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China Mobile close to completing IP switchover
18 May 2010
Management World 2010: China Mobile has been able to cut capex by 85% in switching from TDM to IP networks, VP Liu Aili tells opening session of Management World
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China Mobile
Management World
IP transformation
TMForum
China Mobile has cut capex by 85% in replacing TDM equipment by all-IP equipment over the past six years, and has made large cuts in space and power, according to a senior executive of the world’s largest mobile operator.
Liu Aili, executive vice president of China Mobile, told the opening session of the TMForum’s Management World conference in Nice that the six-year programme has cut space needed for equipment by 80% and power consumption by 60%.
“We need only 20 cabinets for 700,000 customers, compared with two,” said Liu.
China Mobile has 538 million customers and is highly profitable — with a net profit margin of 25% and an ebitda margin of 50%. Its 2G network covers 99% of China’s population, “even Mount Everest”, said Liu, and adds seven million customers a month.
Liu said the IP transformation started with “a trial on a huge scale” but the company was “cautious about commercial use”. Operation of IP networks is “more complicated” than TDM though “IP networks are simple”, added Liu.
In order to guarantee quality for priority users, the company has split operations into a private network with traffic loading of only 40-50% and a public network with an 80% loading. GTB