Defining End-User Requirements

The ITU has established that applications offered via next-generation mobile broadband (4G) networks should be available taking account of various market-driven requirements. To recap, these include: Affordability users will only buy mobile services that are affordable, given their individual economic circumstances Speed applications such as wireless video will need networks that are fast enough to deliver acceptable performance in terms of anytime, anywhere availability in a manner that is transparent to the end-user Convergence applications will need to be available across multiple networks and devices, including across voice/data networks, fixed/mobile infrastructure and communicationscentric/applications-centric devices or terminals Personalization increasingly, users will value the ability to tailor or customize their mobile services to their own requirements at any time and in any context, without having to subscribe to a standardized or packaged service Quality depending on the environment where the applications are used, different quality profiles may be required for the same service/user, while always maintaining an acceptable level of quality according to the application being used Simultaneity users may wish to use several applications at the same time (such as voice, photo upload and mapping information), and even across several synchronized devices, and the networks must be able to facilitate those requirements Context this means that the network must be aware of the environment within which the user is performing the various tasks undertaken, so that it automatically configures services in line with changing contexts rather than the user having to do this manually. The ITU considers that innovative 4G applications will develop in line with a number of market trends, some of which have already been observed as a result of 3G and 3.5G technology implementation, but which are expected to accelerate and prolife rate once 4G networks and related services are in place. These include: Personal and home networking applications that support the seamless transfer of information between devices that are connected around a user Intelligent transportation systems applications that improve the performance of transportation systems in relation to their context and environment Virtual communities applications that support interaction between individuals in a given context.

Other industry observers have noted that next-generation mobile broadband applications will only see rapid adoption by end-users if they allow: Control users need to be in control of their own application profile so that it can be adapted to their own personal requirements at all times Personalization users want to be able to tailor their use of mobile broadband services in line with their own profiles, rather than being told what to do by service providers Simplicity/ease-of-use the control and personalization of the user experience means that nextgeneration mobile broadband services must be much easier to use than previous iterations of mobile broadband Always-on capabilities this implies that the applications required by users must be available when they want them, and users increasingly will not wait for things to happen in the network before they can access what they want Transparency of pricing users do not want to pay for what they do not use but are prepared to pay for what they value. The language of mobile broadband pricing needs to change to reflect the value to customers so that it is clear what they are paying for Social portals one of the biggest drivers of usage of 3G/3.5G services was access to social networking pages such as Facebook and MySpace. Next-generation mobile broadband applications need to facilitate this interaction and expand it in line with the personalization and ease-of-use requirements outlined above.

LTE as an Applications Enabler To support user-determined, always-on, on-demand, intelligent and limitless access to mobile broadband applications the architecture of next-generation mobile broadband networks must support a lower cost per MB, as well as being highly scalable and flexible to support unpredictable user requirements. Furthermore, the network must support access to multiple types of content by many different types of device simultaneously.

Key to achieving these objectives is reducing network latency to support high data rate symmetrical user applications, as well as improving network efficiency so that the right amount of bandwidth is allocated to the right application at the right time.
In terms of supporting the development of next-generation applications, the service architecture of LTE provides a number of benefits, including: Interoperability with legacy systems - GERAN, UTRAN, 1xRTT and eHRDP - using different interoperability options depending on deployment conditions

 Vastly-reduced latency when compared with other 3GPP technologies, resulting in improved throughput to user devices, which enables the delivery of advanced applications such as streaming video Increased data rates in both the downlink and the uplink supporting symmetrical applications such as real-time interactive gaming Lower costs per MB due to the simplified network architecture, spectrum efficiencies and a global ecosystem for the design and development of network hardware and software Support of wider mobility, enabling the development of anywhere applications Scalable bandwidth utilization, enabling better allocation of bandwidth to user requirements and supporting an optimum user experience The potential for new revenue opportunities from new applications, such as telemetry. Furthermore, LTE chips will increasingly be embedded in a wide range of end-user devices, which will vastly increase the number of connected terminals. This will pave the way for next-generation machine-to-machine applications.

