appendix4 femto home_access_solution_whitepaper

Reaching the mass marketwith 3G Femto Home Access

02/08 Reaching the mass market with 3G Femto Home Access

Empowered by a growing variety of handsets and mobile broadbandenabled networks, 3G and mobileInternet access are reaching theconsumer mass market. At the sametime fixed mobile convergence heatsup the battle for the home, withInternet Service Providers (ISPs),and cable, fixed and mobile networkoperators aiming to reach a controllingposition on the households’expenditure for telecommunicationsand media content.

When entering the battle for thehome, mobile operators can capitalizeon their unique position of providingusers with a ubiquitous and personalservice experience, based onownership of licensed spectrum anda high level of control over the users’most personal device, the mobilephone. In order to leverage this proposition, mobile network operatorsneed a means to ensure excellent3G radio coverage and capacity atthe users’ home.

In contrast to indoor coverage solutions for large public and officebuildings, 3G home access is a solution for the consumer mass market, which can only be accessedby a plug and play approach similarto residential broadband. By bringinga dedicated low-power radio cell, the 3G Femto cell, directly in thehome and connecting it via existingresidential broadband access to thenetwork, 3G Femto Home Accessaffords users excellent 3G serviceexperience in their homes.

The volume and price points whichenable a truly mass market of 3GFemto Home Access require a common and open solution architecture which enables a massmarket ecosystem of 3G Femto customer premises equipment. Thisentails an architecture based on openIu interfaces and the introduction ofa new network element, the Femtogateway, which enables 3G FemtoHome Access rollout independentlyof the macro coverage network andminimizes the impact on the existingradio and core network.

The Nokia Siemens Networks 3GFemto Home Access Solution is basedon an open Iu-based architecture. Itis independent from the macro radioaccess network and highly scalable.Nokia Siemens Networks is committedto an open 3G Femto CustomerPremises Equipment (CPE) marketand runs a certification program forCPE suppliers to ensure hassle-freedeployment. As of September 2007,Thomson and Airvana have announced that they will support the open Nokia Siemens Networks3G Femto Home Access Solutionwith their upcoming 3G Femto cellequipment. These and additionalupcoming agreements as well ascontinuous dialogue with leadingnetwork operators ensure high reliability and innovation rate of theNokia Siemens Networks 3G FemtoHome Access Solution, enablingmobile network operators to delivera new 3G user experience at home.

1. ExecutiveSummary

Contents

02 1. Executive Summary

03 2. The third wave of indoor solutions

04 3. Consumer needs at thecenter of the battle for the home

05 4. Empowering mobile operators for the battle for the home

05 5. Optimizing 3G Femto Home Access

07 6. Implementing 3G Femto Home Access with NokiaSiemens Networks

07 Glossary

Large publicareas

Airports, malls,hotels

Serves many users

Individually planned

Multi cell

Passive DAS*,also with PicoBTS (Active DAS)Radio server +Remote RadioHead

Hot spots

Offices

Aircrafts, ships

Pico BaseStations(single/multi cell)

Individualresidential

Small offices

Serves one householdt

Plug&play mass market

Single cell

3G FemtoHome Access

Considering the prevailing 3G spectrum allocation at 2.1GHz inWestern Europe this service quality,in many cases, can not be assuredby indoor coverage from the outsideprovided by the macro cell. Thestraightforward approach to overcomethe problem is to locate a small, low-output power base station, nowcommonly called Femto AccessPoint or Femto CPE, within the residential building. The third waveof indoor coverage implementationhas started. The challenge is to dothis in a way which can be applied in a cost-efficient manner in millionsof households. There is a need for amass market approach to 3G FemtoHome Access.

Femto cells for home access needless capacity than Pico cells foroffice buildings. On the other hand,for profitable business, the networkoperator has to put installation andoperation of the Femto CPE largelyin the hands of the consumer, similarto the common practice with WLANAccess Points and DSL routers. Inother words, the third wave of indoorcoverage, 3G Femto Home Access,depends on a plug and play userexperience.

In Western Europe, roughly fiveyears after initial 3G service launchesone out of five mobile subscriptionsis expected to be used with a 3Gdevice. With increasing variety of 3Gmobile phones, WCDMA is becomingthe technology not only for businessand tech-savvy users but also for largesegments of the consumer market.

Following the history of 3G rollout,two waves of indoor coverage initiatives can be observed.

3G coverage in large buildings withhigh mobile phone user density hasbeen built up alongside macro coverage. Individually planned andimplemented Distributed AntennaSystems (DAS) provide coverage atairports, shopping malls and manylarge hotels and office buildings.

