Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

Abstract

The concept of multiple cell cites started with the first generation (1G) of cellular
technology. Though it was just the analog service with the use of higher frequency to
modulate the signal, it truly made communication device mobile. With the start of the
second generation (2G), cellular technology shifted itself to digital approach that
included digital encryption of voice hence increasing security. 2G also introduced
Short Messaging Service (SMS). GPRS service also started and was termed as 2.5G.
With the release of third generation (3G) cellular technology was no longer just about
voice calls and SMS. The mobile devices now started to connect with the internet and
also got enhanced on security and privacy. LTE (Long Term Evolution) started with
3G technology but it’s said to be the fourth generation (4G). To be a new generation
of cellular technology the difference should be that the latest and previous technology
doesn’t share backward compatibility. So LTE over the same service provider is
termed as evolved 3G service but it’s marketed as 4G LTE. Justification of LTE to be
4G technology is that it is a fully packet based service which was not so in any of the
previous generation. Though 3G supports the packet data through HSPA and other
technology circuit switching mechanism is used for all the voice data. Most
distinctive feature of LTE is the ultra broadband internet connection that’s meant to
revolutionize the mobile device.

LTE has evolved with the promises of increased downlink and uplink peak data rates,
scalable bandwidth of 1.4 to 20 MHz, improved spectral efficiency and most
important of all delayed latency which is scaled down to less than 10ms. Use of
OFDMA and MIMO technology provides an improved performance for the LTE
service. And to incorporate the high speed and low latency LTE has evolved new
system architecture which is generalized as System Architecture Evolution (SAE).
New interface such as S1 and X2 are developed for the interconnection of evolved
Nodes and service gateways or between evolved Nodes.

Porting the LTE services to the conventional 3G network is more of a technological

hitch. LTE is fully packet based and it tries to make circuit switching a history in
cellular technology. Some methods are devised to attempt to port the services which

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are VoLTE (Voice over LTE), CSFB (Circuit Switched Fallback), and SVLTE
(Simultaneous Voice and LTE).

Of all the things mentioned about LTE, it is obvious that LTE is the technology of
tomorrow. Incorporating everything with packet based network it has just proven
itself to be a new improved window to access internet with ultra high speed providing
not just simple user experience that were mere attempt of 3G technology but to
provide a real life experience of virtual cyber space that modern mankind has created.

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Contents
Abstract..........................................................................................................................1
Generations of Mobile Phones.......................................................................................4
First Generation..........................................................................................................4
Second Generation.....................................................................................................4
Third Generation........................................................................................................5
Fourth Generation......................................................................................................5
LTE – Long Term Evolution..........................................................................................7
Background................................................................................................................7
Objective of LTE........................................................................................................7
Overview of the LTE Standard..................................................................................8
LTE’s Evolution.........................................................................................................8
3GPP LTE technologies...........................................................................................10
OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex)...........................................10
MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output..............................................................10
SAE (System Architecture Evolution).................................................................10
Spectrum Flexibility.................................................................................................11
Network Architecture of LTE..................................................................................12
eNode B................................................................................................................13
The S1 Interface...................................................................................................14
The X2 Interface..................................................................................................15
Compatibility of LTE with existing Network..........................................................16
VoLTE (Voice over LTE)....................................................................................16
CSFB (Circuit Switched Fallback).......................................................................16
SVLTE (Simultaneous Voice and LTE)..............................................................16

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Generations of Mobile Phones

First Generation

The first generation of wireless telephone technology and mobile telecommunications

was introduced in the 1980′s, 1G networks used analog signals, as opposed to digital
signals used by all the successive generations of mobile technologies. In 1G network,
voice calls were simply modulated to a higher frequency, typically to 150MHz and
up. The first commercially available cellular network using 1G standard was
introduced by NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) in 1979 in Japan. The main
technological development that distinguished the First Generation mobile phones
from the previous generation was the use of multiple cell sites, and the ability to
transfer calls from one site to the next as the user travelled between cells during a
conversation.

