By Zhu Hong
Swisscom’s fixed services have faced mounting pressure from MSO’s in recent years. Couple this with a doubling of data volumes over local fixed lines every 16 months, and the operator has a tremendous need to take its services to the next level; Huawei figures prominently in those plans.
Mounting pressure from cable
Swisscom is the largest integrated telecommunications service provider in Switzerland, offering public switched telephone network (PSTN), fixed broadband, and wireless services. However, fixed competition has been fierce in recent years, with Swisscom facing mounting pressure from Switzerland’s largest cable operator and its 250Mbps broadband service, enabled by DOCSIS 3.0.
Swisscom has been eager to get its broadband back up to par, and make its IPTV bundles more competitive. This has prompted the buildout of a new-generation ultra-wideband (UWB) network that will consolidate its leadership position as an integrated telecom service provider on the horizon.
Accelerating buildout with copper
After meticulously analyzing user bandwidth needs, return on investment (ROI), and future network development, Swisscom chose copper-based Vectoring technology for provision of 50-to-100Mbps bandwidth in the first phase of its UWB rollout, followed up with G.fast technology that will increase the bandwidth by a factor of ten in the second.
Given its widespread copper resources, Swisscom utilized fiber to the curb (FTTC), fiber to the street (FTTS), and fiber to the building (FTTB) as its fiber supplements. For its FTTC deployments, the copper is typically 750 meters in length and covering roughly 300 households via medium-capacity digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAM’s). For FTTS, the design goal is to have 90% of the copper lines within a distance of 250 meters, with a maximum of 48 households covered using small-capacity all-in-one waterproof devices. And with FTTB, copper is typically less than 100 meters with roughly a dozen households covered using small-capacity wall-mountable devices.
In December 2012, Swisscom initiated a tender, eventually settling on Huawei as an exclusive provider for its new-generation copper UWB network, which will accommodate more than two million households and enterprise users in Switzerland, with Huawei’s outdoor deployment experiences, timely customization capability, robust Vectoring technology, G.fast evolution capability, and broad influence in the industry chain the deciding factors.
Swisscom CTO Heinz Herren and Huawei Carrier Network BG CEO Ryan Ding attended the contract signing ceremony, at which Herren said, "We are delighted to expand cooperation with Huawei in the FTTx field. We find that Huawei is an excellent and trustworthy partner with accrued experience and high security awareness. Their solution offers technical possibilities for our network to stay most competitive in Switzerland." Ding added, "We are very pleased that Swisscom has decided to expand the existing cooperation in the fibre network and select Huawei for the roll-out of the FTTS. Our leading solutions in this area will build ultra-broadband and enable Swisscom customers to enjoy much more with connected possibilities. We will engage all resources necessary to ensure a successful win-win cooperation of the project. "
Project delivery challenges
Strict quality requirements are par for the course with Swiss technology, with Swisscom proving no exception. The operator had nearly 70 types of VDSL2 terminals in use, many of which did not support Vectoring, Huawei responded with our innovative Auto Sense solution that implements automatic VDSL2 terminal detection and policy matching to accommodate the broad diversity of terminals in use during Vectoring deployment.
Huawei's Vectoring solution is capable of a forced friendly mode (FFM) that enables VDSL2 terminal operation in Vectoring-based multiline coexistence scenarios, without compromising terminal connectivity or performance. With FFM, Swisscom doesn’t need to replace its legacy terminals, making for a dramatic reduction in both service deployment time and cost. To ensure smooth terminal operation, Huawei has established a lab and allocated the necessary resources at Swisscom headquarters to test operability between dozens of live-network VDSL2 and Vectoring terminals. Interoperability issues have been resolved smoothly, making for a quality delivery process.
Another delivery challenge stemmed from the need to balance water resistance with ease of upgrade to G.fast in FTTS, which sees devices deployed under roadways. Huawei employed high-quality waterproof, aerospace-quality connectors as external interfaces for FTTS devices, and engineers can replace the devices quickly by switching these connectors. Housings were made of a waterproof and dustproof plastic that could keep sewage out during disassembly and assembly, and withstand long periods of immersion in snow runoff.
What’s more, power is supplied by the exchange office for these all-in-one waterproof FTTS devices. Multiple telephone line pairs transmit boosted power to remote FTTS devices which integrate the adaptor, lightning protection, and personal safety protection modules. This remote power supply model can eliminate the need to dig ditches or lay power cables. It has also simplified engineering operations and accelerated device installation substantially.
Gbps access via G.fast
Swisscom’s 100Mbps UWB network has brought the operator back up to speed with its MSO competitors, but DOCSIS 3.1 promises greater bandwidth speeds over cable, and Swisscom is already making moves toward 1Gbps to get ahead and stay ahead. Swisscom has helped formulate G.fast standards for distance and interference resistance, and collaborated with Huawei for testing and trial use. But there are major obstacles to overcome.
The FTTS scenario requires G.fast to run up to a maximum street-to-household distance of about 400 meters, but the distance specified in the G.fast standard does not exceed 250 meters. Thus, Swisscom and Huawei have begun research on G.fast extension. What’s more, a large number of the copper wires currently in use on Swisscom’s network are paper-insulated, leading to severe interference and compromised performance. Interference resistance technology is a must, and the research has already begun.
On August 7, 2014, Swisscom and Huawei signed the industry's first G.fast contract. According to Oliver Lamparter, G.fast Technical Director at Swisscom, said, "On short loops, G.fast technology can dramatically increase the existing DSL access speed, which will undoubtedly make Swisscom’s broadband network very competitive. We are willing to contribute our efforts to accelerate the technology maturity and the solution deployment." Felix Kamer, Managing Director of Huawei's Switzerland office, said, "We are honored that Swisscom recognized Huawei's continuous innovations in the access field and chose Huawei as their new-generation UWB network provider. Huawei will continue to accelerate G.fast standardization and translate standards into products, enabling more users to enjoy UWB services."
Advantage through integration
According to Swisscom's UWB network plan, the new network is set to serve 2.3 million households and commercial premises by the end of 2015 and 85% of all households and commercial premises by the end of 2020. Swisscom has already started large-scale deployment of Vectoring technology. By July 2014, the new network covered about 200,000 new households and commercial premises with Vectoring and FTTS, a number that will soon increase tenfold.
Swisscom also provides UWB-based IPTV services, enabling users to watch up to 250 video programs, playback video feeds within seven days, and perform cloud-based video recording. Swisscom incorporates fixed-line telephone, broadband, and IPTV services into an integrated, cost-effective service package dubbed Vivo, which is both attracting users and reducing churn.
In the future, Swisscom plans to introduce G.fast technology to improve the access rate up to 500Mbps to 1Gbps. This project is setting an exemplary precedent, enhancing operator confidence in copper and enabling more users to truly experience ultra-broadband.
