You are on page 1of 65

LTE Competitive Analysis

Huaweis LTE RAN

June 2010
Al Williams
LTE Portfolio Management Team
Al.Williams@alcatel-lucent.com

Huawei LTE RAN Competitive Analysis


Contents

1 Executive Summary Quick overview of position, product and differentiation.


2 Market Position Relative ranking, contract/trial activity, share, etc.
3 RAN Product
3a Baseband/Radios Details on each element in the portfolio
3b Configurations High-level view of macro, distributed eNodeB, micro, etc.
3c SingleRAN/Evolution How does the eNodeB support multiple technologies and evolve?

4 How Do We Win? Huawei strengths/weaknesses vs. ours; How do we attack them?


5 For Further Information Pointers to other resources
This document is updated regularly. You can find the latest version plus other documents about our LTE
RAN competitors on the Wireless Marketing Toolbox.
http://wireless.app.alcatel-lucent.com/marketing_toolbox/competitive_intelligence/lte.htm
2 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Version History
Date

Changes

Oct 13, 2009

Initial Version

June, 2010

Major update: Addition of exec summary, rewrite of market section, updates of product
sections, addition of selling points throughout.

3 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis LTE RAN


Executive Summary

Executive Summary
Huawei Intends to Win
Huaweis goal is to become the #1 LTE vendor in the world.
Is this a reasonable goal? Consider three key points regarding Huawei:
1. Huaweis wireless growth has been rapid providing a strong base for LTE
2. Huawei SingleRAN meets our customers LTE need and drives them to demand converged RAN
3. Most analysts are picking Huawei in the top 2 in LTE ahead of Alcatel-Lucent

Given their current position, it seems that their goals are reasonable. But Huawei can be beaten they are
not without fault or flaw. The LTE market is young enough that anything can happen and momentum can be
changed. We must attack them head-on to be sure they dont establish a strong foothold.
This package explains Huaweis product and position then addresses How do we compare? and How do
we counter?

Yes, Huawei has strengths:

A well defined purpose, strong execution/speed, low costs, ability to throw people at
their problems, deep cash reserves and financing, simple/straightforward products, etc.

But Huawei also has weaknesses:

A low reputation, out-of-control growth, weak services division, not enough local staff,
security concerns, still too dependent on Chinese market, etc.

We CAN beat them


5 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Executive Summary
Huaweis Rapid Wireless Growth Provides a Strong Base
Huawei: Company Revenues 2001 to 2009

Huaweis Growth:

Target: +20% for 2010

Financials
Most telecom vendors struggled in 2009, yet
Huawei had strong increase in revenues
Huawei targets 20% increase again in 2010

Market share
In 3 years, Huawei has risen from a small
player to #3 rank in the RAN infrastructure
market
Strong share in all technologies
Only weak spot is the NAR region

Huawei: RAN Market Share 2007 to 2009

2007

2008

2009

Total

4.1%

10.3%

18.1%

GSM

5.7%

10.6%

19.5%

CDMA

1.6%

5.8%

16.4%

WCDMA

3.2%

15.0%

19.1%

Why is this Growth Relevant to LTE?

It demonstrates credibility to potential new customers.


It deepens relationships with existing customers.
Increased scale provides volume to keep costs down.
Recent 2G/3G deliveries are on SingleRAN - easier LTE upgrade path for these operators.
Alcatel-Lucents small WCDMA embedded base is often cited as a weakness in our LTE story.
See Section 2 for more on market share and financials.
6 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Executive Summary
SingleRAN Drives the Customers Need and Drives Converged RAN
BTS3900

Distributed
Node B

Macro Node B

BTS3900 is Huaweis only base station for all


wireless applications.
It supports GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA,
WiMAX, and LTE FDD/TDD.
It was released in 2008 and has already been
deployed broadly for 2G/3G.

Indoor Outdoor
BTS3900

Micro Node B

DBS3900

BTS3900C

BTS3900 (WCDMA+LTE)

SingleRAN
SingleRAN is a brand/concept name.
The BTS3900 supports multiple RF technologies
from same cabinet at the same time.
A customer can deploy an earlier technology,
then adopt newer technologies via software
upgrade and/or addition of new HW boards.
One OA&M system manages all technologies.

WWW
C C C L L L
D D D T T T
MMM E E E
A A A

Any RF technology
can be plugged into
any slot.

Baseband unit
supports any 2 RF
techs at same time

Converged RAN has become a demand by key customers


Huawei is commonly credited with its rise, but ZTE, Ericsson, NSNs products also support it.
Converged RAN has several key advantages for the vendor:
Earlier sales: Cant decide on HSPA+ or LTE? No worry, just buy our SingleRAN and you can upgrade when youre ready.
Easier LTE upgrade pitch: Now that you have SingleRAN, you can add LTE easily without an overlay.
Network refresh opportunities: SingleRAN saves OPEX. Swap out your old save money, be ready for the future.
See Section 3 for more on LTE eNodeB and SingleRAN.
7 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Executive Summary
Huawei is an Early Leader in LTE Picked ahead of ALU
Analyst Opinions
Analysts reflect market perception, but they also can
influence operator decisions. What they say matters.

IDC commented in April: The rest of the vendor community


will have to play catch up to Ericsson and Huawei.
Gartner also ranked Huawei high, particularly in their ability
to execute (see the chart on the right).
Source: Gartner

Operator Engagements
In October, Huawei claimed to have 25 trials since
then the number has risen to 60!

Huawei claims 10 contracts ???

Certainly, this number includes some creativity (double


counting, including lab trials,etc.) But what the market hears
is that Huawei is very active.

Now, the announcements have shifted to contracts.

Again, Huaweis claim is high and careful study shows that


they arent all real contracts. Yet analysts believe the
number and report it as fact.

TeliaSonera

Lost

Telenor (Norway)

Contract

China Mobile

Trial

Proximus (Belgacom)

LTE ready

5
6
7

Net4Mobility (Sweden)
T-Mobile
Zain (Saudi Arabia)

Contract
??
Trial

Wind (Italy)

Contract

MTS (Uzbekistan)

Trial

10

MTS/K-Telecom (Armenia)

LTE ready

Analysts have picked Ericsson and Huawei as the LTE winners


Really? Huaweis trial number isnt believable. Their contracts arent all valid, nor are any of them as
important as Verizon and AT&T. A few analysts see cracks in Huaweis story.

