Subject: Pre-consultation paper on “IMT services ... · Huawei Technologies ... Also includes...

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1 Mr. Sudhir Gupta Advisor (MN) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Mahanagar Door Sanchar Bhavan, Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, (Opposite Ram Lila Ground), New Delhi 110002 Dear Sir, Subject: Pre-consultation paper on “IMT-Advanced (4G) Mobile wireless broadband services”. We really welcome the opportunity to respond to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) Consultation Paper on “IMT-Advanced (4G) Mobile wireless broadband services.We appreciate TRAI for this excellent consultation which will help LTE deployment in India and to take country to new horizons in comparison to other nations who are already in deployment stage of LTE. Please find my response to the consultation paper. We would like to participate in any case any further opportunity is provided to discuss these issues. Also, we are available for discussions in taking some of these recommendations forward. Yours Sincerely Vikram Singh Mains MBA Telecom Management (1 st Year) Contact: [email protected] , [email protected] . +91-9975841392 Digal Tanmoyananda MBA Telecom Management (2 nd Year) Contact: [email protected] , [email protected] . +91-9011052061 Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management, Pune Symbiosis Knowledge Village Near Lupin Research Park, Village Lavale, Mulshi-Tahsil, Pune-411 042 Disclaimer: Please note that the views presented in the paper are of the students and not of the Institute.

Transcript of Subject: Pre-consultation paper on “IMT services ... · Huawei Technologies ... Also includes...

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Mr. Sudhir Gupta

Advisor (MN)

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

Mahanagar Door Sanchar Bhavan,

Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, (Opposite Ram Lila Ground),

New Delhi 110002

Dear Sir,

Subject: Pre-consultation paper on “IMT-Advanced (4G) Mobile wireless broadband

services”.

We really welcome the opportunity to respond to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s

(TRAI) Consultation Paper on “IMT-Advanced (4G) Mobile wireless broadband services.”

We appreciate TRAI for this excellent consultation which will help LTE deployment in India and

to take country to new horizons in comparison to other nations who are already in deployment

stage of LTE.

Please find my response to the consultation paper.

We would like to participate in any case any further opportunity is provided to discuss these

issues. Also, we are available for discussions in taking some of these recommendations forward.

Yours Sincerely

Vikram Singh Mains

MBA – Telecom Management (1st Year)

Contact: [email protected], [email protected]. +91-9975841392

Digal Tanmoyananda

MBA – Telecom Management (2nd

Year)

Contact: [email protected] , [email protected]. +91-9011052061

Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management, Pune

Symbiosis Knowledge Village

Near Lupin Research Park, Village Lavale,

Mulshi-Tahsil, Pune-411 042

Disclaimer: Please note that the views presented in the paper are of the students and not of

the Institute.

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1. Evolution from 1G to LTE

3GPP releases and LTE

2. LTE Key Design Features

3. Technical concepts of LTE

Spectrum

Flexible bandwidth allocation

LTE complements HSPA+

Advanced Antenna Techniques

4. Band to be used for LTE

Qualcomm comments on LTE bands

FCC

European countries

900MHz and 1800MHz band

2.1GHz

5. Major deployments and implementations

First Commercial LTE Networks Deployed in Sweden, Norway

Huawei Technologies jointly deployed in Uzbekistan, Russia’s MTS first LTE

network of CIS

6. Some myths about LTE

Myth 1: LTE is Data only

Myth 2: SMS isn’t supported over LTE

Myth 3: IMS isn’t ready for prime time

Myth 4: LTE doesn’t support emergency calls

7. Leapfrog to 4G

8. Conclusion

9. References

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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1. Evolution from 1G to LTE

Approaches have evolved from FDMA to Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) to CDMA,

and now from CDMA to OFDMA, which is the basis of LTE. 3G requirements were specified by

the ITU as part of the International Mobile Telephone 2000 (IMT-2000) project, for which

digital networks had to provide 144 kbps of throughput at mobile speeds, 384 kbps at pedestrian

speeds, and 2 Mbps in indoor. Requirements include operation in up to 40 MHz radio channels

and extremely high spectral efficiency. The ITU recommends operation in up to 100 MHz radio

channels and peak spectral efficiency of 15 bps/Hz, resulting in a theoretical throughput rate of

