Architecture of

UMTS and Long Term Evolution

Christoph F. Mecklenbräuker
Vienna University of Technology

C 801 (Block C, 8 etage)

Fakulta elektrotechniky a informatiky (FEI STU)

Bratislava, March 11, 2010

1. History and UMTS overview

  Evolution GSM - UMTS - LTE in a nutshell

-  Frequency Re-use
-  Radio Access Network Architecture
-  Modulation

  History

  From voice towards the mobile Internet

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GSM Network Architecture

MS Mobile Station
BTS Base Transceiver Station
BSC Base Station Switching Centre
MSC Mobile Switching Centre

GSM Radio Access Network topology is a tree

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GSM Network Architecture

MS Mobile Station
BTS Base Transceiver Station
BSC Base Station Switching Centre
MSC Mobile Switching Centre

GSM Radio Access employs hard handovers

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GSM Network Architecture

MS Mobile Station
BTS Base Transceiver Station
BSC Base Station Switching Centre
MSC Mobile Switching Centre

GSM Radio Access Network is based on ATM

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GSM Frequency Re-use

Frequency planning is a must

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In GSM, typically N=13 or N=17 6
GSM Channel

Bandwidth 0,2 MHz

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 GSM Time-Slot („Burst“) Structure

577 µs

symbols: 3 58 26 58 3

mid-
data amble data

tail bits tail bits

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 GSM Modulation (GMSK)

I-Phase

3.7 µs

Q-Phase

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 UMTS Network Architecture

Node B Base Station

UMTS Radio Access RNC Radio Network Controller
MSC Mobile Switching Center
Network is a mesh PSTN Public Services Telecommunications Network
SGSN Servicing GPRS Switching Node
GGSN Gateway GPRS Switching Node
UE User Equipment / Mobile Station
UTRAN UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
CN Core Network
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 UMTS Network Architecture

Node B Base Station

UMTS Radio Access RNC Radio Network Controller
MSC Mobile Switching Center
employs soft handover PSTN Public Services Telecommunications Network
SGSN Servicing GPRS Switching Node
GGSN Gateway GPRS Switching Node
UE User Equipment / Mobile Station
UTRAN UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
CN Core Network
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 UMTS Network Architecture

Node B Base Station

UMTS Radio Access RNC Radio Network Controller
MSC Mobile Switching Center
Network evolves towards PSTN Public Services Telecommunications Network
SGSN Servicing GPRS Switching Node
an All-IP infrastructure GGSN Gateway GPRS Switching Node
UE User Equipment / Mobile Station
UTRAN UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
CN Core Network
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UMTS Frequency Re-use

Re-Use Factor 1

In a 3G cellular network neighbouring

cells can operate on the same carrier
frequency. When configuring a 3G
network, frequency planning is not
needed. (Other planning is needed!)
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UMTS Channel

Raised cosine spectrum, roll-off = 0.22

3,84 MHz

Power Spectral Density

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UMTS Modulation (4n - QAM)

4-QAM 16-QAM 64-QAM

2b/symbol 4b/symbol 6b/symbol

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 UMTS Long Term Evolution:
Evolved UMTS Radio Access Network

S1
S1

S1 S1

X2

eNode B eNode B
X2 X2

The Radio Access Network

becomes even more meshy eNode B

11 March 2010 cfm Source: LTE Forum 2007 @ R&S, München 16

 Evolved UMTS Radio Access Network

e
X2

X2

X2

eNodeBB
Node Evolved Node B (UMTS LTE Base Station)
Base Station
RNC Radio Network Controller
MSC Mobile Switching Center
PSTN Public Services Telecommunications Network
SGSN Servicing GPRS Switching Node
The Radio Access Network GGSN Gateway GPRS Switching Node
becomes even more meshy UE User Equipment / Mobile Station
UTRAN UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
CN Core Network
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 Evolved UMTS Radio Access Network

e
X2

X2

X2

LTE does not employ eNodeBB

Node
RNC
Evolved Node B (UMTS LTE Base Station)
Base Station
Radio Network Controller
soft handover MSC
PSTN
Mobile Switching Center
Public Services Telecommunications Network
LTE employs fractional SGSN
GGSN
Servicing GPRS Switching Node
Gateway GPRS Switching Node
frequency re-use UE
UTRAN
User Equipment / Mobile Station
UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
CN Core Network
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 Evolved UMTS Radio Access Network

e
X2

X2

X2

LTE architecture is eNodeBB

Node
RNC
Evolved Node B (UMTS LTE Base Station)
Base Station
Radio Network Controller
based on IPv6 MSC
PSTN
Mobile Switching Center
Public Services Telecommunications Network
SGSN Servicing GPRS Switching Node
GGSN Gateway GPRS Switching Node
UE User Equipment / Mobile Station
UTRAN UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
CN Core Network
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 UMTS LTE Frequency Re-use

Fractional Re-Use: Users near the base station re-use

the same frequencies (OFDM sub-carriers), whereas
users at the cell boarder are allocated to sub-carriers
in a co-ordinated manner between base stations to
minimize interference
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 UMTS LTE Frequency Re-use

Fractional Re-Use:
Users near the base
station re-use the same
frequencies (OFDM sub-
carriers), whereas users
at the cell boarder are
allocated to sub-carriers
in a co-ordinated
manner

example

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 UMTS LTE Frequency Re-use

Fractional Re-Use:
Users near the base
station re-use the same
frequencies (OFDM sub-
carriers), whereas users
at the cell boarder are
allocated to sub-carriers
in a co-ordinated
manner

example

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UMTS LTE is based on Orthogonal Frequency
Division Modulation