Were working with IDC, Gartner, and other analysts to improve their view of Alcatel-Lucent.
See Section 2 for analyst opinions and trials/contracts.
8 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Executive Summary
How do we Beat Them?
Huawei is a formidable competitor but not unbeatable.
Do not misunderstand: Huawei is delivering a quality product in a timely manner with good prices. In
order to win, we will have to work every opportunity that we can. We will have to show the value of
our solutions and show the value of partnering with Alcatel-Lucent.
Beating them requires that we know them well and attack them head-on:
Sales: (1) Attack specific Huawei weaknesses, (2) Question their value as a partner (spread FUD)
PM/marketing: (1) Fix our product gaps, (2) Meet Huawei head-on in the marketing wars
Regarding Huawei:

ALU perspective:

Can they keep up with the growth and still satisfy


their customers?
How fast are they really growing? Financials and
shipments are based on Huawei statements.
Prove it! Is converged RAN really as important as
SingleRAN Huawei says?
Evolution isnt as simple as they say. Huawei still
needs a HW change in most upgrades.
Is their success real? Can they convert marketing
Early LTE wins to major customer wins?

Rapid
Growth

Success

Were turning the corner on our financials. We also have


a strong embedded base on which to build.
Huawei hasnt shown added value so far, theyre mostly
pipe building. Our approach is different.
Others are catching up. Huawei had an early advantage,
but the rest of the vendors can now offer it too.
We are reworking our converged RAN solution to put us
even or ahead of Huawei.
Win, Win, Win. We have to add to the Verizon and AT&T
success with major wins in other regions.
Fight marketing with marketing. E.g. can we increase our
trial/contract numbers by creative counting?

These are high-level, broad ideas.


Throughout the rest of this document, youll find specific counterpoints to Huaweis strengths and
ideas for how to attack them. Section 4 provides a comprehensive summary.
9 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis LTE RAN


Market Position

Huawei LTE Market Position


Introduction
Huawei is a top tier vendor possibly #2
Analysts rank Huawei among the leaders:
Their SingleRAN solution is a game-changer and market factor
They have a rapidly growing base of 2G and 3G networks mostly built on SingleRAN
They have a large number of LTE trials - at least thats what they claim
They have at least two significant LTE contracts maybe more
What Huawei is missing is a flagship LTE sale:
Huawei did not win any of the first Japanese contracts (Docomo and KDDI)

Huawei did not win either of the first two big US contracts (Verizon and AT&T)
Huawei will get a large piece of China Mobile, but that wont launch until late 2011 at the earliest
To remain among the leaders, Huawei must win one of the big European-based operators:
Vodafone, Telefonica, T-Mobile, etc.

This section describes Huaweis current position and digs beneath the surface.
11 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Market Position


What the Analysts are Saying
The rest of the vendor community will have to play catch up to Ericsson and Huawei.
IDC, April 2010

By many analysts tallies, Huawei is creeping up on


No. 1 infrastructure supplier Ericsson,
particularly in the LTE equipment sector. Thats
partly because the scions of telecom, including
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), Nortel
Networks, Alcatel-Lucent and, yes, even
Ericsson, have a hard time pricing their products
as low as Huawei does.
Thanks to these factors, Huawei is landing major
3G and 4G deals around the world much of the
reason it expects an almost 30 percent increase
in sales for the year. And Huawei is making
headway not just in emerging markets like
Africa, but in areas where NSN, Nortel, AlcatelLucent, Ericsson and others tend to reign. Press
report Jan10

The race is on with traditional


market leader Ericsson taking the
early lead and fast rising Huawei
in aggressive pursuit.
IDC, April 10.

Huawei is likely to gain a


good share of the LTE
infrastructure market, with
more early momentum than
it had in the 2G/3G sector.
Gartner, May 2010.

Huawei, ZTE are pretty


much shoo-ins for a large
percentage of the [China
Mobile TD-LTE] contracts.
SRG, June 10.

Reading these reports makes you believe that ALU and NSN are in a battle for 3 rd place.
Danger: Analyst opinions can shape our customers initial opinions.
Reading deeper into the reports, much of their opinions are based on information provided by Huawei!
Our analyst relations team is working to shape the analyst opinions to be more favorable to ALU.
12 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Market Position


LTE Trials
Huawei claims to have 60 LTE trials.
This shows the ongoing trials we can identify.
Note they are active in all regions.

T-Mobile
Trial

Vodafone
Trial
US Cellular
Trial
Cox
Trial

TMN
Trial

Mobilkom
Trial
Swisscom
Trial

China Mobile
Expo (TDD)

Telefonica
Trial
Softbank
Trial

Telecom Italia
Trial

Cricket
Trial

CMCC-HK
Trial

Zain
Trial
STC
Trial

AMX
Trial

KEY
Trial (public)
Trial (rumored)

MTS Uzbek.
Trial
Etisalat
Trial

Maxis
Trial

Telstra
Trial
Singtel
Trial

Huaweis claim of 60 trials compares to 45 from ALU, 45 from E/// and 25 from NSN.
We believe Huaweis number is inflated - including lab demos, double-counting, etc.
ALU has fewer claimed trials, but we are certainly not behind:
In US, we have as many trials + two big awards
In China, were working with both CMCC and CT Huawei only CMCC
In Europe, we have 10 placements vs. their 11

13 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Jan 2010

Huawei LTE Market Position


LTE Contracts
Huawei claims 10 LTE
commercial contracts
The list on the right shows the
10 we think theyre talking
about. Not all are legitimate.
Note that Huaweis claimed
number is 2nd only to NSN. We
dont think NSNs number is
valid either.
Note the impact of SingleRAN
in the contract awards.

Operator

Assessment

TeliaSonera

Replaced by NSN

Telenor
(Norway)

Significant win

China Mobile

Shanghai Expo

Proximus
(Belgacom)

LTE ready

Net4Mobility
(Sweden)

Significant win

T-Mobile

??

Vendor

Contracts
claimed

ALU

E///

Huawei

10

NSN

12

Moto

ZTE

10

Comments

Huawei won phase 1 (with E///) and reportedly


Phase 1: 01-09
performed well. However in phase 2 bidding, NSN bid
Phase: 01-10
lower and replaced Huawei.
Huawei will provide LTE as well as large-scale
modernization of 2G/3G networks. Value 170M over 6
years. Huawei won based on technical quality,
November 2009
reliability and commercial terms.
Telenor says this partnership could extend to other
Telenor properties outside Norway.
Huawei lists China Mobile as a commercial customer,
November 2009 but the only activity right now is the Shanghai Expo
we dont think Huawei is being paid for it.
Huawei will upgrade the entire network, starting with
2G and 3G. No dates given for deployment of LTE.
Huawei is sole winner of LTE network that will cover
all of Sweden by end of 2013. Also includes expansion
December 2009
of GSM network by 30-50%. Ericsson claims Huawei
won on price, not superior performance.
Huawei and NSN reportedly will win T-Mobile Germany
April 2010
business, but no public announcement and no
contracts signed yet.

