KPN has started the the upgrade of its mobile network with equipment from Huawei. After a preparatory phase, the company has started swapping out old equipment for Huawei kit, and the first mobile sites in the Hague region have been completed.
KPN plans to swap out all the equipment, in order to support the further growth in 4G usage and prepare for the launch of 5G. Each site will be taken down and all the equipment replaced, including antennas, radios, baseband and power supply.
The current network is based on equipment from Ericsson. Many of the sites were built in 2013-14 for the national 4G roll-out. However, the equipment is not 5G-ready so must be replaced.
At its recent quarterly report, KPN noted that the new equipment can use six to eight spectrum bands per antenna, allowing for more capacity at lower operating costs. Around 95 percent of the sites will be connected to fibre, providing backhaul at 10 Gbps. For 3.5 GHz sites, KPN plans a separate M-MIMO antenna, to use once these frequencies are released.
KPN announced in April plans to use Huawei for the radio network, following an extensive procurement process with multiple suppliers. Huawei offers the best equipment with the highest capacity and best price-quality ratio, KPN said.
While Huawei is supplying the radio network, KPN has ruled out the Chinese supplier for the core network. The operator announced the decision ahead of the Dutch government's announcement that it would tighten security checks and requirements for 5G networks.
KPN has not yet announced a supplier for a new core network. The Dutch government is still working on the administrative decree outlining the exact security requirements for 5G networks; this is expected to be published in 2020. KPN said it does not expect this to impact its choice of Huawei for the radio network.
KPN renewed its fixed core and transport network a few years ago with Huawei and replaced the OSS/BSS. The fixed network also includes a significant amount of equipment from Nokia (Alcatel-Lucent), both on the existing infrastructure and the new GPON structure.
