PTN 40GE Mature Commercial Deployment Boosts LTE Bearer Network Construction

The long-awaited issuance of 4G licenses marks China's official entry into the commercial LTE era, prompting telecom operators to accelerate LTE deployment. With the rapid growth of diversified LTE services, surging traffic volumes, and expanding network scale, a higher-bandwidth bearer network is required to match, especially at the aggregation and core layers, where 40GE or even 100GE ultra-large bandwidth is needed.

I. PTN 40GE Comprehensively Enhances LTE Bearer Network Bandwidth

With the rapid development of LTE services, China's mobile Internet has entered the "high-speed rail era," triggering explosive growth in LTE bearer network bandwidth demand. In the early stage of LTE, the typical bandwidth per base station reached an average of 80M and a peak of 320M, representing an order-of-magnitude leap compared to the bandwidth requirements of the GSM and TD-SCDMA eras. According to the China Mobile group specification recommendations, the LTE bearer network aggregation ring carries 6 aggregation nodes, each aggregation node carries 6 access rings, and each access ring carries 6 access points. In the early stage, the traffic on the aggregation ring was approximately 15G~20G. As LTE end-user numbers increase and LTE deployment expands, the bearer network bandwidth demand further grows, with the aggregation layer reaching approximately 30G.

Adopting the PTN 40GE solution to build the aggregation layer of the LTE bearer network can accommodate the bandwidth growth demand and offers many advantages: First, 40GE reduces bandwidth fragmentation and improves bandwidth utilization; second, end-to-end PTN 40GE networking requires fewer links and simplifies planning; third, end-to-end PTN 40GE networking provides a streamlined topology, simplifying bearer network operation and maintenance.

PTN 40GE technology has matured, and in terms of market demand, technology evolution, and industrial chain readiness, it is fully capable of commercial deployment, gradually becoming the mainstream technology in the market. In 2012, PTN 40GE passed China Mobile's centralized procurement tests; in 2013, PTN 40GE entered China Mobile's procurement list, prompting major PTN vendors to increase their investment in PTN 40GE.

Regarding 40GE optical modules, the IEEE 802.3ba standard has defined 40GBASE-FR (2km), 40GBASE-LR4 (10km), and 40GBASE-ER4 (40km) specifications. Currently, major optical module vendors in the industry, such as Sumitomo, Source Photonics, and HiSilicon, are already capable of mass-supplying 40GE optical modules, and 40GE PTN products have achieved the capability for large-scale commercial deployment.

II. Huawei PTN 40GE Takes the Lead, Driving Mature Commercial Deployment of PTN 40GE

Huawei has consistently been at the forefront of the industry in the commercial deployment of PTN 40GE optical modules. In the first half of 2013, when mainstream vendors began launching 40km 40GE optical modules, Huawei had already achieved mature commercial deployment of 40km 40GE optical modules. In the second half of 2013, Huawei took the lead again by introducing a commercially mature 80km long-reach optical module, meeting the complex transmission distance requirements across metropolitan LTE bearer networks.

Huawei has not only made significant progress in 40GE optical modules but has also leveraged its industry-leading chip and hardware technologies to develop the industry's highest-integration 40GE line card for PTN equipment, which is smaller in size and lower in power consumption compared to 40GE line cards from other PTN equipment vendors. The reduced space and power requirements lower customer costs and expand the scope of equipment deployment.

Huawei's PTN 40GE line card supports more efficient LTE bearer technologies and fully meets LTE bearer requirements. The PTN 40GE line card delivers high-performance service processing capabilities, supporting large-scale static L3 capabilities, L2 dual-homing protection, hardware-based OAM and protection functions, as well as end-to-end comprehensive clock synchronization solutions, satisfying the efficient transmission of LTE services.

Huawei's PTN 40GE 80km long-reach optical module covers various application scenarios, and the highly integrated line card combined with efficient bearer technologies achieves an overall leading LTE bearer network solution. To date, Huawei PTN 40GE has achieved volume shipments and has been deployed on a large scale in Guangdong, Fujian, Shandong, Gansu, and other regions, leading the industry in the mature commercial deployment of PTN 40GE.

III. SPTN Solution Safeguards the LTE Bearer Network

The maturity of PTN 40GE aligns precisely with the "Super" requirement for 40GE and 100GE large-bandwidth capabilities in the LTE bearer network, and "Super" is one of the core concepts of Huawei's SPTN solution. Huawei's innovative SPTN solution addresses the demands of the LTE era for equipment capabilities, service operation and maintenance, and future network evolution, helping operators build a more flexible and intelligent premium bearer network for LTE, while demonstrating the future direction and trends of PTN network development.

Source: C114 China Communication Network