Technology Info

One of the key elements for any network operator is the cost of capital expenditure (capex) to buy and establish a network. Capex costs are normally very high for a new network, and operators endeavour to avoid this and use any existing networks they may have to make the optimum use of any capital. In addition to the capex, there are the operational costs, (opex). These costs are for general maintenance and other operational costs that may be incurred. Increasing efficiency and reliability will reduce the opex costs.

Any upgrade such as that from GSM to GPRS will require new investment and operators are keen to keep this to the minimum. The upgrades for the GPRS network are not as large as starting from scratch and rolling out a new network. The GPRS network adds to the existing GSM network. The main new entities required within the network are the SGSN and GGSN, and these are required as the starting point.

The base station subsystems require some updates. The main one is the addition of the PCU described above. Some modifications may be required to the BTS, but often only a software upgrade is required, and this may often be achieved remotely. In this way costs are kept to a minimum.