Aiming to provide businesses withexcellent 3G service in terms ofcoverage, capacity and mobility support, many mobile operators haveextended their radio access macrocell networks by Pico cells whichserve office buildings. The Pico celllayer needs to be carefully plannedand integrated into the overall radio access network to provide analways-available user experience fordemanding business users, whomake many calls while on the movefrom one meeting to the next andwho expect their push e-mail systemsto be continuously connected.

With the broadening of the 3G markettowards the consumer segment,mobile operators need to make surethat consumer users will benefit fromreal 3G experience wherever theyare and especially in the place wherethey spend a significant part of theirtime: at home. In order to reach all3G phone users, the air interfacemust be 3G and can not be WLAN,as this is not supported by manyphones. The transition of the consumersegment from a voice-centric 2Gmodel towards a voice plus datamodel hinges on the 3G servicequality at home.

Figure 1: Femto cells. The third wave of indoor coverage. * Distributed Antenna System

2. The third wave of indoor solutions


3. Consumer needs at the center of the battle for the home

For many decades the householdtelecommunications and mediaentertainment environment was limited to a fixed line telephone,recorded media player, broadcastradio and television receivers.Broadband Internet access changedthe rules of the game, adding Internetaccess and enabling alternatives for voice calls, music and videoentertainment. The battle for thehome began. With triple-play offersoperators and ISPs aim to increasetheir share of the households’ totaltelecoms and media expenditureand to increase subscriber loyalty.Extension of the triple-play offers bymobile subscriptions gave birth toquadruple-play.

With home zone tariffs mobile operators aim to drive the substitutionof mobile services for voice. Recently,mobile operators entered the sceneby offering residential broadbandpackages – based on DSL – on topof their consumer mobile subscriptionbusiness. With DSL lines being typically shared among all membersof a household, this step is a movefrom a purely person-centric mobilesubscription model to a new household-centric model which bearsthe potential to win all members of ahousehold for a combined residentialbroadband and personal mobile subscription.

At the same time the Internet hasstarted to change from a rather staticdata repository to a dynamic Web2.0 that invites user participation.User-generated content, social networks and virtual worlds catchthe users’ attention. The dynamicand participatory nature of Web 2.0motivates users to be ideally always-on. Enabled by mobile broadbandand multimedia phones, users willincreasingly take photos and videosand share them immediately on theweb. Mobile Internet access puts theweb into real life context. People willtrack the latest news from their friendsand some will be in continuous contact with their alter-egos in virtualworlds and online games. The smallscreen of the mobile phone, theusers’ most personal device, whichis always at hand, will step up alongside the laptop or PC forInternet access. Nokia SiemensNetworks predicts that by 2015 5bnpeople will have Internet access,many of them only by a mobile network. This means that the formatof content and the user interface ofmore and more Internet applicationsas well as the technology evolutionof mobile phones will provide anoptimized Internet user experienceon mobile phones.

As mobile phones are increasinglyused as personal media players,applications such as direct musicdownload are another driver for mobileInternet access: Why should a userprefer to first start-up a computer,then download a tune to it and finallytransfer the tune to the mobile phone?A direct and fast music download tothe mobile phone is much more convenient.

A look at consumer mobile voiceusage reveals that people increasinglyuse their mobile phone at home.This is true even when they have afixed line phone. The main reasonfor this behavior is convenience.Callers who want to reach the personon the first try, call the person’s mobilephone. Calls are initiated at homefrom the mobile phone, thanks to the ease of use of a mobile phone’sphonebook. The second most important reason is privacy: Themobile phone is the personal device,while the fixed line, including cordlessphones, is typically shared amonghousehold members.

In synthesis, the experience of mobilephone usage for voice calls at homeand the recent trends of Web 2.0suggest that the mobile phone willbe increasingly used also for Internetaccess at home. It will certainly notreplace the laptop or PC, but it willbecome the preferred device for manyapplications. The dominance of SMSfor simple and effective messagingmay lead the way: Whenever textinput demand is small, graphical output is limited and ubiquitousreach is valued, the mobile devicemay be first choice. This provides anoutstanding differentiation opportunityfor mobile operators for their fixedmobile convergence offerings.

Household Centric Model

Home networking services

Fixed voice services

Person Centric Model

Mobile Services

Figure 2: The battle for the home.


The service reliability and qualityenabled by the licensed spectrumhas established mobile operators asthe unrivalled suppliers of mobilevoice services. This entails anunmatched value proposition of analways and everywhere availableservice as well as unique businessexpertise in running a person-centric user relationship. Effectivemanagement of the users’ most personal device, the mobile phone,is a key factor in this success.