LTE Performance Criteria

Latency Comparison, LTE vs Other 3GPP Technologies

However, for LTE to become more than just a fast pipe and to deliver return on investment, it needs applications that will generate sufficient revenue to enable the business case for investment to be made. As Martin Creaner, the President and CTO of the TM Forum stated at a conference in 2009:

without new applications that take advantage of the capabilities of LTE, and their integration into the delivery and billing capabilities of the service provider, there will be no bonanza from LTE.

In the short-term, therefore, the business case for LTE will be driven more strongly by cost reduction rather than by the potential for revenue-generation, since there is a lack of understanding about what types of applications LTE can support. An operator mindset shift will be required to open up new business models that enable LTE to be fully-monetized. Drivers for LTE Applications At a mobile industry summit in late-2009, few operators suggested any new higher bandwidth services that would help them yield a return on investment in LTE. Telenor Swedens CEO, Lars-Ake Norling, said only that there was growing demand for sharing digital content in all forms, while TeliaSoneras Hallberg stressed the need for an open, rather than proprietary, business model for software and services. For LTE deliver its full benefits in terms of support to user-centric applications development, a major shift needs to take place in terms of the way applications are designed. Historically applications have been network- and access-centric; in future, they will need to become more usercentric, making the user experience relevant and supporting always-on, device-agnostic applications usage. Some industry observers refer to the concept of ambient intelligence, whereby the network(s) and related services act as an agent for each individuals behaviour, enabling the most appropriate experience to be provided in an intelligent manner, in line with the users context and circumstances.

Although it is extremely difficult at this early stage to categorize the types of applications that will emerge on LTE, several distinct trends will influence next-generation mobile applications development, including: Common, access-independent Internet applications will replace silos for mobile applications and residential applications Web 2.0 applications empower users to participate in communities, generate content and interact in virtual worlds and this will increase the requirement for greater uplink capabilities Streaming services that deliver individual video content on demand and mobile TV on demand are emerging as a favoured application Mobile, interactive remote gaming and real-time gaming will undoubtedly become a major industry in its own right Mobile office comprising smart phones, notebooks, ubiquitous broadband access and advanced security solutions will free business users from their office desk. What the LTE killer applications will be remains open to debate, even though early network deployments were already under way in 2010.

Ultimately, the success of LTE applications will not be dependent on the underlying technology itself. The widespread availability of LTE networks is just one piece of the jigsaw. The monetization of those networks will depend more on: Overall user value perception (am I paying more than I need to for my mobile broadband application?) User experience (does my mobile broadband do what it says it will do and does it make my life richer?) Financial investment (which players will take the lead and what returns are available?) Development of new partnerships, models and relationships in a broader ecosystem (open applications development) Wholesale of network assets such as identity and location to third parties (enabling new types of applications based on services resident in the network) Availability across a multiplicity of devices (always-on availability) Chipset cost curve (affordability of and other equipment to end users) Pricing and promotional activities (positioning LTE applications in terms of user experience and benefits, not in terms of network technologies).

The potential list of voice-based applications is limitless but includes: Voice telephony person-to-person talking, emergency calling, closed user-group calling Video communications videoconferencing, video telephony, remote collaboration, virtual learning applications, virtual health applications

4G Conversational Applications and Service Classes There is little doubt that voice itself will remain the most popular mobile application for large segments of customers for several years to come. How soon some of the more advanced rich conversational applications put forward by the ITU come to fruition after LTE networks become more widely available will depend on user perceptions of the value they receive from such applications, and on the business models that will emerge for the monetization of advanced mobile broadband applications. There is one major problem with voice in the LTE environment. Since LTE is an all-IP architecture, it is not designed to support legacy circuit-switched voice, and voice (and SMS) must be implemented over the packet network. This is a significant stumbling-block for the deployment of LTE, since operators revenue mix will be dominated by CS voice for the foreseeable future and the lack of an explicitly-defined voice and SMS service in LTE is seen as a limitation to network deployment, particularly for operators who are considering skipping a technology generation and migrating straight to LTE. Furthermore, over-the-top VoIP providers (for example, Skype) may be

