LTE THE MOBILE BROADBAND FUTURE

Executive Summary
There are so many ways of mobile broadband future. Each and every mobile operator will have different reasons for taking one particular path over another. But the ultimate goal is to be an efficient service provider .All-IP wireless network capable of supporting voice, video and data services but the main task is to choose the best suited air interface to meet the future needs of tomorrow than only they can reach to their ultimate goal. The way they choose for providing the services to the customers also impacts the evolution of mobile broadband. The key component of second generation (2G) is GSM technology but there was still bifurcation between CDMA and TDMA and as well as iDEN. In third generation (3G), approx all TDMA operators shifted to the GSM technology path. But still there was a difference between GSM and CDMA. And there was the opportunity has arisen with the evolution of next step of technology . Many mobile operators came together for developing a technology which they will offer to their customer for providing best services ie; Long Term Evolution (LTE).

LTE (Long Term Evolution)

The acronym of LTE is long term evolution because it is a evolution for operators which will meet the needs and rd demands of the subscribers. LTE is developed by 3 Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). This network is the advance version of existing 3Gneration. LTE is called as 4 generation.As 3G coexists with second generation (2G) systems in integrated networks in the same way LTE systems will coexist with 3G and 2G systems. This technology will be used for fixed,mobile and portable broadband access. LTE will take less time for traveling the data in the network and an increase in bandwidth. Bandwidth increases are targeted to be as high as 100 mbps on the down link and up to 50mbps on the uplink. Higher bandwidth will enable faster access to content and applications, in particular video applications that can only be offered today on fixed systems, while the low latency will enable time-sensitive applications like voice. The all-IP architecture will also enable new services based on the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). LTE the final step toward the 4G of radio technologies, it is a successor of the current generation ie; 3G, which is based upon WCDMA, HSDPA, HSUPA, and HSPA. LTE is not a replacement for UMTS, but it is an update version of UMTS technology that will enable it to provide significantly faster data rates for both uploading and downloading. Leading mobile operators of many countries has come together for the first time with commitments on their planned implementation of LTE and they are making efforts for making the LTE a dominant technology for the next generation of mobile broadband. LTE is selected as the first technology that matched the requirements of the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN)Alliance successfully. LTE is in the initial stage of its evolution, but many mobile operators of the world have announced its trials beginning in 2009 and initial deployments as early as 2010 and 2011.There are more than 100 operators worldwide who have plans for LTE in their future.Work on LTE began in 2004, but official LTE work started in 2006 and initial deployment of LTE is targeted for 2010 and 2012.

GSM Family Technology Evolution GSM HSPA GPRS UMTE HSPA+ LTE ADVANCED EDGE LTE

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LTE has so many benefits like economies of scale,the ability to roam globally, complementary services like messaging and multimedia and an astonishing variety of competitive handsets and other devices. While LTE is a very advanced technology, it will not be deployed worldwide overnight. It will take until at least 2015 for a large percentage of subscribers to begin connecting to LTE networks. It will take even longer for LTE networks to replace existing GSM/UMTS/HSPA and CDMA 2000 networks. This means that many different kinds of networks will coexist together for most of the decade to come. All of the traditional wireless industry is stepping towards the air interface (LTE), but everyone is coming at it in different way by using different technology.

Bridge To The Future

The real implementation of LTE will take years, mobile operators will be able to do so only by continuous efforts towards the upgradation in the existing 2G/3G networks.

LTE will allow roaming on GSM-HSPA networks worldwide. This global GSM-HSPA coverage has a unique feature that other new mobile broadband technologies will never be able to achieve even over the course of many years. In United States, recent spectrum auctions focused on the groundwork for deployment of LTE. For example, AT&T announced the potential commercial launch of LTE in 2011.AT&T will use LTE to build out the 700MHz . 3G technologies deliver higher bit rates than 2G technologies,but still there is a great opportunity for wireless service providers to meet there ever-increasing demand for "wireless broadband" and take advantage of the technology innovation that improves the economics of deploying mobile broadband networks. AS there is an huge revenue opportunity from a growing pool of consumers and business professionals who are demanding the same applications that they enjoy on a fixed wireline connection over wireless -- anywhere, any content, stationary or mobile. For this the solution is LTE, (3GPP Long Term Evolution),which is the next-generation network beyond 3G. In addition to it,it enablies fixed migration to mobile migrations of Internet applications such as Voice over IP, video streaming, music downloading, mobile TV etc.. For providing the greatest amount of flexibility, LTE will be backwards compatible with existing mobile networks. This will support the currently deployed network technology including GSM, CDMAOne, W-CDMA (UMTS) and CDMA2000.

