BriskWave

Consulting

LTE Network Sharing

Some Operational & Management Aspects

BriskWave
Consulting
 Contact Info
Name: Luc Samson
Email: [email protected]
Cellular: + 514 502 6654
Skype: samsonluc
Company: Briskwave Consulting

BriskWave
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 Executive Summary
3GPP release 8 and beyond provides LTE carriers with a rich
set of mandatory and optional features to support network
sharing.
Recent changes in the cellular industry have made LTE
network sharing a compelling value proposition.
However, the 3GPP standard doesnt specify how the network
management domains will be shared.
Partners in a shared network need to complement the
standard with operational agreements to guarantee the same
level of operational efficiency on the shared network than on
their dedicated network.
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 Agenda

LTE Network Sharing Overview

Managing a Shared LTE Network

Conclusion

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 The Triggers
Lower margins
at a time when competition and the need to invest rapidly on 4G technologies
have reduced carriers margins
A change of attitude in the industry
with incumbents partnering against new entrants
with carriers extending their co-location and roaming agreements
with regulators favoring fast broadband roll-out over collusion risks
wholesalers leasing spectrum and reselling capacity
All-IP Networks
easing network interconnection
The LTE Standard
integrating advanced network sharing capabilities with higher maximum
throughput by sharing spectrum (up to 6 operators)
A mature outsourcing industry
facilitating the creation of Joint Ventures
It is expected that 30% of all LTE networks in the next five years will involve some form of active
BriskWave network sharing Source: Ovum Report, Mobile Network Sharing a post recession reality Sept.
14, 2010 by Emeka Obiodu
Consulting
 Types of Network Sharing
National Passive Active
Roaming Sharing Sharing
Site Sharing: site, tower,
Standard Roaming
antenna, power, RAN & spectrum
Agreement
transmission

National version of the Require operational

Common in 2G & 3G
International Roaming agreements

Most beneficial in low-

Major Capex & Opex
traffic & non-overlapping Major Capex Savings
savings
coverage areas

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 Business Models for Sharing
Wholesalers
Lease the spectrum
Resell capacity
Tend to focus on rural areas

Joint Venture
Co-owned by the sharing partners
Manages the shared network
Broadcast multiple PLMN-IDs

Geographical split
Each sharing partner manages autonomously its portion of the shared
eUTRAN
Each partner can additionally own a dedicated eUTRAN (e.g. dedicated in
urban, shared in rural)

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 Active Sharing Geographical Split

MME PCRF S/P--GW HSS MME PCRF S/P-GW HSS

Dedicted Shared Shared Dedicted

eUTRAN eUTRAN eUTRAN eUTRAN

Operator A Operator B

Each sharing partner can operate a dedicated LTE network in

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addition to the shared LTE network
 The Benefits
Capex & Opex savings
particularly at the LTE network launch with low-traffic
Faster time-to-market
with roll-out efforts shared between sharing partners
Retain Control on Competitive Differentiators
on QoS, devices, services, charging & billing, customer management.
Higher Customer Data Throughput
by sharing spectrum
No dependencies on devices
with network sharing a mandatory feature in LTE devices
Transparent to end-users
with no impact on competitive service offerings
Evolvable to a fully dedicated network
enabling carriers to selectively evolve the shared component into a fully
dedicated network

BriskWave
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 Network Sharing Cost Benefits

BriskWave Source: Vodafone http://www.gsmworld.com/documents/Vodafone.pdf

Consulting
 Sharing Spectrum
Sharing spectrum increases
DL Throughput vs Distance Relative to Cell-Edge
the data throughput across 140

the cell 120 5 MHz

Initially, only contiguous

10 MHz
100
20 MHz

channels in the same band

Mbps
80

60
can be shared 40

With LTE-advanced, non- 20

contiguous channels can 0

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

also be shared

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 Active Sharing Some announcements

Telenor & Tele2

T-mobile & 3 Orange & P4

Bell & Telus PTC & PTK
Vodafone & O2
Telstra & 3
Lightsquared
Vodafone & Orange
Vodafone & TIM