Second Generation

The second generation allowed for enhanced data services and also introduced short
messaging service (SMS). Since the introduction of 2G, voice communications were
digitally encrypted. This allowed for greater privacy, efficient data transfer and also
less expensive equipment. Two revisions or additions to this generation are sometimes
referred to 2.5G and 2.75G. The combined introduction of GPRS (General Packet
Radio Services) and the usage of CDMAone [1] networks collectively came to be
known as 2.5G. GPRS provided data transfer rates from 56-115kbit/s. So, services
like WAP [2](Wireless Application Protocol) and MMS [ 3] (Multimedia Messaging)
1
CDMAone : Brand name for the IS-95 standard for mobile communications. The first version, IS-
95A, has very limited abilities for data communications. The maximum data rate is 14.4 kbit/s. IS-
95B extended the data communication abilities to packet switching with a maximum data rate of in
theory 115 kbit/s, and in practice of around 64 kbit/s. CDMA One makes use of radio channels with a
bandwidth of 1.25 MHz in the 850 and 1900 MHz band.
2
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a technical standard for accessing information over a
mobile wireless network. A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile
phones that uses the protocol.
3
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is a standard way to send messages that
include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS (Short Message
Service) capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length.

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were introduced, along with Internet services. 2.75G was the name given to the
evolution of EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) or Enhanced GPRS
(EGPRS). This was due to the introduction of 8PSK [ 4] encoding, which facilitated
higher data transfer rates of up to 236.8kbits/s, almost triple of the previous rates. This
is the most widely used generation of mobile telecommunication networks. 2G was
commercially launched for the GSM standard in 1991 by Radiolinja, currently known
as Elisa Oyj, in Finland.

Third Generation

3G was initially limited in scope, it was a leap forward. 3G used completely different
radio frequencies from 2G, so it required different equipment to achieve the new high
data transfer rates. 3G data transfer rates are 384kbits/s to 2Mbits/s, so it allows for
previously unavailable services like video calls, video conferencing, online
conference call, mobile TV, online gaming etc. These speeds are broadband
equivalent, so the applications and capabilities are enhanced greatly. Along with these
services, 3G provides greater security and privacy. As with 2G, minor evolution of the
standards resulted in 3.5G and 3.75G. Again, these standards allowed for higher data
transfer rates, exceeding 2Mbits/s, reaching about 14Mbits/s.3G was introduced by
NTT DoCoMo in Japan, in 2001.

Fourth Generation

4G is a successor of the third generation (3G) standards. A 4G system

provides mobile ultra-broadband Internet access, for example to laptops
with USB wireless modems, to smart phones, and to other mobile devices.
Conceivable applications include amended mobile web access, IP telephony, gaming
services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing and 3D television. Recently,
Android, apple and Windows-enabled cellular devices have fallen in the 4G category.

Two 4G candidate systems are commercially deployed: the Mobile WiMAX standard

(at first in South Korea in 2006), and the first-release Long Term Evolution (LTE)

4
8PSK: The “PSK” in 8PSK refers to the use of Phased Shift Keying. Phased Shift Keying is a form of
phase modulation which is accomplished by the use of a discrete number of states. 8PSK refers to PSK
with 8 states.

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

standard (in Scandinavia since 2009). It has however been debated if these first-
release versions should be considered as 4G or not.

Figure 1. Generations of Cellular Network

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

LTE – Long Term Evolution

Background

As we have seen there has been a massive increase in the data carried by the cellular
services and this will become even greater in the upcoming future. This phenomenon
is termed as ‘Data Explosion’. To cater for this and the increased demands for
increased data transmission speeds and lower latency, further development of cellular
technology have been required. The technology hence introduces is termed as LTE
(Long term Evolution). It is based on the GSM/EDGE [5] and UMTS/HSPA
[6] network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed using a different radio
interface together. The standard is developed by the 3GPP (3rd Generation
Partnership Project).

Prior to LTE, people send e-mails or browse the internet using high speed packet
access (HSPA) using HSPA. With LTE, the optimum usage of these techniques can
be obtained. The user experience such as mobile video, interactive TV and advanced
games is enhanced much further.