1.5 Gbps. Previous to the publication of the requirements, 1 Gbps was frequently cited as a 4G

goal. The IEEE 802.16m standard is the core technology for the proposed Mobile WiMAX

Release2. 802.16m Advanced Air Interface with data rates of 100 Mbit/s mobile & 1 Gbit/s

fixed. IEEE 802.16m systems can provide four times faster data speed than the current Mobile

WiMAX Release 1 based on IEEE 802.16e technology. 802.16m system can support both

120 Mbit/s downlink and 60 Mbit/s uplink per site simultaneously.

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LTE systems will coexist with both 3G systems and 2G systems.

CDMA was chosen as the basis of 3G technologies including WCDMA for the frequency

division duplex (FDD) mode of UMTS and Time Division CDMA (TD-CDMA) for the time

division duplex (TDD) mode of UMTS. LTE is available in both FDD and TDD modes. Many

deployments will be based on FDD in paired spectrum. The TDD mode, however, will be

important in enabling deployments where paired spectrum is unavailable.

3GPP releases and LTE

It is important to realize that the 3GPP releases address multiple technologies. For example,

Release 7 optimized VoIP for HSPA, but also significantly enhanced GSM data functionality

with Evolved EDGE. A summary of the different 3GPP releases is as follows:

Release 99: Completed.

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First deployable version of UMTS.

Enhancements to GSM data (EDGE).

Majority of deployments today are based on Release 99.

Provides support for GSM/EDGE/GPRS/WCDMA radio-access networks.

Release 4: Completed.

Multimedia messaging support.

First steps toward using IP transport in the core network.

Release 5: Completed.

HSDPA.

First phase of IMS.

Full ability to use IP-based transport instead of just Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)

in the core network.

Release 6: Completed.

HSUPA.

Enhanced multimedia support through Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Services

(MBMS). Performance specifications for advanced receivers.

WLAN integration option.

IMS enhancements.

Initial VoIP capability.

Release 7: Completed.

Provides enhanced GSM data functionality with Evolved EDGE.

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Specifies HSPA Evolution (HSPA+), which includes higher order modulation and

MIMO.

Provides fine-tuning and incremental improvements of features from previous releases.

Results include performance enhancements, improved spectral efficiency, increased

capacity, and better resistance to interference.

Continuous Packet Connectivity (CPC) enables efficient ―always-on‖ service and

enhanced uplink UL VoIP capacity, as well as reductions in call set-up delay for PoC.

Radio enhancements to HSPA include 64 QAM in the downlink DL and 16 QAM in the

uplink.

Also includes optimization of MBMS capabilities through the multicast/broadcast, single-

frequency network (MBSFN) function.

Release 8: Completed.

Comprises further HSPA Evolution features such as simultaneous use of MIMO and 64

QAM.

Includes work item for dual-carrier HSPA (DC-HSPA) wherein two WCDMA radio

channels can be combined for a doubling of throughput performance.

Specifies OFDMA-based 3GPP LTE.

Defines EPC.

Release 9: Under development.

Likely 2010.

Will include HSPA and LTE enhancements including HSPA multi-carrier operation.

Release 10: Under development.

Likely 2011.

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Will specify LTE-Advanced that meets the requirements set by ITU’s IMT-Advanced

project.

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2. LTE Key Design Features

LTE incorporates many key features that enable operators to provide an enhanced broadband

experience:

OFDMA on the Downlink and SC-FDMA on the Uplink

Advanced antenna techniques

MIMO

SDMA

Beamforming

Enhanced Interference Control

Single Frequency Network multicast services

All-IP packet-optimized network architecture

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3. Technical concepts of LTE

Spectrum

Another important aspect of UMTS-HSPA deployment is the expanding number of available

radio bands and the corresponding support from infrastructure and mobile-equipment vendors.

The fundamental system design and networking protocols remain the same for each band; only

the frequency-dependent portions of the radios have to change.

