APR 2016 VOL. 18 ● NO. 2 ● ISSUE 163
VIP Voices Telenor Expands Network Capacity to Enter into Digital Life
Tech Forum Big Data Service Models
Special Big Data Topic Economic Feasibility of Big Data Construction
Ingeborg Øfsthus, CEO of Telenor Montenegro and Serbia CONTENTS ZTE TECHNOLOGIES APR 2016
VIP Voices
Telenor Expands Network Capacity to Enter 05 into Digital Life Reporter: Zhang Ying 10 Namibia Wishes to Connect Everyone 05 Reporter: Zhang Ying
Broad Based Communications: Making Real 15 Bandwidth Penetration a Reality in Nigeria Reporter: Temiloluwa Adeyemi
10 Special Topic: Big Data
Economic Feasibility of Big Data Construction 18 By Wang Dezheng 21 VMAX for Optimal Network Operation 15 By Huang Peiyong ZXDNA: Building Smart Pipes for Optimal 25 Traffic Operations By Lv Haibing
DAP Facilitates Commercial Big Data 27 Applications By Zhu Kezhi
Tech Forum
Big Data Service Models 29 By Huang Ke, Fan Wanpeng ZTE TECHNOLOGIES
Advisory Committee Director: Chen Jane Deputy Directors: Xu Ming, Zhang Jianguo, Zhu Jinyun Advisers: Bao Zhongjun, Chen Jian, Cui Li, Fang Jianliang, Wang Xiang, Yang Jiaxiao 18 Editorial Board Director: Wang Xiang 33 Deputy Director: Huang Xinming Members: Chen Zongcong, Cui Liangjun, Han Gang, Heng Yunjun, Huang Xinming, Liu Shouwen, Sun Jiruo, Wang Xiang, Wei Xiaoqiang, Ye Ce, Zhou Yong
Sponsor: ZTE Corporation Edited By Shenzhen Editorial Office, 2 Strategy Planning Department Editor-in-Chief: Wang Xiang APR 2016 35 Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Huang Xinming ZTE Editorial Director: Liu Yang Executive Editor-in-Chief: Yue Lihua Editor: Zhang Ying Circulation Manager: Wang Pingping
Editorial Office Address: NO. 55, Hi-tech Road South, Shenzhen, P.R.China Postcode: 518075 Success Stories Tel: +86-755-26775211 Fax: +86-755-26775217 PTCL: Building a Sustainable Optical Network Website: wwwen.zte.com.cn/en/about/ 33 publications By Liu Junjuan Email: [email protected]
CANTV: Evolving Toward an All-IP Network 35 A technical By Zhao Zhiqing APR 2016 VOL. 18 ● NO. 2 ● ISSUE 163 magazine that keeps up with the latest
VIP Voices Telenor Expands Network Capacity to Enter into Digital Life industry trends,
Tech Forum Big Data Service Models communicates Solution leading technologies and solutions, and
Special Big Data Topic Economic Feasibility of shares stories of our Big Data Construction Ingeborg Øfsthus, CEO of Telenor Montenegro and Serbia customer success Magic Radio: The Killer Solution to Spectrum Efficiency 37 By Zheng Lingxia ZTE News
ZTE Wins GTI ZTE Unveils Pre5G UDN Outstanding Contribution Demo at MWC 2016 on Innovative 25 February 2016, Shenzhen ― ZTE multiplexing and substantially increases Solution and unveiled and showcased its Pre5G ultra efficiency and network capacity. Tests dense network (UDN) solution, marking show that the downstream rate is Application 2015 a new stage of Pre5G technologies at increased more than 10 times in the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. overlap areas between cells where the ZTE’s Pre5G UDN solution is technology has been implemented. centered on user experience and based ZTE initiated the idea of Pre5G at on existing network architecture by the first 5G World Summit. Pre5G uses virtue of interference management and the most practical core 5G technologies suppression, mobility enhancement, and to deliver a near 5G user experience other key technologies. The technology and is compatible with commercial provides a solution to address increasing LTE user equipment, and will be used interference between base stations with commercially before 2020. Massive overlapping cells in dense networks. MIMO, UDN, and MUSA are core Pre5G The solution achieves system frequency technologies. 3 APR 2016 24 February 2016, Shenzhen ZTE ― ZTE announced that it has won the Outstanding Contribution on Innovative Solution and Application 2015 Award. It accepted the award ZTE and Korea Telecom at the Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI) award ceremony held in Showcase Pre5G at MWC Barcelona. ZTE won the award for its innovative “Comprehensive Uplink Enhancement Solution” as 24 February 2016, Shenzhen ― ZTE requirements and to address the difficulty well as outstanding contributions to announced its joint demonstration with of finding site locations. Pre5G Massive promoting the development of TD- Korea Telecom at Mobile World Congress MIMO uses a beam forming technology LTE industry. 2016. The companies will exhibit a Pre5G to extend coverage from 2D to 3D ZTE has now won the past MIMO base station demonstrating their space to achieve seamless coverage and three consecutive GTI awards, and latest cooperative achievements in the 5G significantly improve the quality of the these accolades fully affirm ZTE’s field. network end-to-end. continuous innovation and industry For the Pre5G Massive MIMO driving force in the field of TD-LTE. base station, ZTE utilizes the multi- Since its inception in 2011, GTI has antenna SDMA technology to improve been committed to the development existing 4G wireless frequency spectrum of the global TD-LTE industry. With efficiency by four to six times. In a more than 122 operators and 103 commercial network, the average partner members, GTI is at present single-carrier peak rate of Pre5G the most influential organization Massive MIMO exceeds 400 Mbps. within the TDD industry. ZTE has produced this solution to meet sharply increased capacity expansion ZTE News
ZTE Proud to Be Launch Partner in China Mobile’s 5G Joint ZTE Wins Global Mobile Award Innovation Lab for Pre5G Massive MIMO at MWC 26 February 2016, Shenzhen ― 23 February 2016, Shenzhen ― makes innovative use of Massive ZTE announced that it is proud to ZTE won the Best Mobile Technology MIMO technology to enhance wireless be named as one of the first eleven Breakthrough Award and Outstanding spectrum efficiency and boost network partners in the China Mobile 5G Overall Mobile Technology—The capacity. In a commercial network, the Joint Innovation Lab (5G JIL), which CTO’s Choice 2016 for its Pre5G average single-carrier peak rate of Pre5G officially launched at the GTI Summit Massive MIMO technology at the Massive MIMO exceeds 400 Mbps, held during Mobile World Congress Global Mobile Awards 2016. Mobile increasing spectral efficiency by four 2016 in Barcelona. World Congress 2016, hosted by the to six times as compared with that of The 5G JIL aims to draw on GSM Association (GSMA), is the existing 4G networks. multiple resources from across the world’s most influential gathering in the Pre5G Massive MIMO uses industry in order to facilitate 4G-to- mobile communications industry, and beamforming technology to expand from 5G evolution and create a virtuous the GSMA’s Global Mobile Awards 2D to 3D coverage, and implements circle for innovation. China Mobile 4 represent the highest honor. intensive and extensive seamless has plans to create more opportunities APR 2016 As the world has ushered in the coverage. The technology is flexible and ZTE mobile internet era, existing networks can adapt to high-rise buildings, hotspot for cooperation across different are faced with the conflict between macro coverage, stadium coverage, industries in areas rich in potential capacity demand surges and insufficient and last-mile scenarios, dramatically such as basic communications, site resources. In this context, ZTE enhancing overall network quality. internet of things (IoT), internet of vehicles (IoV), industrial internet, cloud robotics, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR). ZTE Signs 4G Patent Licensing The 5G JIL will build a central lab in Beijing, and regional labs in the China Mobile International Agreement with Teltronic Information Port, Qingdao, Chongqing and other places. China 1 March 2016, Shenzhen ― ZTE announced that it has signed a Mobile and its partners will actively 4G patent licensing agreement with take part in 5G tests organized by Spanish company Teltronic. The the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group agreement is a further signifier of in China, to promote 5G candidate ZTE’s global leadership in the field of technology validation, standards 4G LTE technology. Under the terms development, and industrial chain of this royalty-bearing agreement, construction. China Mobile will also Teltronic will use ZTE patents cooperate with the GTI, GSMA, to upgrade their mission critical and NGMN to expand partners and communication infrastructure to cooperation. support LTE functionality. vIP Voices
5 APR 2016 ZTE
Telenor Expands Network Capacity to Enter into Digital Life
Reporter: Zhang Ying Ingeborg Øfsthus, CEO of Telenor Montenegro and Serbia vIP Voices
elenor will be celebrating two important in Serbia, there are less fluctuations over the year. anniversaries in 2016―ten years of Montenegro is a very popular tourist destination, and operations in Serbia, and 20 years in during the third quarter of every year, the coastline Montenegro. With broadband internet, just explodes with tourists. And during those summer Telenor currently covers over 92% of months, it can be a challenge to serve all the visitors the Serbian population and over 97% in in a great way, while maintaining the same service TMontenegro, and the company is constantly working on level for existing customers. In addition, we see that 6 upgrading its capacities to provide premium services to the population of Montenegro has tendency to move APR 2016 its customers. Recently, ZTE Technologies interviewed from inland to the coast areas, which creates additional ZTE Ingeborg Øfsthus, CEO of Telenor Montenegro and pressure to capacities. Serbia. She talked about the characteristics of the Serbian and Montenegrin telecom markets, network What distinguishes Telenor from other capacity expansion project, and the major challenges operators in Serbia and Montenegro? of this project. She also talked about Telenor’s growth strategy and her expectations for ZTE as well as her We have a strong and positive brand perception in views on future trends. both markets with the network as our differentiator, as we are seen as a network quality provider. How would you characterize the Serbian In addition to that, we have the advantage of being and Montenegrin telecom markets and their part of the Telenor group, so we have the opportunity users’ habits? to use the experience from other markets and learn from each other. 4G was introduced in Montenegro There are similarities between the two markets, due relatively early, so we were one of the innovators in this to the geographical and cultural ties, but each market technology in Telenor Group, but still there are some also has its specifics. Both are very competitive markets valuable experiences we could draw from the Telenor with customers that have the same expectations as tech group in that area. advanced users anywhere else in Europe. And they are really starting to get into data services with their Could you brief us on your network capacity demands growing dramatically. This is a trend we are expansion in Montenegro? How will this also witnessing in the rest of the world. project improve user experience? What is specific to Montenegro is that there is still quite high proportion of prepaid customers compared We see a huge data growth year over year, and need to Serbia, and it is a very seasonal market. We see to take Montenegro seasonality into account. We need much more seasonal variations in Montenegro, while to prepare for the summer during the first half of the vIP Voices
