Five ways to make LTE 1800 refarming

more effective
For many operators there are solid benefits to be gained by deploying LTE on the 1800
MHz band. The use of an alphabet soup of innovative technologies, such as OSC, SRA,
DFCA and MCPA, is the key to the effective refarming of LTE onto 1800 MHz while also
protecting 2G service quality.

As LTE continues to gain ground, many operators are looking for the most efficient ways to achieve
the best combination of data rates, coverage and capacity. Using LTE on the 1800 MHz band is
attractive, because large chunks of this spectrum are widely available and operators can gain extra
revenue by offering mobile broadband on a frequency traditionally used for GSM services.
Supporting this strategy is the ready availability of LTE 1800-capable devices, such as Lumia 920,
iPhone 5 and iPad Mini. With the ability to reuse existing GSM radio assets and the fact that 1800
MHz offers twice the coverage area of the new 2.6 GHz LTE frequency, refarming LTE to 1800 MHz
is a compelling option.

Using spectrum more efficiently

Successful refarming the GSM band to LTE requires dedicating a chunk of spectrum to LTE without
affecting the quality and capacity of the GSM service. This can be achieved with the Nokia Siemens
Networks Liquid Radio GSM Software Suite, which makes more efficient use of the spectrum
allocated to GSM services, while maintaining or even improving network quality.
The suite frees up valuable spectrum to introduce higher data rates for mobile broadband using LTE
in the 1800 MHz band. Subscribers gain access to new services and better mobile broadband
experiences. Operators using the solution to re-farm GSM frequencies to support 4G rollouts can
free up to 30% of their spectrum, reduce total cost of ownership by 20% and potentially double their
average 4G data speeds.

Orthogonal sub channel cuts costs

The Liquid Radio GSM Software Suite comprises five features, all Nokia Siemens Networks
innovations. One of the major features is Orthogonal Sub Channel (OSC) software which enables
operators to double the voice channel capacity in GSM radio networks.
This software upgrade makes use of quaternary modulation and multi-user MIMO techniques in the
downlink and uplink respectively and is supported with typical GSM handsets that can use Single
Antenna Interference Cancellation (SAIC).
In terms of radio link performance, receiving an orthogonal sub channel requires about the same
signal energy per user as for a conventional GMSK channel. Each TRXs capacity increases to
maintain maximum coverage and reduce per-user energy consumption, allowing the OSC to
minimize CAPEX and OPEX. With fewer sites and more efficient hardware, the network consumes
less power to deliver the same traffic.
As such, OSC offers a number of benefits to operators looking at LTE 1800 refarming. It helps them
improve the utilization of available spectrum to cope with more GSM traffic, while using fewer
resources. In the field it has been proven that on average, 30% more GSM network traffic can be
handled, and in the best case, up to 50% more.

The innovations continue

The Liquid Radio GSM Software Suite contains other innovative features, including Smart
Resource Adaptation (SRA). This allocates downlink radio timeslot resources according to need.
This contrasts with conventional networks in which radio resources are allocated by mobile device
multi-slot class. The solution performs shallow packet inspection, allocating only one timeslot for
small packets, allowing up to five times more users.
Dynamic Frequency and Channel Allocation (DFCA) is a very powerful software feature that
doubles base station site traffic with a Base Station Controller (BSC) algorithm that ensures the best
possible radio channel allocation for every new call and incoming handover. By dynamically
allocating frequency hopping parameters for each individual timeslot, DFCA provides more effective
frequency reuse than a static frequency plan. This leads to a significant capacity gain in the same
bandwidth and with ensured quality. Latest field results demonstrate a spectrum reduction of more
than 40 %, by simultaneously maintaining the same capacity and improving quality. Benefits include
up to double the voice and data capacity, the same traffic with fewer frequencies and more
bandwidth for LTE.

Reduced paging load, more power

Precise Paging pages only the cell where the mobile station was last known, as well as adjacent
cells. With Precise Paging fewer timeslots are allocated for signalling, leaving more timeslots
available for actual traffic.
In terms of improving capacity, each of the three features above makes its own contribution, with
OSC increasing voice efficiency, SRA increasing data efficiency and Precise Paging decreasing
signalling capacity.
Traditionally, Multi Carrier Power Amplifier (MCPA) power is shared equally between carriers. The
feature Flexible MCPA TX Power Pooling divides the multi-carrier power amplifier (MCPA) power
flexibly between different TRXs instead of fixed sharing. High output power is given only for those
mobiles that really need it and low power for those that can operate with low transmitter (TX) power.
So with MCPA Tx power pooling software, output power is shared dynamically between GSM
carriers, reducing the RF power needed for GSM and providing more power for 3G HSPA/LTE. Other
Liquid Radio GSM Software Suite features reduce the required GSM resources even further.

Wide spectrum refarming experience

Nokia Siemens Networks enjoys a 70% share of the UMTS900 market and has 16 LTE1800
commercial networks. The application of a well-defined process together with world-class Network
Planning and Optimization expertise in multivendor environments helps operators to carve out the
necessary amount of spectrum for the introduction of LTE while mitigating all possible risks such as
reduced GSM QoS and lack of capacity.
Among Nokia Siemens Networks LTE1800 successes is a project for Korea Telecom where after
just four months, 90% of the entire South Korea population was covered by LTE1800. Another
success is TeliaSonera Denmark, where spectrum refarming has been performed for both the
GSM900 and GSM1800 frequency bands for the introduction of WCDMA900 and LTE1800.
TeliaSonera Denmarks LTE1800 network is the largest yet to run with concurrent GSM/LTE
operation with Nokia Siemens Networks Flexi Multiradio Base Stations, on 1800MHz. The operator
achieved 75% population coverage with its LTE1800 network by the end of 2011.
The use of unique and powerful Nokia Siemens Networks features and tools such as NetAct
Optimizer, makes it possible for operators to deploy very efficient frequency plans. A new frequency
plan is generally implemented following a detailed network assessment and subsequent
optimization.
Today, LTE on the 1800 MHz frequency band is an attractive option for the majority of operators with
1800 MHz frequency. Thanks to Nokia Siemens Networks unique experience with specific hardware

and software solutions and tools, spectrum refarming can be performed without degrading GSM
Quality of Service or further investments in spectrum for LTE.