table of contents - samsung electronics america · 2018-12-19 · inter-cell interference limits...
TRANSCRIPT
2 © Samsung Electronics
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 3
Introduction 4
Long Term Evolution: Mobile Broadband Steps Up 5
Korea: At the Leading Edge of the LTE Ecosystem 5
6
8
8
Conclusion 9
3 © Samsung Electronics
This white paper is an overview of the LTE market in South Korea. The highlights are
presented below:
Smartphone penetration and data traffic per user are amongst the world’s highest. The
current smartphone revolution and data explosion are driving the quick introduction of
LTE solutions.
This represents 28% of subscribers worldwide. By the end of the year, this figure is
expected to reach over 16 million.
By July 2012, SK Telecom had moved from position twenty-two to position two in the
world ranking of LTE operators. It now has 4 million subscribers. KT, which is renowned
for its innovative LTE solution, boasts 1.4 million subscribers. LG U+, with nationwide
LTE coverage, now claims 3 million subscribers.
LTE’s new standard for delivering voice and messaging services enables operators to
conserve limited spectrum whilst benefitting subscribers by delivering the superior voice
quality they have come to expect.
4 © Samsung Electronics
The world is going through a data explosion and this is largely being driven by the
smartphone revolution. These days, subscribers expect fast and uninterrupted access to
services and data on their mobile devices. An insatiable appetite for file sharing,
applications, e-mails, games, music, video and so on is straining operators’ networks.
Unless these operators meet the demands of today’s computer-savvy generation head
on, their problems are only set to multiply as the internet continues to proliferate and
increasingly sophisticated smartphone applications are launched.
To meet these new challenges, network operators who are currently using second
generation (2G) and third generation (3G) network technologies to deliver services must
migrate to LTE (Long Term Evolution), the fourth generation of these technologies.
Through a more efficient use of the radio spectrum, LTE provides great benefits to both
operators and subscribers such as higher data throughput, lower latency, and lower
operating expenditures. Unless network operators using legacy technologies migrate to
the new technology quickly, they will inevitably face rising rates of dropped calls, a
degrading mobile experience and general dissatisfaction amongst their subscribers who
will ultimately switch to LTE-adopting operators.
This scenario is already being played out in
South Korea. Here, smartphones, tablets and
other smart devices are an essential part of
daily life and Koreans never seem to let go of
them. With the world’s highest penetration of
mobile broadband (100.6%1), data traffic has
grown a hundredfold since the introduction of
smartphones, reaching about 30,000 terabytes
(TB) per month in the first quarter of 20122. To
tackle the growing challenges, South Korea’s three operators (SK Telecom, KT, and
LG U+), who were operating 2G and 3G networks and who were each facing their own
unique challenges, turned to LTE. The results were staggering; in July 2012 Korea had
28% of the world’s LTE subscribers3 and it is the first country in which all operators offer
LTE services for smartphones.
1 SK Telecom, KT, LG U+; April 2012.
2 SK Telecom, KT, LG U+; April 2012.
3 Samsung Electronics; July 2012.
JOSS GILLET, SENIOR ANALYST,
GSMA WIRELESS INTELLIGENCE
5 © Samsung Electronics
LTE (or 4G LTE) is the latest in the wireless communication standard developed by the
3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for high-speed data for mobile phones and
data terminals. It betters previous generations of the standard (GSM/UMTS) by
increasing the capacity and speed of wireless data networks using new digital signaling
processing techniques and modulations. It presents a flatter and therefore simpler
network architecture. LTE is IP-based and offers reduced transfer latency compared to
3G architecture. For the network operator, these enhancements result in a lower cost per
bit and an increased number of active users per cell. In addition, LTE has a high
spectrum reuse factor, supporting bands in the 700 MHz to 2.6 GHz range and
bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. It also supports handover with 3GPP2, WLAN, and
legacy 3GPP technologies. The benefits for the end user include higher download and
upload data rates.
With an enhanced spectrum efficiency and an average transfer speed that is 5 times
faster than 3G4, LTE is the ideal technology for services such as music and video
streaming, mobile TV, and network gaming.
The summer of 2011 witnessed the launch of LTE in
Korea amidst much public enthusiasm. The estimated
number of LTE subscribers in Korea has since
reached 8.4 million (about 28% of global LTE
subscribers). Data traffic per LTE user has
skyrocketed to an average consumption of 2.94
gigabytes (GB) per user per month5, far exceeding
rates achieved by 3G. The number of subscribers has
grown at a compounded monthly rate of 43% since
September 20116.
SK Telecom and LG U+, who both launched their LTE
networks in July 2011, had respectively amassed an
impressive 4 million and 3 million subscribers7 by
4 Samsung Electronics; December 2011.
5 SK Telecom, KT, LG U+; January 2012.
6 SK Telecom, KT, LG U+; September 2011 and July 2012.
7 SK Telecom, LG U+; July 2012.
Other
14%
South
Korea
28%USA
44%
Japan
14%
30 Million
July 12
Figure 1: Global LTE subscribers Of all the global LTE subscribers, over 28% are in Korea.
Source: Samsung Electronics, July 2012
6 © Samsung Electronics
July 2012. KT, a later entrant into the market (January 2012), has acquired over 1.4
million subscribers8 and this figure continues to increase.
SK Telecom, KT and LG
U+ are all providing LTE
network coverage in 84
Korean cities as well as
on the expressways
and KTX9 railroads
covering 95+% of the
country’s population.
With LTE coverage
spreading steadily, it is
set to equal the level of
existing 3G network
coverage, which
already extends to 99%
of the country.
By taking the LTE route, the three Korean operators overcame
their own unique challenges.