7 APR 2016 ZTE year. That means we have to work on the projects at new sites. very strict time lines in order to deliver services in time. Of course, the most important thing is to have the There are two ways we are preparing for the summer right people at the right place and ensure that we have season. We are now improving our core network by experts available for the whole duration of the project. upgrading it, and additionally, we are moving the core network physically into the new technical premises that How would you describe Telenor’s growth are built in Montenegro―our state of the art data center. strategy? What are your goals in 2016? Furthermore, we are carefully taking our learnings from the previous summer and forecast for the year to We see Telenor’s growth strategy built around the come. Based on that, we are creating a network capacity three pillars across the Telenor Group―Internet for All, upgrade plan that needs to be carried out before the end Loved by Customers, and Efficient Operations. of June. We believe that bringing data connectivity to everybody can influence the quality of life, making it What are the major challenges that you are better. Once you enter the digital world, you become facing during project execution? a global citizen. There is entertainment on one side, but you also get access to information, which is a way Time is of the essence. First, we need to ensure for taking away the boundaries. We truly believe that that everything, including the equipment, is delivered bringing people into the digital life on one side, creates on time. Second, we need to ensure all the works are a better life and on the other, it is creating growth. carried out exactly where they should be, because we The second pillar of our strategy is that in have a short window to perform. I believe this is our everything we do, we need to focus on being loved by key challenge. In addition, we need to ensure that customers. Those are very strong words, but what it we have all the permits in place, for there is a lot of really means is we need to understand our customers. administrative paperwork when it comes to building We use customer insight, measurements such as Net vIP Voices
8 APR 2016 ZTE Promoter Score, to understand what we can help the our day to day business. It means never settling with customers with, and how they perceive us. In Serbia, the current situation, but always searching for new and for example, we are extremely strong when it comes better ways to serve our customers. to net promoter score, and in Montenegro, we have an What we are seeing now is that everything is going enormous improvement. We also see that the network is digital. As a telco, we need to transform ourselves and the number one reason that promotes us in Montenegro. embrace the digital future. This means paying a lot of We believe that putting customers in the center of attention to how we interact with our customers and whatever we do is driving the right priorities and the what solutions we deploy. We also need to be bold and necessary growth. think what steps we should take in order to be ready for And finally, in order to grow, we have to ensure the future. that we are growing in a sustainable and efficient way. We need to be sure that our operation is working as How would you assess ZTE’s team and efficiently as possible. What we have done in the region solutions? What do you expect from future is setting up Telenor Common Operation, a common cooperation with ZTE? entity that is now executing planning, rollout, and operations on behalf of all the countries in this region. I believe that Telenor Montenegro has quite special This is creating scale, and makes it easier for us to grow. relationship with ZTE. It was the first entry point into the Telenor group. ZTE did massive effort in swapping There is a strategy, but would you also say the whole Montenegro network, bringing in a service that innovation is a way to grow? platform and even converging the billing system. I think that was a big opportunity for ZTE to fully showcase its I believe that we need to work on innovation. capabilities in the Telenor group. Innovation can happen on many levels―both big steps, We have been working together for many years in as well as small, constant changes in the way we do Montenegro. We see that the network is performing vIP Voices
We believe that ZTE’s solutions are strong, and we have very good experience of working with the colleagues from ZTE.
9 well, and we are the first in Telenor group to have we will get enormous opportunities to provide better APR 2016 converged billing in place. services for customers in the future. ZTE We believe that ZTE’s solutions are strong, and Then, everything is moving to the cloud. It is very we have very good experience of working with the clear that we need to challenge a decade old way of colleagues from ZTE. And we would like to see even thinking of having one system as one solution in one closer cooperation, because even though Montenegro is country. We now have enormous opportunities―with a small market, the activity levels are varying and we good cloud solutions, we can utilize resources all over have certain fluctuations of the people working with us. the world. We would like to see even more continuity, but we are Thirdly, network revolution, driven by data and very impressed with the efforts and dedication of ZTE triggered by the Internet of Things. We hear about the colleagues in our corporation. staggering numbers of connected devices―one billion It is very important to have people on the ground by 2020, 1.5 billion by 2023. Who knows exactly? But and working there. Being a big company, they also have we can see now that it will be an enormous number. to have strong support and the right prioritization from This is driving a massive need for capacity, and it will the central team. I believe that it is important to see this be the driver for 5G technology. passion to deliver, and a certain flexibility to adapt to In terms of technologies such as 4G, 5G, the local conditions is also appreciated. evolution we see that comes from bringing up the capacity, bringing up the number of simultaneous What do you think of the future trends in the connections and bringing down the latency, just needs global telecom market? to continue. So, no matter what the technology is called, Well, there are many big thinkers around this it is first of all the capacity that is driving the change. I subject, and we can see certain trends. believe we have just seen the tip of the iceberg when it The first one is that we are going for customer comes to the Internet of Things. insight by using big data. The information available If we talk again in five years, we will surely have about customers is huge and requires completely a better view on how big it became. And it will be big, different ways of looking at it. But by utilizing big data, that is for sure. vIP Voices
Namibia Wishes to Connect Everyone Reporter: Zhang Ying
10 APR 2016 ZTE
Hon. Tjekero Tweya, Minister of Information and Communication Technology in Namibia vIP Voices
he Republic of Namibia is a vast, for public and private use. They both will have access sparsely populated country situated on to information through network. Furthermore, this the south Atlantic coast of Africa. The will also grow the private sector in that we will have new government has encouraged the small telecom shops to sell computers, and open up job development of ICT, and now the main opportunities for the young people. Many of them are cities in Namibia are connected. However, trained, but they don’t have the opportunity to use their theT rural areas are still not connected. Recently, ZTE skills. With networks, they can fix small electronics, and Technologies interviewed Hon. Tjekero Tweya, Minister their skills can be used. of Information and Communication Technology in Namibia. He talked about his biggest achievement, Namibia’s vision 2030 focuses on knowledge, priorities for Namibia’s telecom sector, and the information and technology. What role does ICT challenges and opportunities facing his ministry. He also play in realizing it? 11 shared with us his expectations for ZTE and his future APR 2016 prospects for Namibia’s telecom sector. Namibia’s vision 2030, clearly says that by 2030, ZTE we want to have a knowledge-based society. At that What are your priorities for Namibia’s time, Namibia should be at a development level like a telecom sector? developed country; it will be developed by the people. At present, people can’t develop the country if they Now that I know what the challenges are, my first don’t have the knowledge. Technology will increase priority is to ensure there is network coverage across the knowledge across all sectors. For example, you must whole country, including rural areas, where the majority have the knowledge to use computer. of Namibians will have affordable access to the network. With the computer, you will have information about Communities must have good access to the internet. how to fix a radio, you will learn information about In Namibia, we already have what we call e-police, tourism and specific medication that you may need, which is to use electronic systems to track down the and you will get information about job opportunities, criminals, to record incidence that we can share with studying opportunities and investment opportunities that the communities, and to allow the communities to get exist in the specific areas or in the country. in touch with the police. Furthermore, hospitals can You must have knowledge for manufacturing and also use these electronic systems. This is why a network making things happen. For example, we have a lot of must be available. minerals in Namibia. We have uranium, diamond, gold Moreover, new construction in the private sector and others. What is happening now? Because we don’t needs to have network through access or through have the knowledge with diamond, we must export these telephones. It will enable the growth of SMEs so they elsewhere, where value is added to them. Then we buy a can have access to tender opportunities provided by the diamond through a ring, and this ring is put on the gold. government. If they don’t have access to internet, it will We can’t manufacture them by ourselves, so we must be very difficult for them to know these opportunities have the knowledge to make the equipment, to polish exist within the government. It literately confines the the diamond, and to form and design the ring. people in towns and excludes these rural communities. When we milk a cow, we will have the knowledge If the network is available, it will open the way to produce yoghourt, butter, cheese, and other things. vIP Voices
