H3G Occupies the High Ground in Mobile Broadband

Hutchison 3G Austria has successfully swapped and upgraded its legacy network to improve network performance and smoothly evolve its network. This will help it be the leader in mobile broadband in Austria.

The Most Energetic Mobile Market in Europe

Austria is at the heart of Europe and is at the leading edge of European mobile communication. Its mobile market is highly developed and very competitive. By Q1 2012, SIM card penetration in Austria was 156% and growing.

The mobile voice market in Austria is becoming saturated, and mobile broadband is showing vitality. In Austria, there is strong demand for mobile data service. Early in 2009, Austria became the first country in Europe to deploy HSPA+. Austria is the battleground for several leading European commercial 3G network operators. All operators in Austria need to continuously improve the coverage and network capability of their 3G networks. Establishing a 4G network layer is imperative for them to improve and compete.

Fashionable and Vigorous Newcomer

Hutchison 3G is a leader in global wireless technology and is one of the most important transnational operators. It provides 3G services in nine countries and regions and had more than 31.6 million subscribers in Q1 2012.

H3G is wholly owned by Hutchison Whampoa Hong Kong and was born with a spirit of breaking free of conventional constraints. With these values, H3G is extending its territory and growing its business in Europe and Asia.

In 2003, H3G started its business in Austria and positioned itself as the most innovative mobile operator there. It is focused on the Austrian consumer market and continually pioneers new technologies and services. It is developing fiercely and promisingly, and this is demonstrated by its rapidly growing subscriber base and traffic.

Ambitious Blueprint

Because the Austrian mobile voice market is saturated, H3G Austria has turned its focus towards mobile data. H3G Austria seeks to build the best mobile data network in Austria, to provide users with high-quality 3G services at a low price, and to seize the high ground of mobile broadband.

Therefore, H3G Austria has been working towards ambitious strategic goals:

provide lowest cost per megabyte in the market

●           provide 94% network coverage with HSPA+ network 

●           provide a download rate up to 42 Mbit/s in September 2011

●           cover high-traffic areas with LTE and data rates up to 100 Mbit/s in 2012.

Developing Step by Step

H3G’s legacy network lacked high throughput and had limited capacity. H3G comprehensively evaluated their network for upgrade and began the process of selecting a new vendor.

In June 2010, H3G Austria chose ZTE as its exclusive supplier of radio access, core network equipment, and transmission network equipment. ZTE would also provide managed services for long-term, stable, high-performance network operation.

ZTE built a nationwide DC-HSPA+ network with a large LTE footprint. The network was completed in October 2011 and now helps H3G Austria provide up to 42 Mbit/s for its customers. This is seven times faster than the legacy network. The transmission network was also modernized with new microwave links, and LTE was deployed in high-traffic areas.

ZTE also swapped over the legacy core network and boosted capacity. This was done at the same time as the radio swapover and included

●           ZTE circuit core network. This includes MSCS, MGWs, MNP, and LIG to meet standards-based requirements and to allow for easy and fast integration with H3G’s existing IN and HLR components. H3G’s new circuit core has a large portfolio of standard features. ZTE can quickly and flexibly develop new features for innovative services and allow non-standard legacy features to operate smoothly.

●           ZTE packet core. This includes GGSN, SGSN, and CG. A highlight is the new GGSN-named converged multiaccess packet gateway, ZXUN xGW. It is based on ZTE’s proven T8000 high-end router platform and supports multiple logic NEs (GGSN, SGW/PGW, PDG, PDSN, HA, BRAS, and SR) on the same physical hardware. These innovations required very close collaboration between H3G and ZTE. They proved the flexibility and professionalism of both parties in managing first-off deployments. The resulting packet core architecture has massively increased capacity to handle H3G’s growing throughput.

For each of the circuit and packet core components, ZTE tool chain contains state-of-the art element managers with embedded tracing capability and ample configuration choices. This allows for easy and powerful operation. Together, new ZTE network elements and tool-chain can strengthen H3G Austria’s ability to deliver high-quality services and bandwidth using a leading cost structure.

Symphony of Success

In March 2011, H3G Austria finished deploying new SGSN, GGSN, MSCs and MGW elements in the UMTS network. The new core network was connected to legacy RNCs and to new RNCs in parallel.

In November 2011, H3G Austria launched its commercial LTE network in Austria. It is the first LTE network in the H3G Group.

In December 2011, independent tests conducted by the European telecommunications publication CONNECT proved that H3G Austria’s mobile network was the fastest in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.

In October 2012, H3G Austria again achieved the highest score in the annual CONNECT tests. Testing was done on intelligent handset voice, data, and mobile broadband. H3G Austria was able to meet network KPIs even though their subscriber base had increased 40% and data traffic had doubled year-on-year. H3G Austria provides an average download speed of 11.7 Mbps and average upload speed that is 50% faster than its second-place rival.

With its brand-new mobile network, H3G Austria is well on the way to achieving customer growth, increased traffic, and profit.

Customer Benefits

ZTE’s Uni-Core solution offers ample capacity and a rich feature set that complies with industry standards. Because it is based on modern, all-IP architecture, it can accommodate legacy features. This approach allows for smooth network evolution and differentiated end-user experience that is a source of profit.

ZTE’s after-sales service team collaborated closely with H3G’s engineers to smoothly migrate the legacy network. The agreed KPIs were met, and network quality and performance were improved. The new network was certified as the best network in Austria by CONNECT magazine in both 2011 and 2012 after thorough and independent testing.

Optimized managed services from ZTE, and close collaboration between H3G and ZTE ensured flexibility and quality at competitive cost-levels.