Mission Critical LTE solutions

Presented by:

Eric L’Heureux, P.eng

Solutions Ambra inc.

Established in 2007

Telecom engineering turnkey provider

Four offices: Montreal, Calgary, Trois-Rivières, Swanton (USA)

Customers:

AMBRA/ECOTEL solutions for industrial customers

Public and private LTE networks

Mission critical applications

Use LTE broadcast for evacuation

5G Cat-M1 & NB-IoT

LTE used for Industry 4.0 Disruptive technology

Improving productivity by remotely controlling

mining equipment

Improving safety by tracking in real time the

workers

Winner of the International Communication Award 2018 (ICCA)

AgnicoEagle private LTE project

submitted in the Outstanding Single

Site Critical Communications

Installation Category

The judges described the AgnicoEagle

project as an "impressive, innovative,

and unusual deployment"

ECOTEL

Mobile Network Operator (MNO)

Registered with CRTC as a Canadian Wireless Service Provider

Registered with ITU

Member of GSMA

Specialized with industrial customers and wholesale networks

Fulfill all spectrum conditions

Operate multiples LTE EPC cores

Participate to ISED public consultations (including recent Tier-5 consultation)

Bought spectrum though spectrum auctions and from other MNOs

Subordinated spectrum from incumbents

Currently owns 6 000 000km2 of spectrum (2500Mhz, 1900MHz and 850Mhz)

ECOTEL spectrum represents 60% of the Canada surface area.

ECOTEL LTE Spectrum in Canada

La Tuque projectOver 500km of fiber burried along road or railroad

Federal Government (Connect to Innovate program)

Provincial government (Québec branché program)

Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ)

Ministère de l'Énergie et des Ressources Naturelles

Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec

Ville de La Tuque

Municipalités de Lac-Édouard, La Bostonnais, Parent et

Chambord

MRC Mékinac

Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et Services Sociaux

(CIUSSS)

Commission Scolaire de l’Énergie

Hydro-Québec

TGVNET

Rogers

CN (under discussion)

La Tuque project14 new LTE towers

Band 5 (850Mhz) LTE spectrum

Covering areas without cell

phone coverage

LTE used for the last mile for fix

and mobile customers

Covers multiples villages along

railroad

Enable first responders to use CN

AskRail application

Forest industry (Resolu) is testing

LTE for its operation near La

Tuque

Location of 14 new towers

Mission Critical LTE for industrial customers

High Level LTE System View

Devices

Applications

& Funtions

Spectrum Antennas eNodeBMobile

Core

Microwave

MPLS

Optical

SGi

User Equipment

(UE)

Evolved UMTS Terrestrial radio

Access Network (E-UTRAN)

Evolved

Packet Core

(EPC)

LAN

Packet Data

Network

(PDN) eg.

Internet

RRU

BBU

MME

SGW PGW

HSS

IMS PCRF

ENUM

Why Private LTE?

Private LTE network

MNO LTE Core

&

RAN Network

Commercial LTE Network

Versus

• Mining must control maintenance windows (24/7 operations)

• Mining landscape change every week and antennas must be

moved constantly. Cannot call MNOs every time

• Mining cannot depends on a WAN link for process control

• Mining needs end to end QoS and preemption

• Commercial MNOs:

• are contacting us for mission critical projects

• wants to sell managed and cloud services

• do not want to be liable in case of somebody got killed

LTE networks deployed by Ambra

Fully redundant EPC core deployed on premise including

HSS

SGW/PGW

MME

PCRF

IMS

Designed for upstream traffic as opposite to public LTE

Multiples APN with various QoS QCI used for mission critical applications

Mission critical Push-to-talk

Mobile equipment remote operation

Fully redundant RAN design

Customized SIM cards Carrier agnostic

Over-the-air programming

LTE and Wi-Fi authentication (EAP-SIM)

Roaming out device with customized SIM cards will keep its internal IP address over the other MNOs wireless network

Each customers have their own Operator code stored in their HSS

Multi-Profile SIM cards

Change SIM profile over-the-air

Plastic or soldered industrial SIM cards (-40oC)

Compatible with GSMA technical specifications

Use Gemalto, Idemia or NordicESIM Subscription Manager

Example of LTE coverage for a mine tailing pond

Deployed in 2018 to connect displacement sensors for dams

Tailing of the North America’s largest open-pit mine

Coverage of 100 km2 with a single LTE sector

Home Subscriber Server (HSS) &International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)

International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI):

Composed of 15 digits

3 digits for the Mobile Country Code (MCC) – Canada = 302

3 digits for the Mobile Network Code (MNC) – ECOTEL = 300

9 digits for users = 1 billion devices

Home Subscriber Server (HSS):

Database of all the IMSI

Can authenticate SIM cards generated with its own K key

Operator code and transport Key stored in the HSS

IMSI allocation

CNA is allocating IMSI in Canada

Because of 2-digit MNC used worldwide, MNO typically use MNC ending with 0

Limit of 100 MNC ending with 0 per MCC (limited PLMN per country)

Canada has only one country code (302)

