The Evolution to 4G Systems

Jean-Paul Rissen and Robert Soni

Wireless service providers around the world are at a business and technological tipping point. Having made investments in legacy technologies that were designed primarily to support voice trafc, they now need to cope with new standards, protocols, and business imperatives. In so doing, existing business models and technology platforms will be rendered moot. Consider this: The current public wireless networks based on 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) standards are experiencing a rapid increase in data trafc. This is linked to the recent availability of new types of terminals offering easy access to Internet services, a permanent connection to mail systems, and new rich multimedia entertainment services like video messaging or all forms of mobile commerce. This shift will place a premium on fourth generation (4G) wireless technologies that maximize bandwidth and throughput while maximizing spectral efciency. Fourth generation wireless architectures are rapidly maturing to address these requirements while leveraging the capabilities of third generation (3G) technologies, taking advantage of the features associated with an all-Internet Protocol (IP) network system. As a result of these trends, service providers are scrambling to assess, purchase, and deploy new wireless service delivery technologies that will address emerging demand while maximizing the revenue generated from traditional sources. Vendors are desperately trying to identify how their customers service providerswill leverage the additional bandwidth, spectral efciency, and potentially lower cost of operation that the new 4G technologies will ultimately bring them. Clearly, wireless technologies had to be prepared for the migration to all-IP service platforms. Evolved Packet System (EPS), also known as a combination of Long Term Evolution (LTE) and System Architecture Evolution (SAE), is being dened as a major Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) evolution, proposing an all-IP integrated architecture for both the access network and core network. The LTE/SAE system has been embraced by many operators worldwide as their future network evolution whether they were formerly Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000) operators, Global System for Mobile Communications* (GSM*) operators, or Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) operators. A similar evolution was under development for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) markets with the introduction of Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), also known as Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) Revision C. Plans for it are now viewed as somewhat on hold with market position having been ceded to LTE and to WiMAX, the third major mobile access technology. WiMAX was initially introduced using the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16e standard. It now holds an important market position compared to other access technologies and is likely to gain wide deployment in targeted low cost regions and some major first tier installations. The mobile version of WiMAX has a signicant time-tomarket advantage over LTE with an initial commercial deployment starting in 2008. LTE is likely to deploy in 2009 or later. WiMAX, LTE, and UMB are all based on

Bell Labs Technical Journal 13(4), 16 (2009) 2009 Alcatel-Lucent. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/bltj.20333

orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) radio access technologies and all have adopted an IP-based network architecture. Figure 1 illustrates the evolution of wireless cellular systems.

Analyzing 4G From the Technical Perspective and Areas of Concentration for This Issue of BLTJ
As of October 1, 2008, the technical requirements of 4G had not yet been nalized, but industry insiders anticipate that 4G radio access technologies will commonly be used to describe LTE- and WiMAX-based technologies. However, the ofcial designation may be reserved for technologies meeting the requirements of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) around a new system beyond International Mobile Communications (IMT)-2000, and dened as IMTAdvanced. These discussions are occurring in several parallel forums around the world and are focused on yet more advanced radio cellular technologies. The goal is to be able to deliver 1 Gbps over a 100 MHz channel, which corresponds to a peak spectral efciency of

10 bps/Hz. The average spectral efciency will be around 5 bps/Hz, which represents approximately three times the performance of LTE and/or WiMAX networks deploying against currently released standards. For this issue of the Bell Labs Technical Journal, the papers can be loosely segmented into a few different categories with most focusing on the state of cellular technology prior to IMT-Advanced. A few papers offer descriptions of the salient features of the air interface or network topology/architecture. Another category of papers covers additional spectral efciency features which might be included in 4G technologies. There are papers on adding new network elements to aid in the overall achievement of improvements in spectral efciency, in particular, relays or femtocells. There are also papers which discuss the integration of broadcast technologies with the 4G network or the use of an existing air interface to enable broadcast and multicast technologies. Finally, there are some discussions in particular of how to improve the construction of 4G cellular base stations, including improvement in security as well as how to

