AIS SELECTS HYBRID IP RAN FOR FULL-SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

AIS,the largest mobile operator in Thailand, has built 15,400 base stations and has a subscriber base of 29.3 million (52% of the market). Formerly controlled by Shin Corporation, AIS started operating the first analog network in Thailand in 1990. Since it was listed on the Thai Stock Exchange in 1991, AIS has undergone 20 years of development. After Singapore Telecom International (STI) Pte Ltd., the parent company of SingTel acquired the shares of AIS from Thaksin’s family, SingTel has become the largest shareholder of AIS, and the business operations of AIS have become more international.

 

In the 2G era, AIS had to lease frequency bands from state-owned operators for wireless services. When upgrading from traditional 2G to 3G services, the original underlying SDH devices could not adapt to new 3G service models because of rigid pipes, narrow bandwidth, and low forwarding rates. During the network upgrade, AIS was even forced to roll out time-based 2G access charges and traffic-based 3G access charges to make up for defects in the 3G mobile backhaul. However, with the exponential increase in 3G subscribers, AIS has had to build a large-capacity mobile backhaul network that is easy to maintain in order to secure its leading position and first-class user experience in Thailand. In response to this need, AIS has been busy preparing a technical team.

 

According to its market positioning and future development trends, AIS is seeking a way out for mobile backhaul networks and finally focuses on the following points:
●     multiservice bearer capabilities. As an emerging mobile operator in Thailand, AIS lacks rich fixed line resources. However, the transition from mobile operator to full-service operator is inevitable for AIS. In the future, IP RAN will carry high-value, multiservice voice and data traffic.    
●    highly reliable networks. AIS is a leader in Thailand’s mobile market, and its network quality is the first priority in terms of improving the company’s reputation. Therefore, AIS must try to improve network KPIs, ensure high priority services for key accounts, and meet the carrier-class switching requirements in the event of any bearer network failure.
●     smooth evolution. Opex saving, spare parts inventory reduction, and equipment investment protection are the common goals for operators, who need to adapt to rapid technological development.
●     efficient time transfer capabilities. There are clear requirements for clock performance. Although GPS is a primary choice, GPS coverage has not yet available in some scenarios such as subways and skyscrapers because labor costs and equipment room rentals are rising. Therefore, operators are pressing for clock transfer over mobile backhaul networks.

 

Considering the real needs of AIS, ZTE has established a bearer network team to come up with innovative bearer products and solutions. Innovations cover the original pure PTN architecture, IP RAN service product, and finally the world’s first hybrid IP RAN bearer solution. This solution combines PTN’s stability, easy maintenance, and closeness to traditional transmission and O&M with IP RAN’s flexibility, efficiency and self-healing capabilities and can protect AIS’s continued investment in multiservice networks. AIS chose ZTE’s hybrid IP RAN solution for its flexible deployment and reliable, field-proven commercial multiservice core devices.
Since the IP technology has been introduced into mobile backhaul networks, major global operators have been concerned with the choice of PTN and IP RAN: whether to choose static PTN management that focuses on transmission or dynamic IP/MPLS that is compatible with MAN. ZTE’s innovative hybrid IP RAN solution incorporates MPLS-TP’s static tunnels and PW stability as well as IP/MPLS’s dynamic BGP flexibility. This represents a new era for future mobile backhaul evolution. The solution has the following advantages:
●    field-proven L2VPN and L3VPN (HoVPN). The popular L2VPN + L3VPN solution has been deployed for IP RAN worldwide, and nearly 100,000 HoVPN devices have been deployed on global mobile backhaul networks. These can meet the needs of mainstream customers for both narrowband and broadband access. The solution helps AIS not only learn mature O&M experience from overseas but also transform itself to a full-service operator.
●    flexible MS-PW and DNI-PW. The solution is optimal for L2VPN services required by key accounts. It allows traditional SDH TDM services to be smoothly swapped to IP RAN. The solution has distinct advantages in terms of fault isolation because it can differentiate intra-net faults from inter-net faults. This makes bearer networks more channelized and simplified.
●     stable fault protection. The solution has the stability of static MPLS-TP tunnels and creates a unique MPLS-TP fault propagation for dynamic BGP convergence failure. It uses a detection technology to ensure carrier-class switching protection for each service in the network.
●    unified network management. ZTE’s NetNumen™ U31 uses SDH-like service management, which helps AIS transmission team smoothly upgrade its MSTP to IP RAN. The IP RAN NMS allows AIS to easily manage 2G, 3G, LTE, and Wi-Fi traffic and monitor the traffic on a real-time basis. It also supports warehouse operations for easy data query, collection and analysis.
●    smooth evolution to LTE. The hybrid IP RAN has a flat architecture and takes into account in the initial 3G network design the evolution to LTE. It also uses seamless migration to protect services from damage. AIS obtained an LTE license in 2015, and the evolution of its bearer network only involves a basic bandwidth upgrade, in other words, easy upgrade and reconstruction at the wireless side.
With the efficient engineering of after-sales teams and rapid deployment of equipment and services, ZTE has quickly launched the hybrid IP RAN solution for AIS in Thailand. The solution has brought superior user experience and high-speed service processing capabilities, laying a solid foundation for booming development of mobile apps. AIS has attached more importance to service development opportunities created by the solution and has established a wholly owned subsidiary to develop key accounts, urban Wi-Fi, and dedicated line services. With the help of ZTE, AIS is making solid steps towards being a full-service operator.