T-Mobile boosts backhaul to handle HSDPA

T-Mobile is deploying gateways from RAD Data Communications in preparation for new HSDPA data services. Following a pilot phase in Germany the implementation of RAD's ACE-3000 gateways is now fully underway. The new gateways give T-Mobile the added option of connecting HSDPA-enabled Node Bs (3G base stations) via low-cost ADSL2+ lines provided by its sister company T-Com. Equipment from RAD will be deployed in other T-Mobile networks at a later date. 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) has identified ATM as the backhaul technology for 3G and HSDPA. Ethernet-enabled mobile equipment is only gradually being introduced as a platform for packet-switched transport infrastructures. To enable ATM services (E1 UNI or STM-1 UNI) to be emulated over packet-switched services (Ethernet/MPLS/IP), gateways in the ACE-3000 series employs ATM PWE3 (pseudowire emulation edge-to-edge). The RAD gateways use pseudowire technology between Node Bs (i.e. HSDPA base stations) and RNCs (Radio Network Controllers) to emulate ATM tunnels through Ethernet networks. By doing so, they enable backhaul resources to be allocated at low cost--and facilitate delivery of the latest 3G services.

For more on this story:
-  go to Cellular News and Unstrung