CASE STUDY HGC Deploys Mobile Fronthaul Services in with Infinera Mobile Fronthaul Solutions

CUSTOMER HUTCHISON GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED (HGC) is a leading fixed-line operator, IT Hutchison Global Communications (HGC) service provider, carrier’s carrier and one of Hong Kong’s largest-scale Wi-Fi service providers. HGC empowers local and overseas customers with one-stop international, corporate, data center and CHALLENGE HGC wanted to lead residential broadband services. HGC also offers cloud computing and high-speed Wi-Fi services, the market with a new and is expanding its service portfolio to include mobile fronthaul. wholesale service offering to provide high-capacity active mobile fronthaul to support continued growth of and 4G services and to enable a smooth transition to A subsidiary of Hutchison unrelenting growth of video, cell site, and moving one of services and Cloud-RAN Hong Kong social media and cloud these to a centralized location architectures Holdings Limited (HTHKH), applications accessed via smart deeper in the network. The HGC required an optical WDM mobile fronthaul HGC owns an extensive fiber phones and tablets, is creating two functions are the remote solution that supports optic network throughout Hong the need for more bandwidth radio head (RRH) that remains all key CPRI rates with the high performance, Kong, Kowloon and the New to the cell tower and setting the scalability and robust Territories to provide all aspects stage for a move to 5G wireless capabilities needed to “We considered the ensure a successful roll-out of connectivity, including cross- technology. of the new service border routes and submarine mobile fronthaul In preparing for 5G, cloud radio SOLUTION landing stations. In addition solutions in the market The XTM Series Mobile access networks (C-RANs) have to providing residential and concluded that Fronthaul Solution, part been considered the next step of Infinera’s Intelligent broadband services, HGC offers the Infinera XTM Transport Network in mobile networks. C-RANs a comprehensive range of Series solution best portfolio, supports all bring economic advantages key CPRI rates, provides fixed-line telecommunications enables HGC to deliver ultra-low latency, superior to HGC’s mobile operator synchronization, low services to international and massive bandwidth customers for today’s /3G/4G power consumption and local carriers and data center high density networks, and help move them with low latency, operators in Hong Kong and toward LTE-Advanced/4.5G while being adaptive RESULTS overseas. The company’s By delivering one of the and 5G networks, which require to the evolution of first wholesale mobile success is attributed in part fronthaul services to advanced cell coordination mobile technology. to HGC’s commitment to operators in Hong Kong, techniques and efficient The Infinera team was HGC is helping mobile innovative application of the operators, including its spectrum utilization. highly responsive, able sister company 3 Hong latest technologies. Kong, prepare for LTE- C-RANs will provide HGC’s to deliver quickly and Advanced/4.5G and 5G HGC’s Challenge and customers with significant implement services and enhance the quality Opportunity of experience for their economic and operational required by us.” mobile consumers HGC wanted to provide mobile advantages, including the Byron Chiang operators within the Hong Kong centralization and virtualization Chief Technology Officer HGC region with high-capacity active of key network functions. mobile fronthaul services. C-RAN involves splitting the The rapid deployment of two main functions that are 3G and 4G, along with the traditionally located within the HGC DEPLOYS MOBILE FRONTHAUL SERVICES

RRH: Remote radio head BBU: Baseband unit RRH D-RoF: Digital radio over fiber (CPR/OBSAI)

RRH RRH Cell site cabinet CO CO RRH RRH BBU RRH Fronthaul Backhaul IP MPLS BBU Network CO RRH BBU CO Small cells RRH RRH Central Of ce

Cell site cabinet Figure 1: Mobile Fronthaul – Network Evolution to Support Centralized/Cloud-RAN Architectures

in the cell site and the base with FTTH and FTTB services in be seamlessly passed from the band unit (BBU) that moves to this highly dense urban region. BBU to the RRH in the cell site a more centralized location, a equipment via its new mobile HGC needed an ultra-low- “BBU hotel” in a central office fronthaul network. latency fronthaul solution location. that would take advantage of Finally, HGC required a solution In order migrate to this that fiber while meeting the with low power consumption new architecture while also challenging requirements for and high density to minimize supporting the massive Common Public Radio Interface costs associated with power and growth of mobile data, HGC (CPRI) transport. Latency is a rack space consumption in the needed to deliver a new challenge in mobile fronthaul cell sites. dense wavelength-division networks due to the low latency Infinera Selected for multiplexing (DWDM)-based budget of the CPRI protocol HGC Mobile Fronthaul mobile fronthaul service and the high proportion of Network leveraging fiber all the way this latency budget that is to the tower for these mobile required for BBU processing. HGC selected Infinera’s XTM operators. This leaves just a few hundreds Series active Mobile Fronthaul of microseconds for transport Solution for deployment across HGC already had a deep fiber over the fronthaul network, its optical network in Hong access network to support its which equates to about 20 km Kong. fiber to the home (FTTH) and in a typical fronthaul network. fiber to the business (FTTB) As part of HGC’s selection Active fronthaul solutions can services. In fact, HGC operates and verification process, HGC consume a significant portion over 1.45 million kilometers (km) tested what it determined to of this latency budget, so HGC of fiber cores, enough to circle be the leading mobile fronthaul required an ultra-low-latency the earth more than 36 times. solutions to ensure that the solution to minimize the impact. This fiber footprint proved to challenging requirements for be the ideal starting point for In addition to low latency, CPRI transport could be met HGC’s new mobile fronthaul HGC needed very high-quality in a real network. HGC’s lab service offering because many transparent synchronization evaluation verified that Infinera’s cell tower locations coincide transfer to ensure that the Mobile Fronthaul Solution not synchronization information only met but exceeded these from its backhaul service would requirements.