Objective of LTE
 The following are the main objectives for LTE.
 Increased downlink and uplink peak data rates.
 Scalable bandwidth
 Improved spectral efficiency
 All IP network
 A standard’s based interface that can support a multitude of user types.

5
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) is a digital mobile phone technology that allows
improved data transmission rates as a backward-compatible extension of GSM. EDGE is considered a
pre-3G radio technology and is part of ITU's 3Gdefinition. EDGE was deployed on GSM networks
beginning in 2003 – initially by Cingular (now AT&T) in the United States.
6
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular
system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd
Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the International Telecommunications
Union IMT-2000 standard set and compares with the CDMA2000 standard set for networks based on
the competing cdmaOne technology. UMTS uses Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-
CDMA) radio access technology to offer greater spectral efficiency and bandwidth to mobile network
operators.

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

Overview of the LTE Standard

 Efficient spectrum utilization

 Flexible spectrum allocation
 Reduced cost for the operator
 Improved system capacity and coverage
 Higher data rate with reduced latency

Some specific targets set for LTE are listed below:

 Increased peak data rate:100Mbps for DL with 20MHz (2 Rx Antenna at UE),

50Mbps for UL with 20MHz
 Improved spectral efficiency: 5bps/Hz for DL and 2.5bps/Hz for UL
 Improved cell edge performance (in terms of bit rate)
 Reduced latency:

LTE’s Evolution

Figure 2. Evolution of LTE

LTE – Long Term Evolution is one of the latest communication technology that is
currently being tested and deployed. LTE falls under 3G dubbed as 3.99G and LTE-
Advanced is 4G compliant. 3GPP Release 8 defines the standards for LTE and
Release 10 pertains to defining the standards for LTE-Advanced. LTE was formulated
as a result of study on e-UTRA(Universal Terrestrial Radio Access) [ 7] done by

7
e-UTRA is the air interface of 3GPP's Long Term Evolution (LTE) upgrade path for mobile
networks. It is a radio access network standard meant to be a replacement of the
UMTS, HSDPA and HSUPA technologies specified in 3GPP releases 5 and beyond. Unlike HSPA,
LTE's E-UTRA is an entirely new air interface system, unrelated to and incompatible with 

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

3GPP. LTE is considered as the evolution of universal mobile telephone system

(UMTS), hence LTE’s equivalent components are thus named evolved UMTS
terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) and evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network
(EUTRAN). All these terms are used to describe RAN (Radio Access Network)
which stands between mobile station (MS) on one side and the core network (CN) on
the other side.

The aim of 3GPP is to meet the needs for fast data transport media as well as support
higher voice capacity. The requirements of the next generation networks is targeted
by LTE within peak of more than 100 Mbps for downlink, 50 Mbps for uplink and
less than 10 ms for radio access network (RAN) round-trip time (RTT). LTE supports
flexible bandwidth from 1.4 up to 20 MHz for both frequency division duplex (FDD)
[8] and time division duplex (TDD) [9].

WCDM HSPA HSPA+ LTE

A HSDPA /
(UMTS) HSUPA

Max downlink speed 384 k 14 M 28 M 100M

bps
Max uplink speed 128 k 5.7 M 11 M 50 M
bps
Latency 150 ms 100 ms 50ms ~10 ms
round trip time (max)
approx
3GPP releases Rel Rel 5 / 6 Rel 7 Rel 8
99/4
Approx years of initial 2003 / 2005 / 6 2008 / 9 2009 / 10
roll out 4 HSDPA
2007 / 8
HSUPA
Access methodology CDMA CDMA CDMA OFDMA / SC-
FDMA

8
Frequency-division duplexing (FDD) means that the transmitter and receiver operate at
different carrier frequencies. The term is frequently used in ham radio (Amateur radio) operation,
where an operator is attempting to contact a repeater station. The station must be able to send and
receive a transmission at the same time, and does so by slightly altering the frequency at which it sends
and receives.
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Time-division duplexing (TDD) is the application of time-division multiplexing to separate outward
and return signals. It emulates full duplex communication over a half duplex communication link.
Time-division duplexing has a strong advantage in the case where there is asymmetry of
the uplink and downlink data rates

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

3GPP LTE technologies

LTE has introduced a number of new technologies when compared to the previous
cellular systems. They enable LTE to be able to operate more efficiently with respect
to the use of spectrum, and also to provide the much higher data rates that are being
required.

OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex)

OFDM technology has been incorporated into LTE because it enables high data
bandwidths to be transmitted efficiently while still providing a high degree of
resilience to reflections and interference. The access schemes differ between the
uplink and downlink: OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access is
used in the downlink; while SC-FDMA(Single Carrier - Frequency Division Multiple
Access) is used in the uplink. SC-FDMA is used in view of the fact that its peak to
average power ratio is small and the more constant power enables high RF power
amplifier efficiency in the mobile handsets - an important factor for battery power
equipment. 

MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output)

One of the main problems that previous telecommunications systems has encountered
is that of multiple signals arising from the many reflections that are encountered. By
using MIMO, these additional signal paths can be used to advantage and are able to be
used to increase the throughput.
When using MIMO, it is necessary to use multiple antennas to enable the different
paths to be distinguished. Accordingly schemes using 2 x 2, 4 x 2, or 4 x 4 antenna
matrices can be used. While it is relatively easy to add further antennas to a base
station, the same is not true of mobile handsets, where the dimensions of the user
equipment limit the number of antennas which should be place at least a half
wavelength apart. 

SAE (System Architecture Evolution)

With the very high data rate and low latency requirements for LTE, it is necessary to
evolve the system architecture to enable the improved performance to be achieved.

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

One change is that a number of the functions previously handled by the core network
have been transferred out to the periphery. Essentially this provides a much "flatter"
form of network architecture. In this way latency times can be reduced and data can
be routed more directly to its destination.

Spectrum Flexibility

One important part of the LTE requirements in terms of spectrum flexibility is the
possibility to deploy LTE-based radio access in both paired and unpaired spectrum.
Therefore, LTE supports both frequency and time-division-based duplex
arrangements. Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) implies that downlink and uplink
transmission take place in different, sufficiently separated, frequency bands. Time
Division Duplex (TDD) implies that downlink and uplink transmission take place in
different, non-overlapping time slots. Thus, TDD can operate in unpaired spectrum,
whereas FDD requires paired spectrum. Related to the possibility to deploy the LTE
radio access in different frequency bands is the possibility of being able to operate
LTE with different transmission bandwidths on both downlink and uplink. The main
reason for this is that the amount of spectrum being available for LTE may vary
significantly between different frequency bands and also depending on the exact
situation of the operator. Furthermore, the possibility to operate in different spectrum
allocations gives the possibility for gradual migration of spectrum from other radio
access technologies to LTE. The basic radio access specification including the
physical-layer and protocol specifications, allows for any transmission bandwidth
ranging from roughly 1.4 MHz up to around 20 MHz.

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

Network Architecture of LTE

The E-UTRAN uses a simplified single node architecture consisting of the eNBs (E-
UTRAN Node B). The eNB communicates with the Evolved Packet Core (EPC)
using the S1 interface; specifically with the MME [10]  (Mobility Management  Entity)
and the UPE (User Plane Entity) identified as S-GW (Serving Gateway)[ 11 ] using S1-
C and S1-U for control plane and user plane respectively. The MME and the UPE are
preferably implemented as separate network nodes so as to facilitate independent
scaling of the control and user plane. Also the eNB communicates with other eNB
using the X2 interface (X2-C and X2-U for control and user plane respectively).

Figure 3. LTE Architecture

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MME (Mobility management Entity) manages and stores UE context (for idle state: UE/user
identities, UE mobility state, user security parameters). It generates temporary identities and allocates
them to UEs. It checks the authorization whether the UE may camp on the TA or on the PLMN. It also
authenticates the user. 
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Serving Gateway: The SGW routes and forwards user data packets, while also acting as the mobility
anchor for the user plane during inter-eNB handovers and as the anchor for mobility between LTE and
other 3GPP technologies (terminating S4 interface and relaying the traffic between 2G/3G systems and
PDN GW).

