CMHK Partners with ZTE for LTE Microwave Backhaul Deployment

China Mobile Hong Kong (CMHK), a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Mobile, was established in 1997. CMHK was the first PCS (GSM 1800) operator to launch mobile services in Hong Kong, which is one of the biggest economies in the world. The high-rise buildings and dense commercial districts are signs of the city’s prosperity, but they also give rise to a complicated radio environment and are a challenge for mobile network construction. Through the use of cutting-edge GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSPA, and 4G technologies, CMHK has been providing customers with professional, innovative communication services. CMHK is now one of the largest mobile broadband operators in Hong Kong and has the greatest potential.

CMHK operated a Hong Kong-wide GSM 1800 network to provide GSM voice and data to mainland customers roaming to Hong Kong. Previously, CMHK’s lack of 3G networks meant it lagged behind other mainstream operators in Hong Kong. Therefore, CMHK made 4G network construction its key strategic goal. CMHK bought an FDD 2.6G license at auction in 2009 and launched a commercial FDD LTE network in early 2012. It also bought a TDD 2.3G license at a high price and launched a commercial TDD LTE network at the end of 2012.

LTE networks are being rapidly deployed. Mobile backhauls need to have large capacity and wide coverage because fiber is limited and site rental fees are high. ZTE has rich experience in network construction, project management, and managed services in Hong Kong. Guided by a customer service philosophy, ZTE provided CMHK with a highly reliable, expansible microwave transmission solution that provided high coverage even with limited fiber resources.

CMHK had never used microwave in its network before. ZTE took into consideration transmission cost at end sites when proposing the microwave solution to CMHK and also drew on the experience of deploying microwave in CSL’s mobile network. In the CMHK project, microwaves were used to connect end sites to the network and provide backhaul for 2G, 3G, and LTE sites. Ericsson FDD-LTE sites had to be connected with ZTE TDD-LTE sites on the LTE side. Because various types of services had to be carried on the network, high QoS and stability were of paramount importance. Hong Kong’s Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) was strict in granting an access license to radio equipment. Quickly obtaining an equipment certificate from the OFCA and helping CMHK deploy the microwave solution as soon as possible were major issues.

Because of CMHK’s pressing need for microwave backhaul, ZTE set a tight schedule for the project. To evaluate the overall performance of microwave products from different equipment suppliers, CMHK asked for both lab and field tests. After discerning CMHK’s specific requirements, ZTE responded quickly by obtaining an OFCA certificate for spectrum test in the first week. The testing equipment arrived at the site, and ZTE completed the site survey in the second week. This laid a good foundation for subsequent tests.

In the multivendor interoperability test, ZTE’s self-developed microwave equipment NR8250 operated smoothly with existing FDD-LTE equipment by Ericsson. NR8250 also outperformed other microwave products from Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, and Comba in the subsequent QoS and link stability tests. As a result, ZTE was shortlisted as a candidate partner for CMHK.

ZTE took into consideration CMHK’s existing network conditions and future evolution needs and adopted a highly customized all-IP microwave backhaul solution. NR8250 was used to provide high data throughput and low latency. It supported dynamic allocation between emulated TDM and Ethernet services without any bandwidth loss. This helped CMHK solve the issue of 2G, 3G, and LTE coexistence and pave the way for smooth transition to future IP services. NR8250 has integrated module slots for flexible network upgrade and also provides enhanced Ethernet performance for high link reliability and stability. By the end of 2012, ZTE had delivered and commercialized the first phase of the microwave project. According to the deployment plan agreed upon by both ZTE and CMHK, ZTE will complete the deployment of all microwave sites by the end of 2014.

CMHK was responsible for the project execution. ZTE provided technical support in the early stages of professional network planning to assist CMHK get link certificated by OFCA. ZTE also developed a one-click deployment tool for efficient installation. This tool provides offline parameter configuration that lowers the skill required of the on-site deployer. It also increases the success rate of one-time site deployment and greatly reduces costs for CMHK.

In the customer satisfaction survey conducted by ZTE at the beginning of 2013, CMHK praised ZTE’s microwave equipment and expressed their expectation for further cooperation with ZTE. “The partnership with ZTE is most important for successful project implementation. We expect further cooperation with ZTE to expand and share the microwave backhaul network,” said Feng Yaojin, microwave project director of CMHK.