Driving a More Efficient Network through LTE
It is well known that mobile backhaul networks are struggling under a severe amount of stress due to the heavy demand for web browsing, media streaming and real-time multimedia applications that consumers are now enjoying on their sophisticated devices.
As serious as backhaul pressures are today, they are rapidly intensifying. In addition to serving the demand for services that enter the network from 2G and 3G radio technologies, backhaul networks will soon have to meet the high-bandwidth needs and changing communications requirements that LTE will introduce.
Recent primary research conducted by Alcatel-Lucent is helping to characterize these new needs. For example, more than 90% of consumers surveyed would prefer a 4G service package compared to 3G and more than half (57%) said they would subscribe to 4G for video calls. More than two-thirds of enterprise users (64%) said they would switch carriers to gain 4G access.
Demand for a better-performing mobile broadband experience is also high. More than half (57%) of consumers surveyed said they would use 4G services to surf the Web and more than two-thirds (68%) of enterprise users said they want file sharing capability during mobile phone calls.
Location and presence will be important. More than 50% of consumers want better navigation services and 66% of enterprise users said they would use presence-based contact lists daily.
Consumers also want 4G access on consumer electronics devices. The vast majority, about 80%, said they want to connect at least one additional device, such as PC, navigation product, in-vehicle device, camera or MP3 player, in addition to their cell phones.
To facilitate delivery of these and other services, operators can begin to transition to packet switched networks today. These networks can support existing protocols like TDM and ATM used by 2G and 3G cell sites as well as Ethernet. This places them in a good position as they evolve their RAN to support 4G / LTE. It provides much needed relief from the onslaught of bandwidth intensive applications and enables cost-effective multiservice delivery over a converged transport network.
With the deployment of 4G / LTE wireless networks, mobile operators have the opportunity to embrace the attributes and capabilities of IP in ways not previously possible. Historically, mobile networks lacked the ability to accommodate the rapid acceleration of mobile broadband applications. For example, subscriber applications could receive degraded performance due to insufficient capacity or other threats. To mitigate these risks, a closer alignment between the transport network and the wireless packet core will be needed. The network will need to have the intelligence and capability to dynamically allocate resources for new high-performance multimedia applications. It will need to have the ability to manage and enforce stringent quality of service performance requirements that partners and customers demand. And it will also have to incorporate features like policy control to manage traffic and help application and content providers configure services for individual subscribers.
"With the evolution to flat IP architectures, driven by LTE, we will see the convergence of the IP backhaul network with the wireless packet core," said Hector Menendez, director of marketing with Alcatel-Lucent. "The result is a common, highly scalable and flexible network that can deliver robust quality of experience (QoE) at substantial cost savings."
The Alcatel-Lucent Mobile Backhaul solution is a comprehensive end-to-end offering that supports current mobile technologies and future generations including LTE and beyond as well as all transport options, including IP/MPLS, broadband, optical and microwave backhaul. It provides advanced resilience and QoS mechanisms that allow operators to offer highly reliable differentiated services such as VoIP, IMS and video while promising users a high quality of experience. And it increases network optimization and capacity to improve cost per bit transported.
In support of its technology solutions, Alcatel-Lucent offers backhaul services including business analysis and consulting, solution design and architecture, solution integration and validation, solution deployment, and post-launch support.
For more information about Alcatel-Lucent Mobile Backhaul, please visit this link.
