TeliaSonera: Green Broadband for a Green Country

In recent years, Northern Europe has been at the cutting edge of information and communications technology and has led the world in broadband construction. Lithuania has a population of only 3.5 million and a broadband subscriber base of 600,000. Broadband penetration in Lithuania is among the highest in the world. TEO is the largest telephony and broadband Internet provider in Lithuania. The company is 68% owned by TeliaSonera, a leading provider of telecommunication services in Nordic and Baltic countries.

The Green Broadband Plan

TEO began offering integrated telecom, IT and TV services in 1992 and has always been concerned about environmental issues. In 2009, TEO was recognized as the greenest enterprise by the Lithuanian government, and now TEO aims to build a low-TCO, green broadband access network.

To offer better services, TEO has recently devised a new-generation network plan. FTTH broadband access is a key part of the plan that will deliver speeds of up to 1Gbps to users. Users will be able to enjoy voice, data and IPTV. 

TEO previously used DSL and AON in its broadband network. DSL was deployed at the early stage, and AON has been widely used in recent years. Choosing an appropriate broadband technology for future network construction is a major concern for TEO. GPON has been highly recognized by operators worldwide for its high bandwidth, low power consumption, small carbon footprint, and flexibility in the use of optical fibers and equipment.

As part of the task of building a national information system, TEO plans to build a highly-efficient optical network that has 200Mbps bandwidth and can be upgraded to 1Gbps in the future. High bandwidth and multiservice bearing are TEO’s basic requirements for its future broadband network. TEO also aims to build an end-to-end eco-friendly network that consumes less power, emits less carbon dioxide, cuts down CAPEX and OPEX, and minimizes noise from equipment. A GPON-based, low-TCO, green FTTH solution is preferred by TEO. 

On the Way to Green Broadband

TEO initiated a GPON FTTH project in 2009, and 11 equipment vendors were invited to bid for the project. ZTE provided an end-to-end GPON solution that could fully meet TEO’s requirements. Its green broadband concept is in line with TEO’s corporate culture. After many rounds of selection and testing, TEO finally chose ZTE as its partner to develop one of the world’s fastest, greenest networks.

Fastest

Using ZTE’s GPON solution, TEO rolled out the fastest broadband network in the world, delivering speeds of up to 200Mbps to customers. The GPON solution allows for smooth evolution, which ensures higher bandwidth access of 1Gbps in the future.

Greenest

ZTE’s green innovations significantly reduce power consumption. They satisfy TEO’s need for green broadband in five aspects:

• innovative ASIC and PCB components, highly integrated cards, and smart fan speed control to reduce power consumption 
• lead-free design and no use of harmless materials
• smooth evolution to 10G EPON, 10G GPON, and WDM PON to prolong the lifecycle of equipment
• small footprint to save space and energy
• end-to-end OAM solution involving zero touch, automatic line and equipment diagnosis, and remote diagnosis and management to effectively cut labor costs.  

The Promising Green Broadband

On June 8, 2011, TEO and ZTE won Global Telecom Business magazine’s Innovation Award for Fixed Network Infrastructure Innovation. The award recognizes the fastest, greenest GPON network, and was given for the network jointly deployed  in Lithuania.

“We are honored to accept this award for providing an environmentally friendly telecom platform. With ZTE’s technology, TEO will benefit from over 37 percent TCO savings in the first four years, increased bandwidth and QoS levels, and high energy efficiency. Our GPON platform is helping TEO reduce its TCO and manage a more efficient network,” said Li Guotao, general manager of ZTE’s Baltic Office.

According to data released by the NetIndex, Lithuania ranks 2nd globally for both upstream and downstream data speeds. Lithuania deploys fiber-optic Internet technologies at the fastest rate in Europe. At the end of 2010, 200Mbps fiber-optic Internet access was used by approximately 23 percent of Lithuanian residents. TEO successfully upgraded the GPON network in June 2011, and its customers now enjoy speeds of up to 300Mbps. With the help of ZTE, TEO is well on its way to green broadband. TEO will embrace a more promising future for FTTH networks.