However, at this moment, we only see milk and we few are delaying the annual goals of economy, because finish it because we lack knowledge. From milk, there the overall potential is not released to the full. Here is are many other by-products that we can get. Entering my invitation to open up the potential. into a knowledge-base society, it is what we want Namibia to look like by 2030. What are the greatest challenges and opportunities for Ministry of Information How is the competition in Namibia’s and Communication Technology in the next telecom market? few years? At the moment, we don’t have many competitors, and the environment for telecommunications is still The first challenge, obviously, is to change the very relaxed. Network coverage is only 70 per cent of attitude of the people. The Ministry of Information and the country. It is only confined to urban areas, but the Communication Technology was merely doing with majority of the people are not in the urban areas. That’s information, less emphasis on the communication, the 12 why we go to rural areas, schools and agriculture. The development of technology, and the acquisition of new APR 2016 agriculture is a major sector of our economy. If it is technology. ZTE excluded, what competition are we talking about? We The second challenge is that it has always been must bring it into the mainstream, and then we can talk confined to the government, less to the private sector. about competition. The opportunity is that the sector should include Because we only got one or two operators, they are public and private. In other words, in the public sector, making it inaccessible to many because of the high rate. all ministries at the Prime Minister through e-government You know, it is governed by demand and supply. If there should use the technology to convey information. That’s are several operators, it will bring the cost down so that how the information to be conveyed to all government the price is affordable. Consumers will then be able to ministries, and then the government ministries in all choose what they can afford. For now, they are forced regions to inform the people in the rural areas. However, to accept whatever price existing operators gave them. I they must have access to that information. think the price in Namibia is unaffordable for many. At the same time, the private sector should Therefore, I’m inviting players to come because this contribute to the economy. Lately, Bank of Namibia is an opportunity for investment. There is room for more has announced that it intends facing out the payment investors, and the environment is not so competitive. The systems with normal checks, but through electronic only challenge is the current players who may not want payment. Now this is an opportunity for further new players to come onboard, because they are dictating investment in the ICT sector. the prices. We want all Namibians to participate, but In Namibia, we pay pensions to anyone 60 years or at the rate they are charging, it automatically excludes older. Currently, they receive it through the post office. the majority from participation, so it is an economy of When it is paid, everybody must go and queue. If we use exclusivity. technology, all payment can be done over the internet. We want to change it to be more inclusive. All the Old people wouldn’t need to go and queue, and expose people including the poor and the unemployed have themselves to criminals, to be attacked or to be stolen. access to these facilities. For now, it is very expensive, Instead, they can go anytime to withdraw any amount and there are only few holding up the economy. These that they need. With internet, people’s living standard vIP Voices
has been improved a lot. Now, the case is that if they have all the cash, they spend it, because business people would give them credit or sell things to them at a very high price, their money will be spent in one day, so these are opportunities. Apart from the challenges, the opportunities are enormous. For example, doctors can use internet to dispose their medicare fully in electronic, the patients don’t need to queue at the hospital to remind the doctors to do further research. With the internet, doctors will know what is happening in the country with different diseases, etc. At this moment, they do operations only at few major centers, and they can use electronic equipment to do minimally invasive surgery. So that’s the investment opportunity in Namibia. We have plenty of growth opportunities for public and private. 1113 The construction industry can also use the internet. FEBAPR 20162016 In construction industry, people can use technology to ZTE design houses. They will know how many cement and bricks they need, and how long the construction period will take. All these can be achieved through the internet. In addition, it will need more people to work, so the ICT sector will create job opportunities for people. Many people are worried that computers will make them jobless, but the truth is that if they use technology properly, it is actually a job creator.
The ICT sector in Namibia has developed rapidly in recent years, but the rural areas are still not connected. What measures will you take to expand the network coverage in the rural areas?
Over the past nine months, it has been my priority to connect rural areas. I intend connecting the whole country by networks. It is the only way. Firstly, we have to build the infrastructure, that’s why I invited the private sectors to provide network coverage. We don’t have towers, antennas or microwaves. In some areas, we don’t have conventional electricity or set-lights, so people don’t have access to the services, television, internet or mobile phone. That depends on technology connectivity. Now, the priority is really to vIP Voices
have coverage throughout the whole country; it is also My country has an international facility in our office base, a challenge. and we can use it to ship equipment for the distribution in I take this as a challenge to create opportunities. the region. ZTE can become a strategy partner by using I believe that as we invest more in young people, we Namibia to start a sampling plant. Through that, it can will create a more conducive environment for learners penetrate the continent. because they will have access to internet learning. By My country, geographically, is huge. We are doing that, I believe we will get an improved outcome in considering building a R&D center, sampling plant or education to create more learners who intend to become training facility in the region. My country is peaceful future engineers, technicians, architect, lawyers, doctors, and stable. This is an incentive for any investor, because politicians, professors, teachers and pilots. they need a peaceful and stable politically environment to do what they need to do. Moreover, we have invested How would you comment on ZTE’s team and in the physical old infrastructure. Our old infrastructure solutions? is very reliable, stable and predictable. With its business philosophy, ZTE can partner with Namibia and go long; ZTE has been clear that it must be trustable in the I think ZTE is the right partner to enter the continent relationship. Although I’m inviting people to come and from the savvy point of view. invest in Namibia, they must have the right attitude as In the region, Namibia is already the top four in the 14 partners. Partner simply means partner; they must not digital area, i.e., the digital terrestrial television (DTT). APR 2016 have selfish intentions. If they do, they are not welcome. We are a leader in the region, so we already have a good ZTE ZTE has a clear business philosophy of respecting record. If ZTE don’t have Namibia as a partner, what partners and viewing Namibia as an equal partner, so better partner does it need in the region? it is most welcome. Moreover, I believe that ZTE needs to expand its Could you tell us your future prospects for business. It has the technology and the know-how. We Namibia’s telecom sector? have the raw materials; we have people who need skills; and we have the market. These are issues that we can My prospect is that Namibia can be fully covered bring together. If we work and respect each other, we by networks; people can fully enjoy accessibility to all can have a win-win situation. Win-win means we have technological devices. I’m a part of Namibia, as our our needs and ZTE has their needs too. If we work president said, “Let all Namibians feel at home, and together, we can both fulfill and satisfy our needs, not no one inside the Namibia’ house should feel left out.” the one satisfies itself at expense of the other one. That is not only for Namibians, but also for the visitors, investors, and everybody that comes to Namibia. When What are your expectations for ZTE in the future? you are in Namibia, we want you to feel that you are a part of Namibia. Well, my expectation is ZTE can go to see what Therefore, the policy of exclusivity can’t be my country is going through. It is my hope that ZTE tolerated in Namibia. We want to give everyone a will become a real reliable and trustable partner in the chance to access whatever information is being shared development. in the house, to communicate and stay together for ZTE will see opportunities to expand its businesses a better future that all of us are prosperous and have and grow. ZTE can also use my country as a springboard decent lives. We are fighting poverty; we don’t believe to a big market in Africa through South Africa in poverty reduction, we say poverty eradication. No Development Community (SADC). Through Namibia, poverty is good for everyone, and we want everyone to ZTE’s equipment can be introduced into the sub-regions. have a prosperous life. vIP Voices Broad Based Communications: Making Real Bandwidth Penetration a Reality in Nigeria Reporter: Temiloluwa Adeyemi
15 APR 2016 ZTE
John Mercado, Chief Operating Officer of Broad Based Communications vIP Voices
