Nokia Siemens NetworksExtending 3G coverage with cost- efficientWCDMAfrequencyrefarming

1 ElisaCustomerTestimonial

Seeking a smarter, safer way to broaden coverage

FoundedinHelsinkiin1882,Elisa providesvoice,telecommunication,andcustomizedcommunications servicestoprivate,corporate,and institutionalcustomers,servingover1.3millionwirelinesubscribers.Elisa is the broadband market leader in Finland with 0.5 million subscriptions and a forerunner in providing new mobile and content services with over 2.5 million cellular subscribers.

Gearing up to grow revenues with 3G 3G services are among Elisas key competitiveassets.InFinland,operatorsare free to sell 3G packages comprising thesubscriptionanduserequipment, a business model that has paid dividends forElisa.ButthemarketischangingwiththegrowingpopularityofPCcards,USBsticks,andotherdevicessuitedfor using wireless broadband services withPCs.Andgrowingnumbersofsubscribers are using mobile handsets todothingslikepushe-mail,navigate,and download maps.

Elisa saw that customers with 3G access were far more willing to embrace data services.Thecompanywasalsokeento afford people in sparsely populated rural areas the same access to more

sophisticated mobile services that urban customersenjoy.SoElisadecidedtogear up for 3G services throughout its mobile network.

Onewaytodothiswouldbetodeployaconventional2100MHzWCDMAnetwork.Onthedownside,a3Gsystemoperatinginthe2100MHzfrequencyband requires threefold more new sites thansystemsoperatingat900MHzbecause each base stations coverage radius is smaller and in-building propagation is weaker. So the cost ofWCDMA2100MHzwasfoundto be prohibitive even a significantly bigger subscriber base and revenues boostwouldhardlyjustifytheexpense.

HelpingElisaboostspeedandextenditsreachacrossFinland Eager to connect with customers beyond city limits and take its 3G performancepromisenationwide,ElisaCorporation,aleadingFinnish communicationsservicecompany,optedtogowithNokiaSiemens NetworksWCDMA900solution.

Roll-outofWCDMA900canbereallyfastcomparedtoWCDMA2100.Basedon our experience we can practically skipnewsiteacquisitionandbuilding,and still get an excellent 3G coverage. Fromthereon,itisprimarilyupdatingtherental contracts and refarming the 900 frequencyband.Rental,electricityandtransmission costs stay in check when youdonthavetoaddnewBTSsites.EetuPrieur,HeadofAccessNetworksPlanningandOptimization, ElisaCorporation.

Photo:EetuPrieur,HeadofAccessNetworks PlanningandOptimization,ElisaCorporation

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The daunting technical challenges of frequency refarmingOnpaper,WCDMAatafrequencyof900MHzlookedtobetheidealchoice.Butwhataboutintherealworld?2Gequipmentalsorunsat900MHz,sothese networks would have to co-exist inthesameband.Whatsmore,planning,testing,andimplementingaWCDMA900 overlay requires a great deal of highlyspecializedexpertise.

Keeping legacy services alive and customers satisfied Beyondallthis,Elisasbiggestconcernwas protecting legacy business interests andsustainingcurrentoperations.Themajorityofsubscriberstodayrelyon2Gservices.Tosafeguardthismobilerevenuebase,thecompanypersistedin finding a solution that would have no adverse impact on its 2G business. WCDMArefarminglookedpromisingbecause

AprovenWCDMArefarmingsolution is commercially available.

GettingintoWCDMA900earlyon,Elisa couldinfluenceitsevolutionarypath.

3Gdataratesareincreasingthanks totheavailabilityofHighSpeed PacketAccess(HSPA)functionalities,includingfor900MHz.

WCDMA900speedsupandcutsthe cost of 3G rollout because it requires fewer sites and allows legacy sites to be reused without site acquisition efforts or civil works.

3Gcoverageat900MHzcostsfarlessthanat2100MHz.

Making WCDMA frequency refarming work for Elisa Thecompanysoonfoundthesolutionit was seeking. Spearheading advances inWCDMArefarming,NokiaSiemensNetworks was the first to come up with acredibleWCDMA900solution,andhad the equipment and expertise to make the solution work in the real world.

OurproductsmetElisasbottom-lineneeds on how to:

RefarmGSMfrequencieswithoutimpairingGSMperformance

Selectandsetparametersforoptimizingthenetworkandrefarming spectrum

ChangeGSMconfigurationsanduse measurement-based frequency allocationtoaccuratelyoptimizetheeffectonGSMperformance

MeasureWCDMA900networkperformance

Launching the worlds first WCDMA 900 network It all fell into place in late 2007 the timing was perfect for launching WCDMA900.TheequipmentandHSPAfunctionality for high-speed data services wereavailable,andtheregulatorybodyhad given the green light.