Zain & Essar

Vodacom & al
3G Optus & Vodafone

Telstra & H3G

LTE

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 Active Sharing: The Options
Sharing at Different Network Levels
eUTRAN only (i.e. MOCN)
eUTRAN and partially Core (i.e. GWCN)
Security
IPSec-based VLAN per operator
QOS Management
Partners can control QoS via the standard QOS Class Identifier (QCI) values (1-9)
Partners can additionally configure operator-specific QCIs
Dedicated & Shared Spectrum
Dedicated & Shared Backhaul
Mobility Profiles Specific Per Partner
Intra-LTE from shared to shared
Intra-LTE from shared to dedicated
Inter-RAT from shared to dedicated
Voice Support Specific Per Partner
CSFB The 3GPP LTE standard offers a wide range of network sharing
VoLTE
options that enhance the value proposition of active sharing
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 Sharing Options: MOCN vs GWCN
S-GW/P- S-GW/P-
GW/PCRF/HSS Dedicated GW/PCRF/HSS Dedicated

MME Dedicated MME Shared

eNodeB Shared eNodeB Shared

Spectrum
Shared or Spectrum Shared or
Dedicated Dedicated

Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) Gateway Core Network (GWCN)

No need for MME interfaces to partners MSC & SGSN Lower Costs with shared MME
No need for HSS addresses of all roaming partners

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 MOCN: How does it work?
The PLMN-IDs of partners are
all broadcasted on the air
UE Shared MME MME
Operator B eNodeB Operator A Operator B interface
System Info The UE selects its operator
PLMN-A PLMN-B and indicates the selected
UE decodes the
Network sharing info PLMN-ID in the RRC Connection
UE selects the appropriate PLMN
request
RRC Connection The eNodeB forwards the
Attach Request
Attach Request
attachment request to an MME
belonging to the appropriate
UE allowed to attach
Attach Request
Accepted
operator
Attach Request
Accepted
3GPP TS 23.251 & TR 22.951

The MME is selected based on the PLMN-ID provided by the UE

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 What is not in the Standard?
Enhanced Product Options
Capacity sharing features: fully-pooled, fully-Split, partial reservation
Usage Information & Counters: segregation by PLMN-ID
QoS Management: policing, traffic-shaping per operator
Network Management Considerations
Fault Management
Configuration Management
Accounting Management
Performance Management
Security Management
Business Considerations
Planning & sharing network expenditures
Private in-building customers

The network sharing agreement needs to address key product,
BriskWave network management, and commercial considerations.
Consulting
 Agenda

LTE Network Sharing Overview

Managing a Shared LTE Network

Conclusion

BriskWave
Consulting
 The Principles of Shared Network
Network Management : although only one partner is
accountable to actively manage its portion of the shared
network, both partners are accountable to define, supervise,
and monitor the network management practices.
Customer Management : each sharing partner shall retain
both the full control over the management of their customers
and the capability to cater to their satisfaction as if they were
served on their dedicated network.
Business Management : optionally, including some business
management domains in the sharing agreement can improve
the operational efficiency of the partners even further, while
preserving a desired level of competition among them.
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 Management Domains
Network Business Customer
Management Management Management
Fault Management Vendor Management Service Quality
Management
Configuration
Capacity Management
Management

Accounting Management Network Planning Customer Care

Performance
Benchmarking
Management
Roaming Agreements
Security Management Private In-building

Some management domains to address in individual operational

agreements within the network sharing agreement
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 Operational Agreements: Overview
Goals : defining the purpose of the specific operational agreement
Data & Reporting : data to be exchanged and/or reported, inline vs. off-
line, format, frequency, availability & retention, and others
Process : defining primes, mandate, schedule of meetings, data/report to
be reviewed, clear scope of accountability, targets, and others.
Board Review: defining board members, schedule of meetings, role &
responsibilities regarding resolution of disputes, process changes, and
others.
Operational Sharing Infrastructure: defining the requirements for the
infrastructure to share/exchange data and reports.

The network sharing shall include a set of operational agreements, one to

cover each management domain.

BriskWave
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 Operational Sharing Infrastructure
Network Managers Meetings

OSS/BSS Systems Reports

Network Management Processed Data

Systems

Element Manager Unprocessed Data

Systems

Network Elements

BriskWave Operator A Operator B

Consulting
 Performance Management
Frequency Format
Data Exchange Near real-time Unprocessed PM counters & KPIs
Reports on KPIs vs. targets
Reporting Monthly Busy-hour, daily, weekly
Market-, eNb-, cell-level
RF Engineering Primes
Review Meetings Monthly Identify Action Plan
Report on Resolution time
Executive attendance
Process Board Meetings Quarterly Define KPIs and targets
Define/review the process
GOALS
1. Provide visibility into the shared network performance
2. Define minimum network performance targets
3. Provide a process to identify and address performance
BriskWave issues within an agreed resolution time
Consulting
 Configuration Management
Frequency Format
Unprocessed eNB & cell
Data Exchange Daily
configuration data
RF Engineering Primes
Identify Configuration Issues
Review Meetings Monthly Report on Resolution time
Agree on Schedule for
Configuration Changes
Executive attendance
Process Board Meetings Quarterly
Define/review the process

