Whitepaper; MIMO and Smart Antennas for 3G and 4G Wireless Systems

3G Americas has published an educational white paper titled, MIMO and Smart Antennas for 3G and 4G Wireless Systems: Practical Aspects and Deployment Considerations. The report is a complete tutorial reference document that outlines the considerable importance of various smart antenna schemes for improving the capacity and coverage of the emerging generations of wireless networks.

With the rapid growth of wireless data traffic, now greatly exceeding voice traffic in many developed markets, operators are anxious to quickly expand the capacity and coverage of their wireless networks. To address these demands for increased capacity in a cost effective way, 3GPP standards have incorporated powerful techniques for using “smart antennas.”

“The gains in spectral efficiency being advanced by new wireless air interface technologies, such as LTE and LTE-Advanced, will be enabled by the application of MIMO and other smart antenna technologies,” stated Kevin Linehan, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer – Base Station Antenna Systems, Andrew Solutions. Linehan, one of the project leaders for the creation of the 3G Americas report continued, “It is critical that operators and others in the industry appreciate these advanced technologies and their practical application.”

The term smart antennas refers to adaptive array antennas – those with electrical tilt, beam width and azimuth control that can follow relatively slow-varying traffic patterns; intelligent antennas, which can form beams aimed at particular users or steer nulls to reduce interference; and MIMO antenna schemes, predominately featured in LTE and LTE-Advanced.

The white paper was created by a 3G Americas technical work group and concentrates on the practical aspects of antennas and their deployment for 3G and 4G wireless systems, specifically downlink antenna techniques available in 3GPP LTE Release 8. The comprehensive report highlights a substantial and growing body of theoretical and field experience that provides reliable guidance on the tradeoffs of various antenna configurations. Some of the areas addressed in the paper include:

• Smart antennas provide the next substantial increase in throughput for wireless networks. The peak data rates tend to be proportional to the number of send and receive antennas, so 4X4 MIMO is theoretically capable of twice the peak data rates as 2X2 MIMO systems. For another example, in upgrading from HSPA (1X2) to LTE (2X2) a gain of 1.6x is seen (Rysavy Research, 2009).
• The practical tradeoffs of performance with the realistic constraints on the types of antennas that can be realistically installed, cognizant of zoning, wind loading, size, weight and cabling challenges and constraints from legacy terminals and other equipment. Constraints are, of course, present in both the base station and the terminal side of the air interface, where MIMO technology promises useful gains if multiple antennas, amplifiers, receivers and baseband processing resources can be made available in terminals.
• Beyond the single antenna or beamforming array cases, 3GPP Release 8 of the LTE standard supports MIMO antenna configurations. This includes Single-User (SU-MIMO) protocols using either Open Loop or Closed-Loop modes as well as Transmit Diversity and MU-MIMO. Closed-Loop MIMO mode, which supports the highest peak data rates, is likely to be the most commonly used scheme in early deployments. However, this Closed-Loop MIMO scheme provides the best performance only when the channel information is accurate, when there is a rich multipath environment and is appropriate in low mobility environments such as with fixed terminals or those used at pedestrian speeds.

The white paper, MIMO and Smart Antennas for 3G and 4G Wireless Systems: Practical Aspects and Deployment Considerations, was written collaboratively by members of 3G Americas and is available for free download HERE.

While MIMO and Smart Antennas for 3G and 4G Wireless Systems concentrates on the practical aspects of deploying antennas in emerging wireless markets, 3G Americas’ June 2009 white paper, MIMO Transmission Schemes for LTE and HSPA Networks, provides additional background information on the processing gains feasible with smart antennas.

3GPP and 3G Americas workshop in Latam LTE Summit

3GPP and 3G Americas held a LTE Standards workshop in advance of this years’ LTE Latin America Conference, held in Rio de Janeiro 26-28 April.

Speakers from Operators and Manufacturers’ looked at the huge potential for HSPA and LTE networks and discussed Standards and Regulatory issues that are affecting LTE Roadmaps for the Latin America Region.

Topics such as equipment availability and spectrum scarcity were high on the agenda, along with discussions on systems architecture evolution and backhaul issues.

The presentations from the workshop are available on-line HERE.

