA&SA Area + SA Area Hybrid Networking & RAN Sharing,
NSA+SA Dual-mode Site & RAN Sharing
Self-adaptive UEs
N26 N26
5GC 5GC EPC
EPC

NSA
self-adaptive
4G
mode mode
NSA

Anchor LTE NR anchor LTE

Vs NSA
NSA SA SA
single-mode
UE
mode modeRAN Sharing Area
RAN Sharing Area self-
non- adaptive
non-anchor
LTE anhor
LTE
Existing NSA Network New SA Area will be NSA/SA
NR anchor LTE
constructed in 2019 constructed in 2020+ dual-mode UE
anchor LTE

Advantages: Compatible with NSA UEs, 5G experience
guaranteed for the first batch of 5G users.
Disadvantages: One NR site needs to connect to 4 core
networks and with many interfaces, the complicated
networking brings huge challanges to O&M.
Advantages: Simple and feasible
Disadvantages: The existing first batch of 5G NSA users can only
enjoy 5G experience in limited NSA area, and will fallback to 4G when
the existing NSA sites evolve to SA in 2021, so special customer care
may be required for these NSA subs.
 E2E Solution of Ran Sharing
5G Orchestration
System
Taking China Unicom as an example MEC
MEC
MEC

Convergence Backbone
Access Layer
Layer Layer
5G Users of CU EPC/5GC of CU
Base Stations of CU Transport Network of CU
(4G/5G ）
MEC MEC
5G Orchestration
System
5G Users of CT

Base Stations of CT
(4G ) Transport Network of CT EPC/5GC of CT

Base Stations Transport EPC 5G Orchestration System

• 3.5G NR will be MOCN/MORAN • E2E 5G transport network is • EPC + 5GC of both parties are • E2E 5G Orchestration System and
• Anchor scheme depends on the needed, which can be shared established respectively core slicing system are needed
vendors' pattern in NSA scenario through FlexE+VR • RAN slicing management system
shall be shared in SA scenario

CU: China Unicom CT: China Telecom

 Anchor Strategy Aiming Various Vendor Patterns in NSA
Dual-anchor for 4G same-vendor pattern High priority: 1.8G single-anchor Optional solution: 2.1G single-anchor

CT’s EPC CU’s EPC CT’s EPC CU’s EPC CT’s EPC
CU’s EPC

CU’s transport CU’s transport

CT’s transport CT’s
network network
network transport
CU’s eNB CT’s eNB (*whether to share
(*whether to share network
transport need
negotiation locally) transport need
X2 X2 negotiation locally)
X2 X2
CU’s 4G users CT’s 4G users 1.8G shared 2.1G shared CT’s eNB
eNB of CU CT’s eNB shared gNB of
Shared gNB shared gNB of eNB of CU
CU
CU
5G users of CU’s 4G users 5G users of
CU’s 4G users
CU’s 5G users CT’s 5G users CT&CU CT&CU
CT’s 4G users CT’s 4G users

DL CU LTE CT LTE DL CU LTE 20M DL CT LTE 20M CU U CU LTE 20M

1840 1860 2110 2130 2135 2155
either 1.8G or 2.1G can be used an anchor
UL CU LTE CT LTE UL CU LTE 20M UL CT LTE 20M CU U CU LTE 20M
1745 1765 1920 1940 1945 1965
 Only Software upgrade and configuration
 Software upgrade and configuration  New sites of 2.1G
 No changes of current 4G sites
 Least changes of current sites  High cost
 No impact on the existing 4G/5G
 Cost-effective & fastest construction  Least impact to current users
interoperability

CU: China Unicom CT: China Telecom

Various NR Sharing Options for 5G Development

EPC_A 5GC_A EPC_B 5GC_B

For high-value areas
100M
MOCN Firstly carrier with MOCN: for basic capacity

100M Secondary carrier with MOCN: for capacity

MOCN
100M improvement
Idle
MOCN

NSA/SA dual mode

For 5G private network

NR MOCN @ 100M: most suitable solution for 5G
throughput and energy efficiency

Dynamic resource sharing for better user experience

and spectrum efficiency
100M Carrier for 5G private network to empower
private
Separator logical cell for simplified network planning and vertical industries
service strategy
Voice Solution for NSA & SA

NSA Scenario SA Scenario

CU’s NSA Early Phase: EPS Fallback Mature Phase: VoNR
users
1.8G
EPS 5G Handover 5G
L1800M Fallback NR VoNR
CT’s construction area EPS
EPSFB Fallback
CU’s NSA users will be handed over to New L900 L1800M
L1800M
CU’s carrier for VoLTE VoLTE
VoLTE
VoLTE now is recommended on 900M 3G 4G UEs
New L900M New L900M
VoLTE VoLTE