road Based Communications (BBC), is to further make them stronger and increase the which is located in Lagos, Nigeria, is bandwidth penetration as well. The more fiber optic a fixed network company. Although we install underground, the closer we are in making it Broad Based Communications is very possible for the bandwidth-hungry contents to become a young in telecom industry, it developed reality and to be experienced by all Nigerians. rapidly in the past five years. Its networkB is designed as open access, so that everyone Nigeria is encouraging free competition in in Nigeria can use it. Recently, ZTE Technologies the telecom market. What opportunity does interviewed John Mercado, Chief Operating Officer this bring to Broad Based Communications? of Broad Based Communications. He talked about the main focus of Broad Based Communications as BBC from inception is an enabler and a well as the company’s recent projects and networking differentiator. We are an open access company, strategy. He also talked about his expectations for and we cater more on shared infrastructure, so ZTE and visions for Broad Based Communications. we encourage more competition on the ground, encourage more innovation and encourage Nigerians Could you introduce Broad Based to develop more content in order to coagulate Communications and its main business focus? opportunities. The more the competitions, the more equal level Broad Based Communications is a fixed playing ground available to common Nigerians. metropolitan fiber optic network company. We BBC network was designed as open access; this was generally focus on last mile carrier base access envisioned by our Managing Director, Prince Henry using optical transmission. Being a carrier’s carrier Iseghohi Okojie years ahead for the common good 16 of high capacity circuits, BBC has been a trusted and the service of the many. APR 2016 name in the wholesale telecom market space. One ZTE differentiator of the company is that BBC is an open Could you tell us about some of Broad Based access company; we cater for telcos, carrier, financial Communications’ recent projects? What is institutions and ISPs in a non-competitive and non- the importance of these projects? discriminatory way. So far, the company has deployed 1,962 Km We are seriously expanding and preparing the of optical fiber, serving 20 out of 20 banks in ground works for some keys states in the country, Nigeria, 18 internet service providers, 3 out of 4 and additional product lines will be launched by Q2 GSM companies, presenting in all Submarine Cable this year. These projects shall ensure flows of video Landing Stations and making headway in terms of contents to the market. last mile access connectivity. What is your networking strategy for the next In Nigeria, 90% of the networks are mobile. three to five years? As a fixed network operator, what are your major advantages and competitiveness? Our networking strategy is to spread Broad Based Communications to other states of the federation, Being a metro access company, we do several to duplicate the model we have done successfully things to compensate the wireless sector because high in Lagos to other states and to make sure that other capacity transmission network is the solution needed states in Nigeria are benefitting from the achievement to effectively deliver whatever LTE technology is we have made in Lagos. promising. This is what we do every day and we are We control most of the banks and financial the best when it comes to delivering connectivity at institutions in terms of connectivity, so we need to par with world-class standards. expand them, the same with ISP and fibre to the base Even though the majority of networks in Nigeria station expansion. Expansion on these projects are are wireless, the fibre business that we are running what we intend to do not for tomorrow but for today. vIP Voices
17 APR 2016 ZTE
An interview
What impressed you most about ZTE’s team? We are very excited and optimistic about 2016. How will the partnership between Broad We have seen the policies are changing; we are Based Communications and ZTE evolve in witnessing a much more predictable environment. the future? One of our corporate contributions is to provide connectivity to the Nigerian Internet Exchange Point ZTE has been a partner of BBC for half a (NIXP). NIXP is the promoter of local contents decade, and ZTE’s presence on the ground gave in the country and is mandated by the Nigerian us confidence. We are benefiting a lot from ZTE’s Communications Commission (NCC) to host the portfolio of expertise and its continuous support. local data interconnections of all licensed operators. There are times misunderstandings and we all end up We have felt the need and desire of a novice user in compromise and resolve. when Netflix (content provider based in the US) was BBC and ZTE are partners in progress. We move along together, and I believe BBC has achieved a lot first introduced in Nigeria this year. The local traffic because of ZTE’s innovation. of NIXP jumped to 3 folds a week after, and it was a tip of the iceberg in the making. What are your expectations for Broad Based At end of the day, we will have more business Communications in 2016? and opportunities for everyone. special Topic
Economic Feasibility of Big Data Construction By Wang Dezheng 18 APR 2016 ZTE
roblems Faced by Big Data can bring benefits. Big data also needs to meet the two Big data can increase productivity prerequisites before being applied and social benefits, and its essence is to on a large scale. improve the accuracy of human production In the Gartner Hype activities. Academician E Weinan once put Cycle 2014, big data was Pit: “Big data itself brings no direct benefits, for it cannot moving towards the trough of be eaten or worn. But it can eliminate waste.” disillusionment after passing Before the appearance of big data, it was difficult to through a period of hype. Usually, glean wisdom from machines because wisdom usually technologies in this stage are comes from experts across all industries. Currently, technically feasible. Driven the input knowledge (or information) from a massive by the Hadoop-based open- knowledge base made by big data mining can be source system, big data might transformed into wisdom that guides human beings to already have the basic technical improve social and productive activities. feasibility in most areas except Each technology that produces social benefits a certain cutting-edge area. must satisfy two prerequisites: technical feasibility However, its economic feasibility and economic feasibility. The former means whether is often ill-considered in project this technology provides corresponding methods for implementation, such as no clear Wang Dezheng implementation, while the latter means whether the project objective and excess initial Chief Engineer of system (or product) constructed using this technology investment. This means that the Central R&D Institute, ZTE special Topic: Big Data
Benefit point B: closed-loop applications
Benefit point C: Benefit point A: open-loop applications system light-loading
Figure 1. Benefit points of a big data project.
project fails to provide expected benefits. Therefore, demand”. Enterprises such as banks and securities can economic feasibility is a key consideration for a big greatly reduce the load of their production systems and data project. improve system stability only by transferring historical transaction data into the big data platform. Profit Model of Big Data Benefit point B is closed-loop applications. The big data platform collects business process data generated A big data project is usually constructed in the by the production system and models the data. It also 19 following mode: first construct a big data platform then suggests improvements and provides analysis reports. APR 2016 add multiple applications onto the platform. The big It can remove or improve unreasonable processes ZTE data platform itself does not bring any economic benefit, to increase system production efficiency and reduce and all economic benefit is reflected by corresponding costs. For example, coverage information of a wireless applications and operations. Therefore, in early project network can be collected to guide network planning planning, much attention should be paid to services built and optimization. This dramatically reduces capital on the platform and also on the relevant business mode and time costs compared with traditional network for economic feasibility of the project. planning and optimization based on a drive test. Another There are three benefit or profit points in a big example is the e-commerce recommendation system, data project (Fig. 1). Benefit point A is system light- which analyzes user attributes and labels from the data loading. Storing a lot of historical data in the production generated by an e-commerce website and then gives a system is expensive and can also affect system stability. recommendation to the e-commerce website for sales Therefore, the benefit point A is nearly a “rigid promotion. This is a closed loop feedback. Benefit point C is open-loop applications. Data values are achieved chiefly by third parties. Data from
Telecommunications Internet date telecom operators can be used for road planning and date ecosystem ecosystem traffic density prediction. Related benefits are generated through data operation and exchange. Because it is difficult to obtain stable revenue from open loop
Government affairs applications, and it is also difficult to measure the Other data ecoystom date ecosystem ultimate value generated by the data because of the lack of feedback, a relevant closed loop is difficult to form. In the early stage of project construction, business targets at the benefit points A and B are easy to be focused on, from which economic benefits can be easily produced. Although in the early stage it is difficult to
Figure 2. The relationship between big data ecosystems. generate economic benefits, in the long term the benefit special Topic
that applications in the ecosystem, such as system light-loading, closed-loop applications, and open-loop 20 applications can create reasonable benefits and are APR 2016 commercially feasible. ZTE There are many data ecosystems being constructed in all fields. As market competition intensifies, ecosystems that are not economically feasible will point C can bring more benefit than the points A and gradually be phased out or integrated. A few powerful B. Therefore, the sequence of business construction, ecosystems will dominate in certain fields. These i.e., when to deploy a business, is crucial to a big data powerful ecosystems solve the economic feasibility project and can even determine whether a project is a issue, and mine and monetize valuable data within their success or failure. own ecological fields. In the initial project construction, closed-loop The relationship between big data ecosystems is applications that easily generate economic benefits are shown in Fig. 2. To achieve collaboration and common often first considered, so that the project can sustain prosperity between powerful ecosystems, data is itself economically. Based on the data accumulated transmitted and exchanged according to the principle of in the initial stage, open-loop applications are then equality and mutual benefit. A small amount of data that expanded. Such construction sequence can help increase is not involved in the ecosystems can be freely traded to success rate of the project. maximize its social value through the data exchange. In this era of explosive big-data growth, big data is Big Data Ecosystems becoming economically feasible in all fields, and big data services are becoming available everywhere. ZTE’s A system based on the big data platform can DAP big data platform provides data encapsulation, obtain and accumulate core data through closed-loop capability openness, and a quick and easy environment applications and build an application ecosystem using for application development that can help customers these open-loop applications. A healthy application plan and construct their big data ecosystems in stages, ecosystem must be able to solve the economic reduce initial investment, and lower their project risks. feasibility issue within the ecosystem, which means special Topic: Big Data
VMAX for Optimal Network Operation By Huang Peiyong
