Importance of HSPA+ and UMTS900

HSPA+ and UMTS 900 MHz (UMTS900) have been an important part of making UMTS a foundation for voice and data since they excellently help operators meet MBB challenges. HSPA+ enables higher data speeds of up to 21 Mb/s, while DC-HSPA+ (Dual Carrier-HSPA+) enables data speeds of up to 42 Mb/s.

UMTS900 enables higher network capacity and better user experience in urban areas and indoors since the 900 MHz band is better able to pass through buildings, trees and other obstructions compared to higher bands. Carriers on lower bands like 900 MHz can also propagate longer than on higher bands, allowing operators to provide wider coverage for rural with fewer sites. A good indicator how widely adopted HSPA+ and UMTS900 has become is to look at the number of networks deployed and commercially available terminals that support both standards. More than half of the nearly 500 UMTS networks worldwide support HSPA+ while a nearly a quarter support DC-HSPA+. The industry chain supporting HSPA+ and UMTS900 has matured to the point where nearly 500 commercial terminals support HSPA+ and more than 1,000 support UMTS900.

Breakthrough UMTS Innovation

In 2012 Huawei launched several innovative solutions that enable operators to more easily deploy UMTS networks using less spectrum and while allowing more simultaneous smartphone connections.

A UMTS Flexible Carrier Bandwidth solution makes it possible to deploy a large-scale UMTS network using only 4.6 MHz, 4.2 MHz and even 3.8 MHz bandwidth instead of the traditionally required 5 MHz bandwidth. The solution improves maximum utilization of fragmented spectrum by up to 24% to help operators cut back on costly spectrum fees. This solution has already been successfully deployed for commercial networks in Hong Kong, Spain, Australia, Canada and Poland.

An even more advanced Scalable UMTS (S-UMTS) solution makes it possible to provide UMTS services on a large scale with only 2.4 MHz bandwidth and will begin trials this year. This solution efficiently enhances spectrum utilization by providing UMTS services with only half of a bandwidth carrier.

Too many small data requests occurring in the same cell from numerous smartphone users tends to cause what has been termed a “connection storm” for network performance, resulting in deteriorated end user experience. A Connection Storm solution significantly increases the number of simultaneous smartphone connections by using specially designed chipset and technologies to enhance air interface efficiency. For hotspots with S444 site configurations (one site with three sectors and four cells per sector), the solution allows up to 1,000 simultaneous smartphone connections.

The Foundation for Voice and Data

Huawei has so far helped deploy some 32 UMTS900 networks worldwide for operators in Australia, France, Hong Kong and Singapore. These networks have already demonstrated vastly improved network capacity and end user experience. In one case in Hong Kong where a UMTS900 overlay network was deployed over an existing UMTS 2100 MHz (UMTS2100) network, the indoor coverage and user experience for data service were remarkably improved. After one year, financial statements from Hong Kong operator showed that its APRU had increased by 8%.

Operators looking to support substantially smoother evolution alongside new standards, all while providing a seamless user experience should look to UMTS, a foundation for building reliably strong voice and data networks.