IMT-2000 GSM HSPA EPS/LTE

IMT-Advanced EPS/LTE advanced UMB evolutions

UMTS R99

CDMA2000

CDMA1x

EV-DO

UMB

802.16e

802.16m

2004

2006

2008/2009

2011/2012

Simultaneous CS/PS increased data rate

Increased data rate

All-IP migration increased data rate

High performance

CDMACode division multiple access CSCircuit switched EPSEvolved packet system EV-DOEvolution data optimized HSPAHigh speed packet access IMTInternational Mobile Telecommunications
Registered

IPInternet Protocol GSMGlobal System for Mobile Communications LTELong term evolution PSPacket switched UMBUltra mobile broadband UMTSUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System

trademarks of the GSM Association.

Figure 1. The evolution of cellular wireless systems.

Bell Labs Technical Journal

DOI: 10.1002/bltj

Panel 1. Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Terms 2.5GEnhanced second generation 3GThird generation 3G Third generation plus 3GPP3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP23rd Generation Partnership Project 2 4GFourth generation CACerticate authority CDMACode division multiple access CDMA2000Code division multiple access 2000 DVB-SHDigital Video Broadcasting satellite services to handhelds EPSEvolved packet system EV-DOEvolution data optimized GSMGlobal System for Mobile Communications support 4G cellular technologies in the presence of other technologies. IEEEInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IMTInternational Mobile Communications IPInternet Protocol ITUInternational Telecommunication Union LTELong Term Evolution OFDMOrthogonal frequency division multiplex SAESystem architecture evolution UMBUltra mobile broadband UMTSUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System WCDMAWideband code division multiple access Wi-FiWireless delity WiMAXWorldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Congurable time or frequency duplex modes to better accommodate asymmetric services, Seamless service provisioning in the case of intraand inter-system mobility, and Security protection for user data, control signaling and subscriber information.

Surveys of 4G Network Topologies and Air Interface Technologies

4G systems will support built-in always-on capabilities over and above those of the traditional dial-in model, which cant comply with a new set of services like presence, instant messaging and other real time information or interactive services. This is a key enabler of the anytime/anywhere user experience currently supported by technologies like wireless delity (Wi-Fi*). In addition, 4G also promises to improve resource efciency and enhance the user experience. There are two papers in this journal issue which discuss the important features and also survey the relative performance differences between 3G and 4G wireless cellular technology. These are LTE and HSPA : Revolutionary and Evolutionary Solutions for Global Mobile Broadband, which cover the 3G to 4G evolution for 3GPP technologies, and Performance Assessment of NextGeneration Wireless Mobile Systems. Systems based on 4G will support the full range of features that public 3G cellular systems already provide including: Optimized link adaptation and power control to allow increased user rates and efficient radio resource usage,

Spectral Efciency Enhancement Proposals for 4G Technologies

Several papers address many of the new technologies that can be utilized to improve spectral efciency in 4G technologies. The paper titled Enhancement of Throughput and Fairness in 4G Wireless Access Systems by Non-Orthogonal Signaling discusses enhancements to scheduler policies, while improved receiver and transmitter technologies are discussed in A Near-Optimum Procoding Technique for Downlink Multi-User MIMO Transmissions, and in Design and Performance Analysis of Collaborative UL-MIMO in IEEE 802.16e-Based Systems. Methodologies for the use of even more sophisticated forms of MIMO are covered in Distributed Spatial Division Multiple Access Technique for Spectrum Sharing Systems.