able to gain an early advantage over operators that are focused on protecting protect their CS voice revenues. Operators have differing, very strong opinions about how to carry voice over LTE networks. There are several ways to achieve this, including Circuit-Switched Fallback (CSFB), VoLGA (Voice-overLTE Generic Access) and Voice-over-IMS, which is supported by the One Voice group of companies. Most vendors agree that ultimately, the best way to carry voice over an LTE network will be to use IMS architecture. Going directly for IMS is the best method of delivering high quality of service, reliability and availability when moving from existing circuit-switched telephony services to IPbased LTE services. At some future point in time, operators will migrate to LTE and then IMS, based on their regional competitive and business circumstances. In the meantime, in the absence of widespread IMS implementation other than by the wealthiest Tier One operators, the debate centers on the need for an interim solution, with VoLGA and CSFB the hottest contenders. CS Fallback (CSFB) CSFB is the most widely-supported interim solution for carrying voice over LTE networks, and also carries SMS. CSFB is likely to be popular with operators because it does not require extra investment beyond the installation of an LTE data network. CSFB has been specified in 3GPP Rel. 8 under TS 23.272. CSFB enables the provisioning of voice and other CS-domain services (e.g. CS UDI video/ LCS/USSD) by the re-use of CS infrastructure when the UE is served by e-UTRAN via LTE. A CSFB-enabled terminal connected to LTE may use GERAN or UTRAN to connect to the CS-domain. CSFB and IMS-based services are designed to co-exist within an operators network. CSFB requires that the MME is connected to the MSC Server via the SGS interface, the MME thus acts as an SGSN from the perspective of the MSC Server. When the UE first registers with the LTE network it will indicate that a combined update is required, this instructs the MME to pass the registration messages to the 2G/3G network. This method does not require major changes to the network architecture. For incoming CS calls, the MSC will signal the MME via the SGS interface, the paging message can then be forwarded directly to the UE if it is currently in an active state, otherwise an LTE paging procedure will be carried out and the CS paging information can be forwarded to the UE once the radio connection is re-established. The UE will then be required to select a 2G/3G cell, the eNB may instruct the UE to take measurements from the 2G/3G network in order to determine which cell to use or may blindly send instructions about a preconfigured cell, which may occur when the LTE and 2G/3G cells are colocated. The paging response from the UE is carried out in the new 2G/3G cell. Although CSFB seems to be favoured by many 3GPP members, at least in the short term, a number of disadvantages can be identified, such as:

 Poor user experience a longer call set-up delay is incurred than in 2G or 3G networks when the call falls back from the UE to the CS domain. Some estimates place this at around an additional 1.5 seconds to establish the call. Furthermore, there is increased potential for call/network drops due to the interworking between the packet-switched and circuit-switched environments Data session maintenance if the UE has an active data connection in LTE when the CS call arrives, the data session has to be suspended or handed over to the 2G/3G network, which introduces a level of complexity The cost and complexity of implementation and on-going maintenance of dual systems. The MSC network needs to be upgraded; MME and eNBs need to incorporate CSFB-only features; a new interface is required on the MSC and MME to support LTE paging; interoperability between MSCs and MMEs from different vendors may be an issue; and the switching between CS and PS domains requires additional signalling capacity CSFB is not considered to be a strategic choice, since it leads nowhere in terms of nextgeneration capabilities such as support for LTE femtocells, IMS telephony etc. Voice-over-LTE Generic Access (VoLGA) VoLGA is in many respects similar to the Generic Access Network (GAN) previously specified by the 3GPP, which enables WiFi to be added as an access network to 3GPP systems. In GAN, a dual-mode UE can access network services via the standard access network and also via WiFi. A network controller provides a secure connection to the operators network allowing voice and text calls to be made via the alternative radio access network (RAN). The VoLGA concept uses the principle of GAN but replaces WiFi with LTE. This feature was originally examined in 3GPP standard TR 23.879 and the VoLGA forum was created to encourage the development of detailed standards. The basic architecture specifies the VoLGA Access Network Controller (VANC), which connects the MSC devices in the CS network to the PDN-GW in the LTE EPC. The VANC transports both user data packets and signalling transparently from UE to the CS network. The VANC appears to be a BSC/RNC device from the point of view of the MSC and supports both the A and Iu interfaces, which means the MSC devices do not have to be modified. The UE will register with the MME on the LTE network and then establishes a connection with the VANC. The connection with the VANC can only be done if a suitable IP connection exists, e.g. the default bearer or some specific bearer used for the purpose. The host name (or IP address) of the VANC may be stored in the UE and DHCP principles can be used to resolve the IP address of the VANC. Once the IP address of the VANC is known, a secure IPsec connection is established. The VANC will authenticate the UE with the help of the HSS via the D interface. The UE is then able to register on the MSC using standard DTAP protocols. Both UE terminating and originating calls are carried out using the standard call protocols via the IPsec tunnel. The voice packets are delivered

