With the new ZTE Technology We Are a Nose Ahead

T-Mobile Austria is a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG. It has 4.076 million customers and is the second largest mobile operator in Austria. The company is known for driving innovation in the telco business. T-Mobile Austria and ZTE won the 2012 Global Telecom Business award for innovation in fixed backbone. Markus Helferstorfer, vice president of product and core development, T-Mobile Austria, and Roman Tiedjens, transmission backbone expert, T-Mobile Austria, talked about the award, application of ZTE-WASON technology, and their successful cooperation with ZTE.

Journalist: In June 2012, the renowned British business journal Global Telecom Business gave you and ZTE Austria an award for fixed backbone innovation. Are you proud of the award?

Helferstorfer: Of course we are proud of this award. When ZTE told us about our nomination and that the award ceremony would be held in London in two days, we were not prepared at all.

Tiedjens: Right after our arrival we were interviewed and in the evening we were already awarded the prize. That was an unbelievable acknowledgement of the work done by everyone involved with the project over the past two years.

Journalist: What was the project?

Helferstorfer: Basically, we optimized our backbone network. Until about a year ago, we placed a backbone-ring through Austria, but then we wanted to turn the ring into an intermeshed network. This would make our network safer, more efficient, and more stable. Our intermeshed network was made possible by the WASON-technology of ZTE.

Journalist: Why did you need to alter your backbone network?

Tiedjens: The last few years have shown that each year we have to anticipate a 100percent increase in data traffic. This huge amount of data simply made it necessary to further optimize our network. With the extension of LTE, we have to face even more data within the next years. Therefore, we decided to take on this large-scale project.

Journalist: Considering LTE is a radio communication norm, why is further development of the backbone network needed?

Helferstorfer: This network expansion is only loosely connected with LTE, but with LTE, we want to achieve speeds of up to 100 Mbps. To be able to convey the rising amount of data and avoid bottlenecks in the backbone, our network had to be adjusted.

Journalist: With ZTE-WASON technology the network will be failsafe. How was this managed technically?

Tiedjens: The technology was newly invented by ZTE and T-Mobile and leads to a considerably stronger intermeshing of the network. The network was formerly a simple backbone-ring, but it now is a backbone network with many branches. Even if multiple cables were to break, there would be no noticeable breakdowns. Instead, data streams would be quickly and smoothly rerouted without any difficulty.

Journalist: The entire alteration took place without interrupting ongoing operations. How did you manage to do this?

Tiedjens: We had to build in a completely new location and calibrate new fibers in parallel. Afterwards, we moved our network bit by bit. On December 21, 2011 we migrated the last data traffic and finished the second phase of the project. Everything went off without a hitch.

Journalist: In the third phase of the project, the data signaling rate will be raised from 10G to 100G. When will the last phase be finished?

Tiedjens: Right now we are still running a few tests, but we expect our backbone network to be upgraded to 100G in May 2013.

Journalist: How many people from T-Mobile Austria and ZTE are involved in the project?

Tiedjens: The T-Mobile core team comprises about six people. On the ZTE side there are also approximately six people who are constantly working on the project. In addition, there are countless technicians and experts who are called in to the project as the need arises. Their exact number cannot be assessed anymore.

Journalist: ZTE not only appointed the Austrian team but invited experts from China. Did this international, cross-cultural cooperation go smoothly?

Helferstorfer: We took the lead in the project and it was clear from the beginning that ZTE would have to provide a local team.

Tiedjens: Of course both sides had to adjust to cultural differences in the beginning, but in the beginning, most linguistic misunderstandings were quickly overcome. The local project manager of ZTE Austria did a great job in mediating between cultures. Liu Li, a DWDM-expert from ZTE Product Line, also made crucial contributions to the success of the project.

Journalist: Do you think this project was groundbreaking for the telecommunications industry?

Tiedjens: We have a steady exchange of know-how with T-Mobile, and this project will surely be a best practice example for Deutsche Telekom. Our British colleagues were also highly interested in our project.

Helferstorfer: Furthermore, a Pakistani telecom provider asked us how we succeeded in migrating traffic without disrupting operations.

Journalist: With this technology, is T-Mobile Austria a pioneer in Austria and Europe?

Helferstorfer: We don’t have any insights into the technology of competitors, but we were granted an award by GTB for this technology. That’s why I assume we are a nose ahead.

Journalist: Does the network alteration give you any advantages in the highly competitive Austrian market?

Helferstorfer: We are definitely optimally prepared for the future. The new ZTE-technology gives us the opportunity to add even more customers to our assemblage points.

Journalist: Are you satisfied with the cooperation with ZTE?

Helferstorfer: Up to now the technology, works perfectly, and ZTE really has the top experts for this project. Nothing stands in the way of further cooperation with ZTE.