Iridium NEXT: Next Generation Satellite Network

Iridium Everywhere

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Presented by Dan Mercer, VP & General Manager, EMEA & Russia on November 9th , 2010 at Digital Communications Knowledge Transfer Network And Cambridge Wireless Future Wide Area Wireless SIG – ‘Networks and the New Economy’

To download see: http://www.cambridgewireless.co.uk

LIPA, SIPTO and IFOM Comparison

Enhancing macro radio access network capacity by offloading mobile video traffic will be essential for mobile communications industry to reduce its units costs to match its customer expectations. Two primary paths to achieve this are the use of femtocells and WiFi offloading. Deployment of large scale femtocells for coverage enhancement has been a limited success so far. Using them for capacity enhancements is a new proposition for mobile operators. They need to assess the necessity of using them as well as decide how to deploy them selectively for their heavy users.

Three alternative architectures that are being standardized by 3GPP have various advantages and shortcomings. They are quite distinct in terms of their dependencies and feasibility. Following table is a summary of comparison among these three approaches for traffic offloading.

Looking at the relative strengths of the existing traffic offload proposals, it is difficult to pick an outright winner. SIPTO macro-network option is the most straight-forward and most likely to be implemented rather quickly. However, it doesn't solve the fundamental capacity crunch in the radio access network. Therefore its value is limited to being an optimization of the packet core/transport network. Some other tangible benefits would be reduction in latency to increase effective throughput for customers as well as easier capacity planning since transport facilities don't need to be dimensioned for large number of radio access network elements anymore.

LIPA provides a limited benefit of allowing access to local premises networks without having to traverse through the mobile operator core. Considering it is dependent on the implementation of femtocell, this benefit looks rather small and has no impact on the macro radio network capacity. If LIPA is extended to access to Internet and Intranet, then the additional offload benefit would be on the mobile operator core network similar to the SIPTO macro-network proposal. Femtocell solves the macro radio network capacity crunch. However, the pace of femtocell deployments so far doesn't show a significant momentum. LIPA's market success will be limited until cost of femtocell ownership issues are resolved and mobile operators decide why (coverage or capacity) to deploy femtocells.

IFOM is based upon a newer generation of Mobile IP that has been around as a mobile VPN technology for more than 10 years. Unfortunately success record of mobile IP so far has been limited to enterprise applications. It hasn't become a true consumer-grade technology. Introduction of LTE may change this since many operators spearheading LTE deployments are planning to use IPv6 in handsets and adopt a dual-stack approach of having both IPv4 and IPv6 capability. Since many WiFi access networks will stay as IPv4, DSMIPv6 will be the best tunneling mechanism to hide IPv6 from the access network. Having dual-stack capability will allow native access to both legacy IPv4 content and native IPv6 content from major companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo, etc. without the hindrance of Network Address Translation (NAT). Considering the popularity of smartphones such as iPhone, Blackberry and various Android phones, they will be the proving ground for the feasibility of DSMIPv6.

Source of the above content: Whitepaper - Analysis of Traffic Offload : WiFi to Rescue

IP Flow Mobility and Seamless Offload (IFOM)

Unlike LIPA or SIPTO that are dependent on upstream network nodes to provide the optimization of routing different types of traffic, IFOM relies on the handset to achieve this functionality. It explicitly calls for the use of simultaneous connections to both macro network, e.g., LTE, UMTS and WiFi. Therefore, IFOM, unlike LIPA and SIPTO, is truly a release 10-onward only technology and it is not applicable for user terminals pre-Release 10. IFOM is being specified via 3GPP TS 23.261 [1]. Following diagram shows the interconnectivity model for IFOM capable UE.

IFOM uses an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request For Comments (RFC), Dual Stack Mobile IPv6 (DSMIPv6) (RFC-5555) [2].

Since IFOM is based on DSMIPv6, it is independent of the macro network flavor. It can be used for a green-field LTE deployment as well as a legacy GPRS packet core.

Earlier on we looked at the mobile network industry attempts of integration between packet core and WLAN networks. Common characteristic of those efforts was the limitation of the UE, its ability to use one radio interface at a time. Therefore, in earlier interworking scenarios UE was forced to use/select one radio network and make a selection to move to an alternative radio for all its traffic. Today many smartphones, data cards with connection managers already have this capability, i.e., when the UE detects the presence of an alternative access network such as a home WiFi AP, it terminates the radio bearers on the macro network and initiates a WiFi connection. Since WiFi access network and packet core integration is not commonly implemented, user typically loses her active data session and re-establishes another one.

