The Road to LTE

This whitepaper is an extract from:

LTE Mobile Broadband Strategies
Consumer & Enterprise Markets; Devices & Chipsets
2009-2014
. . . information you can do business with
WHITEPAPER


Whitepaper ~ The Road to LTE

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The Road to LTE
This whitepaper provides an understanding of the next generation of mobile broadband technology that
will enable the delivery of advanced applications and services.
LTE Technology Standard

LTE is a global standard which is the natural development route for GSM/HSPA network operators and is
also the next generation mobile broadband system for many CDMA operators. The overall aim of LTE is
to improve the capacity of the 3GPP system to cope with ever-increasing volumes of data traffic in the
longer term over 10 years. The system needs to continually evolve to remain competitive in cost and
performance versus the other mobile data technologies.
LTE is the next development stage of 3GPP radio access interfaces, and employs OFDMA for the RAN
(radio access network) downlink but SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) in the
uplink because it has better battery power consumption within hand-held devices.
Figure 1: LTE Overview

Source: 3GPP/Ericsson


Whitepaper ~ The Road to LTE

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3GPPs core network has been undergoing SAE (System Architecture Evolution), optimising it for packet
mode and IMS (IP-Multimedia Subsystem) which supports all access technologies. SAE therefore is the
name given by 3GPP to the new core all-IP packet network that will be required to support the LTE
evolved radio access interfaces: it has a flat network architecture based on evolution of the existing
GSM/WCDMA core network. LTE and SAE together constitute 3GPP Release 8 and have been designed
from the beginning to enable mass usage of any service that can be delivered over IP. The previous
simplified diagram shows the overall evolution of the network from circuit to packet core.
The key LTE objectives include:
Significantly increased peak data rates, up to 100 Mbps with 20 MHz bandwidth in the downlink
and uplink peak data rates up to 50 Mbps. Some vendors have already demonstrated peak rates
higher than this level for example Ericsson has demonstrated 150 Mbps
Faster cell edge performance
Reduced latency (to 10 ms) for better user experience
Scalable bandwidth up to 20 MHz
Works with GSM/EDGE/UMTS systems and utilises existing 2G and 3G spectrum and new
spectrum
Reduced CAPEX/OPEX via simple architecture, re-use of existing sites and multi-vendor sourcing
Mobility up to 350kph
Operation in both TDD (unpaired) and FDD (paired) spectrum modes.
Wide range of terminals in addition to mobile phones and laptops, many further devices, such as
ultra-mobile PCs, gaming devices and cameras, will employ LTE embedded modules.
Supports hand-over and roaming to existing mobile networks.
LTE Advanced

In the long term, operators could deploy Fourth Generation (4G) networks using LTE technology as a
foundation. The ITU has used IMT Advanced to identify mobile systems whose capabilities go beyond
those of IMT 2000. To meet this new challenge, 3GPPs Partners have agreed to widen 3GPPs scope to
include systems beyond 3G. In 2008 3GPP held two workshops on IMT Advanced, where the
Requirements for Further Advancements for E-UTRA were gathered. The resulting Technical Report
was published in June 2008. 3GPP will be contributing to the ITU-R towards the development of IMT-
Advanced via its proposal for LTE Advanced.
Some of the key features of IMT-Advanced (and so LTE Advanced) will be:
Worldwide functionality & roaming
Compatibility of services
Interworking with other radio access systems
Enhanced peak data rates to support advanced services and applications (100 Mbit/s for high and 1
Gbit/s for low mobility)
LTE Technology Comparison
Many detailed technical papers have been authored that compare the technical merits of the various
solutions, and it is not the intention of this report to replicate these. However it is safe to conclude that
the ultimate technology choice for network operators depends on a mix of the above parameters,


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Whitepaper ~ The Road to LTE

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Juniper Research provides extensive six year forecasts, across eight regions of the world. The detailed, yet
easy to use forecasts include:
LTE subscriber take-up each year, by region
Enterprise and consumer subscriber figures, broken down by region
LTE service revenues based on regional ARPUs,
LTE network access method (SIM cards, USB modem dongle, plug-in cards, embedded chipsets),
LTE devices (smart phones, laptops, portable games consoles, netbooks, and consumer devices
such as cameras and MP3 players),
LTE embedded chipsets annual shipments.

Key Questions answered by this report:
How much service revenue and ARPU will LTE generate by region?
How many LTE mobile broadband subscribers will there be each year from 20092014?
What will be the split between enterprise and consumer LTE subscribers?
Which will be the prime regions for LTE deployments?
What are the trends, drivers and constraints affecting the development of the LTE market?
How many and what types of devices will be connected to LTE networks in 2014?
When will we see consumer electronics devices with integrated LTE broadband?
When will be the embedded LTE chipset market take off?
What are the strategies of leading mobile network operators for implementing LTE in their
networks, and who are the leaders?

For more details on this report visit the website www.juniperresearch.com or phone +44 (0)1256 830002.
Juniper Research Limited
Juniper Research specialises in providing high quality analytical research reports and consultancy services
to the telecoms industry. We have particular expertise in the mobile, wireless, broadband and IP-
convergence sectors. Juniper is independent, unbiased, and able to draw from experienced senior
managers with proven track records.
About the Author
Howard Wilcox is a Senior Analyst with Juniper Research, and author of reports on Mobile Broadband,
Fixed WiMAX and Mobile WiMAX. He is frequently interviewed by industry journals in both the mobile
and finance sectors including the BBC. Recently Howard has spoke at EFMA Conference on Mobile
Financial Services in November 2008 in Athens.
Howard has over twenty five years' experience in the Telecommunications sector. He was previously
Director of Industry Intelligence at Marconi, where he has spent most of his career in a variety of
analytical roles. Howard has a BA in Business Administration with French from Loughborough University,
and a Postgraduate Certificate in Management Development from Coventry University.




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Publication Details
Publication date: April 2009
For more information, please contact:
Michele Ince, General Manager michele.ince@juniperresearch.com
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RG26 5QN England
Tel:
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