Meeting the challenges of growth
The wireless market is undergoing crucial changes, driven by consumer demand for a seamless multimedia experience. Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology enables operators to meet the challenges of exponential traffic growth by increasing network efficiency and reducing operating expenses. It also helps operators generate additional income by supporting new, high-value services that can supplement declining subscription fees.
The Alcatel-Lucent Long Term Evolution Radio Access Network incorporates the key features operators need to smoothly introduce this technology, while protecting investments in legacy networks.
Meet the Challenges of Rapid Growth
To help operators cope with skyrocketing traffic growth, Alcatel-Lucent has introduced Long Term Evolution Access. It combines the key building blocks of LTE, so operators can deploy a more efficient radio technology in their mobile networks, improve spectral efficiency and reduce their network total cost of ownership. It also accelerates the launch of new services and enables the smooth introduction of LTE into operator networks.
These capabilities leverage our expertise in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and Flat IP—as well as innovations from Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs, such as self-optimizing, self-organizing network (SON) features.
Figure 1: While Traffic Skyrockets, Revenues Have Flattened |
Overcome the Gap between Traffic and Revenue
The wireless market is now at a critical transition point: data traffic continues to explode, but revenues have flattened. As a result, today’s fast-paced growth is creating a widening gap between network traffic and its associated revenues.
LTE technology helps operators address all the key elements of their profitability equation. It allows them to introduce new applications that enable new revenue streams and a better end-user experience. It optimizes spectrum resources by using MIMO and OFDM technologies on the air interface. And, it reduces OPEX with a flat IP architecture that simplifies the RAN. IP transport also helps operators minimize the costs of meeting rapidly escalating demand for multimedia services.
Figure 2: LTE helps address all the elements of the operator profitability equation flat fee |
Expand Operator Value-Added Services Portfolio
With Alcatel-Lucent Long Term Evolution, operators gain higher throughput and dramatically improved latency, which enables a wider range of applications. As a result, operators can generate additional revenues with high-value multimedia services, such as peer-to-peer applications, that require throughput over several 10s of Mb/s. Or operators can deliver higher performance for applications that need low latency, including interactive gaming.
Increase Network Efficiency
LTE Radio Access network uses a flat IP architecture to minimize management requirements and help reduce operating costs. Its simplified design replaces the hierarchical structure in legacy wireless technologies—and requires only one type of node into the LTE RAN, the eNode B. The Alcatel-Lucent LTE RAN also uses cost-effective IP technology throughout the network, leveraging Alcatel-Lucent IP expertise.
To help reduce TCO further, Alcatel-Lucent LTE Radio Access Network optimizes network resource utilization with a fair scheduler and radio resources management features. It also incorporates some self-organizing network (SON) capabilities to minimize the costs of installation and ongoing network optimization.
Figure 3: The Alcatel-Lucent LTE RAN Enables Smooth Call Handover with Legacy Networks |
Evolve Smoothly, While Supporting Legacy Services
For a smooth introduction of LTE technology, interoperability with operators’ legacy network is crucial. Alcatel-Lucent LTE Radio Access leverages the company’s leading expertise in UTRAN, GERAN and EV-DO to provide ongoing support for legacy services and to maintain mobility across LTE and legacy networks, including seamless handover for mobile calls. By facilitating the transition to LTE, Alcatel-Lucent helps keep operators’ customers satisfied and reduces the cost of customer support and problem resolution.
Protect Operator Network Investment
Alcatel-Lucent helps operators protect their investments in network infrastructure by maximizing asset reuse. The Converged RAN strategy enables operators to protect their investment in 2G and 3G while evolving to LTE. It allows for cost-effective introduction of new technologies within the same cabinets and modules, and a growing range of form factors—including our distributed base stations and ultra-compact macros solutions—can help operators adapt easily to specific site constraints, while keeping costs down.
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