November 2009

Zain
(Saudi Arabia)
Wind
(Italy)
MTS
(Uzbekistan)

Trial only

May 2010

Significant win

June 2010

Trial only?

October 2009

MTS/K-Telecom
(Armenia)

LTE ready

??

Only 3 on Huaweis list are confirmed and


represent true, near-term LTE contracts.
14 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Award date

Huawei built an experimental LTE network for Zain.


(So did Motorola and Ericsson.)
Rollout of HSPA and LTE networks plus IMS, fiber,
network design/build.
Huawei building trial network. No announcement of
commercialization of LTE.
Huawei supplies 3G equipment to MTS in Armenia.
When LTE network is built, Huawei will get the
business.

SingleRAN
a factor?

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

See LTE CI Market Position in marketing toolbox for other vendors contract lists.
http://wireless.app.alcatel-lucent.com/marketing_toolbox/competitive_intelligence/lte.htm

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Market Position


2G/3G Market Share
2G/3G Market Share is an important predictor for future LTE sales.
This is particularly true for Huawei sales of the last 2 years, because these networks have been delivered
on the SingleRAN platform allowing an easier transition to LTE.

Huawei: Significant uptrend over


last 3 year, but are they
finally flattening out?

ALU: We rose in a declining


market, the only vendor to
increase.

Sources: DellOro and internal

Be careful with market share and financial results for Huawei. Since Huawei is not publicly traded,
getting hard numbers on shipments/revenues is difficult. They are often overstated.
Note the discrepancy within a single news report in January 2010:
Global telecom major, Huawei Technologies claims achieving the number one spot for wireless base station
shipments in the year 2009 overtaking market leader Ericsson.
Its market share in the global telecom gear market stood at 20.1% at the end of Q3 2009 as compared to market
leader Ericssons 31.6% as per market research firm, DellOro Group.
15 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Market Position


Is SingleRAN Fueling 2G/3G Growth?
The BTS3900 was launched in 1Q 2008
This makes Huawei the first vendor to deliver a next gen base station
Huawei is delivering most new GSM, CDMA and WCDMA networks via the BTS3900 family
New BTS3900s are being portrayed as LTE Ready, whether LTE is planned or not.
If todays deployments are engineered right, LTE HW can be inserted in empty slots
This builds a base of networks that should be easy wins for Huawei in LTE

Deployment status
According to Huawei, 30 operators have adopted the BTS3900 over 50,000 sites.
Industry analysts have slightly more conservative figures:
Current Analysis says 10,000 units were deployed by April 2009
TBR says 1.5 million TRXs were shipped by June 2009

Customers who are Reportedly Deploying the BTS3900

Telfonica-O2 (Germany)
Axis (Indonesia)
Telus/ Bell Mobility
Vodafone
America Movil
T-Mobile
Chinese operators
16 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Typical
exaggerated
claim from
Huawei

Huawei LTE Market Position


Or will 2G/3G Renovation Fuel LTE growth?
awarded to Huawei

LTE contract awarded to Huawei

LTE contract awarded to Huawei

Feb 2010

17 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Market Position


How to Attack their Position?
Strengths

Issues

Aggressive behavior

Poor Reputation

Low prices, high promises


Rapid expansion of 2G/3G base
Chinese base and backing provide safety net

History of inconsistent performance; Credibility issues


Security concerns from government and business
Exaggerated trial/contract counts are normal

Product

Can they Win the Big Ones?

SingleRAN provides entry, with promise of LTE

Often included in bids simply to lower the price


Will major operators be willing to depend on them?

Market performance
Contract wins lend credibility: Telenor, Net4Mobility
Trial participants everywhere

Rapid growth
Will it put pressure on already weak services business?
Can they maintain their low-cost profile while
supporting multiple markets and multiple generations?

Not everyone loves Huawei!


Read these comments from Gerson Lehrman Group in April 2010
Huawei is going to implode and in a BIG way! Here are 5 reasons:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Giving away free mobile network hardware to win contracts does win new operator customers but that doesn't
mean the mobile operator loves you. They don't. They actually can't stand your presence within their network but
you just saved them over $300+ million for a national mobile network.
Customer relationship can not be performed by a dedicated team that doesn't speak to the rest of the Huawei
organization
Arrogance killed Alcatel, Nortel and Lucent...trust me it will kill Huawei too!
Hiring new employees at a growth rate of 100% every 6 months leads to inefficiencies and stagnation
Mobile operators will absorb all your new ideas and strategies but will not invest their future in you unless youre
willing to give it all away again for free.

18 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis LTE RAN


Product Description

Huawei LTE RAN Product Description


Introduction
Huawei introduced SingleRAN (converged RAN) to the marketplace.
Now it has become a key factor in operator selection of vendors.
The SingleRAN concept says one platform can support all RF technologies
Huaweis base station is called the BTS3900
It supports GSM, UMTS, CDMA, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and LTE
The BTS3900 has been shipping for 2G/3G since 2008; LTE is being added now
Huawei LTE delivery is in a similar timeframe to E/// and ALU; a little ahead of NSN
Huawei will support both FDD and TDD on SingleRAN
The TDD delivery roadmap is 3-6 months behind FDD

The other leading vendors also offer converged RAN for 3GPP RF (GSM, WCDMA, LTE).
Only Huawei and ZTE cover all leading RF technologies.
The difference is in the details OA&M support, shared antennas, how many boxes required, etc.
20 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE RAN Product Description


Portfolio Overview
The BTS3900 is Huaweis LTE eNodeB
All configurations are based on three common units (BBU, RFU, RRU)
Supports GSM, W-CDMA, CDMA, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and LTE
Single OA&M system works with any RF technology
BTS3900 first introduced in 2008; 2G/3G base stations already deployed
Distributed Node B Micro Node B
Q2 2009

Macro Node B

Multi-mode BTS

Q1 2010

BTS3900C

DBS3900
BTS3900 BTS3900A
(Indoor) (Outdoor)

RRU

RFU

BBU

Huawei presents this as a complete, fully flexible portfolio. Two counterpoints:


Only the distributed eNodeB was available in the first LTE release macro, micro later
Only two RF technologies can be supported at one time in a BBU more than 2 require 2nd BBU
See Sections 3a/3b for more details on BTS3900
21 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE RAN Product Description


