LTE was undoubtedly the hottest topic in the mobile
industry in 2011, and Huawei has been a leader in its commercial development.
According to Ying Weimin, President of Huawei GSM&UMTS<E Network, all
global top-10 mobile operators (ranked by subscriber base) have chosen Huawei
for commercial LTE deployment. As of the end of 2011, Huawei has helped
Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, Telenor, TeliaSonera, and Vodafone launch their
LTE services commercially.
Explosive mobile data traffic
Since Marty Cooper invented the portable mobile phone,
their number in use has surpassed six billion in less than forty years. Huawei
predicts that by 2020, not only will mobile broadband be the norm, it will be
everywhere. Six billion smart terminals will complement the 50 billion others
in place, connecting people and devices like never before, culminating in a
smart world, with mobile broadband as the lifeblood.
Huawei accounts for half of commercial LTE
2011 was the year that LTE hit the mainstream, with its
industry chain maturing in step. According to the GSA’s Evolution to LTE report
released in March 2012, 301 operators have either committed to commercial LTE
network deployment or are engaged in trials, technology testing or studies. By
the end of 2012, 128 commercial LTE networks are expected to be online. All of
the world’s top-10 operators in terms of user numbers have chosen Huawei for
their commercial LTE network plans. China Mobile, in particular, has relied on
Huawei equipment and service assurance for its pilot TD-LTE deployments for the
World Expo (Shanghai), Asian Games (Guangzhou), and Universiade (Shenzhen).
This report stated that among the 57 commercial LTE
networks operating as of its publication, 28 of them employed Huawei
infrastructure, ranking the vendor number one in the industry. As of the end of
2011, Huawei had committed to more than 60 commercial LTE networks and had
already built over 100 pilot LTE networks around the world. Covering Europe,
Asia, Oceania, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, Huawei’s LTE
equipment has been chosen by 37 of the world’s top 50 operators.
Huawei sets the LTE standard
Since LTE first came on the scene, Huawei has
participated in a number of world’s firsts. In December 2009, Huawei and
TeliaSonera launched the world’s first commercial LTE network in Oslo. In
September 2010, Huawei and Vodafone launched the world’s first commercial
800MHz network in Germany, demonstrating the advantages and excellent
performance of LTE in narrowing the digital divide through rural wireless
broadband.
In September 2011, Huawei and Aero2 launched the world’s
first LTE FDD/TDD commercial network in Poland. In November of the same year,
Huawei and UNE, a leading Columbian operator, announced their plans to
construct South America’s first nationwide commercial LTE network. These
examples and others demonstrate Huawei’s expertise with all major industry
standards, technologies and work environments.
According to Ying Weimin, Huawei began its LTE R&D in
2004. This, no doubt, represented a significant investment, as Huawei invests
at least 10% of its sales revenue into R&D each year, with 10% of that
being slated for -pre-research’ on new technologies. Huawei has established 23
research institutes in countries as diverse as Germany, Sweden, Russia, India,
and China along with the 30+ joint innovation centers it operates with leading
global carriers.
LTE has become a key feature in Huawei’s industry-leading
SingleRAN platform. In 2009, Huawei released the world’s first commercial LTE
eNodeB. In 2010, Huawei LTE technology delivered what was then the fastest
wireless data rate on record (1.2Gbps). In 2011, Huawei topped the industry
again by releasing the E392, a multi-mode data card that accommodates LTE FDD,
LTE TDD, UMTS, GSM and CDMA. Based on these achievements, Huawei now offers an
end-to-end LTE ecosystem, both in terms of technology and geography.
The northernmost LTE site on the planet was supplied by
Huawei, and operates at 78°13’N (roughly halfway between the Arctic circle and
the North Pole), while other LTE projects have been carried out or are underway
in countries as diverse as the Philippines, South Africa, Germany, and
Columbia. Huawei’s equipment has been rigorously tested and operates smoothly
at temperatures ranging from -50°C to +50°C, guaranteeing their operation in
virtually any environment on the planet.
LTE patent leadership
As of the end of 2011, Huawei has submitted more than
8500 LTE/EPC contributions to 3GPP, including more than 265 approved contributions
for core LTE specifications, giving it the top rank in the industry. According
to Ying Weimin, Huawei has taken 89 core positions, such as chairman,
vice-chairman, director, working group leader, speaker, and technical editor in
various international telco organizations.
Huawei has also been playing an active role in various
standardization bodies, including the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT),
Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB), European
Telecommunication Standard Institute (ETSI), Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF),
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Telecommunications Industry
Association (TIA), and Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF).
For the LTE-Advanced standardization of 3GPP Release 10
and Release 11, Huawei experts have been appointed speakers for six core
research topics, involving core technologies such as the active antenna system
(AAS), machine type communication (MTC), uplink coordinated multi-point
transmission (UL CoMP), uplink multiple-input multiple-output (UL-MIMO), and
multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), indicating a leadership role for
the company in the key physical-layer technologies.
In 2011, Huawei won six top global LTE awards that
recognized its continuous input in LTE R&D, commercial applications,
patents, and industry chain integration. Huawei will continue its innovation to
create long-term value for customers, promoting sound development of the LTE
industry and enabling mutually beneficial relationships with both industry
players and customers.
