MAB: Building Low-Cost High-Speed Mobile Broadband

Data Services Challenges

The popularity of 3G terminals and widespread application of mobile Internet has brought about an upsurge in 3G network data. Operators are now seeing a ten-fold or even hundred-fold increase in their data traffic. Because revenues are not increasing in line with traffic growth, operators worldwide are deploying WLANs to provide high-quality data services at low cost.

In terms of user density, data bandwidth, and construction cost, WLAN has proven to be advantageous over wireless base stations for hotspot coverage. In hotspot areas covered by WLAN, users have an average bandwidth of 1Mbps. The cost per bit for WLAN is far less than that of 3G wireless networks using indoor distributed RRUs or repeaters. According to research firm Informa, a large proportion of data traffic is generated indoors. Therefore, WLAN has become an effective solution to the upsurge in data traffic on 3G networks.

To meet explosive growth in data services, WLAN Access Points (APs) will be widely deployed at airports, chain restaurants, office buildings, and shopping centers. Large-scale WLANs deployed in hotspots can supplement existing 3G networks and LTE networks yet to be deployed. These networks coexist and complement each other to meet various requirements for data services, as illustrated in Figure 1.

With enhanced software, terminals can

access several available wireless networks, and this provides users with high-aggregate bandwidths and improved service experience. A complete data operation mode can be established for ubiquitous connectivity. Through multinetwork convergence, more users will be attracted to mobile data services.

■   WLAN encourages and attracts users to extensively access data services in urban data hotspots. This helps cultivate user loyalty;

■    LTE provides high-speed data services in major urban data service areas to retain users;

■    TD provides low and medium-speed data services in metropolitan areas, meeting ordinary users’ needs for data services;

■    GPRS is a supplement that provides data access services for users in suburban and rural areas.

Multinetwork Convergence for Mobile Data Strategy

Continuous Internet connection has become a major feature of mobile Internet applications. These services have the following features:

■    Bursts of interactive data traffic: Interactive data traffic occurs in short bursts (like MSN and QQ). When not activated, a service is dormant.

■    Frequent occupation of wireless resources: When a service is dormant, a keep-alive message is sent. Air links are activated for allocating wireless channels. This results in overloaded wireless signaling and affects voice quality.

■    High requirements for session continuity: A service needs to maintain session continuity when users are on the move and their interactive messages occur in short bursts.

These features cause continuously connected online services to consume a large amount of 3G wireless resources. In addition, services with large traffic such as online videos lead to severe broadcast storms. Users often have a poor experience with data services because network quality cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, multiple networks need to be converged to solve data storm issues and improve user experience.

Multinetwork binding is a key mobile data strategy. An effective way for operators to expand the number of data subscribers is to enhance terminal capabilities, connect multiple data networks, aggregate wireless bandwidths, and offer higher bandwidth. The ability of networks to control terminals needs to be further optimized and enhanced so that data load can be shared by multiple networks without user experience being affected.

In the future mobile Internet, terminals supporting multinetwork convergence will determine the size of an operator’s data subscriber base. Terminals decide networks. To significantly expand the number of data subscribers, operators urgently need to change their packet networks to accommodate their mobile data strategy.

Terminal requirements

To provide users with session continuity during seamless mobility, and to meet the requirements of continuous Internet connection, terminals must support unified authentication and must have access to 3G packet core networks. They can also support access to multiple wireless networks and establish one session binding. This satisfies the needs of large-traffic applications.

Packet core network requirements

Packet core networks must be further enhanced to provide terminals with bandwidth binding and a unified IP session. Depending on service type and wireless network load, packet core networks can also dynamically guide the loads of multiple data streams on terminals so that they are shared across multiple wireless networks.

MAB Expands Data Subscriber Base

ZTE has developed Multiple Access Binding (MAB) solution for multinetwork convergence and session binding, as illustrated in Figure 2. The solution has:

■   Bandwidth aggregation by one IP session: Terminals can locate multiple wireless networks and initiate access simultaneously. Bandwidths of multiple wireless networks are aggregated by one IP session. Users experience exponentially increased bandwidth and faster, smoother service access and data downloading without perceiving access modes and networks.

■    Application-based routing: Terminals can select proper wireless networks for routing depending on application features―such as bandwidth and access requirements―activated by users.  Continuously connected services such as MSN and QQ that occupy a large amount of radio signaling resource can be routed through WLAN. P2P downloading services can also be routed through WLAN. Data services such as Social Networking Service (SNS) and online games that have higher real-time requirements can be routed through a TD network. For an interactive video application such as telepresence, voice can be routed through a TD network with QoS guarantee, and videos can be routed through a WLAN network with high bandwidth.

■    Session continuity during seamless mobility: Depending on user location, a terminal can intelligently detect WLAN availability and can do so with low power consumption. When a user moves out of a WLAN hotspot, the online service is automatically migrated to TD/HSPA or LTE networks for session continuity. A good user experience can be maintained. When moving back into a WLAN hotspot, a user can automatically access WLAN. Designated services are automatically migrated to WLAN according to the operator’s dynamic traffic strategy, and data load is evenly distributed across multiple wireless networks.

■    Dynamic network resource allocation: Depending on the distribution of access users, a core network dynamically analyzes the data loads of wireless networks, checks data hotspots (where there may be heavy data loads), and adjusts the routing of dynamic application services. Terminals are notified in real-time to adjust routing strategy of their data services so that load is balanced across multiple wireless access networks.

■    Network control over data service routing: After accessing multiple wireless networks, terminals can obtain information from core networks about real-time routing strategy for all application service flows. Therefore, when data services are activated, the corresponding applications are routed through the designated access network. In this way, operators can enhance their control over terminal behaviors, divert and distribute data flows, and optimize utilization of network resources.

By enhancing terminal capability and following 3GPP I-WLAN standards, MAB integrates WLAN, TD, and LTE networks into one mobile broadband network. Operators can enable their core networks to interact directly with user terminals for dynamic routing. This means that networks are closely correlated to users, and networks can better control user behaviors. MAB helps operators provide quality, low-cost data services by introducing synergy between their access technologies and by supporting access bindings of WLAN, TD, and LTE.