Individual presentations could be downloaded from the links below:

• Operator Presentations
  

  • VIVO - Oportunidades e Desafios Banda Larga Móvel no Brasil
    
  • CLARO - Operator Strategies for Mobile Broadband
    
  • NTT DOCOMO - RAN Migration Strategy

  
  
• Manufacturers’ Presentations
  
  • Ericsson - Perspective Setorial de HSPA Evoluido
    
  • NSN - Migrating from HSPA to HSPA+ and LTE
  
  
• 3GPP and 3G Americas Presentations
  
  • Marketplace update
    Spectrum Policy and Recommendations
    
  • 3GPP Standards Roadmap

HSPA & LTE: Peak Rates, Average Cell capacity and Round Trip Time

Interesting picture

Update from LSTI Trials

Lsti mwc presentation_final

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LTE Devices and Platforms: April 2010

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Interesting summary of devices and platforms for LTE in development and trial which I took from GSA Information paper here.

Interesting to see multiple platforms from Samsung, LG and Qualcomm while Huawei seems to have a single all in one device.

800MHz to be reserved for LTE and WiMAX in Europe

We were having a discussion in the LTE Linkedin group couple of days back about when devices would be ready in bands other than 2.6Gz. The 2.6GHz band has become a de facto standard for LTE but there are other bands at much lower bands that are gaining interest as well.

Here is something from Cellular News today:

The European Commission has adopted a Decision establishing harmonised technical rules for Member States on the allocation of radio frequencies in the 800 MHz band that contribute to the deployment of high-speed wireless internet services by avoiding harmful interference.

In several Member States the 800 MHz frequencies are being freed up as part of the so-called "digital dividend" resulting from the switchover from analogue to digital television broadcasting. If Member States decide to change the existing frequency allocation (for broadcasting) they must immediately apply the harmonised technical rules laid down by the Decision to make these frequencies available to wireless broadband applications. Today's decision does not itself require Member States to make available the 790-862 MHz band for electronic communication services. However, the Commission is considering such a proposal in the forthcoming Radio Spectrum Policy Programme.

The Commission strongly supports the use of the 790-862 MHz band (currently used for broadcasting in most Member States) for electronic communication services and wants EU countries to act quickly, as coordinated management of this spectrum could give an economic boost of up to EUR44 billion to the EU's economy and help to achieve the EU 2020 Strategy target of high-speed broadband for all by the end of 2013 (with speeds gradually increasing up to 30 Mbts and above in 2020).

The new Commission Decision stipulates that all Member States which decide to make available the 790-862 MHz spectrum band (the so-called 800 MHz band) for services other than broadcasting should apply the same harmonised technical rules when they do so. These technical rules will ensure that radio communications equipment, like handsets or base stations using the 800 MHz band, can be used efficiently for wireless broadband networks, such as LTE or WiMAX.

Telecoms industry experts estimate that infrastructure to provide mobile broadband coverage using the 800 MHz band will be around 70% cheaper than through using the radio frequencies currently used by 3G networks. The lower costs involved in rolling out such networks will make these investments more attractive for operators, which should improve the geographic coverage of wireless broadband services. Application of the technical rules for frequency allocation foreseen by this Decision will substantially increase the potential economic benefits of the digital dividend by giving a new impetus to wireless internet services.

Until now, the 800 MHz band has been used for terrestrial TV broadcasting in most Member States. The new rules laid down in the Decision set out conditions for allocation of nearly one quarter of the frequencies that will become available when Member States switch from analogue to digital broadcasting (due by end 2012). The Commission is currently working on a Radio Spectrum Policy Programme that will take into account the other elements of the digital dividend and may also include a common date by which all Member States must make the 800 MHz band available.

Also read this post.

Avren's Next Generation Networks & Basestations Conference Summary

Interesting summary on Next Generation Networks & Base stations conference is available on Think Femtocell and Avren's website. Here are some interesting bits:

• Operating a mobile network contributes around 30% to the annual costs of each operator, and there are many different ways to save money. Where before, coverage was a real differentiator between networks, today it’s much more about service.
• There are enormous savings to be made by sharing cellsites between operators – T-mobile and 3 in the UK have combined their cellsites and reduced the total number from 55,000 to 31,000 in the last two years. The number is now slowly expanding again to fill in coverage holes and add capacity. The recently announced merger between Orange UK and T-Mobile means a further round of site consolidation over the coming years. Meanwhile, their UK competitors O2 Telefonica and Vodafone have also made a site sharing agreement, meaning that there will be just two competing sets of cellsites across the country.
• Some speakers questioned the sense of offering unlimited flat rate data plans – the industry sentiment is that these can’t last. The highest traffic users are consuming disproportionate amounts of network resources – several examples were given of 2 or 3% of users taking up over 40% of available capacity.
• Kenny Graham, Vodafone R&D Group, has been a keen champion of femtocells in public areas for some time – coining the term metro-femto. He believes that the most difficult challenges for femtocell deployment have already been overcome. He classified femtocells into four groups and clearly believes all have a place in network deployment:
• Domestic
• Enterprise
• Public service areas (indoor hotspots)
• Metro Femto (Outdoor hotspot )
• Installing more antenna and equipment at existing cellsites, such as required for LTE or MIMO technologies, is constrained by physical and planning limits of cellsites. Metro femto can be deployed unobstrusively in the urban areas with peak traffic demand, providing high levels of capacity.

Looking forward to the LTE World Summit 2010

This month I will again be attending the LTE World Summit. I have already mentioned why I am looking forward to it. I also plan to cover the event in much more detail as I have done in the past.

I am also hosting a breakfast briefing session with my topic of interest being, "Using LTE to boost ARPU". I am interested if anyone has any opinions on this topic. I have started a discussion in the LTE Linkedin Group. Please follow this link if you want to post your ideas or follow the discussion (Sorry, you may have to become member of that group if you are not already a member)

As usual, I am always looking forward to meeting friends, colleagues, journalists, fellow bloggers and anyone and everyone. So if you are around then please do say hello.

LTE, Conformance Testing and GCF

According to Light Reading article, LSTI results indicate that most mobile operators are still in the very early stages of testing next-gen mobile broadband Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Evolved Packet Core (EPC) technology.

Meanwhile, the System Simulator manufacturers are going strong in their LTE Conformance testing.

Anritsu Corporation announced recently that it is the first test equipment vendor in the world to achieve GCF-approved test case validations for both LTE (Long Term Evolution) RF and protocol conformance testing.

Mobile terminal manufacturers must gain GCF approval to prove that their LTE terminals satisfy the 3GPP standards, meaning that there is increasing demand for an approved conformance test environment.

At the GCF CAG#22 meeting earlier last month, Anritsu successfully gained GCF approval for an industry-leading 12 RF test cases for its ME7873L RF Conformance Test System together with additional test cases for its ME7832L Protocol Conformance Test System.

Anite and Huawei demonstrated the first TD-LTE UE protocol conformance test cases. Anite and Huawei are working together to accelerate the process of TD-LTE technology for China Mobile’s World Expo.

The new TD-LTE tests build out Anite’s comprehensive portfolio for all leading 3GPP protocol technologies, from GSM through EDGE and WCDMA to the latest HSPA+ and LTE futures. Anite blends software-only host and target test solutions for 2G, 3G and LTE technologies that allow developers to adopt a total end-to-end solution for all wireless testing needs.

Starting next month, 7 layers will offer LTE testing services in three areas: regulatory compliance, certification, and operator-specific test cases.

Aeroflex Test Solutions and 7 layers have signed an agreement to provide LTE (Long Term Evolution) testing services in support of the commercialization of LTE mobile phone networks in Japan. Aeroflex will install its 7100 LTE Digital Radio Test Set in 7 layersA' laboratory in Yokohama, Japan, greatly expanding 7 layersA' LTE regulatory compliance testing services.

With advanced LTE test equipment and services conveniently located, Japanese UE (user equipment) manufacturers and network operators can speed up testing in advance of LTE rollout.

Some tests and logs from the UE Conformance Testing of Protocols are available on the 3G4G website here.

Interesting videos on NEC's Femtocell Services

Watch them in the order to get a better picture of the applications. To know more about just the lifestyle evolution with NEC Femtocell, see the last video.