EDGE Technology

By
Vishnu Patidar
(08EC00359)

DEPARTMENT OF
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
SIR PADAMPAT SINGHANIA UNIVERSITY UDAIPUR

SESSION 2010-2011
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Vishnu Patidar student of B.Tech (Electronics

and Communication) Sixth (VIth) Semester has submitted their Seminar
entitled “EDGE Technology” under my guidance.

Mr. R.N. Mishra

(Guide)
 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

This is to certify that Mr. Vishnu Patidar student of B.Tech (Electronics

and Communication) Sixth (VIth) Semester has presented and has
successfully completed their Seminar entitled “EDGE Technology” in the
presence of undersigned dignitaries.

Mr. Udayprakash R. Singh Other Evaluators

(H.O.D)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is our profound privilege to express deep sense of gratitude towards our

institute Sir Padampat Singhania University, Udaipur. I should also like to
thank Prof. P.C. Deka, Vice –Chancellor (SPSU); Dr. Udayprakash R.
Singh, H.O.D (ECE) for having permitted us to carry out this project work;
immense pleasure in thanking Mr. R.N. Mishra major seminar incharge for
their encouragement and their appreciation. I wish to extend our gratitude
in all sincerity to our internal guide, Mr. R.N. Mishra and other faculties for
their able guidance and useful suggestions, which helped us in completing
the report work, in time.
Finally, yet importantly, I should like to express
our heartfelt thanks to our beloved parents for their blessings, our friends,
classmates for their help and wishes for successful completion of this
report.

Vishnu Patidar
(08EC000359)
Sem-VIth (ECE)
 ABSTRACT

Today’s fast growing world needs fast communication either it may be voice or data. This
calls for a new technology which is faster than all existing technologies in mobile
communication and hence can replace technologies like GPRS. Enhanced Data for GSM
Evolution (EDGE) is such a technology .EDGE is a member of global system for mobile
communications (GSM).In short EDGE is a technology which enhances data rate for Mobile
communications.
EDGE not only enhances data rates but also intended for efficient
spectrum utilization which it has passed successfully. This paper is intended for explaining
how theoretical data rates of 384 kbps are possible with EDGE technique. And how
enhanced data for global evolution (EDGE) can play an important role in the evolution
toward wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA).And this paper also includes brief
details on EDGE and modulation scheme used for EDGE.

Starting with HSCSD, the first high speed mobile data upgrade to be
standardized, higher rates of transmission can be provided to mobile customers. EDGE has
a transmission speed of up to 384 kbit/s and GPRS is able to support up to 160 kbit/s.
EDGE can be introduced in two ways: (1) as a packet-switched Enhancement for general
packet radio service (GPRS), known as enhanced GPRS or EGPRS, and (2) as a circuit-
switched data enhancement called enhanced circuit-switched data (ECSD).
Enhanced Data
rates for GSM
Evolution
TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE

1. Introduction

2. Historical View

3. The need for High Speed Mobile Data

4. Technical Difference Between GPRS & EGPRS

5. EDGE Technology

6. What Is EDGE Technology in Mobile Phones

7. EDGE modulation Technique

8. Bandwidth Requirements

9. Packet Handling
10. The Application Perspective

 Applications for High speed Mobile Data

11. EDGE in GSM System

12. Performance of EDGE

13. Advantages & Disadvantages

14. Conclusion

 Abbreviations
 References
1. Introduction

EDGE is the next step in the evolution of GSM and IS- 136. The objective of the new
technology is to increase data transmission rates and spectrum efficiency and to facilitate
new applications and increased capacity for mobile use. With the introduction of EDGE in
GSM phase 2+, existing services such as GPRS and high-speed circuit switched data
(HSCSD) are enhanced by offering a new physical layer. The services themselves are not
modified. EDGE is introduced within existing specifications and descriptions rather than by
creating new ones. This paper focuses on the packet-switched enhancement for GPRS,
called EGPRS.GPRS allows data rates of 115 kbps and, theoretically, of up to 160 kbps on
the physical layer. EGPRS is capable of offering data rates of 384 kbps and, theoretically,
of up to 473.6 kbps. A new modulation technique and error-tolerant transmission methods,
combined with improved link adaptation mechanisms, make these EGPRS rates possible.
This is the key to increased spectrum efficiency and enhanced applications, such as
wireless Internet access, e-mail and file transfers. GPRS/EGPRS will be one of the
pacesetters in the overall wireless technology evolution in conjunction with WCDMA. Higher
transmission rates for specific radio resources enhance capacity by enabling more traffic for
both circuit- and packet-switched services. As the Third-generation Partnership Project
(3GPP) continues standardization toward the GSM/EDGE radio access network (GERAN),
GERAN will be able to offer the same services as WCDMA by connecting to the same core
network. This is done in parallel with means to increase the spectral efficiency. The goal is
to boost system capacity, both for real- time and best-effort services, and to compete
effectively with other third-generation radio access Networks such as WCDMA and
cdma2000

