Vodafone 2011 Annual Report Download - page 19

Business Review
Network trials
We always aim to deliver a market-leading customer
experience and we use a third party to compare our networks
with those of our major competitors. During the year we
benchmarked our 16 main 3G markets. The results showed
that we are the leading data services provider in 13 markets. On
average across the networks measured we were almost 40%
faster on data downlink than our best competitor and 40%
faster on data uplink, a result achieved through our investment
in extensive network upgrades and optimisation.
Investing to increase coverage
Continued site deployment
At 31 March 2011 we had over 66,000 3G sites in Europe,
providing 83% 3G coverage across our major European
markets. This represents an increase of over 8,500 sites during
the year.
Vodafone 3G station
We have continued to introduce Vodafone 3G stations, also
known as femtocells in our markets. These innovative devices
deliver a personal 3G mobile phone signal to customers
through a xed line broadband connection, giving coverage
to customers where mobile operators are unable to provide a
strong enough signal. At 31 March 2011 Vodafone 3G stations
were in service in seven of our markets serving almost
400,000 customers.
Investing to improve customer experience
High speed packet access (‘HSPA’) upgrades
We have continued to upgrade our HSPA networks with 65% of
our European 3G network equipped with 14.4 Mbps theoretical
peak downlink speeds or above and 90% providing 7.2 Mbps or
above theoretical downlink speeds. Peak download speeds of
up to 43.2 Mbps (downlink) and 5.8 Mbps (uplink) are now
supported in several key trafc areas. These gures are
theoretical peak rates deliverable in ideal radio conditions with
no customer contention for resources.
Long-term evolution (‘LTE’)
During the year we commercially launched our 4G/LTE
technology in Germany and Verizon Wireless launched in
the US. 4G/LTE can offer better performance than our current
3G/HSPA technology while increasing network capacity.
High capacity backhaul upgrades
To support the high speed data capabilities introduced across
our access networks we have upgraded our backhaul and
backbone transmission networks, which connect our base
stations together, to the latest high bandwidth IP technologies.
As part of a strategy to implement scalable and cost-effective
self-build solutions we have deployed high capacity ethernet
microwave technology and high bandwidth optical bre
transmission solutions. In Europe about 80% of our radio base
stations are served by self-built transmission (where we have
physically installed and own the infrastructure) and over 20%
are currently connected using high capacity technologies.
New services and capabilities engineering
We have consolidated the national IP networks in all our major
markets into a single IP network giving us the ability to deliver
high quality IP connectivity to our customers.
Investing to improve cost efciency
Yield management capability
We have been supporting the improvement of 3G data
service quality by managing the operational effectiveness
of our network capacity. This enables us to optimise content
and services as well as manage our costs. We have improved
3G data service quality in this way in 18 markets.
Network sharing
To reduce the cost of mobile network infrastructure, we
have continued to use network sharing agreements with
other operators in all of our controlled markets, with 70% of
the new radio sites throughout the Group being shared with
other mobile network operators.
Single radio access network (‘RAN’)
and green technology
By 31 March 2011 we had installed over 9,000 of these new
single RAN base stations. We are also working hard to reduce
our carbon impact through the wide-scale adoption of leading
edge green technology solutions. Across our markets we are
equipping our radio sites with advanced carbon-efcient
solutions such as wind, solar and fuel cell technologies.
Research and development (‘R&D’)
Our R&D ambition is to pioneer innovative services and
technology in order to connect anyone and any device to one
another and to the internet. We have introduced six key
programmes to achieve these ambitions: networks of the
future; smart charging; mobile location analysis; consumer
electronics; automotive; and M2M.
Our focus over the next year will be on data and smart
communication. We are also launching an innovation centre
in the US and have strengthened our patent portfolio
through strategic patent ling activity in areas relevant to our
business interests.
Focus on key areas of growth potential:
Mobile data–technology
Vodafone 3G station
Branded as Vodafone
Sure Signal in the UK a
femtocell that guarantees
a 3G signal and super-fast
mobile data transfer
where installed in homes;
also available for
enterprise customers.
Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2011 17
Business review