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LTE is a leading OFDMA-based, wireless mobile broadband technology supported by a new

Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network. Designed from the ground up to provide interoperability

and service continuity with existing UMTS networks, LTE will allow UMTS operators to

capitalize on their investments in UMTS/HSPA(+) and roll out LTE networks in phases.

Flexible bandwidth allocation

LTE is flexible enough to be deployed in any bandwidth combination, which makes it suitable

for spectrum resources of various sizes. LTE deployments in smaller bandwidths have lower

spectral efficiency due to the relatively higher overheads for control and signaling. In a typical 5

MHz system deployment, HSPA+ and LTE provide similar data capacity and end-user

experience.

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LTE supports a range of bandwidths up to 20 MHz, as depicted in Figure 1. LTE also supports

devices that can work on various system-bandwidth combinations, therefore reducing the need to

make specific device profiles tailored to each combination. This allows an operator to deploy

LTE in 10 or 20 MHz combinations, without worrying about device-compatibility issues. LTE

devices are mandated to support 20 MHz bandwidth in the DL and the UL. The available peak

rates and average user rates for an individual user, however, scale with the deployment

bandwidth. LTE supports both FDD and TDD modes, allowing operators to address all available

spectrum resources.

LTE Complements HSPA+

HSPA+ further enhances the performance capabilities through incremental investments and

backward-compatible devices. HSPA+ ensures a consistent user experience across the entire

network, and allows the operator to roll out LTE in phases. LTE is most beneficial in wider

bandwidths, and thus is suitable for deployments in dense urban areas where data demand is

higher. LTE utilizes OFDMA on the DL. OFDMA techniques employ a fast Fourier transform

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(FFT) to segment the allocated bandwidth into smaller units, which can then be shared among

the users. OFDMA is better suited for wider bandwidths. On the UL, LTE uses single-carrier

FDMA (SC-FDMA, also called DFT-spread OFDM). SC-FDMA has potential peak-to-average

benefits over OFDMA, but an optimized OFDMA implementation mitigates any issues and

provides similar performance and benefits as SC-FDMA.

Advanced Antenna Techniques

LTE leverages advanced antenna techniques such as MIMO, SDMA and beam forming, which

provide benefits to users in both high- and low-signal-strength conditions. These techniques are

complementary and can be used to trade off between higher sector capacity, higher user data

rates, or higher cell-edge rates, and thus enable operators to have finer control over the end-user

experience.

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DL MIMO: LTE supports up to 4x4 MIMO in the DL, which uses four transmit antennas at the

Node B to transmit orthogonal (parallel) data streams to the four receive antennas at the user

equipment (UE). Using additional antennas and signal processing at the receiver and transmitter,

MIMO increases the system capacity and user data rates without using additional transmit power

or bandwidth. The MIMO benefit is therefore maximized in a dense urban environment, where

there is enough scattering and the small cell sizes provide an environment of high SNRs at the

UE.

SDMA—SDMA enables multiple users to send and receive data using the same time-frequency

OFDM resource. In the DL, the eNode B can transmit data simultaneously, and over the same

time-frequency resource, to two users that have enough spatial separation to ensure that the two

data streams remain orthogonal. Similarly, on the UL, SDMA enables two users in the cell to

simultaneously send data to the eNode B, using the same time-frequency resource. LTE does not

support simultaneous MIMO and SDMA operation to a user; hence, there is a tradeoff between

higher user data rates and higher system capacity in the DL.

Beamforming—Beamforming increases the user data rates by focusing the transmit power in the

direction of the user, effectively increasing the received signal strength at the UE. Beamforming

provides the most benefits to users in weaker-signal-strength areas, like the edge of the cell

coverage. Beamforming ensures that cell-edge rates are high, and enables the operator to deploy

high-bandwidth services without concern for service degradation at the cell edge.

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4. Band to be used for LTE

Qualcomm comments on LTE bands

QUALCOMM believes that the award of the 2.6 GHz and 2010 MHz bands will sustain the fast

market growth of 3G services. With more than 100 million subscribers worldwide, 3G

technologies are continuing to evolve towards higher data rate capabilities (such as HSPA+,

Long Term Evolution (LTE) & Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB)) that will benefit from the 2.6

GHz wide bandwidth. For instance, QUALCOMM recently announced the sampling of HSPA+

chipsets in the 2.6 GHz band by the end of 2007. HSPA+, based on the 3GPP Release 7

standard, provides data rates of up to 28 Mbps on the downlink and 11 Mbps on the uplink,

significant increases in network capacity, reduced latency and an enhanced user experience for

many data-intensive applications.