2. Historical View

In 1st G AMPS (Advanced Mobile system) developed in U.S in 1983In 2 nd G there was
introduction of CDMA, TDMA and GSM Between 2nd and 2.5th G of GPRS Between 2.5th
and 3rd G there was an introduction “EDGE TECHNOLOGY” GPRS (General Packet Radio
Service), EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution) and HSCSD (High Speed
Circuit Switched Data) have been designed primarily as upgrades to the well-known and
widely used GSM standard. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when the GSM system was
designed and standardized, data transmission capabilities were of minor importance
compared to voice. Besides, at that time, the maximum transmission speed of 9.6 kbit/s that
GSM Offered, appeared to be sufficient and was comparable with analog wire line modems.
Starting with HSCSD, the first high speed mobile data upgrade to be standardized, higher
rates of transmission can be provided to mobile customers. EDGE has a transmission
speed of up to 384 kbit/s and GPRS is able to support up to 160 kbit/s.

3. The need for High Speed Mobile Data

The ever increasing growth rate of data applications such as e-mail and the internet is
confronting mobile network operators worldwide with the challenge to upgrade their
networks to high bandwidth capable "bit pipes" in order to provide for all kinds of mobile
data applications. High speed mobile data will combine two of today's most rapidly
growing technologies, mobility and the internet. Let us compare the situation on the
mobile side with the progress that has been made on the fixed end. While even today's
analog modems operate at 56 kbit/s and, indeed, ISDN transmits up to 128 kbit/s, mobile
users are still limited to 9.6 kbit/s in of GSM. The rollout of XDSL improves the situation
even further on the wireline side, thereby broadening the gap between wire line and
wireless.
4. Technical Difference between GPRS & EGPRS

Regarded as a subsystem within the GSM standard, GPRS has introduced packet-switched
data into GSM networks. Many new protocols and new nodes have been introduced to
make this possible. EDGE is a Method to increase the data rates on the radio Link for GSM.
Basically, EDGE only introduces a new modulation technique and new channel coding that
can be used to transmit both packet-switched and circuit-switched voice and data services.
EDGE is therefore an add-on to GPRS and cannot work alone. GPRS has a greater impact
on the GSM system than EDGE has. By adding the new modulation and coding to GPRS
and by making adjustments to the radio link protocols, EGPRS offers significantly higher
throughput and capacity. GPRS and EGPRS have different protocols and different behavior
on the base station system side. However, on the core network side, GPRS and EGPRS
share the same Packet-handling protocols and, therefore, behave in the same way. Reuse
of the existing GPRS core infrastructure (Serving GRPS support node gate way GPRS
support node) emphasizes the Fact that EGPRS is only an "add-on" to the base station
system and is therefore much easier to introduce than GPRS. In addition to enhancing the
throughput for each data user, EDGE also increases capacity. With EDGE, the same time
slot can support more users. This decreases the number of radio resources required to
Support the same traffic, thus freeing up capacity for more data or Voice services. EDGE
makes it easier for circuit-switched and packet-switched Traffic to coexist, while making
more efficient use of the same radio resources. Thus in tightly planned networks with
limited spectrum, EDGE may also be seen as a capacity booster for the data traffic.
5. EDGE Technology

EDGE leverages the knowledge gained through use of the existing GPRS standard to
deliver significant technical improvements. Figure 2 compares the basic technical data of
GPRS and EDGE. Although GPRS and EDGE share the same symbol rate, the modulation
bit rate differs. EDGE can transmit three times as many bits as GPRS during the same
period of time. This is the main reason for the higher EDGE bit rates. The differences
between the radio and user data rates are the result of whether or not the packet headers
are taken into consideration. These different ways of calculating throughput often cause
misunderstanding within the industry about actual throughput figures for GPRS and
EGPRS. The data rate of 384 kbps is often used in relation to EDGE. The International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) has defined 384 kbps as the data rate limit required for a
service to fulfill the International MobileTelecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) standard in a
pedestrian environment. This 384 kbps data rate corresponds to 48 kbps per time slot,
assuming an eight-time slot terminal.