Major mobile operators of the world have announced their plans to start shifting their networks to LTE. For example, Verizon Wireless, has started the test of its LTE network in Seattle and Boston in 2009. With LTE operators will be able to achieve higher peak throughputs than HSPA+ in higher spectrum bandwidth. The main objective for LTE is to provide a very high performance radio-access technology ,good speed which can coexist with HSPA and earlier network.

Release of 3GPP specifications

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GSM/GPRS/EDGE enhancements

Release 99

W-CDMA

Release 4

1.28Mcps TDD

Release 5

HSPDA,IMS

Release 6

HSUPA,MBMS,IMS+

Release 7

HSPA+ (MIMO,HOM etc.) Release 8

LTE , SAE Release 9

ITU-R M. 1457 IMT-2000 Recommendations

Small LTE/SAE enhancements

Release 10

LTE Advanced

The current generation of mobile telecommunication is known as 3G.LTE is next generation mobile broadband technology.The data transfer rate of LTE IS 100Mbps.It is based onUMTS. LTE will be marketed as 4G. Long Term Evolution is a new radio platform technology which will help the operators to achieve higher peak throughputs. Work on LTE began in 2004, but official LTE work item started in 2006 and a completed 3GPP Release 8 specification in March 2009. Initial deployment of LTE is targeted for 2010 and 2012 LTE incorporates top-of-the-line radio techniques to achieve performance levels beyond what will be practical with CDMA . It was decided after 3GPP Release 9 that there should be some standard development in it and that will be continued by LTE and targets the completion of the specification by December 2009. 3GPP recognizes the need to develop a solution and specification to be submitted to the International Telecommunication Union for meeting the IMT Advanced requirements. Therefore, in parallel with Rel-9 work, 3GPP is working on a study item called LTE Advanced which will define the content for Release -10, and will include significant new technology enhancements to LTE.

In June of 2008 LTE was selected as the first technology that matched its requirements successfully by Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN). The development of LTE got the support of 3G Americas, GSMA, UMTS Forum, and other global organizations. It also got the support of LSTI Trial Initiative through early codevelopment and testing of the entire ecosystem from chip set, device and infrastructure vendors. LTE uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access technology on the downlink which is well suited to achieve high peak data rates in high spectrum bandwidth. WCDMA radio technology is as efficient as OFDM for delivering peak data rates of about 10 Mbps in 5 MHz of bandwidth. Achieving peak rates in the 100 Mbps range with wider radio channels but it would result in highly complex terminals and will not be practical with current technology. So OFDM provides a practical implementation advantage . LTE will cater the market needs for at least the next decade, after which time operators might deploy LTEAdvanced technology . In todays world mobile broadband is a reality .Each and every person is dependent on internet in some or the other way. By 2014 ,3.4 billion people who will have broadband, about 80 percent will be served by High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. People can already browsing on the internet by using HSPA-enabled notebooks by replacing their fixed DSL modems with HSPA modems. LTE will enhance more demanding applications such as interactive TV, mobile video blogging, advanced games and professional services. LTE products have been tested, trialled and commercially announced in the market by many manufacturers that are already part of a well-planned LTE eco-system. LTE offers several important benefits for users and operators, including the following: 1. Performance and capacity /Lower cost per bit LTE allows a speed of more than 300Mbps and it provides down link peak rates of at least 100Mbps. With expected sector peak data rates in excess of 160Mbps and up to four times HSPA/EV-DO capacity for voice and data, LTE will provide significant improvements to the user experience but also a much lower cost per bit compared to legacy 3.5G technologies. 2. Wide range of terminals This technology can be used in various gadgets like in mobile phones, many computer and consumer electronic devices, such as notebooks, ultra-portables, gaming devices and cameras, these all gadgets will incorporate embedded LTE modules. Operators can introduce LTE flexibly to match their existing network, spectrum and business objectives for mobile broadband and multimedia services. 3. Simplicity LTE supports flexible carrier bandwidths. LTE can be deployed in parallel with simplified, IP-based networks that are easier to build and maintain. LTEs Evolved Packet Core is IP centric and