SingleRAN Concept
SingleRAN is Huaweis marketing story re: BTS3900 evolution
The idea is that you can deploy multiple networks using a single design/platform (e.g. GSM + UMTS)
After deploying one technology, you can evolve the base station to add a 2 nd (see diagram)
Advantages of SingleRAN:
1. Single BTS for multiple technologies simplifies OA&M, wiring, backhaul, real estate, etc.
2. BTS3900 is a modern/green base station, so it will be more cost effective than the old equipment
3. Operator can deploy BTS3900 today and decide which next-gen technology to use later
4. Once BTS3900 is deployed for one technology, adding a second is cheap and easy (no overlay)
Adding LTE to G+U network:
Simple: Add new LTE RF
boards and new baseband
boards.
However: There wasnt room
left, so a 2nd macro had to be
stacked on top.
Still have advantage:
Footprint, OA&M

Adding UMTS to GSM network:

Simple: Add new UMTS RF

boards and new baseband


boards.
However: You had to preengineer the network at
half-capacity to be able to
do this.

Huawei was first to market with SingleRAN but other vendors offer similar advantages.
For example, Cosmote says Huawei SingleRAN saved 70% in footprint and 60% in energy over their old
GSM/UMTS equipment. This is true, but similar results would come from using anyones new equipment.
See Section 3c for more details on SingleRAN evolution.
22 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE RAN Product Description


BTS3900 LTE Roadmap
1Q

2009

2Q

2010
3Q

4Q

1Q

2Q

3Q

4Q

1Q

2011

2Q

FDD

2009

2Q

Pico eNodeB

Macro eNodeB
MBMS
RAN sharing
100 km cell radius
Rx diversity
ICIC
Enhanced SON

Distributed eNodeB
RRU 3201
700/AWS/2600/850/900/
1900
5/10/15/20 MHz
15km cell radius
Basic SON

1Q

eRAN3.0

eRAN2.0

eRAN1.0

2011

2010
3Q

4Q

1Q

2Q

3Q

4Q

1Q

2Q

TDD
eRAN1.1

eRAN1.0

Distributed eNodeB
2300, 2600 (trial only)
10/20 MHz
2T2R RRU
2x2 MIMO
FDD->TDD BBU upgrade
Basic SON

2300/2600
5/10/15/20 MHz
4x2 MIMO
Enhanced SON

eRAN2.0

Micro eNodeB
4x4 MIMO
TD-LTE to TD-SCDMA
handover
VoIP

These roadmaps are based on limited information. More to come


Note that TDD is first released about 6 months after FDD.
23 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE RAN Product Description


OA&M
The iManager M2000 is Huaweis Element Management System
Functions include data configuration, alarm monitoring, performance
monitoring, software upgrades, etc classic functions for an EMS.
Huawei is very clear that the M2000 allows you to run your SingleRAN
(2G/3G/LTE) networks from one place, using one team of people.
"iManager M2000 is the unified platform that provides centralized
management to all wireless technologies of Huawei, including GSM, UMTS,
CDMA, WiMAX, LTE and more.
Another reference says the M2000 platform also manages the EPC and IMS.

Basic SON Functionality (eRAN1.0)


Huawei tested so-called SON Phase 1 in a trial with T-Mobile Austria during late 2009. Reports seem to indicate that
this basically included only Automatic Neighbor Relations (ANR).

Enhanced SON Functionality (eRAN2.0) includes:


Automatic configuration
Automatic Neighboring Relation
Automatic detection of Physical Cell Identifier (PCI) conflicts, sleep cells, and antenna faults
Mobile Robust Optimization (MRO)

Huawei is delivering its OA&M capabilities in stages in a similar timeframe as all LTE vendors.
Huawei may have an edge with the single OA&M system that runs 2G, 3G and LTE.
24 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE RAN Product Description


Caution
The following sections give detail on Huaweis LTE/SingleRAN product offer and
should help the reader to clearly understand what operators will get from Huawei.

Some of the information comes from Huawei, thus it is reliable only in theory:
In other words, it clearly describes what they are promising.
It doesnt necessarily describe what they will actually deliver.
We often get comments from field trials that Huawei has used prototypes or has
adjusted parameters to ensure successful results. For example, one customer
commented that: Huawei used March 09 alignment (instead of the required June 09) and
their mobile is not compliant with 3GPP Cat 3 definition.

While this practice is not unusual (for any vendor), it is particularly common in this
fast-paced LTE market where customers want everything sooner than vendors are
ready to deliver.
Pay attention to the red boxes on each page they provide the ALU counterpoint to
Huaweis claims.

25 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

3a

Huaweis LTE RAN


Baseband/Radio

Huawei LTE Elements


BBU3900 Baseband Unit
The BBU3900 is the digital baseband unit for the BTS3900 family and is used in all
configurations. It supports one or two technologies simultaneously (GSM, CDMA, WCDMA,
TD-SCDMA, WiMAX, LTE). The BBU3900 is 2U high, 310mm deep and 19 rack mountable.
Macro
Outdoor

Macro
Indoor

BBU

Distributed

27 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Micro

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Elements


BBU3900 Control and Modem Cards
The BBU3900 chassis has eight slots into which different cards will be inserted based on the
technologies being supported. A working BBU will require a control card plus multiple
modem cards. (Some technologies will also require other special-purpose cards.)
The LTE control card is the LMPT

The LMPT goes into slots G or H


Two can be equipped for redundancy
The LMPT has built-in FE/GE opt/elec interfaces

The LTE modem card is the LBBP


F
A
N

F
A
N

A
B
C
D

LBBP
LBBP
LBBP

E
F
G
H

PWR
PWR

PWR

The LBBP goes into slots A through F


Each LBBP card has 6 CPRI interfaces, but only 3 are
used currently
Note: In the first release of Huaweis LTE BBU, the
modem cards were double-height. In the second
release, they are now normal (single) height

Each RF technology requires its own unique


control and modem cards

Slots A to F will be used for modem cards,

transmission cards and lightning protection cards, so


LMPT
you normally cant use six slots for modems
NOTE: The Huawei BBU supports many RF technologies, but only 2 at one time.
Why? Because there are only 2 slots in the BBU that can contain control cards.