Similarly access to some operator provided services may not be achieved over WiFi. Considering this limitation both iPhone IOS and Android enabled smartphones to have simultaneous radio access but limited this functionality to sending MMS over the macro network while being connected to WiFi only.

IFOM provides simultaneous attachment to two alternate access networks. This allows fine granularity of IP Flow mobility between access networks. Using IFOM, it will be possible to select particular flows per UE and bind them to one of two different tunnels between the UE and the DSMIPv6 Home Agent (HA) that can be implemented within a P-GW or GGSN. DSMIPv6 requires a dual-stack (IPv4 or IPv6) capable UE. It is independent of the access network that can be IPv4 or IPv6.

[1] 3GPP TS 23.261: IP flow mobility and seamless Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) offload; Stage 2

[2] RFC-5555: Mobile IPv6 Support for Dual Stack Hosts and Routers

[3] 3GPP TS 23.327: Mobility between 3GPP-Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) interworking and 3GPP systems

Content Source: Analysis of Traffic Offload : WiFi to Rescue

Presentation: Smart Antennas and SON

Smart Antennas and SON

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Presented by Kevin Linehan, VP, CTO Antennas, Andrew Solutions in the 4G World, Oct. 2010

Carrier aggregation deployment scenarios for Release-10 LTE-A

One of the important aspects to consider is that carrier aggregation should allow aggregation of not only the existing bands, but also bands that are introduced in future, e.g., 3.5 GHz band, etc. While existing bands already have certain deployments, new deployments can be considered for new bands that are introduced. Since introduction of new bands is done in a release independent fashion, considerations for such future bands are essential already in Rel-10. When higher frequencies such as 3.5 GHz are considered, path loss can be significant (e.g., 4-10 dB difference in link budget) when compared to 2 GHz. Hence, the most efficient deployment may not be to stick with the traditional macro-overlaying approach. Carrier aggregation should allow more flexible use of such new bands, since coverage and mobility can be ascertained by the existing band deployments, e.g., 2 GHz.

Picture below shows some of the potential deployment scenarios for carrier aggregation. Note that the scenarios listed are non-exhaustive. For example, other scenarios using repeaters and femto cells may be considered. Also note that F2 > F1.

Scenario 1

* F1 and F2 cells are co-located and overlaid, providing nearly the same coverage

* Both layers provide sufficient coverage and mobility can be supported on both layers.

* Likely scenario when F1 and F2 are of the same band, e.g., 2 GHz, 800 MHz, etc.

* It is expected that aggregation is possible between overlaid F1 and F2 cells.

Scenario 2

* F1 and F2 cells are co-located and overlaid, but F2 has smaller coverage due to larger path loss

* Only F1 provides sufficient coverage and F2 is used to provide throughput. Mobility is performed based on F1 coverage.

* Likely scenario when F1 and F2 are of different bands, e.g., F1 = {800 MHz, 2 GHz} and F2 = {3.5 GHz}, etc.

* It is expected that aggregation is possible between overlaid F1 and F2 cells.

Scenario 3

* F1 and F2 cells are co-located but F2 antennas are directed to the cell boundaries of F1 so that cell edge throughput is increased

* F1 provides sufficient coverage but F2 potentially has holes, e.g., due to larger path loss. Mobility is based on F1 coverage.

* Likely scenario when F1 and F2 are of different bands, e.g., F1 = {800 MHz, 2 GHz} and F2 = {3.5 GHz}, etc.

* It is expected that F1 and F2 cells of the same eNB can be aggregated where coverage overlap.

Scenario 4

* F1 provides macro coverage and on F2 Remote Radio Heads (RRHs) are used to provide throughput at hot spots

* Mobility is performed based on F1 coverage.

* Likely scenario when F1 and F2 are of different bands, e.g., F1 = {800 MHz, 2 GHz} and F2 = {3.5 GHz}, etc.

* It is expected that F2 RRE cells can be aggregated with the underlying F1 macro cells.

Scenario 5

* Similar to scenario #2, but frequency selective repeaters are deployed so that coverage is extended for one of the carrier frequencies

Scenarios supported in Rel-10 time frame

* For DL, all scenarios are supported in Rel-10

* For UL, scenario 4 and 5 are not supported in Rel-10

Source: R2-100531 CA deployment scenario NTT DOCOMO

Carrier Aggregation Concepts for LTE Rel-10

Carrier Aggregation Concepts for LTE Rel-10

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CA (Carrier Aggregation) Scenarios in LTE-Advanced

CA (Carrier Aggregation) may be used in three different spectrum scenarios as follows.