CU’s NSA
users In the early SA phase In the mature SA phase
L1800M
CU’s construction Area EPS fallback is adopted for • VoNR is adopted for voice
CU’s NSA users: based on voice services to ensure services
No changes of current current voice strategy of CU
voice quality and continuity • VoNR HO to VoLTE if 5G
voice strategy
users leave 5G coverage

Taking China Unicom as an example

 2.1G Swap Solution for 5G Smooth Evolution
Dense
CBD
Urban

5G ZTE 5G NR
Existing Network 2.1G Vendor B FDD

5G ZTE 5G NR
Swap Solution 2.1G ZTE FDD NSA Vendor B FDD

 New 2.1GHz LTE cell with 5G NR evolution can be used as LTE capacity cell and major anchor cell.
 Swap solution is used for 5G NSA network with 2.1G anchor cell when existing network’s 2.1 is constructed by vendor B.
 Details for 2.1G Swap Solution
LTE Network Performance UniSite+ for Lower TCO Output
4*80 W
Improvement Power
1.8G
4T4R Transceiver 4T4R
Existing L2.1

After Swap + Size/Weight 27.8L/30Kg

2.1G
Frequency B1 + B3
4T4R R8894E
2.1G for wide coverage 40 MHz@B1
3.5GHz Coverage
Bandwidth
 Dual-band UBR is deployed for less 40 MHz@B3
2.1GHz Coverage
antenna and less RRUs to simple the
B1: 8 UN + 2 L
network Capacity
B3: 8 GN + 2 L
 Non-contiguous network to contiguous  Low Power Consumption (50%+ PA
network after swapping to improve Efficiency)  After 2.1G contiguous coverage, new 5G
network performance  High capacity, MOCN or MORAN services such as URLLC can be
 Smooth evolution to 2.1G NR/DSS for solution can be flexibly chosen based developed to help operator’s
5G wide coverage. on network requirement development of the 2B blue ocean.
Full Products Series to Support Ran Sharing
Dense Urban Urban Rural

Macro
Coverage Ran Sharing
64TR AAU 32TR AAU
2.1G/1.8G 4T4R
320W 320W

High-speed Railway Tunnel CoverageHigh-value Indoor Coverage

Wider Bandwidth
Special
Scenario Higher Output Power
8TR RRU 2TR RRU 2/4TR PRRU
8*50W 2*100W/2*160W 4/5G Dual-mode

Decorative Pole Blind Spot Low-cost Indoor Coverage Lower Power Consumption

Specific Latest Technologies

Requirement
4TR iMacro 4TR PAD
2T2R RRU
4/5G Dual-mode 4/5G Dual-mode
 High Efficiency E2E Network Delivery

Precise Planning
 Identifying Hotspot areas Based on 4G
Fast Construction
Network Data
 Self-configuration of 4/5G Adjacent Cell, X2 and
 Comprehensive Evaluationg of 5G Coverage
Xn
based on 4/5G difference
 Calibration Parameters Checking
 Redundant site deletion and automatic site
 Auxiliary Tool for Model Reconstruction
adding for continuous coverage
 Smooth Data Migration

High Efficiency Convenient Maintenance

Optimization
 WNG Cloud Platform Drive Test
 Multi-Dimension Analysis
 Traffic Analysis & Prediction
 Intelligent Evoluation of Capacity Expansion
 Alarm root cause analysis and Alarm
reduction
 Sherlock for 4/5G KPI Monitoring
 Automatic Antenna Pattern Control
 RAN sharing commercial network performance test
Sharing area & Border area
17  Industrial parks
SITES  Residential areas
 CBD & School

Hangzhou 5G cell & 4G Anchor cell

5G  5G cells: 51 MOCN cells @ 100M
MOCN  4G anchor cells: 102 MORAN cells @
20M China Telecom & 10M China Unicom

RSRP > 4G Speed 5G Speed Access VoLTE

User Avg RSRP SINR User Delay Delay MOS MOS>3.5
-100 dBm (Mbps) (Mbps) Success Rate CSSR

UL -75.56 11.46 100.00% 55.38 60.10 5G 100% 29ms 100% 2.03s 4.12 97.29%

DL -77.28 12.22 99.94% 79.07 360.94 4G 100% 28.68ms 100% 2.12s 4.17 97.93%

UL -75.40 11.09 100.00% 29.70 56.484 5G 100% 27.6ms 100% 1.64s 4.08 97.10%

DL -78.81 12.14 99.85% 40.29 346.71 4G 100% 27.92ms 100% 2.02s 4.09 95.16%
Thank you