View
1
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
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 (1st Year)
Contact: vikramsingh_mains@yahoo.co.in, vikramsinghmains@gmail.com. +91-9975841392
Digal Tanmoyananda
MBA – Telecom Management (2nd
Year)
Contact: tanmoyananda@yahoo.co.in , tanmoyananda@gmail.com. +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.
2
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
3
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.
4
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.
5
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.
6
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.
7
Will specify LTE-Advanced that meets the requirements set by ITU’s IMT-Advanced
project.
8
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
9
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.
10
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.
11
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
12
(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.
13
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.
14
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
15
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
16
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
17
an excellent complement for operators. The 2.6 GHz spectrum offers the potential for greater
capacity and lower frequency spectrum enables better propagation.
18
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
19
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.
20
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
21
Laboratory, LTE / SAE standards for the proposal number and the number of patent claims are
leading their peers.
22
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.
23
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,
24
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.
25
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.
26
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.
27
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
Recommended