Intraband Contiguous CA — This is where a contiguous bandwidth wider than 20 MHz is used for CA. Although this may be a less likely scenario given frequency allocations today, it can be common when new spectrum bands like 3.5 GHz are allocated in the future in various parts of the world. The spacing between center frequencies of contiguously aggregated CCs (Component Carriers) is a multiple of 300 kHz to be compatible with the 100 kHz frequency raster of Release 8/9 and preserving orthogonality of the subcarriers with 15 kHz spacing.

Intraband Non-Contiguous CA — This is where multiple CCs belonging to the same band are used in a non-contiguous manner. This scenario can be expected in countries where spectrum allocation is non-contiguous within a single band, when the middle carriers are loaded with other users, or when network sharing is considered.

Interband Non-Contiguous CA — This is where multiple CCs belonging to different bands (e.g., 2 GHz and 800 MHz are aggregated). With this type of aggregation, mobility robustness can potentially be improved by exploiting different radio propagation characteristics of different bands. This form of CA may also require additional complexity in the radio frequency (RF) front-end of UE. In LTE Release 10, for the UL the focus is on intraband CA, due to difficulties in defining RF requirements for simultaneous transmission on multiple CCs with large frequency separation, considering realistic device linearity. For the DL, however, both intra and interband cases are considered in Release 10, while specific RF requirements are being developed.

Text Source: Carrier Aggregation Framework in 3GPP LTE-Advanced - Mikio Iwamura et al. in IEEE Communications Magazine August 2010

Picture Source: http://www.catr.cn/tecm/dxwjs/201006/t20100610_1143968.htm

Quick Recap of Self-Organising Networks (SON)

Aspects of Central SON

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The Path to 4G: LTE and LTE-Advanced

The Path to 4G: LTE and LTE-Advanced

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The Path to 4G: LTE and LTE-Advanced presented by James Seymour, Alcatel Lucent in 4G World, 20th Oct. 2010.

HTML5 for Mobile Devices

I had been recently talking to some developers about the programming and App development on mobiles and quite a few people are of the opinion that HTML5 may help the mobile Apps go to the next level.

The biggest problem HTML5 is supposed to solve is write once run anywhere applicatons. Most of the programs will have the same look and feel if they are run on a PC or mobile and between different devices.

Ofcourse not everything is perfect. There are yet many API's that need to be implemented in for HTML5 like the 3D and Mic API's, etc. Another problem is that a lot of phones are not yet supporting HTML5 and some of them that are supporting, not supporting it completely. This will have to be solved asap.

The following is a recent presentation from Ericsson on HTML5 that gives a good idea on why it is a good idea.

HTML5 impact on application programming

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Another interesting place to look for some HTML5 stuff is Patrick Chanezon's html5 Bookmarks

UEInformationRequest/UEInformationResponse - New RRC messages in Release-9

As is obvious from the title, The UE information procedure is used by E-UTRAN to request the UE to report information [1].

There are two different scenarios for the Network to send the UEInformationRequest message to the UE. One is to find out the number of RACH preambles it needed for the random access procedure and the other is to get the measurement information when a Radio Link Failure (RLF) occurred.

[2] also provides the following detail:

The network may poll for the UE report after a successful random access procedure (UEInformationRequest) and the UE responds with the number of preambles sent by MAC for the last successfully completed random access procedure and whether contention is detected by MAC for at least one of the transmitted preambles for the last successfully completed random access procedure (UEInformationResponse).

Source:

[1] 3GPP TS 36.331 V9.3.0: Radio Resource Control (RRC); Protocol specification - Section 5.6.5

[2] 3GPP TR 36.902 V9.2.0: Self-configuring and self-optimizing network (SON) use cases and solutions

Proximity Indication - New RRC Uplink Message in Rel-9

The inbound handover from a Macro eNB to an HeNB (a.k.a. Femtocell) is not supported in Release 8. Before making a handover decision to a HeNB, the Macro eNB needs to acquire UE measurement information related to the so-called target CSG cell. Nevertheless, UEs cannot continuously make measurements and read the system information of lots of CSG cells in cases of large scale HeNB deployments.

In order to allow the UE to make those measurements efficiently, a newly defined proximity report can be configured within the RRC Reconfiguration message. This proximity report will allow the UE to send a so-called “proximity indication” to the source eNB in the uplink whenever it is entering or leaving the proximity of one or more cells with CSG IDs that the UEs has in its CSG Whitelist.