GOALS
1. Provide visibility into shared network configuration
2. Align and prioritize network configuration changes
3. Provide a process to identify and address configuration
BriskWave issues within an agreed resolution time
Consulting
 Fault Management
Frequency Format
Data Exchange Real-time Unprocessed alarms & logs
Network Issue Reports
Reporting Monthly
Open, pending, closed tickets
Engineering Primes
Review Meetings Monthly Review Open Issues
Ticket Resolution Time
Executive attendance
Process Board Meetings Yearly
Define/review the process

GOALS
1. Define minimum SLA for network issues
2. Provide visibility into shared network issues
3. Provide a process to identify and address network
BriskWave issues within an agreed resolution time
Consulting
 Capacity Management
Frequency Format
Capacity-based Threshold Crossing
Data Exchange Real-time
Alarms
Reporting Monthly Capacity Utilization Reports
Capacity Engineering Primes
Share Forecasts
Review Meetings Quarterly
Identify Capacity Bottlenecks
Prepare the Capacity Upgrade Plan
Executive attendance
Process Board Meetings Yearly Capacity Metrics and Thresholds
Define/review the process
GOALS
1. Guarantee enough capacity (access, transport.) to meet future needs
2. Agree on capacity guidelines and thresholds
3. Minimize CAPEX spendings
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 Vendor Management
Frequency Format
Reporting Monthly List of open issues with vendors
Vendor Roadmap Planning
Review Meetings Ad hoc Vendor Support Issues
Joint Test Planning
Executive attendance
Process Board Meetings Yearly Define/review the process
Select common vendors

GOALS
1. Align vendors roadmap to shared partners requirements
2. Increase the negotiation leverage
3. Maximize vendors support & maintenance
4. Share vendors issues & resolution
5. Share/reduce test efforts on new releases
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 Benchmarking
Frequency Format
Unprocessed benchmarking and
Data Exchange Ad hoc
drive-test data
Reporting Monthly Drive-test results
RF Engineering Primes
Plan Benchmarking Campaigns
Review Meetings Monthly
Identify action plan & Resolution
time
Executive attendance
Process Board Meetings Yearly
Define/review the process

GOALS
1. Align benchmarking methodologies and tools
2. Share drive-test efforts
3. Guarantee best-in-class network performance

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 Customer Care Management
Frequency Format
Data Exchange Near real-time Customer Trouble Tickets
Open Tickets
Reporting Monthly
Resolution Time
Customer Support Primes
Review Meetings Monthly Identify action plan
Resolution time
Executive attendance
Process Board Meetings Quarterly Align Ticket Definition & Priorities
Define/review the process

GOALS
1.
Define SLA for ticket resolution
2.
Provide an escalation mechanism into partners third-level support
3.
Provide a process to identify and address customer complaints
BriskWave within an agreed resolution time
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 Operational Agreement Checklist
Identify pre-sharing & sharing-specific data requirement for all OSS & BSS
Processes & Tools affected by the network sharing
Data
Interfaces & Protocol
SLA & Processes
Identify all the management domains to be covered in the network
sharing agreement
For each domain, define an operational agreement
Set-up an infrastructure to exchange data & reporting
Define OSS-related network requirements to support network sharing
Consider including some business management domains
Insure overall consistency with the evolution and exit strategy

BriskWave
Consulting
 Operational Agreements: Overview
Goals : defining the purpose of the specific operational agreement
Data & Reporting : data to be exchanged and/or reported, inline vs. off-
line, format, frequency, availability & retention, and others
Process : defining primes, mandate, schedule of meetings, data/report to
be reviewed, clear scope of accountability, targets, and others.
Board Review: defining board members, schedule of meetings, role &
responsibilities regarding resolution of disputes, process changes, and
others.
Operational Sharing Infrastructure: defining the requirements for the
infrastructure to share/exchange data and reports.

The network sharing shall include a set of operational agreements, one to

cover each management domain.

BriskWave
Consulting
 Agenda

LTE Network Sharing Overview

Managing a Shared LTE Network

Conclusion

BriskWave
Consulting
 Conclusion
LTE Network Sharing makes a compelling value proposition
but requires a well designed set of operational agreements
between partners.
Each network sharing agreement will be different to meet the
specific operational needs of both partners.
Including business considerations beyond pure network
management domains into the network sharing agreement
can benefit both partners.

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 THANK YOU

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BriskWave
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