October 2012 | | Preet Kanwar Rekhi, Sukhvinder Malik, Rahul Atri

White Paper

Long Term Evolution (LTE): The Mobile Broadband Technology

1. Introduction
This paper is purely a technical paper and provides an overview of Long Term Evolution (LTE), the leading technologies for nextgeneration mobile broadband. The information presented here will help readers to understand the Evolution of Telecommunication, LTE technology, Key benefits which make LTE so popular, Network Architecture and connectivity of LTE System to other 3GPP and Non 3 GPP legacy networks.

Contents
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2. Driving Factor of Technology

Driving the evolution of wireless broadband technology is users increasing expectations for speed, bandwidth, and global access. Users want more information, such as business and consumer applications, and entertainment available through their mobile devices, but with greater speeds. For wireless carriers to achieve greater speeds and pervasive connectedness, their networks need to start behaving more like landline IP-based networks. This line of thinking represents a fundamental shift in perspectivefrom mobile services to broadband connectionsfor users and service providers alike to enter the fourth-generation (4G). .wireless network.
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Introduction Driving Factor of Technology Evolution: 1G AMPS to 4G LTE Key Features of LTE LTE Network Architecture LTE Access Network LTE Core Network Interworking with 3GPP and Non 3GPP Networks Conclusion References

Unlike earlier wireless standards, 4G technology is based on TCP/IP, the core protocol of the Internet. TCP/IP enables wireless networks to deliver higher-level services, such as video and multimedia, while supporting the devices and applications of the future. This point of time, there are two technologies which can provides such user experience IEEEs WiMAX and 3GPP LTE. Service providers are choosing LTE over WiMAX as the technological foundation for 4G wireless broadband network. The service provider believes that make LTE offers a number of significant technological and business advantages over WiMAX that make it a superior networking standard. Wireless users want to be have maximum speed as possible with advanced User devices that provide a similar immersive experience as found in todays wired networkswhether its downloading or uploading large files, video, gaming, downloading music, or social networking. These are the reasons, which make Long Term Evolution as a Driving Technology.

3. Evolution: 1G AMPS to 4G LTE

3GPP and 3 GPP2
The 3GPP and 3GPP2 both Organisation works for encompassing the Radio, Core Network and Service architecture standardization. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a standardization body which makes standards and specification that can be used globally. 3GPP has given the specifications for GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSPA, LTE and LTEA. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) is a standardization group for CDMA. 3GPP has given specification for CDMA one, CDMA 2000, EV-DO A&B and UMB.

The various communications systems looking in the past revolutionized the way people Communicate, joining together communications and mobility. Evolution of wireless access technologies is about to reach its fourth generation (4G). Looking past, wireless access technologies have followed different evolutionary paths aimed at unified target: performance and efficiency in high mobile environment. The first generation (1G) AMPS has fulfilled the basic mobile voice, while the second generation (2G) GSM (3GPP), CDMA one (3GPP2) has introduced capacity and coverage. This is followed by the third generation (3G), UMTS, WCDMA (3GPP) and EV-DO (3GPP2) which has quest for data at higher speeds to open the gates for truly mobile broadband experience, which will be further realized by the fourth generation (4G).

The Fourth generation (4G) LTE will provide access to wide range of telecommunication services, including advanced mobile services, supported by mobile and fixed networks, which are increasingly packet based, along with a support for low to high mobility applications and wide range of data rates, in accordance with service demands in multiuser environment.
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2 Figure1

The Fourth generation (4G) LTE will provide access to wide range Of telecommunication services, including advanced mobile services, supported by mobile and fixed networks, which are increasingly packet based, along with a support for low to high mobility applications and wide range of data rates, in accordance with service demands in multiuser environment.
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4. Key Features of LTE

The 4 G Long Term Evolution has following key feature which make this technology superior than other technologies. 1. Peak Through put: - Peak download rates up to 300 Mbps and upload rates up to 75.Mbps depending on the user equipment category (with 4x4 antennas using 20 MHz of spectrum). 2. Low Latency: - Low data transfer latencies (sub-5ms latency for small IP packets in optimal conditions), lower latencies for handover and connection setup time than with previous radio access technologies. 3. Mobility Support:-Improved support for mobility, exemplified by support for terminals moving at up to 350 km/h (220 mph) or 500 km/h (310 mph) depending on the frequency band. 4. Access Technologies:-OFDMA for the downlink, SCFDMA for the uplink to conserve power. 5. Duplexing Support:-Support for both FDD and TDD communication systems as well as half-duplex FDD with the same radio access technology 6. Flexible Bandwidths:- 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz and 20 MHz 7. Large Cell Size Support:-Support for cell sizes

