Planning and Design Considerations For a 4G LTE Network 2012 ACE/RUS School and Symposium Presented by: Engineering Associates, Inc. Professional Engineering Firm Previous Speakers with Wireless Topics • Leo Zoucha • Connecting in the Wireless Networks (Backhaul) • Don Swedenburg • Will LTE be the Death of the Landline? • Gordon Caverly, Ben Pidek • Wireless Video in the Home 2 - CONFIDENTIAL Overview • • • • • • • • • 3 - CONFIDENTIAL Funding Options Design Criteria Technology Considerations Frequency Bands Core Design RF Design - RAN Backhaul Considerations Bandwidth Efficiency & Traffic Planning Investment/Pricing Models Funding Options • Connect America Fund • Universal Service Fund transitioning to Connect America Fund • Objective is to Accelerate Broadband Build-Out in Rural Areas • Additional $300M of CAF Funding Available to Incumbent Providers that Commit to FCC Broadband Requirements for Unserved Areas • 4 MB/s Downstream; 1 Mb/s Upstream • Remaining Areas to Receive CAF Money Based Upon Broadband Cost Models and Competitive Bidding 4 – CONFIDENTIAL Funding Options • RUS Broadband Loans • Provides Funds to Provide Broadband Service in Eligible Rural Areas • Includes New Construction, Improvements, and Acquisition • No More than One Loan Awarded per Service Area • Broadband Grants • Funding is Ongoing but Application Process has Ended • Additional Funding Would Require New Legislation 5 – CONFIDENTIAL Design Criteria • Which Spectrum Licenses are Available? • Is Coverage Area Urban or Rural? • Are Existing Towers Available or Will Tower Construction be Required? • Applications - Fixed Solution vs. Mobility? • CPE – Outdoor, USB Desktop, Dongle, or Handsets • What Backhaul Options are Available? • Product Availability and Number of Vendor Options? • Ensure Design Reflects Goals for Geographic Coverage and Broadband Speed? 6 – CONFIDENTIAL 700 MHz Band Plan 700 MHz – Lower Band 48 MHz; Upper Band 60 MHz Most Blocks are 6 MHz, Allowing 5 MHz LTE Carrier 35% Build-Out Required by June 13, 2013 for A,B, & E 40% Build-Out Required by June 13, 2013 for Upper C 7 - CONFIDENTIAL 700 MHz Details • Block A – 12 MHz Lower Band Paired • Block B – 12 MHz Lower Band Paired • Block C – 12 MHz Lower Band Paired and 22 MHz Upper Band Paired • Block D – 6 MHz Lower Band Unpaired (Video) and 10 MHz Upper Band Paired (Public Safety) • Block E – 6 MHz Lower Band Unpaired (Video) 8 – CONFIDENTIAL 700 MHz Spectrum Ownership • Verizon – 22 MHz Upper C Block Nationwide (except Alaska and U.S. Territories) and Scattered Lower A and B Blocks • AT&T – Scattered Lower B and C Blocks (Mostly Metro Areas); Purchasing Unpaired Lower D Block Nationwide and Unpaired E Block in some Major Markets from QualComm (for LTE Use) • Sprint – No 700 MHz • T-Mobile – No 700 MHz • Regional Carriers – Lower B and C Blocks (Mostly Rural) • Public Safety – 10 MHz Upper D Block 9 – CONFIDENTIAL AWS Band Plan AWS – Advanced Wireless Service; 1.7 GHz; 2.1 GHz Blocks are 6 or 10 MHz, Allowing 5 or 10 MHz LTE Carrier Substantial Service Build-Out Deadline is 2021 10 - CONFIDENTIAL PCS Band Plan PCS – Broadband Radio Service; 1.9 GHz 11 – CONFIDENTIAL BRS/EBS Band Plan BRS – Broadband Radio Service; 2.6 GHz • • 12 – CONFIDENTIAL EBS (Educational Broadband Service) was not licensed for commercial services, although its use has been postulated for LTE in some markets. Due to current Band 7 ecosystem using FDD, BRS is of limited use until Band 41 TDD ecosystem becomes reality. RF Design - RAN • Using RF Analysis Tool, Determine Predicted Coverage Levels and Aggregate Speeds Based Upon Technology and CPE Selection • Utilize Various GIS Data To Evaluate Possible Tower Sites • Select First Choice Tower Locations in Populated Areas • Select Additional Tower Locations to Fill in Rural Areas • Identify Areas Where New Towers May Be Required • Generate Site Search Rings When Necessary • Analyze Results and Add or Delete Sites as Required 13 – CONFIDENTIAL Service Area Of Interest • Network Planning / Design Tools-GIS Software • E911 Location Data • Highway/Street Traffic Count Vector Data • Minimum UL/DL Throughput Requirements • Network Resource Locations Propagation Tools • Propagation Software Tools • Integrated With GIS Software • Target to Customer Design • Backhaul (Microwave) Feasibility Tool • Operations Reports to Assist with Customer Service Shaded Relief Showing Topography of Area E911 Points for Potential Locations Evaluate Network Objective •Percentage of Projected Coverage Area •Coverage of Major Thoroughfares •Ability For Sites To Be Contiguous •Fixed Locations and/or Mobile Devices Network Parameters •Technology Type •Frequency Band(s) •Network Backbone/Backhaul Existing Cellular Coverage in Planned Service Area Coverage Objective for Planned Service Area 18 Establish Search Area Ring (SAR) Search Area Ring (SAR) Description: Identify feasible sites for providing necessary coverage as to existing network. The SAR includes the following activities and deliverables: • Importing target coverage zones • Develop alternate search area rings Base map indicating: • • • • • • • RSA Boundaries E911 addresses (When Necessary) Existing Coverage Contours Topography Roadways Target and Propagation overlay demonstrating RF coverage as related to target zones for specified frequencies. Review Co-Location Possibilities 21 Establish Site Location 22 Projected Coverage in Planned Service Area •PERCENTAGE OF PROJECTED COVERAGE AREA •COVERAGE OF MAJOR THOROUGHFARES LTE Coverage Maps LTE Downlink (USB Dongle) 2Mbps to 8Mbps Four Towers with Five Mile Radius; Roughly 16 Miles x 16 Miles 24 – CONFIDENTIAL LTE Coverage Maps LTE Uplink (USB Dongle) 2Mbps to 6Mbps Four Towers with Five Mile Radius; Roughly 16 Miles x 16 Miles 25 – CONFIDENTIAL Backhaul • LTE demands high-capacity backhaul • Leased T1’s will prove inadequate • Viable choices are fiber or microwave 26 – CONFIDENTIAL Core Design • Design Core Network Based Upon Projected Number of Subscribers and Bandwidth Requirements • Is VoIP Required or Data Only? • Ancillary/OEM Solutions Needed • • • • Billing Network Management, Subscriber Provisioning Regulatory (E911, CALEA) • Identify Existing Equipment Required to Interface • Evaluate Building Feasibility Related to Redundant Backhaul Facilities, Security, and Back-up Power 27 – CONFIDENTIAL LTE Evolved Packet Core 28 – CONFIDENTIAL Technology Considerations • 700 MHz is Fundamental Design Based Upon Coverage; However, Bandwidth is Limited • Reserve 700 MHz for Rural Areas that Require More Reach but Serves Fewer Subscribers • Use AWS, BRS, or PCS for Capacity in Populated Areas with Shorter Reach 29 – CONFIDENTIAL LTE vs. WiMax • Although LTE and WiMAX are Similar in Technology, Vendors have Moved Development Emphasis to LTE • WiMAX has Less Vendor Competition Today • LTE will have Longer Product Life and Future Prices are More Likely to Decrease 30 – CONFIDENTIAL Technology Comparison 700 MHz 31 – CONFIDENTIAL WiMAX LTE Downlink OFDMA OFDMA Uplink OFDMA SC-FDMA MIMO Supported Today 2x2 4x2 downlink, 1x4 uplink Cell edge interference control Soft frequency reuse Inter-cell Interference control Mobility Hard handoff Full mobility Microcells available Yes Yes VoIP Support w/ optional core node w/ optional IMS core Technology Comparison 700 MHz 32 – CONFIDENTIAL WiMAX LTE Router CPE Yes Yes USB Dongle CPE Yes Yes Outdoor CPE Yes Yes Smart Phones No Future Built-in Laptop Support Not at 700 MHz Future Vendors at 700 MHz One Five or More Industry Group IEEE/WiMax Forum 3GPP Bandwidth Efficiency 700 MHz LTE Available Licensed Bandwidth (MHz) 6+6 Usable Bandwidth (MHz) 5+5 Spectral efficiency, downlink (bps/Hz) 1.67 Spectral efficiency, uplink (bps/Hz) 0.89 Average Throughput per 3-sector site, downlink (Mbps) 25.05 Average Throughput per 3-sector site, uplink (Mbps) 13.35 Loading Factor, downlink 70% Loading Factor, uplink 60% * Performance data is averaged from various vendors’ claims as of 2011. 33 – CONFIDENTIAL Subscriber Traffic Model 700 MHz LTE Traffic per Subscriber per Month (GB) 30 Downlink Traffic (%) 70% Uplink Traffic (%) 30% Hours in the Busy Period per Day Percent of Daily Traffic Carried in Busy Period 25% Downlink Busy Hour Traffic per Subscriber 97 kbps Uplink Busy Hour Traffic per Subscriber 42 kbps Subscribers Supported per Sector 60 Subscribers Supported per Base Station (3 sectors) 180 * Performance data is averaged from various vendors’ claims as of 2011. 34 – CONFIDENTIAL 4 Estimate of Investment 700 MHz LTE Access Network 3-Sector Single-5MHz-Carrier Macro Cell Investment per Subscriber $55,000 $306 Core Network Broadband Data-Only Core Network $3,000,000 Incremental for VoIP Core Network $1,400,000 CPE Terminals Desktop/Fixed CPE $395 USB Dongle $200 * Pricing data is averaged from various vendors’ proposals as of 2011. 35 – CONFIDENTIAL Pricing - Example Network #1 700 MHz LTE Base Stations 50 Subscribers Supported Total Investment Investment per Subscriber * Pricing data is averaged from various vendors’ proposals as of 2011. 36 – CONFIDENTIAL 9000 $9,827,500 $1,092 Pricing - Example Network #2 700 MHz LTE Base Stations 100 Subscribers Supported Total Investment Investment per Subscriber * Pricing data is averaged from various vendors’ proposals as of 2011. 37 – CONFIDENTIAL 18,000 $15,255,000 $848 Pricing - Example Network #3 700 MHz LTE Base Stations 200 Subscribers Supported Total Investment Investment per Subscriber * Pricing data is averaged from various vendors’ proposals as of 2011. 38 – CONFIDENTIAL 36,000 $26,110,000 $725 Summary - Start to Finish Process • Feasibility Study and Business Case • Preliminary RF/Backhaul Network Design • RFP Preparation, Proposal Analysis, and Contract Negotiation • Site Acquisition and Lease Negotiations • Permitting / Legal • Detailed RF/Backhaul Network Design • Project Management and Asset Management • Construction Management • As Built Drawings 39 – CONFIDENTIAL Thank You Engineering Associates, Inc. 1220 Old Alpharetta Road, Suite 390 Alpharetta, GA 30005 678-455-7266 engineeringassociates.com 40 – CONFIDENTIAL