21 APR 2016 ZTE
he evolution of mobile operators expand network capacity without communication optimizing or controlling network traffic, the technology is benefits cannot match the costs. complicating mobile ● Complaints are rising. With the explosive growth networks. Nowadays, of data services, the complaints continuously rapidly developing increase, and the need to rapidly locate a fault Tmobile data services are creating and handle data service complaints becomes huge benefits as well as challenges increasingly urgent. for operators. ● Network content is invisible. Without the visualization of service contents, data service ● Network optimization and quality or user experience cannot be truly O&M costs are going up. The reflected. Operators are lack of valid and end-to- hybrid 2G/3G/4G networking, end methods to evaluate service quality and user. enhanced network complexity, ● Operators are being relegated to dumb pipes. In and increased service types the mobile internet era, operators are challenged raise higher requirements on by OTT providers. They need to optimal operate network O&M. Therefore, the data services to improve network values. network optimization and O&M costs are rising. To attain a dominant position in the full-service ● Services are increasing while operation era, operators must transit from extensive Huang Peiyong revenues are decreasing. Some management to optimal management, optimize service low-value services occupy quality, offer targeted and differentiated products, and Manager of Wireless Big Data Product Planning, ZTE considerable bandwidth. If improve user experience. special Topic
Wireless Coverage analysis & VIP customers Application parameters Complaint handling Terminal analysis optimization optimization analysis analysis layer Management Capacity analysis Fault location User perception Services analysis ``` ``` system
Interface adapter layer Safety
Multi-data source query framework management
ZDH Spart Impala HIVE Relational CEP real- (hadoop) Data sharing System database time data HBASE layer management sybase IQ processing HDFS
Loader
Cluster Data cleaning Preprocessing Data conversion Data analysis & load management
Data acquisition Data CDT/MR Probe Alarm data Performance Road test Third-party data source layer sources data 22 APR 2016 Figure 1. VMAX layered architecture. ZTE
With deep understanding of the telecom industry end-to-end associated CDR data can be diagnosed and innovative thinking, ZTE launched value MAX one by one from the control plane, media plane, (VMAX), which is a wireless big data solution. associated cells, and associated network elements VMAX is a network O&M product based on big data in order to identify the path and the cause of a technology. VMAX perceives and analyzes network fault. VMAX, together with the troubleshooting and service information from the perspective of users. experience database and fault decision tree, allows It visualizes network quality, service traffic, service customer service staff to handle complaints timely quality, user experience, user behavior, and terminal and efficient. application through mass data mining and analysis. ● End-to-end data service network optimization. It also supports end-to-end customer complaint With end-to-end network optimization analysis, handling and QoS analysis. In addition, it can quickly VMAX can quickly discover the source and identify the causes that affect network quality and location of a problem. Moreover, it has a quality user perception, and build visual, manageable and indicator system for mainstream services to controllable service pipes to achieve full-service support end-to-end analysis and real-time optimal operation. monitoring, and to understand the availability, time delay, traffic, bandwidth and packet loss of ZTE’s VMAX is used in various network services, and the coverage and interference of the O&M scenarios: air interface. It enables data mining and analysis from top to bottom and from entire network to ● Intelligent handling of customer complaints. specific areas. VMAX transits from “separate”, “passive”, and ● User experience management. VMAX enables “inefficient"complaint handling to “associated”, an operator to perceive users’ feelings, pay “active”, and “efficient” complaint handling. The closer attention to users, and improve customer special Topic: Big Data
satisfaction. It has an end-to-end user perception marketing. What’s more, it identifies valuable system that involves analyzing QoS of specific networks and makes suggestions for network users. In addition, it monitors user experience development. in real time, provides special care for VIP users, ● Intelligent closed-loop control. VMAX can explores potential VAP users, and reminds operators be connected with the PCC system to build a to take measures to avoid customer churn. controllable service pipe that reduces network ● Support marketing. By building visual multi- pressure, promotes traffic value, improves user dimensional pipes and mining data value, VMAX experience and maximizes return on investment. helps an operator with accurate marketing In peak hours, VMAX ensures bandwidth for and network investment. It acquires popular high-value services and VIP users. In idle hours, services and applications in mobile networks to it increases user bandwidth and improve user increase operating revenues and improve service experience. experience. It also acquires user consumption ● Industry-leading big data platform. By adopting habits, service preferences, and activity scenarios, multiple key technologies, the VMAX big- providing a reference for precise terminal data platform is fast, accurate, and easy to use.
23 APR 2016 ZTE
Third-party system
Application Standard interface acquisition layer Internal interface acquisition
Wireless data acquisition
Share layer CHR/DPI
Acquire wireless Prober CDT/MR data CHR/DPI CHR Optical splitting Optical splitting or mirroring or mirroring Built-in DPI Meeting
Gi/SGI IuPS/S1 Gn/S11/S5/S8
SGSN/MME/SGW GGSN/PGW
Figure 2. VMAX network architecture. special Topic
VMAX allows internal interfaces to obtain control- plane and media-plane data from ZTE’s core network elements and to obtain MR/CDT data from the wireless side.
24 APR 2016 ZTE
Applications are decoupled from data, which external interfaces can acquire control-plane and avoids a situation where applications can access media-plane data for the VMAX system from standard bottom-layer data. With a hybrid architecture, the interfaces, such as Gn/IuPS/Gi/S1/S10/S11/S5/S8/SGi. big-data platform is technically open and divided The VMAX system can acquire, extract, associate, and into multiple layers and domains. MPP + Hadoop analyze data from modules in the network to support is used for platform construction, and multiple network O&M. Hadoop 2.0 components are introduced. The real- time service capability realizes real-time data Based on ZTE’s big-data technology, VMAX not acquisition, real-time analysis, real-time service only has powerful processing capacity but also flexible delivery, and self-adaptive learning of models and convergence ability. It can help operators build an labels. The platform incorporates big data security optimal operation platform, which has already been into the unified security management system. deployed by many mainstream operators. For example, the VMAX big-data analysis system that was put into ZTE’s VMAX contains three layers: prober operation by Sichuan Telecom in March 2014 has acquisition layer, data sharing layer, and analysis done what it was designed to do in terms of user care, application layer. Each layer has open interface user behavior analysis, and user terminal analysis. It adapters to integrate multiple data sources, platforms, supports network construction planning by optimizing and applications. the networks and improving complaint handling efficiency. This system has been stably running for VMAX allows internal interfaces to obtain control- more than one year, bringing significant economic and plane and media-plane data from ZTE’s core network social benefits. It also helps a lot to Sichuan Telecom’s elements and to obtain MR/CDT data from the wireless optimal operation of province-wide wireless networks. side. By deploying probes and using optical splitters, special Topic: Big Data
ZXDNA: Building Smart Pipes for Optimal Traffic Operations
By Lv Haibing
n today’s burgeoning mobile way, they can fully use networks and avoid becoming internet market, internet pipe providers. giants have launched hundreds of thousands of ZTE has rolled out ZXDNA, a deep network 25 mobile apps, allowing them analysis system to help operators guarantee optimal APR 2016 to get substantial returns traffic operations. The following work flow (Fig. 1) ZTE fromI terminal sales, app illustrates how ZXDNA works. downloads, traffic-based profit- sharing, and advertising. However, The hexagonal block 1 in Fig.1 shows the procedure mobile operators have to spend for big data collection. Traffic data is collected and much more on network deployment pre-processed in U31NMS and then classified and and capacity expansion to provide allocated to the relevant database. The hexagonal a higher network bandwidth for block 2 shows the procedure of big data processing and these video, audio, and gaming analysis, which is based on ZTE’s big data platform apps, leaving themselves an DAP2.0. Traffic data is analyzed and predicted, and the increasingly unsatisfactory return result is displayed to operators. on investment. Operators are now in a dilemma of increased traffic ZXDNA features powerful data statistics and but low ARPU and are gradually analysis, abundant graph and table views, and becoming pipe providers. flexible deployment. It can be used for typical traffic operations. What can operators do to break through this barrier? They can ● Powerful data statistics and analysis. ZXDNA create smart pipes that optimize enables data statistics at multiple levels from traffic. Specifically, operators need different dimensions, for example, traffic and to strengthen their own operation bandwidth usage by region, service, and time. capabilities, manage traffic flow, Through innovative calculations, valuable accommodate their network indicators are derived from basic KPIs to explore Lv Haibing architecture and resources to the value of traffic data. ZXDNA itself provides Director of market needs, and expand network default indicators that are extensible and tailors Big Data Architecture, ZTE capacity at the right time. In this a number of practical report templates for mobile special Topic
Mobile backhaul Once every 15 U31NMS minutes Performance GE 10G Performance Collection data collection 1 data northbound
Asset data Asset data input NMS northbound database Once a day Performance data and alarm Asset and performance data calculating FTP service collected in sequence NMS FTP service
ZXDNA calculator ZXDNA collector
2 NMS NMS asset ZXDNA ZXDNA performance data performance asset data data Performance data data and alarm warehousing Report, topology and alarm ZXDNA management center ZXDNA database Management mailbox
Figure 1. Work flow of ZXDNA.