SK Telecom is Korea’s largest mobile operator in terms of number of subscribers and
has 50.3% share of the mobile market. It has been
seen as a pioneer in telecommunications since
introducing mobile technologies such as CDMA and
WCDMA (HSPA). Its extensive 3G network, a result
of a collaboration with Samsung, was top of its class
in Korea with its 26.7 million subscribers representing
over 50% of the Korean market10
. Despite all this, the
operator was soon facing the unexpected and rapidly
growing demands of smartphone subscribers.
Despite significantly expanding the capacity of its 3G
network (up to 6 carriers and 9 sectors per NodeB),
8 MK Business News; July 2012.
9 Korea Train Express, high speed trains.
10 SK Telecom; May 2012.
SK TELECOM SPOKESMAN,
AFP, NOV 2011
Figure 2: Explosive growth of smartphones in South Korea Since their introduction smartphones have grown a hundredfold, reaching over 28 million in the second quarter of 2012.
Source: Operator Data
Source: Operator Data
7 © Samsung Electronics
Smart LTE Networks is Samsung’s innovative network solution for maximising
the coverage and capacity of LTE networks deployed in environments where
inter-cell interference limits coverage and capacity. It uses an advanced air
resource allocation technology for managing a group of communications cells
efficiently. The group of cells is controlled by a Smart Scheduler via optic fiber
or other media (such as Ethernet). Cell-edge capacity is increased by 80% and
cell-edge speed is doubled. As such, Smart LTE Networks enable network
operators to handle more data traffic at a lower total cost of ownership.
SK Telecom entered the 4G realm by deploying Samsung Smart LTE Networks. The
new venture entailed 6 months of pilot deployments and culminated in the launch of
South Korea’s first commercial scale LTE service in Seoul in July 2011. Samsung Smart
LTE Networks empowered SK Telecom to meet its subscriber demands through the
provision of significantly higher data rates and a cell edge throughput performance11
.
Within the first 7 months of the launch, the number of LTE subscribers to SK Telecom
reached the 1 million mark, a clear indication that subscribers were now consuming high
capacity mobile services such as
video/music streaming and gaming. As
of July 2012, SK Telecom is serving
4 million subscribers12
.
To enhance its LTE offering, SK
Telecom rolled out the world’s first multi-
carrier solution in July of 2012 and Voice
over LTE (VoLTE) on August 8th of
2012. This complemented its current
Circuit-Switched Fallback (CSFB) voice
service. VoLTE allows operators to
deliver both voice and messaging
services over IP, which conserves
spectrum whilst delivering the superior
sound quality consumers have come to
expect.
11
SK Telecom; May 2012. 12
SK Telecom; January, July 2012.
Figure 3: SK Telecom data traffic forecasts As the number of smartphone users has grown, ST Telecom has had to face the problem of increasing data traffic.
Source: SK Telecom
8 © Samsung Electronics
KT is Korea’s largest communications provider with 87% share of the fixed-line market
and 31.1% share of the mobile market. Its 3G network has been serving nationwide
subscribers for many years.
Although late to enter the Korean LTE market in January 2012, KT illustrates how fast
LTE deployment and cutting-edge technology can help an operator to catch up with its
competitors. The company has launched a Samsung Smart LTE Network, which uses a
simple and fast installation system
as a ‘plug-in’ to its abundant fiber
optic infrastructure. This has
enabled KT to roll out 10,000 cells
in just one month13
.
What is noteworthy about KT’s
deployment is that the virtual
cloud solution’s Smart Scheduler
optimizes radio resources across
hundreds of cells simultaneously.
This not only reduces CAPEX, but
also OPEX, as energy,
maintenance, and site rental costs
are minimized.
LG U+ is the third mobile operator in South Korea with around 18% share of the mobile
market. Unlike its competitors, LG U+ did not operate a 3G HSPA network and offered
slower transfer speeds and lower quality mobile services, resulting in diminishing
numbers of subscribers. It therefore decided to make the leap to LTE in a fast and
effective manner.
By using Samsung’s multimode base stations, LG U+ was able to install LTE circuit
boards into its existing CDMA cabinets thus saving considerably on time and deployment
costs. LG U+ launched its LTE service in July 2011 and achieved nationwide coverage
in March 2012.
13
KT; April 2012.
Figure 4: KT’s fast LTE infrastructure deployment Samsung’s simple and fast installation system enabled KT to roll out 10,000 radio units in just one month.
Source: KT
9 © Samsung Electronics
Unlike KT and SK Telecom, which use WCDMA-based CSFB, LG U+ currently uses
SVLTE (Simultaneous Voice and LTE) for its voice transfer. Once VoLTE is developed
and ready for deployment, LG U+ will switch to LTE exclusively.
LG U+ continues its growth in the Korean market. In less than a year, its number of LTE
subscribers has risen to over 3 million, which is over 35% of all LTE subscribers in
Korea14
. Its service now reaches small rural villages and the company has secured an
18.6% share of the total Korean mobile market. The fast deployment and effective LTE
positioning strategy has resulted in a 6.8% annual ARPU growth15
and LG U+ expects to
have a total of 5 million subscribers by the end of 2012. LG U+ is now well positioned to
secure its place as a leading LTE technology provider in Korea.
The current smartphone revolution and data explosion have been the driving force
behind the rapid deployment of LTE solutions in Korea. The three Korean network
operators have successfully migrated their legacy networks to LTE and are seeing huge
increases in subscriber numbers. Throughout this process, Samsung’s Smart LTE
Networks have helped Korea pave the way for the 4G revolution.
14
LG U+; July 2012. 15
Korea Investment and Securities; May 10, 2012.
10 © Samsung Electronics
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