PRESS RELEASE: Recently, China Telecom Sichuan Branch and Huawei wrapped up a pilot of their intelligent Network Controlled Radio (iNCR) deep indoor coverage solution in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. The project has succeeded in cost-effectively providing consistent and stable 4G and 5G coverage for elevators and underground parking lots of a residential community and a local school. The iNCR solution uses innovative technologies such as fiber-free fast deployment, intelligent macro-micro collaboration, and radio frequency fingerprinting (RFF) to achieve low-cost, high-quality, and visualized management of 4G and 5G coverage in unconnected indoor areas. Compared with traditional solutions, this solution solves the problems of unreachability of optical fibers, severe interference on macro-micro networks, and difficult network O&M.
Elevator shafts and underground parking lots often suffer from lack of mobile coverage because signals of outdoor networks are unable to reach these isolated and enclosed spaces. This often results in user complaints and may also cause safety and security risks. However, legacy network solutions are unable to fully resolve this issue due to various reasons, such as unstable quality caused by uplink interference to macro base stations, inefficient monitoring of key service performance indicators, and manual troubleshooting. To provide users with better connectivity, network coverage holes must be filled in using economical and manageable solutions.
Against this backdrop, China Telecom Sichuan Branch and Huawei designed and piloted the innovative iNCR solution. The solution does not require the laying of additional optical fiber and can be directly powered by the nearest mains supply, resulting in fast deployment anywhere there is mains power. With high-power output and dual-channel capabilities, iNCR modules can cost-effectively provide contiguous 4G and 5G coverage in approximately 10,000 m2 underground parking lots or two 30-storey elevator shafts. By using the intelligent interference control algorithm based on macro and micro site coordination, the iNCR can dynamically sense the network’s service status and intelligently adjust the timeslot and strength of uplink signals, thereby minimizing the interference to macro base stations. In addition, RFF technology visualizes key service performance indicators so network faults can be quickly located remotely, improving O&M efficiency and network reliability.
According to the test data on the live network, the signal power distribution in the elevator and underground parking lot meets the coverage requirement of –105 dBm at 95%. The average downlink rate of the elevator is 140 Mbps, and that of the underground parking lot is 131 Mbps. The rate at the cell edge can reach over 100 Mbps, the overall HD voice quality is good, and the background noise of the macro base station does not increase before and after the deployment.
The iNCR solution demonstrates low-cost and high-quality 5G coverage in elevators and underground parking lots. The coverage of 5G signals in elevators and underground parking lots not only brings high-quality network experience to mobile users and meets the requirements of smart vehicle networking applications, but also provides strong support for intelligent management of smart buildings and properties, such as remote monitoring and fault warning through 5G networks. This effectively meets the network coverage requirements of indoor emergency communication, fire alarm, and emergency rescue services, greatly facilitating social security governance.
Based on customer experience, China Telecom Sichuan Branch launched a battle for in-depth coverage of residential networks and completed the iNCR solution innovation pilot. This year, the iNCR solution has been adopted to solve the in-depth coverage of 3,400 residential networks, covering more than 50,000 residential areas, adding signal coverage to more than 5,000 underground parking lots, and covering 20,000 basements, so that users can enjoy high-quality network services wherever they are.
Today and in the foreseeable future, China Telecom Sichuan Branch will remain fully committed to developing and piloting innovative technologies that can fully utilize and enhance the power of mobile networks in order to enrich the lives of users by providing them with more convenient, intelligent, and reliable digital services. It is also working hard to speed up the integration of 5G in various sectors.