LTE Key Features Summary

Feature Peak Throughputs Latency Access Duplexing Bandwidth Cell size Detail DL 300 Mbps UL 75 Mbps with 4*4 MIMO Control-plane 100ms User-Plane -5ms DL- OFDMA UL-SC-FDMA FDD and TDD 1.4,3,5,10,15 and 20 MHz 5 Km to 100 Km

from tens of metres radius (femto and Pico cells) up to 100 km radius macro cells. In the lower frequency bands to be used in rural areas, 5 km is the optimal cell size, 30 km having reasonable performance, and up to 100 km cell sizes supported. 8. Simplified architecture: LTE architecture is FLAT IP Based. The access side of LTE is composed only of eNodeB. Support for interoperation and co-existence with legacy standards like GSM/EDGE, UMTS and CDMA2000. Users initiate a call or transfer of data in an area using an LTE standard and, should coverage be unavailable, continue the operation without any action on their part using GSM/GPRS or W-CDMA-based UMTS or even 3GPP2 networks such as CDMA One or CDMA2000.
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5. LTE Network Architecture

Long Term Evolution (LTE) has been designed to support only packet-switched services. It aims to provide seamless Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity between User Equipment (UE) and the packet data network (PDN), without any disruption to the end users applications during mobility The term Long Term Evolution encompasses the evolution of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access through the Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN) It is accompanied by an evolution of the non-radio (Core Network) aspects under the term System Architecture Evolution (SAE), which includes the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network. The E-UTRAN and EPC together comprise the Evolved Packet System (EPS) and shown in below figure 2. Long Term Evolution (LTE) Network Nodes
LTE RAN is called EUTRA network. LTE core Network is called Evolved Packet Core (EPC). Both E-UTRA and EPC makes Evolved Packet System (EPS).

LTE Network has two parts at high level Radio Access part having just one node eNodeB Core Network part having many nodes like Mobility Management Entity (MME) Serving Gateway (SGW) Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) Home subscriber Sever (HSS) Policy Control & Charging Rule Function (PCRF)

Figure 2 At a high level, the network is comprised of the Core Network (EPC) and the access network E-UTRAN. The Core Network consists of many logical nodes. The access network is made up of essentially just one node, the evolved NodeB (eNodeB), through which Connects UE to the network. Each of these network elements is interconnected by means of interfaces that are standardized in order to allow multi-vendor interoperability. This gives the possibility to source different network elements from different vendors

6. LTE Access Network

The access network of LTE simply consists of a network of eNodeBs. For normal user traffic (as opposed to broadcast), there is no centralized controller in E-UTRAN; hence the E-UTRAN architecture is said to be flat. The eNodeBs are normally interconnected with each other by means of an interface known as X2 and to the EPC by means of the S1 interface The protocols that run between the eNodeBs and the UE are known as the AS protocols.

LTE Access Network

eNodeB Communicate to each other via X2 inter face E-UTRA Network Communicate to Core Network via S1 interface. S1 interface also called S1 Flex.

Access Network Functions Radio Resource Management Header Compression Security Connectivity to Core Network

Figure 3 The Access Network is responsible for all radio-related functions such as Radio resource management (RRM) This covers all functions related to the radio bearers, such as radio bearer control, radio admission control, radio mobility control, scheduling and dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in both uplink and Downlink. Header Compression This helps to ensure efficient use of the radio interface by compressing the IP packet headers that could otherwise represent a significant overhead, especially services using small packets such as VoIP. Security All data sent over the radio interface is encrypted. Connectivity to the EPC This consists of the signalling toward MME and the bearer path toward the S-GW. All of these functions reside in the eNodeBs, each of which can be responsible for managing multiple cells, Unlike some of the previous 2G and 3G technologies, LTE integrates the radio controller function (RNC) into the eNodeB, allows tight interaction between the different protocol layers of the radio access network (RAN), thus reducing latency and improving efficiency

LTE does not support soft handover .Due to lack of centralized controller node, the network must transfer all information related to a UE i.e. the UE context, together with any buffered data, from one eNodeB to another as the UE moves which is transferred over X2 interface. S1 interface connect eNodeB to Core Network and this also called S1-flex because it can be interconnect to multiple Core networks. It means an eNodeB may thus be served by multiple MME/SGWs. The set of MME/S-GW nodes that serves a common area is called an MME/S-GW pool, and the area covered by such a pool of MME/S-GWs is called a pool area. Pool Area concept allows UEs in the cell or cells controlled by one eNodeB to be shared between multiple CN nodes, thereby providing a possibility for load sharing and also eliminating single points of failure for the CN nodes

Long Term Evolution (LTE) Core Network

LTE Core Network is called EPC Logical Nodes of EPC are: PDN Gateway (P-GW) Serving Gateway (S-GW) Mobility Management Entity (MME) Home Subscriber Server (HSS) Policy Control and Charging Rules Function (PCRF)

7. LTE Core Network

The core network in LTE is called Evolved Packet Core (EPC) which is responsible for the overall control of the UE and establishment of the bearers The main logical nodes of the EPC are: PDN Gateway (P-GW) Serving Gateway (S-GW) Mobility Management Entity (MME) Home Subscriber Server (HSS) Policy Control and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) The figure below shows the interconnection of Access and Core Network.