QUALCOMM therefore supports plans to release the 2.6 GHz and 2010 MHz bands to the

market. However, QUALCOMM urges Ofcom to adopt the 2.6 GHz European harmonised band

plan as set in ECC DEC(05)05. Indeed irrespective of what technologies or services that may be

deployed, a common and harmonized band plan facilitates economies of scale, which in turn

brings benefits to consumers and citizens.

QUALCOMM also believes that it is essential that a clear statement on the reuse of the 900 MHz

and 1800 MHz spectrum is given prior to the award of the 2.6 GHz spectrum. We note that many

other countries in Europe are at a more advanced stage in allowing the reuse of the GSM

spectrum for other technologies such as WCDMA.

FCC

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in April 2008 auctioned 62 megahertz of

spectrum in the 700 MHz band. The band is highly prized because the low frequency allows

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signals to travel farther and provide better in-building coverage than higher frequencies such as

1900 MHz. As a result, operators need fewer base stations to cover an area, which translates into

lower overhead costs—a major asset for any operator looking to be aggressive on the pricing

front. The 790 MHz to 862 MHz band also called the digital dividend band, ―is considered the

primary LTE band in Europe, but the spectrum is at least three years from being released because

broadcasters remain on the spectrum. Same problem is being faced by India as 700MHz

spectrum is currently utilized for the broadcasting purposes by Delhi Doordarshan and as this

channel is covering most of the rural portions of India so it is not feasible to free this spectrum of

700MHz. However solution to this problem was recently mentioned in the paper released by the

OfCom ―Digital Dividend: Geolocation for Cognitive Access‖ which talked about digital

broadcasting instead of analog. Moreover this freed spectrum can be used for technology named

white fi which is nothing but use of freed spectrum for internet transmission. It can be done with

help of cognitive devices.

European countries

Spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band is also coming up for grabs throughout Europe and as such is

likely to be the first band for LTE deployments. As much as 140 megahertz of the spectrum

(2×70MHz) will be allocated for FDD services like LTE and another 50 megahertz for the

unpaired TDD band that will most likely be used for WiMAX services. To date, Norway and

Sweden have auctioned spectrum while Netherlands, Germany, Austria and the UK have

auctions planned. Asian regulators are also considering the band with Hong Kong planning to

run its 2.6 GHz spectrum auction

900MHz and 1800MHz band

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LTE may also play a role in the GSM 900 and 1800 bands, which are not only the most

ubiquitous and most harmonized worldwide wireless spectrum available but also has the benefit

of increased coverage and subsequent reduction in network deployment costs compared with

deployments at higher frequencies. In some markets, operators will chose to migrate subscribers

from their GSM frequency bands to UMTS to relieve pressure on their GSM networks and free

up some spectrum. In other cases, operators may chose to use their 1800 MHz frequency band

and deploy LTE in that band and simply leave the GSM network in place. After all, GSM

networks around the world have been thoroughly optimized at this point and therefore, operators

will simply leave them in place until some later point in time. the advantage of reframing the 900

MHz spectrum for LTE rather than using WCDMA spectrum, which is also possible, is the fact

that LTE can be deployed in channel widths as small as 1.4 megahertz, allowing operators to

grow the network as the demand for GSM services diminish. In comparison, WCDMA networks

would require an operator to clear, if available, a full 5-megahertz contiguous channel width.

2.1GHz Band

The core UMTS band at 2.1 GHz will also see LTE deployments, especially in Asia, where

Japan’s NTT DoCoMo and KDDI will roll out LTE services. Some 150 countries are using the

band for WCDMA services, but many have not utilized the entire spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band,

paving the way for potential LTE deployments alongside WCDMA networks. In low spectrum

bandwidth, for example, LTE’s very high spectral efficiency and edge of cell performance means

that even in a 1.4 MHz channel LTE provides close to the average sector throughput

performance of an HSPA 5 MHz carrier.

