IB-RED, a Spanish wireless network service provider, has deployed Huawei’s enterprise LTE (eLTE) solution, including a 4G ultra-wideband wireless network, to cater for increasing demand for fast Internet access, voice over IP (VoIP) and multimedia services by tourists to the Balearic Islands.
A popular tourist destination in Spain, the Balearic Islands welcome an average of 20 million visitors from all around the globe each year. However, the increasing demand for broadband from tourists meant that overall service experience was degraded due to weak network coverage, slow data transmission speed, and severe signal interference. This led to IB-RED requiring an upgrade of its existing networks built on the islands, which feature WiMAX and Wi-Fi technologies that run on the 5.8 GHz free band.
Huawei’s eLTE solution supports a coverage radius of 15 to 25 km (using a single eNodeB) and a maximum downlink data rate of up to 100 Mbit/s to coat the widely scattered and sparsely populated Balearic Islands. The ultra-long distance coverage and high downlink data rate is achieved by Huawei’s new-generation distributed base station DBS3900 and high-performance customer premises equipment (CPE) terminals, supported by the 4-transmit-4-receive (4T4R), high-gain antennas.
In addition, a compact evolved packet core (EPC) solution is used to integrate all core network element (NE) functions into one rack, reducing network deployment complexity and helping to save on previous technology investments. Huawei’s technical support centre in Western Europe also provides full service operation and maintenance support for the ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless network during and after deployment.
"We are pleased to work with Huawei and have been impressed by the eLTE solution’s high-performance devices and quality services. The eLTE network on Majorca now provides a downlink data rate 50 times that of the previous WiMAX network, ensuring both visitors and residents can enjoy stable high-speed access and unlimited download service anytime, anywhere on the island,” said Mr. Alberto Navarro, chief executive officer, IB-RED.
To date, IB-RED has successfully deployed an eLTE network on the islands of Majorca and Ibiza, and plans to roll out the eLTE network on the remaining Balearic Islands of Menorca and Formentera in the future.