Figure 4

P-GW-is Public Data Network (PDN) Gateway .It is responsible for IP allocationfor the UE, as well as QoS enforcement and flowbased charging according to rules from the PCRF. It also does filtering of downlink packets into the different QoSbased bearers on the basis of traffic flow template (TFT). It also serves as the mobility anchor for interworking with non-3GPP technologies such as CDMA2000 and WiMAX networks. S-GW- is serving gateway. All user IP packets are transferred through the Serving Gateway, which serves as the local mobility anchor for the data bearers when the UE moves between eNodeBs The S-GW also performs some administrative functions in the visited network such as collecting information for charging (for example, the volume of data sent to or received from the user) It also serves as the mobility anchor for inter working with other 3GPP technologies such as general packet radio service (GPRS) and UMTS MME is Mobility management Entity. It is a control node that processes the signalling between the UE and the CN. The main functions supported by the MME can be classified as: Functions related to bearer management This includes the establishment, maintenance and release of the bearers and is handled by the session management layer in the NAS protocol. Functions related to connection management This includes the establishment of the connection and security between the network and UE and is handled by the connection or mobility management layer in the NAS protocol layer. HSS- is Home Subscriber Server. It contains users subscription data such as the EPS-subscribed QoS profile and any access restrictions for roaming. It also holds information about the PDNs to which the user can connect. It also holds dynamic information such as the identity of the MME to which the user is currently attached or registered. The HSS also integrate the authentication center (AUC), which generates authentication and security keys PCRF-is Policy Control and Charging Rules Function It is responsible for policy control decision-making, as well as for controlling the flow-based charging functionalities in the Policy Control Enforcement Function (PCEF), which resides in the P-GW The PCRF provides the QoS authorization (QCI and bit rates) that decides how a certain data flow will be treated in the PCEF and ensures that this is in accordance with the users subscription profile.

Long Term Evolution Core Network

PGW responsible for IP allocation to UE, QoS enforcement and making TFT and also serves mobility anchor for interworking with non 3GPP technologies like CDMA 2000. SGW transfer all IP packets to and fro. Its serves as local mobility anchor for interworking with 3GPP technology like GSM, GPRS and UMTS. MME is a control node for processing the signaling between the UE and Core Network. The protocol used between the UE and Core Network is NAS protocol. HSS contains users subscriptions data and information about the PDN to which user can connect. It is similar to HLR in GSM. PCRF is responsible for policy control decision making and PCEF function. It provides QoS authorization (QCI and Bit rate).

8. Interworking with 3GPP and Non 3GPP Networks

LTE also supports inter working and mobility (handover) with networks using other Radio Access Technologies such as GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000 and WiMAX The S-GW acts as the mobility anchor for inter working with other 3GPP technologies such as GSM and UMTS P-GW serves as an anchor allowing seamless mobility to non-3GPP networks such as CDMA2000 or WiMAX. The P-GW may also support a Proxy Mobile Internet Protocol (PMIP)-based interface

Long Term Evolution (LTE) interworking with other technologies

SGW is responsible for 3GPP InterRAT GSM, GPRS and UMTS technologies interworking

PGW is responsible for Non 3GPP Inter RAT CDMA and WiMAX Technologies interworking.

Figure 5

Architecture

9. Conclusion
In this paper, we described the Network architecture and performance objectives of the next generation access-network technology being developed by 3GPP. 3GPP LTE technology is with the envisaged throughput and latency targets and emphasis on simplicity, spectrum flexibility, added capacity and lower cost per bit, LTE is destined to provide greatly improved user experience, delivery of new revenue generating exciting mobile services and will remain a strong competitor to other wireless technologies in the next decade for both developed and emerging markets.

Authors

10. References
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Wikipedia.com www.3gpp.org 3GPP standard 36.300 , Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall Description LTE, The UMTS long Terms Evolution: From Theory to Practise

Sukhvinder Malik LTE Testing Engineer

Rahul Atri, LTE Radio Access Network Engineer

Disclaimer:
Preet Kanwar Singh Rekhi LTE Testing Engineer Authors state that this whitepaper has been compiled meticulously and to the best of their knowledge as of the date of publication. The information contained herein the white paper is for information purposes only and is intended only to transfer knowledge about the respective topic and not to earn any kind of profit. Every effort has been made to ensure the information in this paper is accurate. Authors does not accept any responsibility or liability whatsoever for any error of fact, omission, interpretation or opinion that may be present, however it may have occurred