transport networks. Operators can use these operations by deeply analyzing operational data and templates to generate and export reports rapidly and network. The smart pipe, a critical execution point conveniently. The hierarchical drill-down function for traffic operations, enforces bandwidth guarantee, allows operators to explore multidimensional data access control, traffic offload, and control policies. The 26 in flexible and diverse ways. operational support platform is a core control point ● Big data processing. ZXDNA uses big-data for traffic operations. It can provide traffic operational APR 2016 technologies for intelligent data analysis and traffic policies to ensure enhanced user experience and ZTE prediction. Data can be aggregated by the hour, profitable traffic value. day, month, and year for efficient statistics and analysis, and all aggregated data can be stored for a The current traffic operational policies for long time and is quickly retrievable. mobile operators is to keep up the strength of smart ● Visible traffic flow. ZXDNA provides multiple pipes and transit gradually from forward traffic graph and table views, such as trend charts, pie operations to backward traffic operations. ZXDNA charts, star charts, topological graphs, dashboard helps operators put these policies into service by figures, overviews, TopN views, and event optimizing smart pipes and facilitating cooperation presence. All these views can be customized or with OTT service providers. combined as required. ● Flexible deployment and hierarchical data ZXDNA optimizes smart pipes based on big processing. In a one-level deployment, a ZXDNA data aggregation, over-segmented market, and system is built in each prefectural city for data collection, aggregation, analysis, and presentation. microservices policies. This helps operators increase In a two-level deployment, a ZXDNA system is set efficiency, lower costs, and increase revenue from in each prefectural city for local traffic monitoring, traffic. ZXDNA has been purchased and deployed by and another ZXDNA system is deployed at the China Mobile in 26 provinces and cities around China, provincial level to collect, summarize, and analyze becoming the benchmark for successful big-data data from each city. This system outputs a network applications. ZXDNA also uses big-data for deep user view and report for the whole province. ZXDNA behavior data mining and analysis, helping operators systems in different provinces are managed and vendors push personalized marketing strategies. independently. Operators can make different marketing schemes for different OTT service providers, and gradually move ZXDNA enables traffic-based closed-loop towards backward traffic operations. special Topic: Big Data DAP Facilitates Commercial Big Data Applications
By Zhu Kezhi
n a less technological era, most search engines all support big data applications. These information was not recorded, such computing engines combined with different analysis and as the surface color, temperature, mining algorithms analyze data and uncover value in and bearing pressure of objects. Even different scenarios. now, only little information can be collected, which chiefly includes data To address application needs for big data in various Igenerated by computers and some data scenarios, ZTE has launched an integrated data application selectively received by sensors. Gartner platform (DAP). Open-source DAP includes ZTE’s self- predicts that the global data will reach 40 developed manageable, controllable, and highly reliable zettabytes (ZB) by 2020. The rise of big commercial big data platform. This platform includes data data technologies has brought solutions for extract-transform-load (ETL) layer, storage and computing data processing, and can allow people to get layer, open data service layer, mining and analysis layer, 27 desirable information and knowledge from and unified management (Fig. 1). APR 2016 the data that they used to discard. ZTE The ETL layer obtains big data for analysis, and it What is big data? Big data features 4Vs: consists of ETL data processing engine, web crawler, volume, variety, value, and velocity. Big sqoop (for database import and export), and FLUME (for data storage, mining, and monetization are distributed log collection). all difficult technical issues that need to be addressed with appropriate solutions. With The storage and computing layer provides engines for the development of parallel computing data storage, analysis and calculation. This layer contains and reduction of hardware costs, parallel the underlying HDFS for data storage, YARN for unified computing has been widely used to management and scheduling of cluster resources, MR for solve big data issues. Multiple low-cost offline tasks handling, HBase for semi-structured data PC servers can constitute a distributed query, CEP for Storm-based complex events handling, and underlying physical infrastructure, where HIVE and Impala for SQL query. a distributed file system manages all file systems in a fragmented way and provides The basic big data platform solves the problems of big standard POSIX file interfaces. data storage and mining. However, the greatest challenge for current big data systems is how to monetize big data. There are different types of big data This is also a major concern for enterprises in building big computing engines for different data and data systems. applications. HBase implements rapid query of big data in simple logic; MapReduce To monetize big data systems, it is necessary to build provides a variety of distributed service an open transaction platform. An open data processing logic through flexible programming; platform (ODPP) is specially developed on ZTE’s DAP By Zhu Kezhi and Spark offers a portfolio of solutions for this purpose. ODPP is the middleware based on Chief Engineer of including batch programs. Streaming, universal open source components and developed for data ZTE Central R&D Institute Spark SQL, Storm and distributed opening and transactions. ODPP consists of multi-tenant special Topic
Figure 1. ZTE’s DAP architecture. management and support, unified SQL, and data exchange consistent user experience on the manageable, controllable, and sharing. The multi-tenant component isolates resources and operable big data platform. and balances the routing load for multiple tenants. It opens 28 data capabilities for each tenant through APIs as required. ZTE’s DAP provides a complete set of big data APR 2016 The unified SQL function allows users not to care the solutions and has the following features: ZTE specific engine (whether it is a relational OLAP database or a big-data platform component) for data storage, for ODPP ● Simplified O&M. The integration and O&M of open- can help them automatically identify data through metadata source components is a complex issue. ZTE’s DAP management and direct SQL statements to a proper storage provides automatic batch installation, rich service engine. The data exchange and sharing component enables status display, real-time event alarm, and log trace and audit for easy operation and maintenance. data transactions by sharing data between tenants. During ● Enhanced security management. ZTE’s DAP provides data sharing, data is transacted, recorded and saved, and role-based rights management. It supports data transaction CDRs are generated. With these features and a masking and remote active-active disaster recovery variety of technical means, data application systems can be within a city, so that user data can be fully protected. designed for different business models. ● Enhanced open-source components. ZTE’s DAP optimizes configuration parameters on the basis of The mining and analysis layer provides mining open sources to enhance performance. algorithms and toolkits for developing big data ● Open data processing platform (ODPP). Based on open applications, which include OLAP, reports component, sources, ZTE’s DAP supports unified data opening and basic algorithm library, graph algorithm library, R tools, multi-tenancy for data sharing and exchange. ODPP search engine, recommendation engine, generic text provides a basic platform for data transactions. analysis and tag library tools, GIS component, and common visual dashboards. The acceptance of a big data system by enterprise or government mainly depends on its sustainable liquidity Unified management ensures consistent management and adaption to changing business models. ZTE’s within the framework, involving automatic installation, DAP is a universal big data platform where application platform monitoring, host management, service systems can be deployed for different business models. management, alarm management, security management, It provides technical support for customers to achieve and scheduling policy management. All this ensures business success. tech Forum
Big Data Service Models By Huang Ke, Fan Wanpeng
29 APR 2016 To overcome big data challenges, the ZTE key is to find an applicable big data service model that converts potential value into benefits. —Huang Ke, Chief Engineer of Big Data Solution Planning, ZTE
he 18th National Congress of the CPC proposed big data chain. a national big data strategy, ever since big To overcome these challenges, the data gained enormous application value on key is to find an applicable big data a very big scale. Telecom operators, who service model that converts potential have been pioneers in developing big data value into benefits. The following will applications, have deployed big data platforms brief on four big data service models andT implemented them in various ways. However, operators are that can be adopted. challenged by the following issues: ● Large-scale investment but uncertain outcome. Most big Internal Application Model data applications have low cost performance. ● The gains of big data applications are limited, because The internal application model operators can provide only a few types of data subject to means that operators collect and technical, political and legal restrictions. analyze various kinds of equipment ● Operators are pipelined and marginalized in the emerging data and data generated during O&M, Tech Forum
including network management data, Data Sales Model equipment logs, signaling, DPI records, user bills, and complaint records. This The data sales model, namely, external cooperation, is a model is designed to serve customers of model where operators sell data products or services, which an operator, improve service efficiency, are formed by the valuable data of operators, to make profits. and reduce operating costs. As the The sold data products or services may be consultation reports, internal application model adopted, traffic inquiries, advertising services, and credit services. the value of the data collected can Because operators can collect only a few types of data, the be maximized. Typical application value generated is limited for a third party. The income from scenarios of the internal application a single service is so small that huge investments in platform model are: construction do not provide adequate return. Therefore, to ● Customer experience-oriented benefit from the data sales model, operators must have a network planning, maintenance, and professional team to delve in-depth on the data and associate optimization. it with external industry data to enhance the data value. ● Telecom service-oriented precise Generally, to ensure scalability and safety, response speed, and marketing. service development, one unit will be responsible for unified For example, Orange applies big and intensive management. This can save construction costs data to enhance user experience. and improve efficiency. The internal application model is the For instance, Dynamic Insights, a specialized department of basis for operators to carry out big Telefónica, operates global data assets. Its SmartStep service, data operations designed for external after collecting and analyzing users’ location information, markets. It can help operators optimize delivers location-based services for transportation and retail operations, reduce costs, and increase industries. A typical case is Morrisons, the UK’s fourth largest 30 efficiency. food retailer. The SmartStep service, by analyzing historical APR 2016 ZTE