Two important bands being discussed in the global telecom industry are 2.1GHz and 700MHz.

Moreover, the 2.6 GHz band combined with the digital dividend band i.e. 700MHz will provide

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an excellent complement for operators. The 2.6 GHz spectrum offers the potential for greater

capacity and lower frequency spectrum enables better propagation.

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5. Major deployments and implementations

Verizon Wireless, which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications in the United States and

Europe’s Vodafone, was the biggest winner in the 700 MHz auction. They CDMA operator spent

$9.63 billion to win a nationwide spectrum footprint covering 298 million pops, plus 102

licenses for individual markets covering 171 million pops for an LTE deployment. Verizon

Wireless planned to work with part-owner Vodafone to conduct field trials of LTE this year,

select vendors in 2009 and conduct advanced device trials. In 2010, Verizon Wireless will

rapidly accelerate deployments within its footprint. AT&T bid for fewer licenses than Verizon,

having won much of the spectrum it wanted in FCC auctions held in 2002 and 2003. But the

operator won a large chunk of 700 MHz spectrum and plans to combine that spectrum with the

700 MHz airwaves it purchased from Aloha Partners to rollout LTE services. The operator’s

spectrum holdings in the 700 MHz band cover 100 percent of the top 200 markets, and combined

with spectrum won in previous auctions, namely the 1.7 GHz spectrum, AT&T said it will be

able to cover 95 percent of the U.S. population with new services.

Sweden's TeliaSonera recently announced that it has rolled out the world's first 4G mobile

service, partnering with wireless provider Ericsson to offer commercial services in Stockholm.

The carrier also this week deployed the first commercial LTE network in Oslo, Norway,

partnering with Huawei for the task. So-called '4G' or fourth-generation networks, built on

technologies such as LTE or WiMAX, allow customers to use network services such as

advanced Web TV broadcasting, extensive online gaming and web conferences on their laptops

with high transmission speed and capacity.

First Commercial LTE Networks Deployed in Sweden, Norway

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Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson comments, "The new era of mobile

broadband has just begun today. With LTE, so-called 4G, your mobile broadband experience is

moving to unequalled levels. The LTE speed gives you an absolutely effortless feeling of

broadband access."

"The use of mobile broadband in the Nordic countries is exploding and customers need higher

speeds and capacity. This is why we launched 4G services in both Stockholm and Oslo,

Norway," says Kenneth Karlberg, President and Head of Mobility Services. "Being first out with

new technology gives us unique experience that we can use on all our markets. We will continue

the roll-out to offer our customers new communication services for the future."

Yu Chengdong, President of Huawei Europe said, "In partnership with TeliaSonera, Huawei

began this journey eleven months ago to introduce the world’s most advanced mobile broadband

technology to the residents of Oslo. This milestone, which was achieved in a short period of

time, reflects Huawei’s unwavering commitment towards accelerating the commercialization of

LTE/SAE solutions. Operators such as TeliaSonera, are now able to fully realize economic

benefits from the many new applications that can only be made possible with ultra broadband

services." TeliaSonera’s two 4G city networks cover the city areas of Stockholm and Oslo and

will be used for mobile data. TeliaSonera has three nationwide 4G/LTE licenses: Sweden,

Norway and Finland. The network rollout is in progress to offer 4G to Sweden's and Norway's

largest cities. The Stockholm 4G city network is supplied by Ericsson. The Oslo 4G city network

is supplied by Huawei. The modems at launch come from Samsung. Evaluation of suppliers for

TeliaSonera's common 4G core network and radio networks in the Nordic and Baltic countries is

in progress and vendors will be selected in the beginning of 2010.

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CIS's largest mobile operator MTS (OJSC Mobile TeleSystems) announced that Uzbekistan,

Russia, MTS has acquired a license issued by the LTE. And, MTS has signed an agreement with

Huawei Technologies for the deployment of MTS in Uzbekistan, the CIS's first LTE network.