4. Empowering mobileoperators for the battlefor the home

The emergence of mobile broadbandfor consumers offers mobile operatorsthe opportunity to reach a similarposition for mobile Internet access.The always-on nature of the mobilephone and always-connected characteristics of the upcoming mobilebroadband services will provide userswith a new Internet experience: Mobileand everywhere, instantaneouslyavailable without the need to launcha computer for a quick look into theWeb 2.0 world.

To leverage these strengths andopportunities in the battle for thehome, mobile operators need to provide excellent voice and broadbandservice quality on the mobile phonein the home environment. Mobilenetwork operators need to deliver a3G-quality experience at home, thatis competitive with fixed line offerings.The 3G Femto Home Access solutionneeds to work seamlessly with existing3G and GSM/EDGE networks.

3G

Femto cell enabled residential gateway

WiFi USB, etc.

Router

DSL modem

optional functionality mandatory functionality

Figure 3: 3G Femto cell CPE / Modular extension of the residential gateway.

3G Femto cell Customer PremisesEquipment (CPE) connects via existingresidential broadband connections tothe 3G network. 3G Femto cell CPEis similar to DSL-CPE with the additionof a 3G interface. In order to reachthe consumer mass market, the samesuccess factors apply as for traditionalDSL-CPE: Operators need the choiceof CPE with different functionalities,e.g. additional LAN and WLAN interfaces, USB interface or printerpool support to meet the preferencesof the different user segments. Massmarket capable delivery channelsand support logistics need to be inplace. These are the reasons why a 3G Femto Home Access solutionthat the mobile operator can base itshome access strategy upon requiresan open CPE ecosystem.

5. Optimizing 3GFemto Home AccessFor the user, the 3G Femto HomeAccess experience starts with theCPE installation. Users expect a plugand play installation from their previous experience with other residential gateways. Femto cellequipment can be connected to a separate DSL-router, but thisapproach may cause additional complexity for the user. An integratedCPE that includes 3G Femto celland DSL router and any other interfaces to the home network

is generally considered to be moreuser-friendly. They also seem tosupport an integrated services strategy better: One box – one communications service provider – all the services you need.

The 3G Femto Home Access Solutionhas to ensure that the same CPEcan be used throughout the network,i.e. that it is not limited to the macroradio access network regions suppliedby a particular vendor. In particular, it

needs to be independent of the RNCsin those network regions because ofthe proprietary aspects of Iub interfaceimplementations. Instead the 3GFemto cell CPE needs to connect to the network via an open interface.The only feasible choice is the Iuover IP interface, which is well acknowledged as an open and standard interface between vendors.As for the Femto CPE O&M, the lessons from the IuB interface arelearned and focus on Femto cell


Core Network

FemtoGateway

Macrosite

Internetlu/IP

FemtoCPE

lu

DSL

Open to Femto CPE mass market Interoperability with allexisting networks

lu/IP interface• well acknowledged open and standard interface between vendors

lu interface• Multi-vendor interface with established IOT program

PS CS

Figure 4: Open and Interoperable / lu-based solution architecture.

HSPA R6

GGSN

lu Interface

HSPA R7 HSPA R7 HSPA R8

I-HSPA

GGSN GGSN GGSN SAE GW

SGSN SGSN SGSN SGSN MME

Femtogateway

RNC

Node-B

RNC

Node-B Femtocell

Node-B withRNC funct.

eNode-B

Ciphering in Node-B= control plane= user plane

allows for significant simplificationcompared to macro base stationobject models. Iu over IP is alsomore robust in respect to DSL lineproperties such as delay and jitterand causes less overhead datatransport than Iub. An Iub-basedinterface of the 3G Femto cellswould bear the advantage of reducedsignaling load for handovers.

However, in contrast to office environments where business usersare frequently using their mobilephones while moving in and out ofpico cells, the residential use case islargely stationary: Handovers playno significant role as users remainwithin the Femto cell as long as theyare at home.

The large number of 3G Femto CPEin a network – each household with3G Femto home access has its ownCPE – requires a highly scalablegrooming function between CPE andthe core network. Tens of thousandsof CPE need to be connected viaone Iu interface to the core network.Being enabled by availability ofbroadband connections to the households and in the absence ofregulatory 3G indoor coverage targets,the geographical distribution of the3G Femto CPE will be different fromthat of macro Node Bs. In consequencethe grooming function shall beimplemented independently fromRNC equipment as a standalonegateway. Nokia Siemens Networksrefers to this function as FemtoGateway. To assure interwork withall core network implementations aFemto Gateway needs to supportATM and IP based Iu interfaces. In this way, interoperability in multi-vendor networks is assured by established Inter-Operability Testing(IOT) programs.

