Upgrading to HSDPA

2006-09-07 Zhu Songjian

Overview
In the 3G era, high-speed mobile data access services can bring enormous benefits to operators,
as they break the trend of rapidly declining ARPU in voice services. The WCDMA provides the
radio interface in the 3G UMTS mobile system as defined by the 3GPP. However, WCDMA
networks based on the R99/R4 protocol cannot handle the ever-increasing demand for high-
speed (up to 2Mbps) mobile multimedia services.
Current WCDMA technology has been evolving to meet the increasing demands for high-speed
data access and broadcast services and the 3GPP introduces R5-based High Speed Downlink
Packet Access (HSDPA) to cope with the demand for multimedia and content services.
How it works
Without changing the R99/R4 network architecture, the HSDPA increases the downlink data
speeds to 10Mbps and above by introducing techniques such as short fixed-packet transmission
time interval (TTI), adaptive modulation, multi-code transmission and rapid Hybrid Automatic
Repeat Request (HARQ) on the physical layer while adding new MAC-high speed (MAC-hs)
entities in the Node B.
The packet scheduler is moved from RNC to Node B so that the packet scheduling can be
performed more dynamically. The scheduling itself is performed based on the channel quality
status of the UEs.
The implementation of the HSDPA technology means that a HSDPA-capable user equipment
(UE) periodically sends the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) to provide the Node B with an
estimate of the maximum code rate that could have been achieved. The Node B with the CQI
information will then select an appropriate modulation mode (QPSK or 16QAM) and timeslots to
send the flow of data to each UE over the new transport channel-the high-speed downlink shared
channel (HS-DSCH). After the UE receives the downlink packets from the Node B, it will send
Node B acknowledgement messages to confirm that it has correctly received the packets.
HSDPA deployment based on the key technologies discussed above improves data throughput
and reduces transmission delay. If Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and
multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) technologies are also incorporated, the HSDPA
network can be upgraded to support a peak rate of 100 Mbps on the downlink and 50 Mbps on
the uplink.
ZTE HSDPA total solution
ZTE WCDMA V3 system already in commercial use can be software upgraded to HSDPA, as the
HSDPA system is based on the 3GPP system specifications released in June 2004. The HSDPA
technology reuses much of the technologies developed for UMTS on the radio side, so that ZTE
V3 Node Bs are able to support high-performance HSDPA in hardware, meaning that only a
software upgrade is required.
HSDPA-ready WCDMA equipment
ZTE V3 family products use an all-IP hardware platform that allows a smooth evolution to the
upgraded networks. The V3 base station series are HSDPA-ready as the DSP and hardware
resources have been reserved for the HSDPA, and the baseband resources fully meet the
processing requirements of the HSDPA with the most advanced ASIC and DSP chips. The Node
B series have the hardware to support the HSDPA function and can be upgraded to the HSDPA
by means of a software update.
At the same time, the powerful processing capabilities of the RNC and core networks that hit
40Gbps provide sufficient support for HSDPA. Consequently, only interface boards need to be
added.
The maximum bi-directional throughput of ZTE RNC is 2.38Gbps, which is the largest processing
capacity available in this industry and three times above that of other manufacturers. It also lays
a solid foundation for PS domain services, particularly the HSDPA service.
When the R99 UMTS evolves to the HSDPA R5 version, ZTE can provide the smooth soft-and
hardware transition that will protect legacy investments. ZTE has drawn up its roadmap for
HSDPA-enabled 3G solutions to meet the needs of network operators. The development of
HSDPA was divided into two phases and the objectives of these two phases have already been
achieved.
Whilst developing the system equipment, ZTE launched HSDPA data cards for commercial use
in early 2006. Following the successful commercial testing of the card in Europe, ZTE has now
begun to receive bulk orders for its product from a number of European countries.
Advantages of ZTE HSDPA solution
The ZTE HSDPA solution has the following advantages:
The baseband board can be shared by the R4/R99 and HSDPA in different cells and carrier
frequencies.
A single cell can handle up to 64 subscribers sharing up to 14.4 Mbps throughput and a
single Node B supports a maximum aggregate throughput of 50Mbps. Code division
multiplexing is supported.
R99 and HSDPA share carrier frequency and the traffic, which effectively reduces the
carrier frequencies costs for operators.
Dynamic allocation of power and code resources are offered to maximize the resource
utilization rate.
Supporting power control of the high Speed Shared Control Channel (HS-SCCH) to
provide reliable transmission of control information over the HSDPA physical layer, and
enables high power utilization.
Supporting consummate HS-DSCH to DCH handover.
Advanced radio resources management (RRM) algorithm.
The R&D progress is leading in the whole industry.
HSDPA is a feasible solution to deliver high-speed data access to many users in a cell, and
introducing HSDPA is vital to deliver a true mobile broadband services experience to users.
To realise HSDPA, it is suggested Node Bs should be hardware ready for HSDPA at least in
the initial stage of network construction. ZTE serialized Node Bs are fully HSDPA hardware
ready, and only a software upgrade is necessary to support HSDPA. Moreover, ZTE RNC
and CN have a high integration and capacity, and can be smoothly upgraded to support
HSDPA, ensuring the successful introduction of HSDPA. In all, ZTE is ready for the next
technological advancement and helps operators to deliver the true promise of 3G.
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