NSN retools for SGSN/MME to complete Flexi 4G portfolio

Nokia Siemens Networks (NYSE:NOK, NYSE:SI) today released the last major element of its long-term evolution (LTE) portfolio, unveiling at 4G World in Chicago its next-generation mobility management element (MME), a packet core network server that does double duty as the serving GPRS support node (SGSN) on the 3G network.

Called the Flexi Network Server, the new platform is designed to deal with the new realities of mobile data traffic, namely the rapid increase in smartphone data sessions, said Juergen Grabenhofer, NSN head of optical and packet networks solutions. "The platform boasts three times better performance in handling smartphone signaling than its SGSN predecessors," Grabenhofer said.

The NS was also built to have a much smaller energy footprint, according to Grabenhofer, consuming 59 Watts per every 100,000 subscribers and taking up one sixth the rack-space of previous SGSNs. Grabenhofer said an operator would enjoy 75% more energy efficiency by deploying the NS over legacy SGSN platforms and would have a built-in migration path to LTE. “If you look at the power savings alone, you have a return on investment in relatively short period of time,” Grabenhofer said, though the exact amount of savings depends on the electricity costs of each particular country or region.

The NS pairs off with the recently announced Flexi Network Gateway, which doubles as the GPRS gateway service node (GGSN) and the service and packet data network gateways for the LTE-evolved packet core. Coupled with its eNode B Flexi LTE base stations, NSN now has its complete LTE portfolio in place, though NSN has by no means been sitting on the platform. The Flexi NG has already shipped to 32 customers for 3G deployments since its launch three months ago. It and the Flexi NS are now in 45 LTE packet core trials, Grabenhofer said.

NSN has taken a unique approach among the major vendors to building its evolved packet core. While competitors like Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) are leveraging their IP divisions to build the core’s gateways on top of their powerful routing platforms, NSN is building its core on the Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA), more known for processing and session management ability than its packet-pushing capabilities. Technically all of the major vendors are using ATCA for their MMEs, but NSN has built the entire packet core, including the key service and packet data node gateways on the architecture. According to Grabenhofer, the routing capabilities of ATCA have drastically improved, yet it has the processing power to support far more session traffic than generic IP routing platforms.

“Other vendors are using routers coming from fixed networks,” Grabenhofer said. “The reality is that these routers are built for a different architecture, one designed for high throughput but not for mobility.”

4G WORLD TECHNOLOGY ROUND UP

- Motorola today introduced the latest version of its WIMax base station, the Wireless Access Point 850, its first platform 100% reusable for LTE. The configurable base station will support future upgrades to LTE-Advanced and the future WiMAX standard based on the IEEE 802.16m. Moto also said the latest version of its WiMAX software, WMX 5.0, will be available in the first quarter supporting its first implementations of multi-carrier WiMax. NSN is in the process of buying Moto’s commercial networks division, after which it will likely favor its own Flexi line over Moto’s LTE products. But Motorola has also become a key supplier in the much smaller WiMax market so NSN can take advantage of the dual-mode capabilities of Moto’s gear to transition WiMax customers to future technologies.

· ZTE announced a new 4G remote radio head that simultaneously supports WiMax and time division-LTE (TD-LTE). ZTE is clearly targeting the North American market where WiMax operators are increasingly exploring a shift to LTE in the future using their unpaired radio spectrum. ZTE has already developed a base station platform that can support both WiMax and LTE interfaces, but the remote head adds an additional layer of flexibility. Operators could deploy a single radio unit (as long as both networks are on the same band) on the tower rather than deploy radio gear for both technologies.

· Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ:SWIR) announced it has begun sampling its first two LTE wireless modules and will begin sampling a third LTE module in the first half of 2011. The modules are designed to be embedded in laptops, PC cards and broadband dedicated devices, and will feature support for Qualcomm’s Gobi software defined radio platform, making them carrier agnostic. The modules will have additional support for 3G technologies, including CDMA EV-DO.

· Sequans unveiled its latest WiMax system-on-a-chip (SOC), this one targeted at smaller form factor data devices such as handsets, tablets, USB sticks, portable hotspots and other consumer electronics. Sequans has already been successful in getting its silicon in devices, landing the radio chip used in HTC’s EVO 4G, the first 4G smartphone in the US.