28 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

PWR

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Elements


BBU3900 LTE-only Specifications
Capacity

Cells per LBBP: 3, each 2x2 MIMO @ 20 MHz


172 Mbps DL/57 Mbps UL per UE
Specifications

Size: 84 x 446 x 310mm (HxWxD)


Weight: 12 kg (full configuration)
Power supply: -48VDC, +24VDC
Power consumption: 250W max
Temp range: -20 to 55 C
F
A
N

LBBP
LBBP
LBBP

LMPT

PWR

Interface with RRUs

PWR

Transmission Interfaces

CPRI connection at up to 2.4 Gbps


2xFE/GE electrical
2xFE/GE optical

The BBU3900 above is the maximum configuration for an LTE-only installation.


In fact, only 2 LBBPs are required for a fully equipped LTE macro.
See Section 3c for mixed-technology examples.
29 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Elements


Radio Unit Choices
Huawei provides two configurations for LTE radios both are supported by the BBU3900:
1. Radio units (RFUs) are housed in a macro cabinet
2. Remote radio heads (RRUs) are mounted at some distance from the BBU
RRU3201 LTE only
LRFU LTE only
Capacity: 2 carriers
Output: 2 x 40W
Frequencies: 700/AWS/900/1800/2600
Availability: Q1 2010

mRFU GSM/WCDMA/LTE
Capacity: 2 LTE carriers
Output: 2 x 40W
Frequencies: 900/1800/850/1900
Availability: H2 2009 (for GSM/WCDMA)

** Huaweis FCC filing for the RRU3201 says 2x40W,


but recent marketing info says 2x20?
30 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Being replaced by RRU3203?

Capacity: 2 carriers
Output: 2 x 40W **
Frequencies: 2600/700/AWS
Availability: Q2 2009

RRU3808 WCDMA/LTE
Capacity: 2 LTE carriers
Output: 2 x 40W
Frequencies: 2100
Based on WCDMA RRU 3804
Availability: Q3 2009 (LTE)

RRU3908 GSM/WCDMA/LTE
Capacity: 2 LTE carriers
Output: 2 x 40W
Frequencies: 900/1800/850/1900
Similar function to an mRFU
Availability: Q2 2009 (GSM/WCDMA)

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Note each
RRU has a
different
form-factor.

Huawei LTE Elements


LRFU/mRFU Macro-based Radio Unit
The BTS3900 macro base station has six slots for radio units (RFUs). There are different
flavors of RFUs to support different RF technologies (GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE). The most
recent development is the mRFU which can be software programmed to support either GSM
and WCDMA - it will be extended to also support LTE.

Specs:
WCDMA RFU: 4 carriers, 80W total

mRFU: 3 carriers, 60W


LTE RFU: 2 carriers, 40W each

Note: The availability dates for LTE support on mRFU


are soft. Weve seen 2Q09, 3Q09 and 2010.
The confusion probably is because it will be available
for GSM/UMTS first with LTE added in the future.
In the meantime, they will use the LRFU (LTE only).

31 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Elements


RRU3201/RRU3203 LTE Remote Radio Head
The RRU3201 is Huaweis original LTE RRU and has been used in early deployments.

In May 2010, Huawei filed a report with the US FCC for the RRU3203. This new RRU
looks identical to the RRU3201, with minor specification differences (see below).
RRU3203 differences

Twin TRX:
Two Tx, two Rx, one feedback channel
Each channel supports one carrier

Output power:
40W per antenna port
Measured: 36.3W to 37.2W

Other Specs:
Frequencies: 700/AWS/2600
Bandwidths: 5/10/20 MHz

Only 700 filed with FCC


1.4MHz -> 20MHz

Size is different for 700 vs. AWS


We dont have a good explanation yet for why Huawei released a
new RRU rather than just a new version of the 3201.
Could there be contractual obligations requiring Huawei to
retrofit 3201s if a new version is released?
32 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Elements


RRU3808 WCDMA/LTE Remote Radio Head
The RRU3808 appears to be based on the RRU3804, Huaweis flagship WCDMA base
stations. The hardware is LTE ready, needing just a software upgrade to be able to
support both WCDMA and LTE (in the same frequency).

33 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Elements


RRU3908 GSM/WCDMA/LTE Remote Radio Head
The RRU3908 is Huaweis newest RRU supporting GSM, WCDMA and LTE. The hardware
is LTE ready, needing just a software upgrade to be able to support LTE.

This RRU appears to be functionally similar to the mRFU radio


unit. Just as with the mRFU, the availability date shown is
probably for GSM/WCDMA with LTE available later.
34 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Elements


Compare with Other LTE Vendors
Alcatel-Lucent

Huawei

Ericsson

Nokia Siemens

Height

2U

2U

1.5U

3U

RF techs
supported

LTE

GSM, WCDMA,
CDMA, TD-SCDMA,
WiMAX, LTE

GSM, WCDMA, LTE

GSM, WCDMA, LTE

LTE carriers
(2x2 MIMO @ 20MHz)

Baseband Unit

Radio Unit

LTE carriers /
output power

GSM, WCDMA, CDMA planned

2 / 2x40W
2 / 2x40W

Radio Head

LTE carriers /
output power

2 / 2x40W

3 / 3x60W

(LTE RFU)

2 / 2x40W

2 / 2x30W

(RRU3201/3203)

(RRUS11)

1 / 1x60W

2 / 2x40W
(RRU3808)

2 / 2x40W
(RRU3908)

Huawei Strengths:
BBU can support multiple technologies
Radio units can support multiple
technologies
Small BBU cards for flexibility
Integrated GE interfaces

35 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Huawei Issues:
BBU can only support 2 technologies
simultaneously
Availability dates are floating
Why was RRU3201 replaced?

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

3b

Huaweis LTE RAN


Configurations

Huawei LTE Configurations


DBS3900 Distributed Base Station
The DBS3900 is Huaweis solution for overlaying existing networks and for applications with
space constraints. It initially consisted of two parts: the BBU3900 and the RRU3201.
It supports other RRUs as they become available.
The RRUs support daisy-chaining, so there can be more than 3 RRUs.

Capacity (as shown)


3 carriers, 2x2 MIMO
40W per channel
Interfaces
FE or GE (elec. or opt.)
Comments
The Physical Throughput: Up to 173 Mb/s in a downlink with 22
MIMO; 64QAM, 20 MHz and 84 Mb/s in an uplink with 12 SIMO,
64QAM, 20 MHz per cell.
Flexible Bandwidth Support: The BBU3900 LTE supports channel
bandwidths of 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz in the first release.
Note that these comments apply to all configurations.

Huaweis first LTE release, eRAN1.0, was based on this


distributed solution.
37 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Configurations


BTS3900 Indoor Macro
The Indoor Macro BTS meets ultra-high capacity requirements for dense urban application.