over the LTE network via the RTP protocol to the VANC, the voice stream is then converted to ATMIP or TDM 64Kbps depending on the type of connection required. VoLGA supports QoS for voice calls by reusing IMS components to determine the manner in which the voice IP packets will be handled by the network nodes. The VANC will contact the Policy Charging Rule Function (PCRF) during the voice call setup and request that exchanges to and from certain IP addresses and UDP port numbers are given a higher priority over other packets. Based on the subscriber profile the request can be granted or denied. If the call is allowed to go ahead the PCRF will establish a secondary bearer through the LTE network with the corresponding QoS attributes. Handover to and from exiting CS networks is important, it is also a feature that may not be present for the over the top VoIP providers. The VoLGA handover mechanism is based on the Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC) specification. When the UE registers on the LTE network is will signal its SRVCC capability to the MME. The MME should then be aware that this procedure needs to be executed when the device leaves LTE coverage during an active bearer session. The eNB can indicate to the UE that is should take 2G/3G measurements for the handover and can instruct the UE to select a pre-configured cell. The MME will inform the VANC of the imminent handover via the Sv interface, including the target cell id, based on this information the MSC will prepare the handover in the standard fashion toward the new target BSC/BTS or RNC/NB. Again there are no modifications that need to be carried out to the existing MSC nodes. There are some advantages to VoLGA (say its proponents) including: Better user experience than with CSFB faster call set-up times than 2G/3G, full support of all voice features (including emergency calls and prepaid) Reduced cost and complexity when compared with CSFB bypasses the MSC, wide availability of the external controller from terminal equipment vendors Supports LTE femtocells voice remains native to the LTE environment Provides a better migration path to IMS. Voice-over-IMS (VoIMS) IMS offers a potential solution for voice in the LTE network, although IMS systems are not widelydeployed except among Tier 1 operators. IMS is an IP-based network based on the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which allows operators to deploy a diverse range of applications such as text, media, video and other communication applications on the basis of a single IP platform. The main platform in the IMS is referred to as the Call Session Control Function (CSCF) or SIP Server. The CSCF in the case of IMS supporting VoIP would act as the call control function during the voice call setup. IMS was originally conceived to be an IP-only deployment with no connection between the IP and CS networks, however this turned out to be less than practical. 3GPP has therefore included the

feature of Voice Call Continuity (VCC) which allows call to be handed over from CS to IP based networks. VoIP via IMS requires that the UE support an IMS (SIP) client on the handset or device. Many medium- to high-end smartphones do support the SIP protocol, however the operators would need to be more explicit in their support of the VoIP application and procedures.

Interactive Applications
Interactive applications are primarily characterized by a requirement for lower latency (delay), particularly when the interactivity requires an immediate response from the two connected devices or users. This means that higher throughput rates are required in both the uplink and the downlink, so that synchronicity can be achieved for those applications that require it. Interactive applications particularly Internet browsing, instant messaging, mobile e-mail and gaming are considered one of the strongest potential revenue drivers for LTE in the medium term, once the networks and devices are in place. The benefits of LTE in terms of speed, cost and flexibility will potentially allow applications developers to design a better user experience that will accelerate take-up of interactive applications based on LTE.

Streaming Applications

LTEs lower latency and higher throughput means that a new generation of streaming applications become possible. Support for real-time streaming to a number of different user environments will be characterized by true on-demand streaming of video services to multiple end-user devices, such as TV, mobile handsets, PC and other consumer devices etc., and this is expected to drive video traffic over LTE networks.

Background Applications The greater capacity and traffic prioritization inherent in LTE means that applications that in 2010 have required a large allocation of available bandwidth to function will be able to take place in the background, freeing up capacity for real-time applications and multi-tasking that enhance the users experience with LTE. For example, file uploads in 2010 could take several second to take place and degraded or even prevented the user experience of simultaneous interactions (such as messaging or a voice call), whereas with LTE a true on-demand experience can take place.