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

LTE supports an option of Multicast/Broadcast over a Single Frequency Network

(MBSFN), where a common signal is transmitted from multiple cells with appropriate
time synchronization. The eNB being the only entity of the E-UTRAN supports all the
functions in a typical radio network such as Radio Bearer control, Mobility
management, Admission control and scheduling. The Access Stratum resides
completely at the eNB.

Figure 4. Functional Split between E-UTRAN and EPC[ 3GPP TS 36.300]

eNode B

Functional definition eNodeB as WLAN access points – support all Layer 1 and
Layer 2 features associated to the E-UTRAN OFDM physical interface, and they are
directly connected to network routers. This has the advantage of simpler network
architecture (fewer nodes of different types, which means simplified network
operation) and allows better performance over the radio interface. The termination of

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

Layer 2 protocols in eNodeB rather than in the RNC helps to decrease data-
transmission latency by saving the delay incurred by the transmission of packet
repetitions. From a functional perspective, the eNodeB supports a set of legacy
features, all related to physical layer procedures for transmission and reception over
the radio interface:

 Modulation and de-modulation.

 Channel coding and de-coding.

Besides, the eNodeB includes additional features, coming from the fact that there are
no more Base Station controllers in the E-UTRAN architecture. Those features
include the following:

 Radio Resource Control: this relates to the allocation, modification and

release of resources for the transmission over the radio interface between the
user terminal and the eNodeB.

 Radio Mobility management: this refers to a measurement processing and

handover decision.

 Radio interface full Layer 2 protocol: in the OSI ‘Data Link’ way, the layer 2
purpose is to ensure transfer of data between network entities. This implies
detection and possibly correction of errors that may occur in the physical
layer.

The S1 Interface
S1 is a standardized interface between eNB and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) [ 12].
S1 has two flavors, S1-MME for exchange of signaling messages between the eNB
and the MME and S1-U for the transport of user datagrams between the eNB and the
Serving Gateway (S-GW).

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EPC: The EPC (Evolved Packet Core) is composed of several functional entities:
 The MME (Mobility Management Entity)
 The HSS (Home Subscriber Server)
 The Serving Gateway.
 The PDN Gateway (Packet Data Network).
 The PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function) Server.

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

The X2 Interface

A new interface (X2) has been defined between eNodeB, working in a meshed way
(meaning that all Node Bs may possibly be linked together). The main purpose of this
interface is to minimize packet loss due to user mobility. As the terminal moves
across the access network, unsent or unacknowledged packets stored in the old
eNodeB queues can be forwarded or tunneled to the new eNodeB thanks to the X2
interface. 

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

Compatibility of LTE with existing Network

The LTE standard only supports packet switching with its all-IP network. Voice calls
in GSM, UMTS and CDMA2000 are circuit switched, so with the adoption of LTE,
carriers will have to re-engineer their voice call network. Three different approaches
sprang up:

VoLTE (Voice over LTE)

This approach is based on the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network, with specific

profiles for control and media planes of voice service on LTE defined by GSMA in
PRD IR.92. This approach results in the voice service (control and media planes)
being delivered as data flows within the LTE data bearer. This means that there is no
dependency on (or ultimately, requirement for) the legacy Circuit Switch voice
network to be maintained.

CSFB (Circuit Switched Fallback)

In this approach, LTE just provides data services, and when a voice call is to be
initiated or received, it will fall back to the CS domain. When using this solution,
operators just need to upgrade the MSC instead of deploying the IMS, and therefore,
can provide services quickly. However, the disadvantage is longer call setup delay.

SVLTE (Simultaneous Voice and LTE)

In this approach, the handset works simultaneously in the LTE and CS modes, with
the LTE mode providing data services and the CS mode providing the voice service.
This is a solution solely based on the handset, which does not have special
requirements on the network and does not require the deployment of IMS either. The
disadvantage of this solution is that the phone can become expensive with high power
consumption.

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Paper on Long Term Evolution (LTE)

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