A UE that is able to determine that it is near its CSG cell can thus inform the network to take the necessary actions for handover preparation. The detection of proximity is based on an autonomous search function.

The source eNB, upon receiving the proximity indication, might ask the UE to perform measurements of the CSG cell, to read the System Information (SI) or, in case it already has all required information, it might already start the handover procedure. PCI (Physical Cell Identification) confusion is resolved in Release 9. The eNB will ask the UE to report the global cell identity. As usual the UE reporting is using the RRC measurement procedures. The ovell procedure is illustrated in Figure below.

In summary five basic steps can be identified:

1. Proximity configuration/reporting

2. HO measurement configuration/reporting

3. Resolution of PCI confusion by requesting and reporting System Information

4. Access Control in the network

5. HO execution

Since the CSG search can be very slow there are no strict requirements on the inbound handover performance, which can range from one to several 10’s of seconds.

Since the proximity information is based on UE signaling, the network might be receiving a lot of proximity indications, increasing the network load. Therefore, it was agreed to limit proximity indications a UE can send within a certain time frame. A timer, called the prohibit proximity timer, was introduced.

Source:

• 3GPP TS 36.331 v9.3.0 section 5.3.14
• Nomor Research Whitepaper - LTE Home Node Bs and its enhancements in Release 9

7 transmission modes in LTE Rel-8

In Brief:

In Detail:

The Seven Modes of MIMO in LTE

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Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SR‐VCC)

From a 3GPP presentation by Hannu Hietalahti

1. SR-VCC use case

1a. IMS call initiated in LTE can continue in CS domain after moving outside of LTE coverage area

1b. SR-VCC is invoked if no other VoIP capable PS system (e.g., HSPA/eHRPD) is available for VoIP PS-PS HO (Handovers)

1c. Only HO of a single voice bearer from PS to CS is specified

1d. Requires overlapping with 1xRTT/GSM/WCDMA coverage

2. SR-VCC allows a voice calls are anchored in IMS

2a. One-way HO from PS to CS systems (LTE to GSM/UMTS or LTE to 1xRTT)

2b. No simultaneous operation of different radio transceivers needed

3. Rel-9 SR-VCC improvements

3a. IMS support of mid call services (e.g., HOLD, MPTY)

3b. SR-VCC support for emergency calls

4. Video calls, reverse direction from CS call to IMS and optimisations are being studied in Rel-10

LTE CS Fallback Procedure

From a 3GPP presentation by Hannu Hietalahti:

1. CS FallBack from EPS to CS domain

2. CSFB reuses voice and other CS-domain services provided by legacy CS infrastructure

3. EPS redirects the UE to CS Domain for CS services

3a. SMS can be delivered to the UE without redirecting to CS Domain

3b. After CS service the UE returns to LTE, depending on coverage and policy

4. User can decide, based on CLI, whether to accept CSFB request

5. Application of CSFB:

5a. CS capable device camping on LTE cell can establish/receive CS services

5b. Reuse of existing CS infrastructure for voice service until IMS VoIP is deployed

5c. Provide voice roaming support with LTE

5d. Support E911 using existing CS infrastructure

5e. Rel-9 IMS provides full emergency call support

5f. Requires overlapping CS domain coverage

Note: CSFB applies between LTE and GSM, WCDMA and 1xRTT

LTE CS and PS voice service capabilities and architecture

From a 3GPP presentation by Hannu Hietalahti:

Emergency Calls in LTE/SAE Release-9

From a 3GPP presentation by Hannu Hietalahti:

Emergency calls in LTE

Regulatory requirement of emergency calls is supported in Rel-9 for LTE:

1. Detection of emergency numbers in UE

2. Indication and prioritisation of emergency calls

3. Location services, both for routing and user location data for PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point)

4. Callback is possible, but processed as normal call without exceptions

UE matches digits dialledby the user with list of known emergency numbers

1. Emergency number list in the UE is common for CS and PS domain use

2. Default 112 and 911, USIM pre-configuration, downloaded in MM procedure

3. In case of match, the UE shall initiate the call as an emergency call

In IMS emergency calls the UE translates dialled number into emergency service URN

1. Service URN with a top-level service type of "sos" as specified in RFC5031

2. Additionally, sub-service type can be added to indicate emergency category if information on the type of emergency service is known (fire, ambulance, police,…)