Catering Entertainment Souvenirs Destination Tourists Make plans Transportation selection Scenery Accommodation Specialties spots Destination Services / Product recommendations Coupons
Tourism Historical Location User Tourism Transportation Coupons usage Platforms big data orders tracking classification information information record platform
Traffic Industry chain Travel Tourist Scenery spots / agencies Operators administration management merchants bureau
Figure 1. Smart tourism service model. tech Forum
tracks of people in different areas, instructed Morrisons to selection and product preference data. deliver coupons to areas where repeat customers can be caught Operators can also cooperate with with the highest speed at the lowest costs. By partnering with merchants to provide tourism product Dynamic Insights, Morrisons saw a 150 percent increase in the coupons to target customers, associate number of new customers and repeat customers. the coupon usage with location and user classification data in order to Service Operating Model understand their consumption habits to certain tourism products, increasing Most operators participate in smart city construction and recommendation accuracy and further are involved in industries such as digital home, intelligent increase revenue. car, healthcare, tourism, and education. If operators become Smart tourism helps operators involved in service operation by establishing an industry integrate various kinds of tourism- operating platform based on big data, collect service-related related data, including public data and combine it with telecom data, and provide data to government information, merchandise industry services, they can increase the value of data and catalogue, consumption records, trips, generate more revenue. and internet public opinions on the big Take smart tourism as an example. Travel agencies can data tourism platform. These data are obtain historical data about tourists and target customers’ associated and add value to each other, classification information from operators, and combine it with bringing more profits for all participants their own historical order data to find out potential customers in the tourism industry chain. and recommend destinations and products to them. On the one hand, travel agencies can store historical order data to the big Data Operating Model 31 data tourism platform and associate it with location and user APR 2016 classification data provided by operators. On the other hand, Operators can operate open big data ZTE operators can get revenue from travel agencies for data usage platforms to become big data operators. and share the data association result, which enrich destination By establishing and operating an open
Data from Rent, transaction fees and various Data operating model data sales industries
Industry Service operating Model Service operation application data
Selling data model Analyze and Data sales mining data
Internal application model Internal efficiency Telecom basic data
Values
Core resources Service models
Figure 2. Big data service model. Tech Forum
The data operating model enables telecom operators to transit to big data operators, integrating data from various industries, raising status in the industry chain, and creating new values. —Fan Wanpeng, Chief Engineer of Big Data Solution Planning, ZTE
big data platform, operators can provide to become big data operators. big data storage, computing services, big data exchange and sharing, and Summary 32 data transaction services. In addition, APR 2016 operators can open valued data to the In most cases, the preceding four models coexist and ZTE big data platform after desensitization support each other. in order to attract customers and The internal application model is the basis of big data monetize the data. operation. In at least one or two years, it will still be the By operating the big data platform, main revenue source for big data services. Data acquisition, operators can raise their status in the processing, and analysis will apply mainly to the internal big data industry chain and generate application model. However, with in-depth optimization, the new revenue, such as data storage and marginal revenues from this model decrease gradually. computing rent, data transaction fees, Revenues from the other three models rise as data and revenue from monetization of data. requirements from the external environment increase, so What’s more, operators can obtain they become the future revenue growth points. Moreover, the data from other industries by sharing three external models help operators obtain data from other the big data exchange platform and industries and increase data value. through data transactions, so as to serve The data sales model is clear and generates profits quickly, their self-owned services, and create so it is widely used by operators. However, the costs in this innovative services. model are quite high, and small-scale operating services cannot China’s national big data strategy make a profit. creates opportunities for the data The service operating model has been adopted in the wave operating model. With the development of smart city and internet+ construction. By operating the of big data applications in various industry big data platform, operators can monetize service- industries, big data infrastructure, based data and promote intelligent operation as well. especially common big data platforms The data operating model enables telecom operators to are required. Operators have high social transit to big data operators, integrating data from various credibility and strong technical and industries, raising status in the industry chain, and creating operating capabilities, which enable them new values. Success Stories
PTCL: Building a Sustainable Optical Network 33 APR 2016 By Liu Junjuan ZTE akistan Telecommunication 10G system. However, the increased Company Limited bandwidth saturated the network (PTCL), which is a capacity. On the premise of protecting subsidiary of Etisalat, the investment of the existing network, is Pakistan’s largest improve the network capacity and fixed-line network and complete the project efficiently broadbandP operator. With over 30 are PTCL’s priorities for network million users, its core businesses reconstruction in 2014. include the fixed-line network, CDMA WLL, data, and value-added Already Prepared for Our services. Its fixed-line network share Customer accounts for 97 per cent, ranking first in Pakistan and its subsidiary (UFone) The competition in Pakistan is occupies a large share in Pakistan’s fierce. PTCL’s DWDM network mobile market. In recent years, due involves two planes. Early in 2013, to the deployment of LTE/EV-DO when PTCL had no specific project and the expansion of nationwide requirements, ZTE already predicted broadband services, the bandwidth that PTCL would require large bearer demand for PTCL’s bearer network is bandwidth in 2014 as the 4G network, sharply increasing, causing a heavy IDC network, and smart IPTV services stress on network bandwidth. evolved rapidly. ZTE then organized PTCL’s backbone DWDM network a network optimization team and Liu Junjuan has dual planes. One of the planes proposed two upgrade solutions. In Marketing Manager of was constructed in 2007, and the Solution 1, the existing network was BN Product Team, ZTE network capacity is a 40-wavelength upgraded to 80-wavelength 10G/100G success Stories
system, and 10G channels were added even beyond 100G for sustainable upgrade to 100G or beyond (in the future, 100G channels can be development. 100G capacity. The transponder added as required). In Solution 2, or muxponder services can be 100G-wavelength was added to the Fast and Highly Efficient System implemented through adding 10G network directly. Therefore, when Delivery service boards. While the OTN PTCL explicitly required upgrading cross platform can be implemented its bearer network in 2014, ZTE’s Due to a rather short construction through adding proper OTN cross professional solutions satisfied PTCL period, before the devices arrived, platforms and service boards. The very much. ZTE’s engineering team had deployed introduction of new services does U31 network management servers not affect provisioned services. Solution Optimization to Reduce in the Pakistan site to upgrade the ● Superior performance. The OTN CAPEX and OPEX network management system (NMS). platform has the largest cross After the devices arrived, all hardware capacity and the maximum number Considering the investment and components were installed, some old of slots, supporting an upgrade to sustainable development, PTCL OA boards were replaced, the capacity 100G or 400G. It adopted the most preferred Solution 1, so ZTE optimized for new services was expanded, advanced SD-FEC technology, solution 1 to reduce CAPEX and and trunk boards were added. Most and has the most powerful 100G OPEX, and build a green network. of services adopted OP multi-path transmission capability. For For the old DWDM devices in protection, which ensured the fastest 100G, which adopted the leading more than 100 sites of the existing project commissioning and the least DSP technology, the dispersion network, some magnified boards interference to provisioned services. tolerance is ±70000 ps/nm, and were replaced to enhance the network During PTCL’s backbone DWDM the PMD tolerance is 60 ps. In OSNR performance. After the system network capacity expansion project, addition, 100G supports the trunk is upgraded to 80-wavelength, the it took only two months to complete long-distance transmission without 34 minimum number of trunk boards was contract sending, scheduling, and electrical regeneration (more than APR 2016 used to guarantee a low CAPEX of the device delivery, and took six months 5000 kms), the mixed convergence ZTE entire network. to fulfill the upgrade, reconstruction of STM-N/GE/10G/40G New ZXONE 8000 devices were and service provisioning. The network services in any granularity, and connected to old ones of the existing has been commercialized at the end ODU0/1/2/2e/3/4/flex crossing, network, and the new service boards of 2014, which guarantees PTCL’s meeting different application were added to the new devices. In bandwidth demands for smart TV and scenario requirements of operators. the wave-division project, most of 4G services. ZTE also won high praise ● Environmental protection. As investment was put in service boards. from PTCL. the advanced 28 nm processing Compared with the 10G service boards AISC chip is applied, the 100G in the existing network, the new 10G Smoothly Upgraded Green board significantly reduces service boards of ZXONE 8000 boasted Bearer Network heat dissipation and power a low cost and better performance, consumption of the PCB. The thus greatly reducing the CAPEX of With 30 years of experience in the advanced mechanical and electrical capacity expansion. telecom industry, ZTE successfully management mechanism is In addition, the newly introduced upgraded PTCL’s network from introduced to allow circuits and 10G board was half size of the 40-wavelength to 80-wavelength, optical modules to enter dormancy original board, and the number of and achieved fast network mode, which reduces the power service slots in a new subrack was commissioning. This not only consumption of idle modules. The larger than that of the original one. protected PTCL’s investments, but super high-precision temperature These reduced the equipment room also reduced the CAPEX and OPEX measurement and intelligent heat space and OPEX as well. of its network. In the future, the dissipation system can adjust the fan Furthermore, a new compatible advanced 100G technology, beyond speed in real time according to the service board was introduced to 100G technology, and OTN electrical measured temperature. In this way, improve the flexibility of wavelength cross platform can be introduced to the system operating temperature scheduling and reduced OPEX. build a sustainable network. can be reduced maximally while the The optimized network could ● Smooth upgrade. ZXONE 8000 energy consumption of fans can be be smoothly upgraded to 100G and platform is introduced to smoothly controlled. Success Stories