RFU

Capacity
6 carriers, 2x2 MIMO (12 total)
40W per channel
Interfaces
FE or GE (elec. or opt.)
Specifications
Size: 900 x 600 x 450 mm
Weight: 120 kg (typical)
Power Consumption: 2400W
(6 x 2x2MIMO @ 10MHz)

BBU

Two macros can be stacked, providing double capacity in the


same footprint. The physical design of the cabinet creates a
cooling chimney when stacked.
At MWC 2010, Huawei showed another double-capacity
configuration called the BTS3900L. It again appeared to use the
same elements - simply combining them into a single cabinet.
The macro was first available for LTE in eRAN2.0, 1Q2010.

38 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Configurations


BTS3900A Outdoor Macro
The Outdoor Macro single cabinet BTS will also be applied in high capacity situations, but
is in an enclosure for outdoor deployment. Options are provided for different sizing and
for inclusion of batteries.
Capacity (single)
3 carriers, 2x2 MIMO
40W/channel
Capacity (double)
6 carriers, 2x2 MIMO
40W/channel
Interfaces
FE or GE (elec. or opt.)
Specifications
Size: 900 x 600 x 450 mm
Power Consumption: 2440W

BBU
RFU

Standard size

39 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Standard size
(w/ batteries)

Double size

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

(6 x 2x2MIMO @ 10MHz)

Huawei LTE Configurations


DBS3900 Outdoor Distributed Base Station
Huawei also provides a solution for deploying the BBU outdoors.

40 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Configurations


BTS3900C Micro Outdoor
The Micro is targeted at suburban applications, blind spots, and hot spots. Note that the
BTS3900C has not been marketed for LTE yet, but is part of their CDMA and WCDMA offer.

Capacity (assuming RRU3201)


1 carriers, 2x2 MIMO
40W/channel
Interfaces
FE or GE (elec. or opt.)
Specifications
Weight: 35 kg (typical)

RRU3804
BBU3900
41 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

(or RRU3201?)

The availability of the micro is unclear. Sometimes it is shown,


sometimes a pico is shown. There are no firm delivery dates
for either one.
Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huawei LTE Configurations


Compare with Other LTE Vendors

Alcatel-Lucent

Huawei

Ericsson

Nokia Siemens

Macro indoor

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes*

Macro outdoor

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes*

Yes

Yes

Micro/Mini
Distributed

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes*

1st BTS release

2008

2008

2009

2005

1st LTE release

Q3 2009

Q3 2009

Q2 2009

Q4 2009
* NSN stacks Flexi units to
make each configuration

Huawei Strengths:
Full range of options
All configurations built from same
elements
Mature base station design
All RF technologies available

42 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Huawei Issues:
Many, confusing options
Uncertain small cell direction

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis LTE RAN


SingleRAN/Evolution

3c

Huaweis SingleRAN
BTS3900 Supports Multiple Technologies
The BTS3900 is designed to be the only base station that the operator needs to deploy. It
was released in 2008 and has been deployed for GSM, CDMA, WCDMA and WiMAX
applications. LTE (FDD and TDD) is the next technology to be added.
BBU 3900
The BBU3900 can contain two control boards, therefore can
support two technologies simultaneously. If there is empty
space in an existing BBU, you can add a 2nd technology by
adding appropriate control and modem cards.

RFUs
The macro radio shelf can contain 3 to 6 radio units. Again, if
there is empty space, you can add a new RFU into any empty
slot. (If mRFUs are deployed, you could do a software upgrade
to change an existing one to support LTE.)

RRUs
Huawei has multiple flavors of RRU, several of which support
multiple technologies (in a single frequency band). You can
reuse an appropriate existing RRU or deploy a new one.

Since the BBU, RFU and RRU are the key elements in all BTS3900s, any of the configurations
can be easily upgraded macro indoor, macro outdoor, micro and distributed.
44 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis SingleRAN
SingleRAN Examples
These pictures show how to add LTE to an existing WCDMA deployment. Note addition of
hardware required in both baseband and radio elements.
BTS3900 (WCDMA only)

W
C
D
M
A

W
C
D
M
A

W
C
D
M
A

BTS3900 (WCDMA+LTE)

Add 3 LTE RFUs

W
C
D
M
A

W
C
D
M
A

W
C L L L
D T T T
M E E E
A

Any tech RFU


can be plugged
into any slot.

Add LTE controller


and modem

BBU supports 2
technologies
simultaneously

Add RRU

DBS3900 (WCDMA only)

Most RRUs
support multitechs

LTE

Add LTE controller


and modem
WCDMA

WCDMA

WCDMA

WCDMA

or you can
just deploy
another RRU

DBS3900 (WCDMA+LTE)
45 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis SingleRAN
BBU3900 Options
The key cards in the BBU are the control and modem cards (as discussed in the last
section). Because of the independence of the BBU slots, multiple combinations of
technologies can be supported.

F
A
N

WCDMA modem

Transmission

WCDMA modem
WCDMA modem

GSM control +
modem

WCDMA modem

WCDMA control

PWR
PWR

F
A
N

WCDMA modem

WCDMA modem

WCDMA modem

WCDMA modem

LTE modem

WCDMA control

LTE modem

LTE control

empty

Transmission

empty
LTE modem

GSM control +
modem

LTE modem

LTE control

PWR
PWR

F
A
N

CDMA modem

CDMA modem

CDMA modem

CDMA modem

LTE modem

CDMA control

LTE modem

LTE control

GSM + LTE

46 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

PWR

WCDMA + LTE

GSM + WCDMA

F
A
N

PWR

CDMA + LTE

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

PWR
PWR

Huaweis SingleRAN
Radio Units
Each RRU in Huaweis portfolio supports a different combination or technologies. The
RRU3804 is a multi-carrier unit that will support both WCDMA and LTE. It can be
reprogrammed as the network evolves.

47 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis SingleRAN
Example: WCDMA/LTE
Huawei BTS3900 WCDMA networks are LTE Ready. This means the operator can deploy
LTE without replacing equipment, however they still must upgrade SW and/or HW.