11 March 2010 cfm Source: 3GPP 23

From 2G to 3G

  GSM cellular system

1.  Static frequency planning: frequency re-use >> 1
2.  Hard Handover
3.  Network provides a constant bit-rate for a link and
employs Tx power control to achieve this
4.  Other mobile stations and base stations in the
system are considered as „noise“
  UMTS cellular system (Release 4)
1.  No frequency planning: frequency re-use = 1
2.  Soft Handover
3.  Network provides a constant bit-rate for a link and
employs Tx power control to achieve this
4.  Other mobile stations and base stations in the
system are considered as „noise“
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3.5G

  High Speed Downlink Packet Access

-  No frequency planning: frequency re-use = 1
-  Network provides constant Tx power to all links and
adapts the coding and modulation
-  Other mobile stations and base stations in the
system are still considered as noise, but a smart
scheduler can minimize the mutual interference in a
single cell
-  MIMO is an optional add-on

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From 3.9G to 4G

  4G
-  OFDM
-  Cooperative communications
-  Base station cooperation
-  Ad hoc MIMO relaying
-  Cognitive radio in the spatial domain
-  Multiuser MIMO techniques are integrated
-  Interference management
-  Interference alignment
-  Network coordinates the radio resource access, coding,
and modulation among interfering links.
-  and more new stuff

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Take home messages

  Circuit switched domain phases out in favour

of packet switching
  Hierarchical (centralised) architectures are
sacrificed in favour of flatter hierarchies
  Dynamic online-optimisation replaces static
network radio resource planning
  Computational intelligence moves from the
center of the network to the edge nodes
  Radio resource management strategies have
become key intellectual property

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 UMTS History in a nutshell

  1970s : 2GHz spectrum reserved for FPLMTS

  1990s : ITU-T defines system requirements
for IMT-2000.
-  ACTS 90 „FRAMES“ project defines 3 radio interfaces
-  FMA1 ... TDMA
-  FMA1+ ... TD-CDMA
-  FMA2 ... WCDMA (DS-CDMA)
-  ETSI defines simulation requirements: „UMTS 30.03“
-  ETSI SMG evaluates 5 proposals: α β γ δ ε
-  α became known as UMTS FDD
-  δ became known as UMTS TDD
-  γ was based on OFDMA (yes indeed!)
-  ETSI hands over responsibility to 3GPP
www.itu.int
www.etsi.org
www.3gpp.org
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IMT-2000 Family

  UMTS FDD + TDD (GSM/EDGE successor)

  cdma2000 (MC-CDMA: IS-95 successor)

  IS-136 (TDMA: IS-54, DECT successor)

  PHS successor

  WiMax (IEEE 802.16e is in the family since Sep‘07)

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UMTS / IMT-2000 Band

  1900-2200MHz available for use by IMT-2000.

  This was defined by the World Radio Conference 2000.

  Reference date by which the additional spectrum should

become available for IMT-2000 is 1 January 2008.

  Source: www.rtr.at

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UMTS licenses after the auction
in Austria (Nov. 2000)

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UMTS / IMT-2000 Band (Austria, Sep 2008)

Source: www.rtr.at
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UMTS Extension Band (Auction in Fall 2009)

  2500-2690MHz available for use by IMT-2000.

  This was defined by the World Radio Conference 2000.

  Reference date by which the additional spectrum should

become available for IMT-2000 is 1 January 2008.

Source: www.rtr.at
  Status in Austria is currently “t.b.d.”
  For details see http://www.rtr.at/de/komp/
Konsult_FqNutzung_St

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UMTS Releases

  Release 99
-  3GPP Release 99 contains a couple of serious bugs
-  A debugged 3GPP R’99 is in operation in Japan („FOMA“)
  Release 4
-  Approximately what you get today (2004)
-  Rake receivers, 2x1 Alamouti, selective repeat ARQ
  Release 5
-  HSDPA (commercially marketed in Austria, March 2006)
-  All-IP networking as an option
  Release 6
-  All-IP networking
  Release 7
-  MIMO extensions, 4 Tx antennas
  Release 8
-  64-QAM

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UMTS Modulation (FDD + TDD)

cos(ωt)

Re{.} Pulse-
Complex-valued Split shaping
chip sequence real &
from spreading imag.
parts Im{.} Pulse-
operations
shaping

−sin(ωt)

Modulation chip rate: 3.84 Mcp/s

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Pulse Shaping (FDD + TDD)
root raised cosine pulse
roll-off = 0.22

chip durations Power Spectral Density

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High Speed Downlink Packet Access

Copyright © Nokia Corporation 2002

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HSDPA and DPCH Channels
Copyright © Nokia Corporation 2002

DPCH – Dedicated Physical Ch. (Release 99)

HS-DSCH – Downlink Shared Channel (consist of up to 15
PDSCH, 1 is reserved for DPCH)
HS-PDSCH – High Speed Phy. Downlink Shared Ch. (SF=16)
HS-SCCH – High Speed Shared Control Ch. (SF=128)
HS-DPCCH – Dedicated Physical Control Ch. (SF=256)
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 HSDPA (W-CDMA) vs. 1xEV-DV (cdma2000)

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http://www.umtsworld.com/technology/hsdpa.htm 39
HSDPA Features

  Adaptive modulation

  Adaptive rate matching („adaptive coding“)

-  Smooth trade-off between data rate and QoS

  Shared medium access control in Node B.

-  This enables fast multi-user scheduling

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