A pioneer in this market, Infinera first trialed mobile fronthaul in HGC DEPLOYS MOBILE FRONTHAUL SERVICES

only four nanoseconds, which • Active WDM also allows Passive / Semi- equates to less than two meters for the management of the passive fronthaul of fiber. mobile fronthaul network with advanced functionality, such as With the XTM Series active CO performance monitoring CO Mobile Fronthaul Solution, HGC Central Of ce Backhaul realizes several benefits: HGC Delivers Innovative New Mobile Fronthaul CO Scalable Fronthaul Services CO Service in Hong Kong with Clear Service Demarcation Central Of ce • The transponder-based active By enabling mobile fronthaul Active option of the Infinera Mobile services, HGC is helping mobile fronthaul Fronthaul Solution enables operators in Hong Kong stay HGC to deliver mobile at the forefront of mobile fronthaul services featuring technology and enhance high bandwidth including the quality of experience for

Figure 2: Infinera Offers The Full Range Of Mobile Fronthaul Options up to 12G Option 10 CPRI their mobile consumers. The services new mobile fronthaul service • While the Infinera Mobile utilizes HGC’s extensive fiber Fronthaul Solution also offers network and Infinera’s active passive and semi-passive Mobile Fronthaul Solution to options, the active option provide one of the world’s first a live operator network in 2013, provides HGC with a clear commercially available high- which was one of the first trials demarcation point to its using active WDM technology. wholesale fronthaul service Since 2013, Infinera has continually enhanced its mobile High Performance Network fronthaul technology, conducted • The XTM Series active Mobile “The deployment of additional trials and, starting Fronthaul Solution, with its the Infinera active in 2016, executed multiple three sub-options, provides Mobile Fronthaul deployments. ultra-low latency and superior Solution demonstrates sync performance enabling a The Infinera XTM Series Mobile HGC leadership differentiated fronthaul service Fronthaul Solution supports deploying the latest • Delay compensation is all of the CPRI and Open mobile technologies. available in one of the XTM Base Station Architecture We are now turning Series active Mobile Fronthaul Initiative (OBSAI) rates up to up one of the first sub-options enabling 12 gigabits per second (Gb/s) mobile fronthaul protected fronthaul services to accommodate HGC’s initial with constant network latency services to mobile services in Hong Kong that • Low Power Design and operators in Hong range from 2.5 Gb/s to 10 High Density Design ensure Kong, including 3 Gb/s. The XTM Series Mobile the XTM Series Mobile Hong Kong, our Fronthaul Solution affords Fronthaul Solution meets sister company.” industry-leading capabilities in the challenging network the emerging fronthaul market, Byron Chiang deployment requirements Chief Technology Officer including low latency, superior HGC synchronization, low power Simplified Optical Network consumption and high density. Operations In fact, the Infinera solution • The Mobile Fronthaul Solution HGC selected has a latency of complements Infinera’s Mobile Backhaul Solutions to enable optimizing the network for mobile traffic HGC DEPLOYS MOBILE FRONTHAUL SERVICES

RRH

RRH BBU RRH

40 channel DWDM

Day 1: 18x CPRI/OBSAI

Figure 3: Typical HGC Mobile Fronthaul Link Supporting 18 CPRI/OBSAI Channels On Day One

capacity and ultra-low latency • HGC provides mobile mobile fronthaul services. operators with an ultra-low- “We applaud HGC’s latency mobile fronthaul The Infinera Intelligent deployment of the service with outstanding Transport Network synchronization performance, XTM Series for mobile with XTM Series active low power consumption, high fronthaul, leading Mobile Fronthaul bandwidth and high density what we expect to be Solution delivered the • HGC now offers wholesale global adoption of this following results to services that support the CPRI technology. With this HGC: v7 specification, including deployment HGC has • With links now live, HGC is all rates up to 12 Gb/s, with turning up one of the world’s transformed its mobile transponders providing a clear first commercially available transport architecture demarcation point for the mobile fronthaul services to and positioned itself service mobile operators in Hong and its customers to • With these services, HGC’s Kong, including 3 Hong Kong, effectively manage the operator customers can HGC’s sister company tremendous growth of reduce their operating • The new fronthaul architecture mobile data that should expenses while improving prepares HGC and its mobile RAN performance continue for the next operator customers not only several years.” for growth of 3G and 4G, but For more information on how Andrew Bond-Webster also for a smooth transition to Intelligent Transport Networks Vice President, Regional Sales Advanced LTE/4.5G services, can enable network operators APAC, Infinera 5G services and Cloud-RAN to scale network bandwidth, architectures accelerate service innovation and simplifying network operations, contact us.

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