6. What Is EDGE Technology in Mobile Phones

In our days almost every man, woman and child own one or more mobile phones. These
little gadgets have an important role in our life. With the help of a mobile phone we can talk
to somebody that is even on the other side of the world only just tipping that persons
number on the phones keypad and press “dial” .Nowadays there are different generations
of mobile phones. You can use some of them just for talking and messaging, but there are
some that have the latest Technology incorporated in them called Smartphone’s and you
practically have in your Pocket a mini-computer. You can use these phones for many
activities like taking Pictures, filming a video, staying in touch with the latest information and
talk to your Friends over the Internet edit and read Microsoft Word and Excel documents
and even Make your personal agenda and many other ones.
We sometimes wonder “what is EDGE technology in mobile phones?” Well lets Start
with the definition of the EDGE technology. It is known also like Enhanced Data rates for
GSM Evolution and it is maid for compatible mobile phones and this technology improves
the data transmission rate being an extension of the standard GSM. EDGE started to be
present on different networks since 2003 and since then it improved more and more. It is
considered to be a 3G radio technology. EDGE is used by any application even by an
Internet connection. For mobile phones, the Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution was a
revolutionary technology because if you have a compatible mobile phone and most of us
do, we can connect to the Internet to Browse and speak to other people using this type of
technology. This technology is an add on to the GPRS network. There are out on the
present market many types of mobile phones who are equipped with different technology.
Most of us own one or more phones and mostly they are Latest generation. This means
that you have in our portable device a whole bunch of Different technologies such as Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, an operating system, and of course EDGE and many other great technologies
that help us to make our work and life much Easier. These ultimate mobile phones have
many applications that depend on the Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution technology.
So after all of this what is EDGE technology in mobile phones? EDGE Technology is
that one that helps us connects to different Internet networks and to use many other
Applications that depend on it. It makes our life easier having no problems to work even
from our last generation mobile phone, to talk to friends of just to browse the Internet and
search for diverse information.

7. EDGE Modulation Technique

The basic concept of EDGE is to provide higher data rates per radio time slot than is
possible with GMSK modulation. This allows the support of existing services with lower
number of time slots. In addition it allows the introduction of new services with up to 59.2
kb/s per timeslot or almost 480 kb/s per carrier in multi-slot operation, hence offering an
evolution path for GSM to Support multimedia applications. The modulation type that is
used in GSM is the Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK), which is a kind of phase
modulation. This can be visualized in an I/Q diagram that shows the real (I) and Imaginary
(Q) components of the transmitted signal (Figure-3). Transmitting a zero bit or one bit is
then represented by changing the phase by increments of + or - p. Every symbol that is
transmitted represents One bit; that is, each shift in the phase represents one bit. To
achieve higher bit rates per time slot than that Available in GSM/GPRS, the modulation
method requires change. EDGE is specified to reuse the Channel structure, channel width,
channel coding and the existing mechanisms and functionality of GPRS and HSCSD. The
modulation standard selected for EDGE, 8-phase shift keying (8PSK), fulfills all of those
requirements. 8PSK modulation has the same qualities in terms of generating interference
on adjacent Channels as GMSK. This makes it possible to integrate EDGE channels into an
existing frequency plan and assign new EDGE channels in the same way as standard GSM
channels. The 8PSK modulation method is a linear method where three consecutive bits
are mapped onto one symbol in I/Q plane. The symbol rate, or the number of symbols sent
within a certain period of time, remains the same as for GMSK, but each symbol now
represents three bits instead of one. The total data rate is therefore increased by a factor of
three. The Distances between the different symbols is shorter using 8PSK modulation than
when using GMSK. Shorter distances increase the risk from interpretation of the symbols
because it is more difficult for the Radio receiver to detect which symbol it not matter. Under
poor radio conditions, however, it does. The “extra” bits will be used to add more Error
correcting coding and the correct information can be recovered only under very poor radio
environments GMSK more efficient. Therefore the EDGE coding schemes are a mixture of
both GMSK and 8PSK. “GPRS and HSCSD work with the normal GSM modulation
scheme which is GMSK. GMSK has a lot of advantages, the most important of which
being that it does not contain any amplitude modulation. However, its inherent low
speed is the one big disadvantage. In GMSK, only 1 bit can be transmitted per
symbol as opposed to e.g. 8-PSK where 3 bits are transmitted per symbol. As
highlighted in the animation, this makes 8-PSK three times faster than GMSK”
8. Bandwidth requirements