Under the agreement, Huawei Technologies Company and MTS will be the Uzbek capital

Tashkent for the LTE test area, in 2010 and 2012 the building of LTE networks and carry out the

relevant tests. The agreement also provides that the deployment of LTE networks must be based

on existing 2G/3G network architecture. In addition, Huawei Technologies will also provide

technical training for employees of MTS. MTS, vice president and director Oleg Raspopov

overseas business, said, MTS had just a commercial 3G network in Uzbekistan and plans to

further cutting-edge telecommunications technology into their countries. We have made a license

LTE and LTE with Huawei Technologies signed a cooperation agreement, the two major

initiatives will greatly inspire and promote the development of domestic telecommunications

industry. Huawei Technologies is pleased to Wang Kexiang CIS Area CEO commented that: "In

the LTE cooperation is not only for the two companies, but also for the whole development of

the industry are of great significance. Be able to Huawei Technologies a global leader in LTE

technology was first brought to the CIS region, which makes us proud. Since 2009, Huawei

Technologies in LTE / SAE technology, business, patents and standards to achieve a

comprehensive breakthrough, firmly established a global leader in next-generation mobile

communications position. Huawei Technologies launched the world's first commercial version of

a LTE deployment in the Nordic world's first LTE / SAE commercial network; built Europe's

largest LTE / SAE trial, talking with the world's top operators to deploy the LTE / SAE trial

bureau to more than 10 months; in North America and Japan, the completion of the LTE

Huawei Technologies jointly deployed in Uzbekistan, Russia's MTS's first

LTE network of CIS

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Laboratory, LTE / SAE standards for the proposal number and the number of patent claims are

leading their peers.

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6. Some myths about LTE

Myth 1: LTE is Data only

Reality: LTE supports voice and efficient support of voice was one of the key considerations in

designing LTE. The voice solution for LTE is IMS VoIP and it is fully specified. The 3GPP

solution for voice over LTE is a combination of multiple efforts:

The work in Rel 7 to optimize IMS signalling and VoIP encoding so it would be as good

or better than CS voice in terms of quality and efficiency,

The work in Rel 8 to develop a radio and core network evolution optimized for the

transfer of packet data.

The work in Rel-7 to add the IMS emergency call requirements and to adapt it to

regulatory requirements in LTE and GPRS in Rel-9.

The work in Rel-8 to add the always-on IP connectivity requirements in LTE

A key consideration to recognize is that under LTE, voice is just one of many potential media

streams that can be communicated. A packet based network and VoIP allows this flexibility

while still providing efficient use of radio and network resources. However, 3GPP recognizes

that adoption of both LTE and IMS will not occur overnight. For this reason 3GPP provided a

transition solution for voice called CS Fallback. This allows a LTE device to drop back to the

legacy 3G or 2G networks if IMS VoIP capabilities are not supported. This is viewed as an

interim solution to ease the transition to IMS and VoIP.

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Myth 2: SMS isn’t supported over LTE

Reality: LTE will support a rich variety of messaging applications and also SMS is supported

over LTE. The solution is twofold, covering both the full IMS case and a transition solution for

those networks that do not support IMS. SMS over IP was fully specified 3GPP Rel 7. It depends

on IMS and it is intended to provide compatibility between the existing cellular legacy and the

implementations with more elaborate messaging capabilities via SMS and IMS interworking. For

environments without IMS a transition solution was specified. This is called SMS over SGs

(previously called the misleading name: SMS over CS). It is a hybrid approach that allows the

transmission of native SMS from CS infrastructure over the LTE radio network. SMS over SGs

was specified as part of Rel 8. SMS over SGs provides SMS service for mobiles in LTE and

since it requires also CS domain infrastructure for the SMS transmission, it is intended to be a

transition solution.

Myth 3: IMS isn’t ready for prime time

Reality: IMS has been around a long time. It was first developed as part of Rel 5 in 2002. It is

based on IETF protocols such as SIP and SDP that are very mature. These technologies have

been embraced by the industry as the signalling mechanism for multimedia applications. In Rel 7

an effort was made to optimize IMS and the supporting protocols to ensure that voice and other

media were supported as efficiently as in circuit switched networks. IMS is fully specified and

mature. The difficulties in rolling out IMS are not due to the protocols or the specifications. The

consideration point is not only technical aspects but also shifting the whole industry paradigm

from CS services to a truly IP-based environment, i.e. service migration, policies,

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interoperability and deployment plan included. However, these complexities must be addressed

if the idea is to truly provide a richer service environment. This work is ongoing in many forums

outside of 3GPP (e.g. Rich Communication Suite).