IMSI sharing examples

SHARED PLNM: 302 100 XXXXXXXXX

across provinces

Province IMSI PREFIX

 Ontario 302100 0 100 millions

 Quebec 302100 1 100 millions

 British Columbia 302100 2 100 millions

 Alberta 302100 3 100 millions

 Manitoba 302100 4 100 millions

 Saskatchewan 302100 5 100 millions

 Nova Scotia 302100 6 100 millions

 New Brunswick 302100 7 100 millions

 Newfoundland and Labrador 302100 8 100 millions

 Prince Edward Island 302100 91 10 millions

 Northwest Territories 302100 92 10 millions

 Nunavut 302100 93 10 millions

 Yukon 302100 94 10 millions

Spare 60 millions

Total: 1000 millions

Number of IMSI

Multiples PLMN starting with

30210XXXXXXXXXX across provinces

Province IMSI PREFIX

 Ontario 302100 1000 millions

 Quebec 302101 1000 millions

 British Columbia 302102 1000 millions

 Alberta 302103 1000 millions

 Manitoba 302104 1000 millions

 Saskatchewan 302105 1000 millions

 Nova Scotia 302106 1000 millions

 New Brunswick 302107 1000 millions

 Newfoundland and Labrador 302108 1000 millions

 Prince Edward Island 302109 1 100 millions

 Northwest Territories 302109 2 100 millions

 Nunavut 302109 3 100 millions

 Yukon 302109 4 100 millions

Spare 600 millions

Total: 10000 millions

Number of IMSISector IMSI PREFIX

Public Safety 302100 0 100 millions

Utilities 302100 1 100 millions

Rail 302100 2 100 millions

Industrial 302100 3 100 millions

Government 302100 4 100 millions

Education 302100 5 100 millions

Spare 400 millions

Total: 1000 millions

Number of IMSI

SHARED PLNM: 302 100 XXXXXXXXX

across sectors

FirstNet USA IMSI splitting (313-100)

https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/peterreed_pscr_standardsandrequirements_06062013.pdf

Ran Sharing / Hybrid LTE

Ran Sharing benefits

No business case for public operators to deploy networks in remote areas

Cost of building and operating shared LTE towers are shared among multiples users

LTE sites broadcast multiples PLMN (max 6)

LTE sites can broadcast multiples frequencies (band 14, 13, 5)

Each users has their own HSS and IMSI range

Public and private LTE signal can be broadcasted

Preemption and QoS is done at the enodeB level

RAN Sharing (two different PLMN)

InternetPrivateLAN

MINING EPC (302300)

SGWMME

HSS PGW

PCRF

IMS

PUBLIC MNO PLMN (XXXXX)

SGW MME

HSSPGW

PCRF

IMS

InternetPrivate

LAN

BBU BBU

Shared RRUs

BBU

MORANMOCN

CPRICPRICPRI

MINING EPC (302300)

SGWMME

HSS PGW

S1-U

P

PCRF

IMS

TWO PLMNs using two channels (one channel per BBU)

S1-C

P

SGW MME

HSSPGW

S1-U

P

PCRF

IMS

S1-C

P

S1-U

P

S1-U

P

TWO PLMNs using the same channel

Act ive GPS

antenna

Act ive GPS

antenna

Shared RRUs

CPRI

PUBLIC MNO PLMN (XXXXX)

RAN Sharing (one shared PLMN)

PrivateLAN

HSS

PGWPCRF

IMS

QC Public Safety

ENUM

PrivateLAN

HSS

PGWPCRF

IMS

Hydro-Quebec

ENUM

PrivateLAN

HSS

PGWPCRF

IMS

CN

ENUM

PrivateLAN

HSS

PGWPCRF

IMS

BC Public Safety

ENUM

Internet

PrivateLAN

HSS

PGWPCRF

IMS

HSS

PCRF

IMS

BBUCPRI

Active GPS

antenna

RRUs RRUs

BBUCPRI

Active GPS

antenna

RRUs RRUs

Public Network (302300)Public Safety / Remote areas (302100)

Public carrier EPCBC Shared

components

ON shared

components

QC shared

components

SGW SGW SGW

BBU

CPRI

Active GPS

antenna

RRUs RRUs

BBU

CPRI

Active GPS

antenna

RRUs RRUs

BC Hydro

ENUM

SGWMME

PGWMME MME MME

ENUM

ENUMENUMENUM

Dedicated range of IMSI (ex: 3021001XXXXXXXX)

Dedicated range of IMSI (ex: 3021002XXXXXXXX)

Dedicated range of IMSI (ex: 3021003XXXXXXXX)

Dedicated range of IMSI (ex: 3021004XXXXXXXX)

Dedicated range of IMSI (ex: 3021005XXXXXXXX)

Ran Sharing and preemption

Internet

InternetInternetPrivateLAN

HSS

PGWPCRF

IMS

Rogers

ENUM

HSS

PGWPCRF

IMS

Telus

ENUM

InternetHSS

PGWPCRF

IMS

Bell

ENUM

HSS

PGWPCRF

IMS

HSS

PCRF

IMS

BBUCPRI

Active GPS

antenna

RRUs RRUs

BBUCPRI

Active GPS

antenna

RRUs RRUs

Public Network (302300)Band 14 RAN sharing (302100)

ECOTEL

QC shared

components

SGW

QC Public Safety

ENUM

SGWMME

PGW

MME

ENUM

ENUM

QoS using QCI or spectrum allocation

Band 14 sharing

Current LTE initiatives

Discussion with CN within the La Tuque project to cover remote railroads

Testing with the forest industry FPInnovation (Resolu) to provide LTE to

mobile machine

Request from Park Canada to provide LTE for rangers and public

MOCN projects with industrial companies and MNOs

Band 26 (former 800Mhz IDEN) re-farming in Canada

Band 8 (900Mhz) re-farming in the USA allowing new IoT spectrum

Proof of concept

Locate a remote site where rails, public safety and utilities would like to

test the propagation. Here are some examples where Ambra could quickly

deploy a test coverage with Band 14 and other LTE bands:

CN area: La Tuque, QC

CN area: Prince Rupert, BC

Rio Tinto IOC area: Labrador City and Sept-Iles, QC

Thank you