Figure 5: Flat, lu-based Femto Home Access architecture / In line with network evolution for mobile broadband.


Voice and data support compatiblewith today’s and tomorrow’s handsetsand networks requires support of Iu-cs(circuit switched) and Iu-ps (packetswitched) interfaces. While almost allWCDMA voice traffic today is circuitswitched, 3GPP, release 7 providesthe basis for efficient VoIP over HSPA.In LTE (Long Term Evolution, definedin 3GPP, release 8) all voice trafficwill run over IP.

In the context of growing data volumes, there is a trend amongmobile broadband networks towardsa flat architecture. This means thatuser plane traffic passes through asfew network nodes as possible, whichresults in higher performance andbetter scalability of the network with traffic growth. Nokia SiemensNetworks has been driving flat network architecture in the packetswitched domain of 3G with its I-HSPA(Internet-HSPA) solution: RNCfunctionality is moved into the Node B. User plane functions of thepacket switched core network areconcentrated in the GGSN. I-HSPAis standardized in 3GPP, release 7.These two nodes interface via Iu-ps.The same architectural approach isfollowed by LTE.

The above outlined 3G Femto HomeAccess architecture approach workswell with today’s WCDMA networksand fits neatly into the simplified network architecture of the comingmobile broadband networks.

Both the coverage improvement andthe potential for outstanding servicebundles make 3G Femto HomeAccess a very attractive propositionfor implementing a successful strategyin the battle for the home. For mobilenetwork operators this means a newway of doing business. The basestation turned CPE is a consumermass market device, not a part ofthe operator-owned network infrastructure. Analysts from ABIResearch and Ovum estimate thismarket could reach ten to twelve million units by 2010.

Nokia Siemens Networks acknowledges that mobile networkoperators need a total solution for3G Femto Home Access that providesfor a variety of options for the 3GFemto CPE and ensures hassle-freeend-to-end interworking.

The Nokia Siemens Networks 3GFemto Home Access Solution is atotal solution based on the open Iu-based architecture outlined in thispaper. The Nokia Siemens Networks Femto Gateway is compact andhighly scalable to enable solutiondeployment in all 3G network environments. Based on expertise in mobile radio and core networks aswell as residential broadband accessnetworks, Nokia Siemens Networkshas a unique position in providingnetwork integration and support services.

Nokia Siemens Networks is committedto an open 3G Femto CPE market.Nokia Siemens Networks runs a certification program for CPE suppliersto ensure interoperability. The certification ensures compatibility ofFemto CPE and network. Its scopeincludes operation and maintenanceaspects, where O&M extensions ofthe Iu interface are not yet fully standardized.

Nokia Siemens Networks announcedthe first cooperation agreements onthe 3G Femto Home Access Solutionwith Thomson and Airvana in Julyand September 2007 respectively.The companies will leverage theirexpertise and provide certified 3GFemto cell equipment that interworkwith the Nokia Siemens Networks3G Femto Home Access Solution.These and further agreements aswell as continuous dialogue withleading network operators ensureshigh innovativeness and hassle-free operation of the 3G Femto HomeAccess Solution, enabling mobilenetwork operators to deliver a new3G user experience at home.

6. Implementing 3GFemtoHomeAccess withNokiaSiemensNetworks

GlossaryADSL Asymmetric Digital

Subscriber Line ATM Asynchronous

Transfer ModeCPE Customer Premises

EquipmentDAS Distributed Antenna

SystemDSL Digital Subscriber LineHSPA High-Speed Packet

AccessI-HSPA Internet HSPAIOT Inter-Operability

Testing IP Internet ProtocolLAN Local Area NetworkLTE Long Term Evolutioncs circuit-switchedps packet-switchedUMTS Universal Mobile

Telecommunications System

WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access

WLAN Wireless Local Area Network


www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

AuthorNokia Siemens Networks is a leading global enabler of communications services. The company provides a complete, well-balanced product portfolio of mobile and fixed network infrastructure solutions and addresses the growing demand forservices with 20,000 service professionals worldwide. Nokia Siemens Networks is one of the largest telecommunicationsinfrastructure companies with operations in 150 countries. The company is headquartered in Espoo, Finland.

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appendix4 femto home_access_solution_whitepaper

Technology