So Elisa and our consultants teamed up to devise an end-to-end solution for smoothWCDMAfrequencyrefarmingthatmakesthemostofGSMcapacityandservicequality,andenables successful3GandGSMco-existence.Tothisend,ElisarolledoutaWCDMA900 radio access network based on ourFlexiWCDMAbasestationandRNC,usingNetActOptimizertooltoplanandmanagethetransition,andmake the most of legacy assets. It would become the worlds first full-fledgedWCDMAnetworkoperating inthe900-MHzband.

Nokia Siemens Networks solution can lower the site count by a remarkable65%,andtotal cost of ownership by an equally noteworthy 60%overfiveyears.

3ElisaCustomerTestimonial

Smart moves to sustain GSM performance

Several smart moves satisfied ElisastoppriorityofsustainingGSM performance:Onewastospare bandwidth by condensing carrier spacing.Reservingjust4.2MHz thatis,21channels-fortheWCDMAcarrier left more frequencies available forGSMuseandminimizedtheimpactonGSMperformance.ElisaalsoemployedourNetActOptimizertool forGSMnetworkfrequencyre-planning.Itgoesstraighttothesources,usinghard facts - actual radio network measurements - as the basis for allocating new frequencies.

Elisa was compelled to remove some GSMTRXfromtheWCDMA900MHzareatoreallocatechannelsfromGSMtoWCDMA.AMRHR(AdaptiveMultiRateHalfRate)wasusedtoboostGSMspectralefficiencybecauseit enables the same hardware to provide doublethecapacity,makingGSMTRXeasy to replace.

Off the drawing board and into the field

TheresultsofElisasfieldtesting confirmedexpectations.WCDMA900coverageiscomparabletoGSM900coverage,albeitwithhighdatarates.ElisadeployedHSDPAwithfivecodes,16QAMmodulation,andHSUPAactivatedintheWCDMA900network.Theair interferencepeakratewas3.6Mbps. TheperformancewaseverybitasgoodasthatofaWCDMA2100systemwiththesamefeatureset.AndNokiaSiemens Networks lived up to its performance promise,completingthelaboratorytrial,fieldtesting,andcommercial implementation right on schedule.

Fastfact:Re-plannedwithpowerfulNetActOptimizer,theGSMnetworks performance actually improved!

Conventionalplanningtoolsmay notbeoptimalforrefarming.Thespecializedoptimizationtool,NetActOptimizerisreliable,fast,andeasytouse,andimprovesGSMplanninginmany cases where far fewer channels areavailableforGSMusage.VesaOrava,NetworkManager, ElisaCorporation

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Going strong with GSM, getting stronger with 3G

Elisas decision to go with Nokia Siemens Networks brand of frequency refarming paid big dividends. Some of the many benefits include

Moresatisfiedsubscribers,acompetitive edge with improved

3Gcoverage,andamilestone on the way to nationwide 3G CourtesyofthesharedfrequencyandtheFlexiWCDMABTSzerofootprint,sites,hardware,antennas,and accessories were reused to slash costs and speed deployment.

PowerfulNetActoptimization,implementation,andperformancemonitoringtoolsenabledfast,easyroll-out and made the most of Elisas spectrum assets.

Acost-effective3Gupgradeandeven better quality 2G service

AllthismadeWCDMAfrequency refarming a success story for Elisa.

An end-to-end solution, sourced from a technology leader

Nokia Siemens Networks indeed designs,develops,anddeploys systems.Butwearefarmorethanmerely a vendor; we are a true partner toElisa.Wewerehereyesterday, helpingElisadeployWCDMAinto 900MHz,sharingbandwidthwith GSMtoefficientlyprovide3Gcoverage.Andwewillbetheretomorrow,whenthis cost- and energy-efficient refarming solution delivers a genuine broadband experience to users handsets throughout the country.

Atthetime3Gwasintroduceditwas,morethananythingelse,about hotspots and the like in urban centres the perspective wasquitedifferentfromwhatitisnow.WCDMA2100suitsthispurposeverywellbutasithasturnedout,thecustomerisnotinterestedinwhethershesatahotspotornot,shejustwantsittoworkeverywhere.WhenwefirstlearnedthatWCDMAwasgoingtousethe900frequency,itwasquiteabigdeal.WCDMA900providesgoodcoverageand,fromafinancialstandpoint,makes the most out of our existing sites and investments.TimoSippola,TechnologyManager,ElisaCorporation

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www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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Switchboard+358714004000(Finland)Switchboard+4989515901(Germany)

Order-No.C401-00256-R-200810-1-EN Copyright2008NokiaSiemensNetworks. Allrightsreserved.

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6ElisaCustomerTestimonial