technology agnostic, allowing operators to provide common applications and services across other fixed and wireless access technologies. 4. Spectrum flexibility: LTE will offer high levels of spectrum flexibility .This flexibility makes it very well suited for deployments by operators in both developed and emerging markets and offering operators the ability to reform existing spectrum in small increments and allowing them to make the most of new spectrum (such as 700MHz in North America and 2600MHz in Europe, the Middle East and Africa).

LTE-A Customer Centric Approach

As the mobile broadband usage is increasing day by day,broadband subscription is expected to cross 3.4 billion by 2014 and out of that approx 80 percent consumers will use mobile broadband and the mobile broadband usage will definitely increase in future.

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Broadband growth from 2001-2014

In todays world most of the people understand and appreciate the benefits of mobile broadband. Many of them already use mobile phones and many also connect their notebooks over WLANs. With LTE the step towards full mobile broadband is very simple because it offers wide coverage and roaming with existing 2G and 3G networks. In many cases, mobile broadband can compete with fixed broadband on price,performance, security and convenience. It takes less time in setting up the WLAN connection, worrying about security or losing coverage and more time actually using the service. The high peak rates and short latency of LTE also enable real-time applications such as gaming and video-conferencing.

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Meeting Operators Requirements

In todays competitive environment it is becoming very difficult for operators to survive in the market.They are not only facing the competition from their competitors but also from new entrants and new business models.New business models mean new opportunities and now it is very important to explore those opportunities.Mobile operators have the advantage of being able to offer the competitive delivery of mobile broadband services using existing investments in 2G and 3G networks. That is why operators are so active in

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Strong growth of data traffic in WCDMA networks worldwide

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formulating strategies and driving requirements for mobile broadband through standardization bodies. Some of the worlds leading operators, vendors and research institutes have joined forces in the Next Generation Mobile Networks.

Standardization Of LTE
The next major step in mobile radio communications is LTE and was introduced in 3GPP Release 8. LTE uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) . The 3GPP is a collaboration agreement, established in December 1998, which brings together a number of telecommunications standards bodies, known as organizational partners. The current organizational partners are : Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) China Communications Standards Association (CCSA) European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Alliance for Telecommunication Industry Solutions (ATIS) Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) and Telecommunication Technology Committee (TTC). Researchers and development engineers are also participating in the joint LTE radio access standardization effort rom all over the world and representing operators, vendors and research institutes The starting point for LTE standardization was the 3GPP RAN (radio access network) Evolution Workshop, which was held in November 2004 in Toronto, Canada. A study item was started in December 2004 with the objective of developing a framework for the evolution of 3GPP radio access technology towards: Reasonable terminal power consumption. Reduced cost per bit Flexible use of existing and new frequency bands Increased service provisioning more services at lower cost with better user experience Simplified architecture and open interfaces

The performance of LTE was evaluated in 3GPP meeting which was held in South Koria in 2007 and in that meeting it was concluded that LTE meets and in some cases exceeds the targets for spectrum efficiency, peak data rates and as well as and Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) performance.

Merits Architecture
LTE is having a flat SAE architecture. This helps in optimizing network performance, reduction in cost . The main advantage of this flat architecture is to reduces the number of involved nodes in the connections. The LTE base stations are connected to the core network over the so-called S1 interface. This architecture provides a simple, yet effective solution for operators to offer differentiation between packet services.

LTE can also be used on a wide range of different spectrum making it ideal for carriers throughout the globe.

IP networks

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Flat architecture of LTE and SAE

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) Radio Technology

LTE uses OFDM for the downlink ie; from the base station to the terminal. OFDM meets the LTE requirement for spectrum flexibility and this solution is very cost effective for wide carriers with high peak rates. It is a wellestablished technology.

