T-Mobile Netherlands Reduces 3G Peak Signaling Load

T-Mobile Netherlands has significantly reduced the peak signaling traffic load on its 3G network by using a paging channel feature within its network, making room for additional growth in voice and data traffic. Cell_PCH is a Nokia Siemens Networks enabled feature in 3G networks that can significantly reduce signaling traffic.


Nokia Siemens Networks said a Cell_PCH-enabled network can reduced the signal volume from high-signaling applications by up to 50%. Cell_PCH also provides a simultaneous increase in battery life of 30% for handsets in a Cell_PCH network, compared to a network without the functionality in active use.


Nokia Siemens Networks' Cell_PCH feature maintains a dedicated connection between the network and the handset while using a minimum of battery power. Hence, while it typically takes 30 signals to move from the idle to active stage in a conventional network, in cases where the carrier's network and handsets are Cell_PCH enabled, anywhere between three to 12 signals are sufficient, depending upon how much data is being transferred.


Always-on mobile broadband applications that run on smartphones make many short connections to the network as they check for latest updates to email or social network sites. If not handled appropriately, this behavior consumes device battery power significantly and generates large amounts of signaling traffic that can clog up networks. The growing popularity of smartphones means operators such as T-Mobile need to cope with increasingly high levels of signaling traffic while improving battery life for smartphone users.


"The number of smartphones on our network is very high. More than 50 percent of all data traffic in the Netherlands is processed by the T-Mobile network. Management of signaling traffic is imperative in the rapidly evolving mobile broadband landscape," said Jan Kuijpers, technology director, T-Mobile Netherlands. "In the long run, excessive signaling can lead to network congestion and can have a negative impact on the quality of voice calls for all our subscribers. Nokia Siemens Networks' Cell_PCH feature provides the ideal solution to avoid these negative impacts. This feature has been implemented across the Deutsche Telekom Group."http://www.nsn.com