LTE is typically the driver for an all-IP

network because the wireless standard requires it, said Phil Marshall, head of Tolaga Research. However, 3G operators can accelerate their migration strategies to achieve efficiencies now. “Collapsing network architecture is just

more efficient,” Marshall said. “You can converge services quite efficiently. If it’s possible for a service provider to accelerate its migration to all-IP by overcoming the challenges of dealing with legacy infrastructure, it does make sense.” One wild card: Turkish regulators haven’t

Avea engineers and a host of professional services experts turned up the network in only 2 months. Shown left to right: Mehmet Sağıroğlu, Cihan Kumru, İsmail Odabaşı.

required to backhaul voice traffic. Add broadband traffic, and the requirement skyrockets to a dozen or more E1s. At hundreds of dollars per line per month, that scenario makes little economic sense, said Hakan Kural, Tellabs’ country manager in Turkey. Avea is using the Tellabs®

8600

“Being able to reduce our transport costs and increase transport functionality was a critical point for us. This is a very competitive market.”

Managed Edge System, which uses Pseudowire over MPLS as a cost- effective alternative to adding E1s. The tight time frame made deploying the Tellabs 8600 system more challenging. Avea contracted with its RAN vendors and Tellabs in April 2009, with the 3G network’s commercial launch scheduled for just 4 months later. “We had 20 teams in the field to install products, along

— Mehmet Erkul, Avea transport network manager

announced when LTE can launch. Moving to an all-IP network now means Avea can seize that opportunity as soon as regulators give LTE the green light, Sahin said.

700% Traffic Growth Analysts estimate that each LTE base station must be able to handle bandwidth in the range of 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps. As demand skyrockets, that could reach 1 Gbps or more, yet Avea’s OpEx won’t greatly increase. A recent Informa Telecoms & Media report

found that smartphone users are generating two-thirds of cellular traffic worldwide. That’s despite the fact that just 13% of subscribers have a smartphone. Informa estimates that ATPU currently averages about 85 MB per

month and will increase 700% during the next 5 years. For operators, that growth is both a problem and an

with a host of professional services experts,” Kural said. “By the time we got all of the equipment to the sites, we had 2 months to get our products provisioned and make the network live.”

All IP, Then LTE Avea plans to use the Tellabs 8600 system as a key transition piece to an all-IP RAN. In the process, Avea will become one of the few network operators to go all IP—both in the core and the RAN—before it deploys LTE. “We’ll be at an advantage to our competition,” Erkul said

of the move. “By moving IP to the radio, we will be able to deliver a better level of service, have tighter management of the network and achieve better unit costs when it comes to volume. Tellabs will play a very important role in that challenge because of its ability to handle multiple protocols. Each and every step we will have to add new protocols.”

opportunity. A recent Tellabs study predicts that many operators worldwide could run out of profitability within 3 years if they don’t change their transport layers. (For more highlights from that study, see “The End of Profitability” on page 14). Sahin said Avea is undertaking a unique and radical

approach to its overall network architecture. “It’s difficult being a pioneer, but we believe we’ll be at an advantage to our competition by using technology properly. The technology management piece will be the most important element.” 

2G: Second Generation 3G: Third Generation

ATM: Asynchronous Transfer Mode ATPU: Average Traffic per User

HSPA: High-Speed Packet Access IP: Internet Protocol

LTE: Long-Term Evolution

MPLS: Multiprotocol Label Switching OpEx: Operating Expenses RAN: Radio Access Network QoS: Quality of Service SLA: Service-Level Agreement TDM: Time Division Multiplexing

TELLABS INSIGHT Q2 10