In-Depth Interpretation of Smart Massive MIMO: Efficient Deployment & Intelligent Optimization Will Become the Trend

Huawei introduced the complete architecture of its Smart Massive MIMO solution to Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI) members and industry experts at this year's GTI Workshop. Based on the continuous evolution of LTE and diversified deployment scenarios in the 5G era, this solution uses wireless intelligent artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to achieve efficient deployment and intelligent optimization, meeting requirements of fast-increasing network traffic and diversified services.

Massive MIMO, one of the key 5G technologies, is the best solution to cope with the surge of regional traffic. Huawei has been studying the application of Massive MIMO in 4G networks since 2014, and launched the world's first commercial Massive MIMO product in 2016, initiating the global large-scale commercial use of Massive MIMO. By the end of January 2019, Huawei's Massive MIMO solutions have been deployed by more than 50 operators around the globe. Huawei's Massive MIMO solutions improve cell capacity three to five times when compared with traditional networks.

Massive MIMO provides larger capacity and higher flexibility, and the engineering parameters need to be more accurately configured and the RF parameter optimization involves more factors. To address these challenges in large-scale deployment of Massive MIMO, Huawei's Smart Massive MIMO solution proposes the concept of long-term evolution toward efficient deployment and intelligent optimization for Massive MIMO networks. Billy Yang, chief planning expert of Huawei's Massive MIMO solutions, interprets the technical aspects of Huawei's Smart Massive MIMO solution on-site.

Figure 1: Billy Yang introduces Huawei's Smart Massive MIMO solution.

Antenna Information Sensor Unit (AISU), Laying a Solid Foundation for Precise Digital O&M
In traditional site deployment, site engineering parameters are designed in advance, measured using a level instrument and azimuth telescope on-site, and manually recorded and reported to the operations support system (OSS). This creates high expectations for engineering personnel, and errors may occur during manual data import. In Huawei's Smart Massive MIMO solution, AISU can automatically obtains accurate engineering parameters. This greatly improves the data accuracy than that of manual measurement. After an AAU is installed, it automatically collects, reports, and verifies engineering parameters. Accurate engineering parameters lay a solid foundation for digital O&M.

MBB Automation Engine (MAE), a New Engine for Automatic Network Optimization
Broadcast beams can be configured by software, and more than 270 parameter combinations are available to optimize the performance of Massive MIMO networks. Besides, it can automatically adjust beam azimuth, width, power to match different user distribution. During long-term network operation, Huawei's MAE running in the OSS continuously analyzes network KPI data (such as user distribution and data volume), and uses machine learning and large-scale optimization configuration modeling capabilities to maintain optimal configuration and performance of Massive MIMO networks.

Three-level Energy Saving, All-Round Ultimate Power Consumption Reduction
An AAU has multiple transmit channels. Some of them can be disabled to reduce the overall power consumption in light load or specific coverage scenarios. A three-level energy saving solution is formed together with symbol power saving and carrier shutdown. This solution reduces the average power consumption of a site by 15 percent to 30 percent.

Industry Collaboration, Providing 5G-like Experience on 4G Networks
"Let's work together to promote the user equipment (UE) and chip industries to continuously explore the potential capabilities of Massive MIMO." said Billy Yang at the end of the technical presentation. Billy Yang also presented wireless networks' increasing requirements on UE capabilities from 3GPP Release 10 to 3GPP Release15, including TM9, SRS antenna selection, and FD MIMO to the attendees. Huawei's research and analysis show that the capacity of Massive MIMO cells will increase exponentially if UE capabilities are fully compatible with network capabilities, providing 5G-like user experience and maximizing the value of Massive MIMO.

Up till now, Huawei has completed technical testing on AI-based adaptive parameter optimization on the Massive MIMO network in Japan. The network optimization period decreased by 80%, and the network performance improved by more than 20%. This is the first application of Huawei's Smart Massive MIMO in the operator's network. With the implementation of the Smart Massive MIMO architecture in all Huawei's Massive MIMO products, Massive MIMO becomes a simplified, universal large-capacity solution.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd