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Vodafone's headquarters of Wireless is situated in Spain, and Vodafone Spain epitomizes the vitality and key characteristics of Vodafone's success. As one of the group's most outstanding and important subnets, it supports 1.2 million 3G subscribers and occupies 65.33% of the Spanish WCDMA market. Maintaining this market lead is dependent upon guaranteed network performance and a constant service innovation platform that generates sufficient profit levels. Distributed Node B climbs up towers as a monkey European network construction engenders two major concerns for operators: environmental protection and TCO reductions. Vodafone Group is of course no exception, and in response to both concerns, Vodafone Spain has adopted Huawei's small and lightweight next-generation Distributed Node Bs for its 3G network. These smart nodes possess several advantages. Ropes rather than cranes are sufficient to load a remote radio unit (RRU) onto a tower, and the RRU's location near the antenna allows optical fiber connections with the baseband unit (BBU). With feeder loss is decreased, coverage is greatly enhanced, and site numbers are reduced, great savings are made in network construction costs. Previously each base station used huge amounts of power to support uninterrupted 24-hour operations, and air conditioners were essential to lower equipment heat. "It's mega-money," says Richard Deasington, referring to the enormous potential for savings that many operators have not yet fully grasped. The Huawei node eliminates the need for air conditioners by supporting natural heat dissipation, and its power amplification technology can utilize green energy forms such as wind, solar and marsh gas. Each Node B can reduce power consumption to below 500W and CO2 output by 60%. Statistics demonstrate that since Vodafone Spain employed Huawei's Node Bs to deploy its High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) network, 30% less investment was required to facilitate a much more environmentally friendly network. The Vodafone officer mentioned above is quick to point out the scale of the financial and environmental impact in the context of thousands of Node Bs. Moreover, Richard Deasington observes that operators can adopt other measures to realize further savings, not least of which is wise vendor selection. He estimates that the operational technology difference between vendors culminates in a cost discrepancy reaching "tens of millions of euros", which is exactly why Huawei proved the right choice for Vodafone. Lighting up El Gordo On 22 December 2007, the Spanish Christmas lottery El Gordo ('The Fat One' in English), was as usual announced on schedule in Spain. As usual, Lucy was enjoying a Swiss Christmas vacation with her husband on 22 December. Vacationers like Lucy have become used to browsing Internet news for the numbers, unable to enjoy real-time anticipation, "Even if I don't win, it's still a real disappointment not being able to enjoy the live experience on TV." Developing from a small sweepstake in southern Spain dating back 200 years, it was gradually popularized to the rest of the country and now forms a Christmas tradition worth USD1.7 billion. Due to its attractive probability, over 70% of the nation's 40 million population buy tickets - which are also available in the U.K. - and pin their hopes on the fall of El Gordo's 150 year-old lottery balls. The draw, which lasts 3 hours and forms a prime slot on national TV to which most Spaniards tune in, has not historically been broadcast on mobile TV due to poor network conditions. However, 2007 marked the first year when people like Lucy joined in with the Spanish festivities in real time. After selecting Huawei for holistic network construction in June 2006, Vodafone Spain recorded a 30% improvement in network performance subsequent to scheme completion, and this laid a platform for quick mobile TV service deployment. Providing 10 digital channels for Vodafone Live's 3G subscribers including El Gordo, travelers no longer have any problems accessing the Spanish shows that are important to them. Winning in HSDPA benchmarking test In May 2007, Vodafone Spain conducted a test to compare its high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) benchmark with those of other operators. The test result illustrated that the HSDPA throughput enabled by Vodafone Spain in its 29 coverage areas was unsatisfied - in these areas Vodafone had adopted other vendors' wireless equipment to achieve network coverage. Shocked by the result, Vodafone Spain's technical staff anxiously consulted Huawei, and the two partners selected eight hotspot areas in Madrid to be covered by Huawei's wireless network. The new network was then put to the same HSDPA test as before, and then optimized. The results exhibited an HSDPA with far greater stability and with a throughput that exceeded other operators' by over 30% on average. Furthermore, after optimization, single-site HSDPA throughput was significantly improved. In the HSDPA benchmarking test that followed, Huawei received high recognition from Vodafone Spain.
Table 2 Other operators' UMTS/HSPA networks
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