©2010 This information is highly confidential and subject to Sprint policies regarding use and is the property of Sprint and/or its relevant affiliates. This content is considered restricted, confidential and privileged materials intended for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure is prohibited.1
Sprint Network VisionIEEE Santa Clara
Michael FineganManager, ESG Solutions Engineering
©2010 This information is highly confidential and subject to Sprint policies regarding use and is the property of Sprint and/or its relevant affiliates. This content is considered restricted, confidential and privileged materials intended for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure is prohibited.2
What is Sprint’s Network Evolution PlanKey Plan Elements
• Replacement of multiple platforms (CDMA, iDEN, WiMAX) with a single multi-modal platform
• Integrated chipset on devices making services seamless to end users
• Harnesses technology advancements improve the reach and overall of performance of our radio signals
• Optimization and improved utilization of vast spectrum holdings across 800MHz, 1.9GHz, and 2.5GHz
• Move from hardware solutions to software solutions
• Integral support for next generation Push-To-Talk network
Customer Benefits• Expected improvement in coverage and capacity (In-building coverage gets significant boost)
• Simplicity (device & network automatically chooses best service type and frequency)
• Rapid network deployment and coverage expansion
Sprint Benefits• Lower cost for Sprint• Improved operational efficiency and reliability
• Future technology protection• Environmental sustainability
(via reduction in power consumption)
©2010 This information is highly confidential and subject to Sprint policies regarding use and is the property of Sprint and/or its relevant affiliates. This content is considered restricted, confidential and privileged materials intended for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure is prohibited.3
Sprint’s Wireless Networks Today
Backhaul
• T-1 or many T-1’s depending on # of carriers and data consumption
• Significant OpEx• Revenue to Vz & ATT
• Microwave rings between towers with dark or leased fiber at one to three centers
• Connections to Internet (Sprint link) bandwidth changes depending on # of channels and data consumption
• Lower CapEx
A Simplified View
CDMA1.9 GHz
iDEN800/ 900 MHz
WiMAX2.5GHz
Network Spectrum
iDEN Towers
CDMA Towers
CDMA & iDEN Co-located
Cell sites dedicated to WiMAX
TowersNetwork Use
PTTVoice
Some data
Voice 1xRTTData Rev ACDMA PTT
IP Data only
T-1
T-1
T-1
Microwave
The Sprint wireless network is made up of CDMA and iDEN technologies. These networks are deployed independently, but in some cases can share network hardware. In addition, the 4G network being builtby Clearwire shares some network hardware.
©2010 This information is highly confidential and subject to Sprint policies regarding use and is the property of Sprint and/or its relevant affiliates. This content is considered restricted, confidential and privileged materials intended for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure is prohibited.4
Vision: Building Blocks to Evolution
Core Network Modernization
Consolidate MSC’s / Update Infrastructure
RF Performance Enhancement
Reduce intra-footprint roaming
Push-To-Talk ModernizationExpand CDMA PTT platform, operate on 1x,
enhanced features, iDEN migration
Capacity IncreaseImplement 1x
Advanced
Spectrum RedeploymentEffectively reuse
spectrum to support current &
future technologies
BackhaulDeploy
microwave infrastructure
Site ModernizationSingle Cell Site
Platform
©2010 This information is highly confidential and subject to Sprint policies regarding use and is the property of Sprint and/or its relevant affiliates. This content is considered restricted, confidential and privileged materials intended for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure is prohibited.5
Evolution: A Single Site
1.9GHz
Today: • Separate networks with a
technology and spectrum linkage:iDEN at 800MHz, CDMA at 1.9GHz, 4G in 2.5GHz
Future: • Decouple network/ frequencies relationship• Multi-modal platform utilizes all frequencies
for any technology and any purpose (voice/data)
1) Technology advancements mean greater reach and efficiency for each frequency2) Utilization of all frequencies means more efficient use of capacity (e.g. 2.5GHz) and
reach (e.g. 800MHz)
2.5GHz
800MHz
800MHz2.5GHz 1.9GHz
©2010 This information is highly confidential and subject to Sprint policies regarding use and is the property of Sprint and/or its relevant affiliates. This content is considered restricted, confidential and privileged materials intended for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure is prohibited.6
Evolution Dramatically Reduces OpExCell Site
(Current state)
Power & HVAC
Cell Site (Future State)
CDMA Voice
EVDO
WiMAX
4G 2.0
PTT
OPEN
Evolving to the site of tomorrow, network technologies are consolidated into a single hardware element, each
technology becoming a blade or card instead of its own unique
infrastructure
Blades or cards in a single box for each
technology
Separate boxes for each technology
Power & HVAC
iDEN 1xRTT EVDO WiMAX
©2010 This information is highly confidential and subject to Sprint policies regarding use and is the property of Sprint and/or its relevant affiliates. This content is considered restricted, confidential and privileged materials intended for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure is prohibited.7
Sprint’s Wireless Networks in The Future
800/ 900 MHz1900 MHz
2.5GHz
Network Spectrum
Towers Backhaul• Consolidate traditional T-
1 backhaul to microwave where feasible
• Use traditional wireline backhaul on a site by site basis
• Leverages Sprint’s core IP network for transport
• Little or no capital expenses over traditional methods
Network Use
CDMA VoicePTT
CDMA EVDOWiMAX4G 2.0
Microwave
T-1
• All towers use all spectrum
• All towers support all network uses
• Able to reduce number of sites by one third and provide more services
Enhanced service levels means higher customer satisfactionMicrowave backhaul provides fast network growth flexibility
Broader coverageBetter in-building coverage
Sustainability - Network footprint for the futureGreener network design
Customer Value
©2010 This information is highly confidential and subject to Sprint policies regarding use and is the property of Sprint and/or its relevant affiliates. This content is considered restricted, confidential and privileged materials intended for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure is prohibited.8
Conclusion• A significant customer benefit of a multi-mode network infrastructure is improved coverage and
quality. • A major contributing factor to this improvement is the planned deployment of CDMA 1X
Advanced. This CDMA upgrade is expected to improve the reach and overall performance of CDMA radio signals, while providing landline quality voice service.
• In-building coverage should improve as a result of repurposing a portion of iDEN spectrum (800 MHz) for CDMA services, giving customers the benefit better coverage and quality inherent with 800 MHz spectrum.
• The transition to a multi-mode platform provides the opportunity to offer devices with integrated chipsets that can receive radio signals from multiple frequencies.