Economy Of Scale: The main advantage of any technology is economies of scale. As there is a strong
widespread support for LTE in the mobile industry. It drives down the cost and enables operators to provide cost efficient services to the customers. It is important that the deployment of LTE infrastructure is as simple and cost-efficient as possible.

Advantage OF LTE
FOR NETWORK OPERATORS High network throughput Simplified upgrade path from 3G networks Low latency Plug & play architechture All-IP network FOR END USERS Faster data downloads/uploads Improved end user experience Improved response for applications

Major LTE Equipment Vendors

Ericsson:Ericsson was highly affected by release of LTE specifications and did lots of efforts for exploring all the opportunity. Ericsson expects to hold 25 percent of all patents for LTE,for becoming the largest patent holder in the industry. Ericsson has also signed LTE contracts with five major operators , including AT&T, Verizon Wireless and MetroPCS , NTT DoCoMo and TeliaSonera .

Alcatel-Lucent:Alcatel-Lucent has been selected to support more than 45 LTE trials around the world and has secured commercial contracts with two largest operators ie; AT&T & Verizon .The company has also taken the initiative to drive the development of an open and diverse ecosystem of LTE device manufacturers, content providers and application partners. Motorola: In Feb 2009 , Motorola Launches Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Trial Network in the UK .Motorola LTE portfolio includes evolved packet core solution (EPC)has commercial readiness for LTE deployments through its involvement in more than 20 LTE trials or engagements with customers around the world . NEC: NEC's LTE solutions provide flexible platform which offers operators smooth, simple and seamless SHIFT from their existing networks to LTE.In addition to its domestic accomplishments, NEC has done LTE trials in Spain, Japan Singapore & UK. Nokia Siemens Networks: Nokia Siemens Networks has done 30 LTE trials globally and is in talks with 15 top-tier operators to build commercial networks. ZTE:Five commercial LTE networks has been deployed by ZTE and built 40 LTE trial networks in Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific.

LTE-Early Adopters
In USA Verizon Wireles MetroPCS Wireless U.S. Cellular

In Japan NTT-DOCOMO KDDI

In Europe In Asia China Mobile (China) KT & SK Telecom (Korea) TeliaSonera Tele2 Telenor

Devices that could benefit from LTE

Mobile phones Notebooks Cameras Camcorders, & many more

LTE will inter operate with legacy wireless technologies such as GSM, WCDMA/HSPA, TDSCDMA and CDMA.

Operators tie up with vendors for network rollout

According to Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) it is estimated that there are approx 156 operators in 64 countries who are already investing in LTE networks and besides this there are approx 46 operators who have committed that they will began the LTE trials in the year of 2011. Mobile operators who have committed about the LTE trials,out of that 11 opeartors has successfully launched commercial LTE networks and services in 6 countries. In Europe and in the US Major mobile operators are focusing on out LTE and services are already launched in several markets. All operators are targeting metropolitan areas for the trials NTT Docomo, TeliaSonera and Verizon Wireless are the pioneers in the commercial launch of LTE service in Asia, Europe and North America, respectively. These operators mainly targeted urban areas for the pilot trials. TeliaSonera had started to roll out its LTE network in 2009 only in the key cities of Sweden and Norway. It has extended its reach by launching commercial operations in Estonia, Denmark and Finland in 2010. NTT Docomo and Verizon Wireless launched their LTE service in 2010, tapping the key urban areas in Japan and the US. Verizon Wireless offers the largest range of LTE-capable devices and plans to expand its current portfolio . NTT Docomo and TeliaSonera are planning to expand their portfolio of LTE-capable devices this year. All mobile carriers have adopted a discount strategy for their initial offering of , with bundled device and services like mobile TV and music streaming. Operators are using volume-based pricing strategy for optimising the network capacity, guarantee service quality and ensure the equitable distribution of data consumption. The prices of LTE packages are based on the data with additional charge for excess usage. TeliaSonera and NTT Docomo offer LTE as a postpaid service, with initial price discounts for existing subscribers; while Verizon is offering prepaid data-only plan

A Glance AT LTE Market

Broadband subscriptions are expected to reach 3.4 billion by 2014 and about 80percent of these consumers will use mobile broadband LTE infrastructure market will grow to $5 billion in 2013 LTE subscribers could exceed 72 million by 2013 if service provider LTE plans Apple is going to launch LTE- capable iPhone in 2012 SK Telecom , South Korea's top mobile carrier, plans to invest about 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) to build nationwide Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks to cope with rampant growth in data traffic from smartphones .