CANTV: Evolving Toward
35 an All-IP Network APR 2016 ZTE By Zhao ZhiQing
NTV is the largest state- existing IP backbone network owned owned telecom operator by CANTV’s mobile service company in Venezuela with Movilnet has ground to a halt. 3.5 million fixed-line subscribers and 14 million As demand for services increases, mobile subscribers. It network bandwidth is in short supply. Cpretty much dominates the fixed-line Worse still, Movilnet has no high- and mobile markets in Venezuela. performance bearer network of its own, so it has to spend much more Now, nearly all major MANs on network infrastructure leases and national IP backbone networks and O&M, causing its OPEX to in Venezuela are monopolized by increase every year. In recent years, western telecom vendors and rely on Movilnet has also witnessed an leased lines, SDH and microwave. explosive growth in its 3G/4G mobile Zhao ZhiQing Due to the particular political and subscribers and traffic volume. Given Solution Manager of economic conditions in this country, all these challenges, CANTV is in BN Product Team, ZTE the construction and expansion of the urgent need of network transformation success Stories
and upgrade. To increase network intelligent, full-service bearer service adaptation to automatically bandwidth, lower OPEX, and become network. The high-end routers balance system loads, evenly more competitive in the market, provide a terabit hardware dissipate system heat, and greatly CANTV has started evolving its structure, distributed parallel reduce average system power. It network toward all-IP and 100G. processing mechanism, non- also provides intelligent line card blocking CLOS switching activation to automatically activate ZTE’s IP network solutions have architecture, and high-density and deactivate line card resources been widely used in China and abroad. 10 GE/40 GE/100 GE interfaces according to actual service loads ZTE’s R&D team has a precise for smooth capacity expansion. and improve line card usage. understanding of the market demands The routers also have a flexible Moreover, intelligent fan speed for installation engineering; O&M, dual-card structure that supports control with precise fine-tuning network and service evolution; and different types of interface and seamless speed adjustment continuous optimization of solutions. cards for diverse networking reduces noise pollution and power After several exchanges with CANTV, modes. Extensive access modes, consumption, and intelligent ZTE tailored an optimal IP network including IPoE, PPPoE, IP private power supply with independent solution and persuaded CANTV to lines, enterprise VPDN, ATM power monitoring plane and build a new IP backbone network and TDM, allow CANTV to automatic power control module based on a 200G platform rather than build hybrid MPLS L2/L3 VPN enables real-time monitoring and expanding its existing IP backbone. networks as required. Modular, on-demand supply. The solution provides a network that is fully-distributed, and highly- 36 extensible and boasts E2E L3-to-edge reliable software and hardware In April 2015, ZTE won CANTV’s APR 2016 capability, freeing CANTV from the system supports BRAS/CGN hot bid for the new Metro-E project and ZTE bandwidth and L3-to-edge pressures in redundancy and NSR/ISSU to Movilnet’s bid for the IPBB project. the evolution to mobile broadband and guarantee service continuity. ZTE became the only contractor across IP private line services. ● Deep network analysis to all 85 sites in the Metro-E project and consolidate information security. all 17 sites in the IPBB project. ZTE’s high-end routers are The solution provides three- applicable to the edge of an IP dimensional equipment security By working with ZTE, CANTV backbone network, an IP MAN, mechanisms and complete access will rebuild its IP network into a and other large-scale IP networks, control policies. On the control powerful underlying network with delivering a variety of services and plane, a high-performance multi- higher quality and lower information reliable QoS. These products simplify core CPU is used for independent security risks and resistant to network network architecture and help with multi-process scheduling. On attacks. This efficient, integrated, and the evolution of the IP/MPLS bearer the data plane, there is a special sustainable bearer network platform network to an intelligent, broadband, separate TM traffic engine for high- will reduce networking costs, provide multiservice network. Based on its speed packet parsing and filtering. secure and reliable service-carrying full-service, evolvable, and integrated On the management plane, unified capabilities, improve user experience, telecom-class platform, ZTE is able to RADIUS/TACACS+ is adopted and increase the network value. ZTE customize a complete and efficient IP for hierarchical authentication and is poised to partner with CANTV in network solution for CANTV to meet authorization. responding to the increasingly rapid the challenges of differentiated user ● Intelligent resource scheduling to service growth and heavy network needs, new services, and fast-growing create an energy efficient network. loads in the competitive telecom bandwidth needs. The solution has the The solution provides intelligent market, and to empower CANTV with following attractions: process dormancy so that idle its state-of-the-art technical solutions processes and devices can be and excellent project delivery quality. ● Service convergence to build an shut down. It provides intelligent Solution
Magic Radio: The Killer Solution to Spectrum Efficiency
By Zheng Lingxia
37 APR 2016 ZTE
hallenges many operators need to refarm their GSM spectrums when deploying LTE networks. Because LTE voice is Because mobile not yet mature, GSM at 1800 MHz is still being used to broadband develops, bear voice service in a short term. Therefore, a major LTE networks are challenge for multi-network operators is to implement being widely deployed GSM/LTE collaborative spectrum scheduling to offer Cat 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. This both voice and data services to users. means that more GSM spectrums are being refarmed for LTE. Introduction of Magic Radio Traditionally, GSM spectrums are statically re-allocated to LTE. ZTE has rolled out its innovative Magic Radio, However, as traffic load changes which can refarm spectrum, adapt to traffic changes, and dynamically, and busy hours for flexibly schedule GSM/LTE and UMTS/LTE spectrum. voice and data traffic do not overlap Magic Radio helps multi-network operators enhance completely, the conventional static spectrum efficiency and improve user experience as well. spectrum allocation fails to meet Magic Radio is designed for flexible spectrum LTE needs for on-demand and sharing and scheduling between GSM and LTE. It dynamic bandwidth allocation. features GSM dynamic frequency allocation, GSM/ Zheng Lingxia 1800 MHz band has become LTE band-in spectrum overlay, GSM/LTE dynamic Senior Solution Manager of the core band for LTE and also bandwidth extension, and GSM/LTE collaborative FDD Product Team, ZTE the bearer frequency for GSM; so spectrum scheduling. solution
GSM dynamic frequency allocation is a unique normal range, and carriers between 10 MHz and 20 MHz feature that has been commercially deployed. It brings can be aggregated. With GSM/LTE dynamic bandwidth GSM spectrum gain by allocating and releasing extension, ZTE’s Magic Radio also supports dynamic frequency resources according to traffic tide (except some spectrum re-farming at LTE narrow bands. This helps higher-priority TRX, such as BCCH TRX). The same China Unicom improve spectrum efficiency by more than network capacity can be achieved with less bandwidth 50% and double LTE download rates regardless of user and no performance loss. Normally, a 200 KHz guard location. As a result, both GSM CS and PS services run band is required to mitigate inter-system interference. normally, and user satisfaction is significantly enhanced. GSM/LTE band-in spectrum overlay has an innovative The GSM/LTE coordinated spectrum scheduling feature filter algorithm and unique bandwidth compression has also been applied in China Unicom’s GSM/LTE technique that maintains zero or even negative GSM/ network based on user behavior and traffic distribution. LTE guard bandwidth and improves spectrum efficiency. When GSM traffic load is above a given threshold, GSM For the configuration of 20M LTE bandwidth, GSM can can use free LTE radio bearer for its services. When use 1.4 MHz of the 2 MHz reserved bandwidth. GSM/ LTE traffic load is above a given threshold, LTE can use LTE dynamic bandwidth extension supports dynamic free GSM time slots for its services. This enables real- spectrum re-farming at LTE narrow bands. It dynamically time GSM and LTE spectrum sharing with a granularity extends LTE bandwidth when there is low GSM traffic of 200 KHz. Both GSM and LTE networks operate well load and can balance GSM and LTE spectrum utilization and their performance KPIs are kept stable. Magic Radio based on regional GSM traffic statistics. When the GSM helps China Unicom improve its network bandwidth and 38 traffic load falls below a given threshold, certain GSM throughput and increases spectrum efficiency by more APR 2016 spectrum resources are released for LTE. With GSM/ than 40%. ZTE LTE collaborative spectrum scheduling, GSM and LTE spectrums are dynamically scheduled in a granularity Future-Proof of 200 KHz according to the traffic load. This improves LTE throughput and user experience. The innovative Magic Radio has been a great success for operators around the world. ZTE has Application and Benefits evolved the Magic Radio to accommodate LTE flexible bandwidth configuration and UMTS/LTE dynamic All features of Magic Radio have been field proven carrier extension. Spectrum efficiency can be further and result in good network performance and enhanced enhanced when Magic Radio is combined with other user experience. Dynamic frequency allocation has been technologies such as CA. implemented by China Mobile in traffic-tide areas, and LTE flexible bandwidth configuration makes spectrum gain has reached as high as 35%. In other possible non-standard bandwidth configuration for both words, only 65% of spectrum resources are used, and single and multiple carriers. For example, a 4.8 MHz the remaining spectrum is saved for LTE network. ZTE bandwidth can be used as a 5 MHz LTE single carrier helps China Mobile achieve the same network capacity without performance loss and a 12.5 MHz bandwidth without performance degradation. can be configured as a 10 MHz LTE carrier and a 3 GSM/LTE band-in spectrum overlay, GSM/ MHz LTE carrier without performance loss. UMTS/ LTE dynamic bandwidth extension, and GSM/LTE LTE dynamic carrier extension enables dynamic collaborative spectrum scheduling have also been verified UMTS/LTE spectrum sharing based on UMTS traffic by China Unicom. In the GSM/LTE co-sited scenario, load. When UMTS traffic load is lower than a given GSM/LTE band-in spectrum overlay enables GSM to threshold, UMTS will release some spectrum resources obtain more available spectrum from the LTE reserved for LTE, and vice versa. In this way, spectrum bandwidth while keeping LTE download rates stable. efficiency can be significantly improved. Moreover, KPIs of the GSM network fluctuate within a