The figure below presents the bandwidth requirements for some typical data transfer
applications. Note that these requirements apply to both wireline and mobile usage.
Obviously, GSM can barely cope with surfing the web and video-conferencing is totally
unfeasible.

9. Packet Handling

Has been made to the EDPRS Standard is the ability to Retransmit a packet that has not
been decoded properly with a more robust coding scheme. For GPRS, re-segmentation is
not possible. Once packets have been sent, they must be re- transmitted using the original
coding scheme even if the radio environment has changed. This has a significant impact on
the throughput, as the algorithm decides the level of confidence with the link adaptation
(LA) must work packets.
10.The Application Perspective

EDGE enables operators to introduce 3G data applications into existing GSM existing GSM
networks and thereby increase the speed of packet oriented transmission three-fold.

Applications for High speed Mobile Data

 Mobile Internet access

 Mobile Office
 Field sales/service
 Wireless access to databases
 Reservation system (e.g. hotel, theater, flights)
 Highway charging systems
 Location based info service
 Video telephony
 Telescoping

11. EDGE in GSM System

The increased bit rates of EDGE put requirements on the GSM/GPRS network architecture.
Figure illustrates the GSM/GPRS architecture, the shaded parts of which are discussed in
this section. Other nodes and interfaces are not affected at all by EDGE introduction. An
apparent bottleneck is the A-bits interface, which today supports up to 16 kb/s per traffic
channel. With EDGE, the bit rate per traffic channel will approach 64 kb/s, which makes
allocation of multiple A-bits slots to one traffic channel necessary. Alternative asynchronous
transfer mode (ATM) or IP-based solutions to this problem can also be discusses. One
important fact is, however, that the 16 kb/s limit will be exceeded already by the introduction
of two coding schemes (CS3 and CS4) in GPRS, which have a maximal bit rate per traffic
channel of 22.8 kb/s. Consequently, the A-bits limitation problem is being solved outside the
EDGE standardization, and it is therefore a GPRS related, not EDGE related, modification.
For GPRS-based packet data services, other nodes and interfaces are already capable of
handling higher bit rates, and are thus not affected. For circuit-switched services, the A
interface can handle 64 kb/s per user, which is not exceeded by EDGE circuit-switched
bearers.

12. Performance of EDGE

Today’s EDGE technology offers greatly improved performance compared with standard
GPRS and the first implementations of EDGE. The increased user bit-rates and reduced
latency offered by EDGE enhance existing applications and make new services –like music
downloads, mobile broadband and messaging services – more attractive the performance
of EDGE, as experienced by the end-user, is dependent on a variety of System
characteristics. For example, a web download consists of multiple requests and downloads
of objects and, consequently, the time it takes to download a page depends on the end-to-
end round-trip time and user bit rates in the system –which is the main performance
indicators for any packet data system. Performance is normally evaluated across a
common set of subscriber applications. Today’s state-of-the-art EDGE networks typically
offer user speeds of 200kbps, with end-to-end round-trip time (latency) of 150ms. Features
like advanced link quality control and persistent scheduling have improved performance
significantly over standard GPRS and the first implementations of EDGE. For example, the
time it takes to download a web page is about one-quarter of that taken with standard
GPRS. Network efficiency also impacts end-user performance. Compared with basic
implementations, the latest EDGE systems have greatly improved resource utilization,
multiplexing capabilities for several users and other capabilities that maximize network
efficiency
.
.
13. Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages

In the mid-1990s, GSM deployment gathered pace around the world, and this growth
continues today. More than 80 percent of all mobile users in the world are served by GSM,
and every month approximately 40 million new users join the GSM community. As a mobile
technology, GSM has unmatched coverage, economies of scale, simplicity and maturity,
and these are all benefits that EDGE shares too. The common view from the GSM/WCDMA
operators is that GSM will be used beyond 2020, meaning that GSM and EDGE will provide
the fundamental coverage for voice and data for many years to come. Standardized in
3GPP as part of the GSM/ WCDMA family, EDGE is a simple and cost effective upgrade
that provides a more than three-fold increase in both the capacity and performance of
GSM/GPRS networks. It does this by introducing sophisticated methods of coding and
transmitting data, delivering higher bit rates per radio channel, as illustrated in Figure
1.Introducing EDGE normally only requires a software upgrade of the existing GSM/GPRS
network. It does not require any new sites or new spectrum, and has no impact on existing
cell or frequency plans. With EDGE, GSM operators can extend their service offering to
include high-performance mobile data. They can rapidly target all potential data users
thanks to EDGE’s ability to achieve high geographic and population coverage in a short
period of time. This is one of the main reasons that several hundred GSM networks have
already upgraded to EDGE.EDGE is not launched as a service; it is an enabler of new
services and faster internet access – an almost mandatory upgrade, with a clear and
compelling business case.
Disadvantages
Since GPRS uses the cellular network’s GSM band to transmit data, more often than not,
when a connection is active, calls and other network-related functions cannot be used. The
data session will go on standby. This is a characteristic typical of the Class B GPRS device.
There are Class A devices as well, where there are two radios incorporated into the device,
allowing both features to run simultaneously. However, Class A devices tend to be more
expensive, and by extension, less popular. Most mobile phones fall in the Class B category.
GPRS is usually billed per megabyte or kilobyte, depending on the individual service
provider. However, this has changed in many places, where GPRS downloads is no longer
charged as per usage, but are unlimited, and there is merely a flat fee to be paid every
month.

 EDGE requires base station modifications

 Extra mobile terminal hardware and software required

 Frequently referred to as 2.75G

14. Conclusion

EDGE technology has succeeded the technology previously used in mobile phones. Low
risk of investment thanks to the dual mode of GSM/EDGE (Slot by slot).It support the same
technology as GPRS but it has got higher data rates of more than 400kbits/sec EDGE
allows the delivery of advanced mobile services such as the downloading of video and
music clips, full multimedia messaging, high-speed Internet access and e-mail on the
move. In just over two decades, mobile network technologies have evolved from simple 1G
network to today’s 3G networks, which are capable of high-speed data transmission
allowing innovative applications and services. The evolution of the communication networks
is fueling the development of the mobile Internet and creating new types of devices. In the
future, 4G networks will supersede 3G. The fourth-generation technology supports broadly
similar goals to the third-generation effort, but starts with the assumption that future
networks will be entirely packet-switched using protocols evolved from those in use in
today’s Internet. Today’s Internet telephony systems are the foundation for the applications
that will be used in the future to deliver innovative telephony services.

Abbreviations

PCS Personal Communication System

GPRS General Packet Radio Service

HSCSD High Speed Circuit Switched Data

IMT-2000 Standard for 3G

ITU International Telecommunications Union

MS Mobile Station

GERAN GSM / EDGE Radio Access Network

ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute(3GPP)

MCS Modulation Coding Scheme

LA Link Adaptation

3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

TDMA Time Division Multiple Access

WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access

EGPRS EDGE General Packet Radio Service

GMSK Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying

SGSN Serving GPRS support node

MSC Mobile switching center

ECSD Enhanced Circuit-Switched Data

GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node

HLR Home Location Register

References :
[1] www.3gpp.com
[2] www.nokia.com
[3] www.gsmdata.com
[4] www.ericson.com
[5] www.mobilegprs.com/edge.htm
[6] www.wikipedia.org/wiki/EDGE
[7] www.siemens.ie/mobile/technologies/edge.html
[8] GSM, GPRS Performance AND EDGE.
By
-Timo Halonen
Nokia.
-Javier Romero and Juan Melero
TarTec.
[9] K. Zangi, A. Furuskar, and M. Hook, “EDGE: Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution
of GSM and IS-136,” Proc. Multi-Dimensional Mobile Commun. 1998.