SingleRAN Marks a New Era in Mobile Network Architecture

By 2007, 3G technology was in widespread use, and 4G was approaching readiness. But maintaining multiple networks for 2G, 3G, and 4G inevitably drove up operators' costs, both CAPEX and OPEX. Operators needed a new way to manage network evolution and reduce the construction and operating costs of their networks.

To rescue this situation, Huawei introduced SingleRAN. This solution was described by a technical expert at Vodafone as "a very sexy technology." It enabled three different radio access technologies (RATs) – 2G, 3G, and 4G – to be processed within the same equipment rack, so that operators could finally combine and evolve their networks without increasing the bulk of their equipment. At a stroke, it cut operator costs by up to 50%. It was a massive hit in the industry, and our competitors were unable to replicate its success for a long time. The reason was that this product relied on extremely complex algorithms.

The key in the SingleRAN solution was the GSM multi-carrier technology. This was widely recognized in the industry as being a key technical bottleneck, and for many years, no one had been able to solve it. "The chances of success are just 1%!" was the general consensus based on the information available. This means that turning this technology into commercially viable products was virtually impossible.

But we saw that 1% as a challenge, not a barrier. The Huawei wireless technology team and the algorithm research team headed into unknown waters, and achieved a major breakthrough. In July 2007, the teams finally cracked the GSM multi-carrier technology, making SingleRAN – a technology believed to be a disruptive innovation – a reality.

In 2008, Huawei installed the first SingleRAN network in the world for O2 – a subsidiary of Telefónica – in Germany, enabling them to handle both GSM and UMTS on a single network. SingleRAN was quickly embraced by customers worldwide and widely applied in the 4G era. It soon became the new de facto standard for global mobile network architecture.