New Network Elements to Boost Spectral Efciency for 4G

While femtocell architectures have been introduced in the context of enhanced second generation

DOI: 10.1002/bltj

Bell Labs Technical Journal

(2.5G), 3G, and third generation plus (3G ) technologies, nowhere is the benet of the larger bandwidths described by 4G systems and the competitive parity with Wi-Fi technologies more likely to be apparent. We expect that femtocells will play a major role in the deployment of 4G technologies. Providing the capability to signicantly increase indoor coverage in residential areas, they are likely to be a big part of the 4G story. In this BLTJ issue, there are two papers covering the topic of femtocells, Ultra-Broadband Femtocells via Opportunitistic Reuse of Multi-Operator and MultiService Spectrum, and Deployment Options for Femtocells and Their Impact on Existing Macrocellular Networks. Relays are another network element which can be used to extend coverage, improve spectral efciency, and even provide wireless backhaul that is compatible with the air interface. Papers discussing the benet of relays include: Relay-Aided Multiple Antenna Transmissions for Wireless Backhaul Applications, and Multi-Hop Relays for Next-Generation Wireless Networks. While not currently standardized as part of LTE Release 8, or covered in a current release of WiMAX, there is much discussion of standardizing the operation of relays in the context of the IEEE 802.16j Forum, and in IMT-Advanced or LTE-Advanced related discussions.

designing and integrating broadcast technology, i.e., digital video broadcastingsatellite services to handhelds (DVB-SH), directly into a cellular network and an exercise to integrate with a 3G or 4G network entitled, Practical Guide to Designing a DVB-SH Network for RF Engineers.

Security and Development of Interoperating Cellular Base Station Networks

As we move to a fully-at IP centric cellular network, there are increased concerns around security of user information, user prole data, and general control of the network. We include two papers governing security topics in this issue of the BLTJ. Secure Base Stations covers issues particular to protecting the integrity of a base station and protecting data and user prole information for a base station in a fully-at IP architecture. Another paper, Network Separation and IPSec CA Certicates-Based Security Management for 4G Networks, covers enhancement to security of the air interface through the use of trusted CA certicates. Security function management, whether native to one users session or to a network overall, is a challenge. In particular, the challenge becomes greater since, while we move and evolve to 4G cellular technologies, we do not abandon or expect that we will in the end support only one air interface technology. The nal paper in our issue, A Multi-Radio Infrastructure for 4G, discusses in great detail the use of multiple air interfaces or access technologies. We hope you enjoy this issue and nd the papers informative and timely. *Trademarks
GSM and Global System for Mobile Communications are registered trademarks of the GSM Association. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance Corporation.

Broadcast Technologies and Their Role in 4G Technology Evolution

For 4G technologies, there is a signicant interest in the meshing of broadcast technologies to mobile devices and small screens. There is clearly a demand for multimedia service integration into the handset device. And, though they present an integral part of standards for 3G-related technologies, to date there has been relatively limited deployment of mobile broadcast technologies globally. Going forward, its expected that 4G mobile devices will strongly leverage broadcast technologies and integrate them directly or loosely at the application layer with their devices. An excellent example of the use of the 3G air interface to support broadcast and multicast applications is found in Broadcast and Multicast Transmission Over HSDPA. There is also a paper discussing the practicality of

(Manuscript approved November 2008)

JEAN-PAUL RISSEN is director of Wireless Technologies in the Alcatel-Lucent Wireless CTO Ofce in Velizy, France. His primary mission and responsibilities include the follow-up of major wireless industry trends, the coordination of internal activities on multitechnology subjects like femtocell solutions and

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multistandard base stations, and the support of product marketing and customer teams. He joined the Alcatel group in 1976. Mr. Rissen is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chausses in Paris. ROBERT SONI is a technical manager in Alcatel-Lucents Wireless business group in Whippany, New Jersey. He supervises a group which is investigating and developing new advanced antenna, physical layer and MAC layer technologies for 3G/4G cellular systems. He received a Ph.D. and M.S.E.E. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received his B.S.E.E., summa cum laude, from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. Dr. Soni began his career as a member of technical staff at Alcatel-Lucent ten years ago. He also teaches part-time at Columbia University in New York City, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey.

DOI: 10.1002/bltj

Bell Labs Technical Journal