Myth 4: LTE doesn’t support emergency calls

Reality: VoIP support for emergency calls (including location support) is specified as part of Rel

9. This fulfils the last regulatory requirement separating VoIP from CS in 3GPP networks. A

transition solution exists which is falling back to 3G/2G for completing emergency calls. This

solution has existed since IMS was introduced (Rel 5).

However, to satisfy the situation of a fallback network not existing, this enhancement was

completed in Rel 9. This allows the operator the option of supporting the regulatory requirements

for LTE VoIP calls both for phones that can register for normal services and for those in limited

service, including the USIM-less case. Also the emergency call callback from the PSAP (public

safety answering point) and its interaction with the possibly activated supplementary services is

specified.

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7. Leapfrog to 4G

The question that comes to our mind is ―Should India leapfrog to 4G and miss 3G to catch the

rest of the telecom world?‖

3G was launched in 2001 and we are already lagging behind by nine years. In 2010, when 3G

auctions are yet to take place in India, 23 operators are launching 4G globally. Suppose, the 3G

auctions take place before the 2nd

quarter of 2010, it would be commercially available only by 1st

quarter of 2011. By then 4G would be commercially available in the advanced telecom nations.

To catch up with the rest, the world’s largest growing Indian telecom sector should consider for

leapfrog to 4G and avoid committing mistakes it did for 3G.

One more reason to move straightaway to 4G is that only 2-3 operators would get 3G licenses

that would eventually move to 4G. In that case it is natural for the remaining 10-11 operators to

straightaway jump to 4G to keep up with the competition.

However there are a number of hurdles which makes 4G’s present deployment impractical

because our nation is more bandwidth hungry than data hungry. When we are presently facing a

spectrum crunch situation for 3G, it is difficult to meet the needs of LTE which requires 2*20

MHz per operator for providing the high bandwidth services. And moreover the spectrum band

for 4G has not been defined yet unlike 3G (2.1 MHz worldwide). If it is not done so then

handsets for 4G would come at a premium price as these handsets would be supporting multi

bands.

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8. Conclusion

LTE is an evolution of 3GPP GSM network. It will create a revenue opportunity for everyone in

the telecom ecosystem worldwide. The revenue would be generated from the growing pool of

consumers and business professionals who are demanding the same experience and applications

that they enjoy on a fixed wire line connection.

Three major characteristics of 4G are its download speed of 100 Mbps, it would be an all IP

network and its interoperability or backward integration with the lower generation technologies.

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9. References

[1] http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/trai/upload/ConsultationPapers/182/Final4Gnotice10feb10.pdf

[2] http://www.ezine.motorola.com/serviceprovider

[3] http://www.freescale.com/files/wireless_comm/doc/white_paper/3GPPEVOLUTIONWP.pdf

[4] http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/cogaccess/responses1/BEIRG.pdf

[5] http://www.3g4g.co.uk/Lte/LTE_Voice_0910_Nortel.pdf

[6] http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/2ghzawards/responses/qualcomm.pdf

[7]http://www.garagesalepreview.com/appleinsider/att-partners-with-alcatel-ericsson-for-2011-lte-

deployment

[8] http://seekingalpha.com/article/65454-ready-for-4g-ericsson-expects-lte-deployment-in-2012

[9] http://www.ericsson.com/thecompany/press/releases/2010/02/1382917

[10]http://www.3gamericas.org/documents/3G_Americas_RysavyResearch_HSPA-

LTE_Advanced_Sept2009.pdf

[11]http://www.motorola.com/staticfiles/Business/Solutions/Industry%20Solutions/Service%20Providers/Wir

eless%20Operators/LTE/_Document/Static%20Files/The_Drivers_to_LTE_Solution_Paper.pdf