LTE Advanced

LTE Advanced is essentially an enhancement to LTE. It is not a new technology but rather an improvement on the existing LTE network and expected to be released in 2012.

LTE Advanced key features

The main features foe LTE Advanced are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Peak data rates of downlink is 1 Gbps and of uplink is 500 Mbps. Peak spectrum efficiency of downlink is 30 bps/Hz and of uplink is 15 bps/Hz. Spectrum efficiency is three times greater than LTE. Spectrum use: the ability to support scalable bandwidth use and spectrum aggregation where noncontiguous spectrum needs to be used. Latency: from Idle to Connected in less than 50 ms and then shorter than 5 ms one way for individual packet transmission. Cell edge user throughput to be twice that of LTE. Average user throughput to be three times that of LTE. Compatibility: LTE Advanced shall be capable of inter working with LTE and 3GPP legacy systems.

LTE And LTE Advanced

LTE 1. Max downlink speed bps 2. Latency round trip time approx 3. Max uplink speed bps 4. 3GPP releases 5. Access methodology 6. Approx years of initial roll out 100M LTE ADVANCED 1G

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less than 5 ms

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Rel 8 OFDMA / SCFDMA 2009 / 10

Rel 10 OFDMA / SCFDMA

LTE Advanced technologies

There are a number of key technologies that will makes the LTE Advanced to achieve the high data throughput rates .The key technologies are MIMO and OFDM . Along with these there are a number of other techniques and technologies that will be employed.

DATA SPEEDS OF LTE ADVANCED Peak Download Peak Upload 1 Gbit/s 500 Mbit/s

OFDM: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) is a kind of transmission .OFDM uses a large number of close spaced carriers that are modulated with low rate data.

MIMO: MIMO is Multiple Input Multiple Output . It is also used by LTE. So this is that technology which is common to LTE and LTE Advanced . This scheme is also used by many other technologies like WiMAX and Wi-Fi 802.11n. MIMO enables the data rates achieved to be increased beyond what the basic radio bearer would normally allow.

Conclusion

LTE has been designed as a future technology to cope with next user requirements. Based on the above explanation it can be concluded that LTE will offer peak rates of more than 150 Mbps in the downlink and 40Mbps in the uplink with 10MHz bandwidth. As compared with current cellular systems, LTE entails an enhancement of more than six times the performance of HSDPA/HSUPA

LTE is well positioned to meet the requirements of next-generation mobile networks, both for existing 3GPP/3GPP2 . It will enable operators to offer high-performance, mass market mobile broadband services, through a combination of high bit-rates and system throughput, in both the uplink and downlink and with low latency. LTE infrastructure is designed to be simple to deploy and operate, through flexible technology that can be deployed in a wide variety of frequency bands. The main advantage of any technology is economies of scale. As there is a strong widespread support for LTE in the mobile industry. It drives down the cost and enables operators to provide cost efficient services to the customers. LTE offers scalable bandwidths, from 1.4MHz up to 20MHz, together with support for both FDD paired and TDD unpaired spectrum. The LTESAE architecture reduces the number of nodes, supports flexible network configurations and provides a high level of service availability. LTE is having a flat SAE architecture. This helps in optimizing network performance, reduction in cost . The main advantage of this flat architecture is to reduces the number of involved nodes in the connections. LTE SAE will also inter-operate with GSM, WCDMA/ HSPA, TD-SCDMA and CDMA. LTE will be available not only in next generation mobile phones, but also notebooks, ultra-portables, cameras, camcorders and other devices that benefit from mobile broadband. .