New HW for
different
band

HW upgrade
required

48 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis SingleRAN
Example: WCDMA/LTE
Existing WCDMA network
Each base station has 3 5MHz carriers

F
A
N

Transmission

WCDMA modem
WCDMA modem

WCDMA control

New WCDMA+LTE network


Each base station has 3 5MHz WCDMA carriers
And 1 20MHz LTE carrier

F
A
N

PWR
PWR

Transmission
LTE modem
WCDMA modem

LTE control

WCDMA modem

WCDMA control

PWR
PWR

WCDMA + LTE

WCDMA only

Capacity:
Each WCDMA modem card supports 3s2c
Could deploy 2 or 3 modem cards
depending on growth planning

Interfaces:
2 FE connections to network (1 from
WCDMA controller, 1 from transmission card)
3 CPRI links to RRUs (from modem cards)

Capacity:
Each WCDMA modem card supports 3s2c
Each LTE modem card supports 3s 2x2 MIMO (@20 MHz)
Interfaces:
2 FE connections to network for WCDMA (1 from
WCDMA controller, 1 from transmission card)
3 CPRI links to RRUs (from modem cards)

1 GE connection to network for LTE (from LTE modem


card)

BBU engineering isnt consistent across technologies, so the operator must design the
WCDMA network with the intent to upgrade to LTE. Otherwise, change can be difficult.
49 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis SingleRAN
Example: GSM/LTE
Two steps in this evolution:
1.Addition of GSM 1800 and LTE 2600
2.Reduction of GSM900 replaced with LTE900
If the GSM900 was deployed using MRFUs instead of GSM-specific RFUs, the second
step can be done via software instead of replacing RFUs.

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

G444

50 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

G
9
0
0

G
1
8
0
0

G
1
8
0
0

G
1
8
0
0

L
2
6
0
0

L
2
6
0
0

L
2
6
0
0

G
1
8
0
0

G
1
8
0
0

G
1
8
0
0

L
2
6
0
0

L
2
6
0
0

L
2
6
0
0

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

G
9
0
0

L
9
0
0

L
9
0
0

L
9
0
0

G666/LTE
Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

G444/LTE (wider bandwidth)

Huaweis SingleRAN
SingleRAN Realities
Huawei portrays SingleRAN evolution as a simple upgrade, typically requiring only
software. Lets look a little closer at some of the real limitations.
Adding the 3rd technology
requires a 2nd BBU.

Using an MRFU will simplify


things by allowing a SW-only
upgrade of radios.
However, you either:
Bought unneeded capacity
initially or
Must decommission the
original RF network first.

New radio and


BBU hardware

51 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

New radio and BBU


hardware

Empty space required for


simple upgrade. Does
operator want to initially
deploy half-full macros?

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis SingleRAN
SingleRAN@Broad
What is it?
At Mobile World Congress 2010, Huawei unveiled their SingleRAN@Broad marketing campaign, discussing
expansion of mobile broadband to LTE and beyond.
This continues their recent history of rolling out new campaigns at MWC:
2008 Fourth Generation BTS; 2009 SingleRAN; 2010 SingleRAN@Broad
The diagram on the right shows the basic
principles of SingleRAN@Broad:
1.Capacity will increase by 500x
New topologies
New use of spectrum
New technology

2.OPEX per bit will drop to 1/35th


RAN site savings
Transport savings
Improved OA&M tools

3.User experience will increase as a


result
Voice
Data

Be Careful: This is not a product/offer. There are no specific Huawei products mentioned.
Any vendor could draw this chart.
SingleRAN is a concept with specific current products that support it.
SingleRAN@Broad requires future developments like LTEAdvanced to achieve the promised results.
52 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis SingleRAN
How to Position Against It?

Huawei Strengths:
Single design structure for all RF
technologies
Single OA&M system for all
applications
Relatively simple evolution
Numerous options for upgrade
Operators are already deploying
LTE Ready networks
Customers have bought into the
converged RAN concept and see
Huawei as the leader

53 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Huawei Issues:
Software only upgrade claim
- Yes if RRH is the right one
- Yes if frequency is the same
- Never true in BBU always need HW
Simply add cards to BBU claim
- Only works if you have empty space
- Did you overbuy initially?
- Or did you pre-equip with LTE?
- How did you know where/how much?
- Do you have both GSM+UMTS already?
- Youll need a new BBU.
Generations
- Huawei is cheap in initial purchase and
expensive in extensions. If the customer
didnt lock-in prices when first deploying
SingleRAN, they may get surprised.
- Huawei has reputation of coming out with
new hardware and abandoning the old.
Example, RRU3201 -> RRU3203.

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Huaweis LTE RAN


How Do We Win?

Beating Huawei
Introduction
Huawei is Formidable but NOT Unbeatable
There are three general directions we can take to attack Huawei:

1. Attack their Market Leadership Position

Are they really a leader? Analysts think so, but they still havent won the big LTE contracts or delivered
the big LTE networks. There are still question marks here.
The next 6 months will tell whether Huawei can continue their highly respected position.

2. Attack their LTE product offer

This is a tough one, because Huaweis SingleRAN concept is a game-changer for wireless and the BTS3900
eNodeB matches the competition in capacity, flexibility, etc.
We must redirect the argument - dont start with a side-by-side comparison against our product. Instead,
talk about network design Is a converged RAN really the most cost-effective solution for you? Talk about
the total network end-to-end services, network reliability, total cost of ownership, etc.

3. Use fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD)

Huawei has a history of unreliability and questionable business practices. Even if those are problems of the
past, we still put questions in our customers minds
This category should really be the foundation when competing with Huawei. Who do you want as a
partner? A low-cost manufacturer or Bell Labs? A seller of box-oriented solutions or an end-to-end
solution? A company with a long history of meeting your needs or an upstart with a spotty reputation?

The next page has a summary of Huaweis strengths and weaknesses. Following that are ideas for
attacking Huawei organized in the 3 categories listed above.

55 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Beating Huawei
Strengths/Weaknesses
Strengths
Low prices
High promises
Guaranteed China volume helps scale
Business

R&D strength in numbers and accomplishments

Customer-centric approach (quickly bring


resources to bear on customer hot buttons)
Turning corner from tier 2 vendor to major
player in wireless infrastructure

LTE

Strong presence in LTE trials


Wins with TeliaSonera, Telenor, Net4Mobility
Strong growth in wireless (GSM, CDMA, WCDMA)
Single base station for all technologies
2008/2009 deployments are LTE Ready
Flexible BBU-based solution
Easy evolution to LTE
Strong green marketing => reduced TCO

56 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Issues
History of inconsistent performance
Credibility issues
Security concerns due to government/military links
Growth and globalization will put pressure on their
low-cost profile
Still not fully embraced by operators, often brought
into bids simply to lower prices
A weak reputation in the professional services
market compared to Ericsson, NSN and ALU.
Huawei is currently challenged by ZTE for 3G
leadership in China. To lead worldwide, Huawei
must lead in its domestic market.
Still selling boxes, not end-to-end
Loss at TeliaSonera!
Marketing says software upgradable, but most
upgrades require some new hardware
Capacity limitations on LTE dual-mode BBU?
No evolution path from older base stations (preBTS3900); requires overlay with new hardware

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Beating Huawei
Attack Market Position
Attack Huaweis
claimed leadership
position

Ideas:

ALU is a tier 1 vendor, Huawei just want to be


How many trials does Huawei really have?
How many significant contracts does Huawei really have?
ALU has Verizon and AT&T plus a long list of significant trials.
Huawei won TeliaSonera but then lost it
Huawei is a recent large contributor to standards bodies ALU has
been a leader in 3GPP and 3GPP2 for years

Messages:

Attack Huaweis
marketing messages

End to end LTE solution leader


Huawei is unclear in their EPC, ecosystem, transport solutions
ALU has leading solutions in IMS, applications, META,
Green solution. TCO savings.
Many of their claims are based on generic LTE advantages
We can also demonstrate TCO savings with our solutions via Bell
Labs Modeling
Software Defined Base Stations
Most of Hs base station evolutions require new HW, not just SW
SDR? Weve done it for years. Weve also led in the
development of MIMO, SON, OFDM, beamforming, flat IP

57 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Beating Huawei
Attack Product
Examples:

SingleRANs biggest differentiator was time-to-market Huawei doesnt


Attack Huaweis
LTE offer

have a TTM advantage for LTE


The BTS3900 BBU has engineering restrictions and capacity limitations
Their EPC solution is evolved from their GSM/WCDMA mobile core
Limitations in OAM tools and methodical/structured procedures

Areas:
Attack Huaweis
evolution story

Huawei still has a small embedded base


You need an embedded base in order to evolve it
We have CDMA and HSPA market leadership
The Huawei evolution story is focused on the new BTS3900
Evolution from previous versions is weak/ignored
Churn, churn, churn evolution requires new hardware/software
Reports:

Attack Huaweis
BTS3900 performance

The BTS3900 looks good on paper. How does it really perform?


Recent outages in Canada reflect poorly on Huawei (see next slide)
Reports from China indicate Huawei is missing promises, slipping
deliveries and delivering reduced capacity solutions

58 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Beating Huawei
Example of Product Failures
3G Network Outage at Bell
Canada and Telus Mobility,
February 2010
Bell had a six hour degradation on two
RNCs last Friday. According to TELUS the
RNCs were under provisioned so they were
running hot. Telus and Bell Mobility RAN
share so an outage actually effects both
(Alcatel-Lucent Canadian Teams)
Many Telus and Bell 3G (Apple iPhone,
Blackberry Bold, HTC Hero) users
experienced a 4 hour outage in the Greater
Toronto Area yesterday. Service was
resumed last night. The cause of is the issue
still remains unknown, but Telus says it was
caused by a 3rd party vendor. All users
are advised to perform a soft reset on their
handset

In late February, a major impacting network outage that lasted in the


regions of 4 hours in Toronto that degraded 3G data services in Telus and
Bell networks. Toronto is Huawei's main market. The feedback from local
teams was that Huawei's capacity claims or engineering dimensioning did
not support the traffic demand and did not live up to expectations,
possibly the Radio Network Controllers (RNC) were under provisioned. Our
local sales teams confirmed that Bell Mobility network outages were
caused by a failure in Huawei's RNC in the Bell network and their technical
teams were still investigating this case.

Based on information from the Sales Teams, it seems that Telus SGSN
(provided by NSN) was flooding' Bell 's RNC (provided by Huawei) with
traffic (Multi-Operator Core Network - MOCN environment). The amount of
concurrent traffic generated by the Telus SGSNs caused the degradation in
Bell 's Huawei RNCs. Some of the causes of the failure may have been
problems with the SGSN configuration in Telus, bad dimensioning of
Huawei's RNC or any bug in RNC/SGSN. However, independently of the root
cause of the failure the RNC should arguably have been more resilient
during the overload. This event questions whether Huawei's RNC provides
the Telco grade high traffic performance that is expected in demanding
markets.

More details available at Alerts : http://wireless.app.alcatellucent.com/marketing_toolbox/competitive_intelligence/wireless.htm


Source:

- Toronto outage, February 25th , 2010


http://www.aingaran.com/4-hour-3g-outage-in-toronto-for-bell-and-telus

- Sales Teams

59 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Beating Huawei
Use FUD
Examples:

Huaweis a privately held company and their financials are nonAttack Huaweis
credibility

transparent
Huawei reports strong growth in contracts, not revenues not always
the same thing
Wont talk directly about financing from the Chinese government
Repeated reports of ethical problems
Governments have security concerns, including reports of spying by
employees and close ties to the military (note recent problems in India).

Examples:

Huawei is investing in local resources now it will take sometime for these
Attack Huaweis
lack of maturity

60 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

teams to be well established


Limited professional service capabilities
Theyre experiencing rapid growth. How will it impact them?
Can their support structures handle the growth?
Can they be a true global vendor (rather than low-cost box vendor)?
They buy market position via low entry costs when do they cash in?
Limited experience with tier 1 operators

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

Beating Huawei
More FUD

Examples:

Promises made in sales cycle must be negotiated post contract


Attack Huaweis
track record

often creating costly changes


Huawei notorious for under-pricing an initial deal, only to gouge the
customer on future needed features and licenses
Huawei has a history of discontinuing product lines deployed in the
field requiring costly upgrades or replacements over time
Huawei creates a false appearance of being responsive, e.g., Flying in
100s of people from China to fix a problem

For published articles and more detail on these issues,


read Huawei The Unpleasant Truths (updated quarterly)
http://wireless.app.alcatel-lucent.com/marketing_toolbox/competitive_intelligence/wireless.htm

61 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

For Further
Information

For Further Information


Marketing Toolbox for Competitive Intelligence
To communicate to the wider Wireless community CI analysis, reports and product
benchmarks produced by different CI groups
http://wireless.app.alcatel-lucent.com/marketing_toolbox/competitive_intelligence/lte.htm

Huawei LTE RAN Analysis

63 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

For Further Information


Wireless CI Forum
For the wider Wireless community (GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, Mobile NGN and LTE). Allows discussion on
news, products, issues, field experiences, knowledge sharing and expression of opinions related to
Wireless infrastructure competitors
http://forum.app.alcatel-lucent.com/viewforum.php?f=236

64 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

www.alcatel-lucent.com
www.alcatel-lucent.com

65 | Huawei LTE RAN CI | June 2010

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary/Confidential
All Rights Reserved Alcatel-Lucent 2009

You might also like