P-CSCF (Proxy - Call Session Control Function) must also be prepared to detect emergency call if the UE is not aware of local emergency call

1. This is backup for those cases when the (roaming) UE does not have full information of all local emergency call numbers and initiates a normal call

2. From EPC perspective, it will be a normal PDN connection

Benefit of location information

1. P-CSCF discovers the regionally correct PSAP to take the emergency call

2. PSAP gets information on the precise user location

Related Posts:

• 3GPP Release-9 Features updated
• Service Specific Access Control (SSAC) in 3GPP Release 9
• Public Warning System (PWS) in Release-9
• Europe makes 'eCall' high priority
• 3GPP Earthquake and Tsunami Warning service (ETWS)

'Wi-Fi Direct': New Standard and competition to Femtocells and Bluetooth

Last month when I blogged about WiFi as 4G, i got mixed reactions. Some suggesting that WiFi is just a filler till Femtocells become prevalent and others suggested that in future all devices would with 3G/HSPA/LTE/4G enabled so there may be no need for WiFi.

Well, yesterday I read about the new Wi-Fi Direct (formerly known as 'Wi-Fi Peer-to-Peer') standard that is supposed to make WiFi devices easier to operate with other WiFi devices. I havent explored the security options but I am sure they are well thought out.

Before we go further, you may want to check out the WiFi Direct official video below:

There is an interesting piece in PC World that compares Bluetooth 4.0 with Wi-Fi Direct. I am sure soon both these camps would be listing the merit of their standards and dissing the other one. According to the Register, Bluetooth never really took off in the US. They think Wi-Fi has bigger clout and this would translate to WiFi Direct success.

WiFi Alliance has a recently revised FAQ on Wi-Fi Direct here. Very interesting read. A Media presentation is embedded below and can be downloaded from Slideshare here.

'Wi-Fi Direct' Media Presentation

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The devices have already started undergoing certification and commercial devices should be available by the end of this year.

Finally, while there is a lot of debate going on about WiFi v/s Femtocells and I respect everyone's views and arguments on this debate, I think Wi-Fi direct may give a kicking to the Femtocell manufacturers where it hurts the most.

One of the strong arguments in the favour of Femtocell is the seamless roaming. With Wi-Fi direct you may be able to seamlessly connect to various Wi-Fi devices and Access points. This certainly counts big time in their favour.

Certainly the gate is still wide open for some Femtocell based killer apps which would turn the tide in their favour but for now I am looking forward to some Wi-Fi direct devices.

Understanding smartphone traffic - Interesting Presentation

Understanding smartphone traffic - Droidcon

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If you like the above then also check out the Fast Dormancy in Release-8.

ETSI M2M Workshop summary and conclusions

As I mentioned earlier about the M2M workshop held in Paris, the following are the highlights from press release after the event:

ETSI's first Open Machine-to-Machine Workshop broke all records for attendance, laying out the next steps for achieving M2M applications worldwide, and confirming a leading role for the standards organisation.

'Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications need standards – and ETSI is taking the lead to make sure that the standards are in place.' This was the main conclusion from ETSI's M2M workshop which took place on 19 and 20 October. With over 220 attendees from across the world, this was the most popular ETSI workshop to date, with the high degree of interest reflecting the enormous potential that is foreseen for M2M applications and technologies.

Participants heard how existing and evolving communication technologies networks (mostly wireless (cellular and low-power), but also fixed networks, including power line communications) provide a firm basis for connecting M2M sensors and applications. Specification of appropriate interfaces that allow network technology neutrality is a priority, and one that ETSI is already addressing.

The workshop included two live demonstrations organised by InterDigital Inc. These demonstrated an M2M gateway and core network, and an M2M Wireless Personal Area Network (sensors connecting via low-power wireless devices to a database, simulating e-Health, home automation and security application scenarios). The implementations were based on current specifications from ETSI's M2M Technical Committee and confirmed both the effectiveness of the implications and of the ETSI specifications. In addition, poster sessions presented the work of six research and development projects related to M2M and the Future Internet, part of the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme (FP7).

The standards work of ETSI's M2M Technical Committee is reaching an advanced stage, and many network operators are encouraging a first release of M2M standards by early 2011. The committee is currently finalising the architecture for the service platform that will enable the integration of multiple vertical M2M applications. The workshop confirmed that ETSI is well placed to address a vital aspect of standardisation in support of M2M – the specification of interfaces that will facilitate the interconnection and interoperability of the diverse applications and of the networks that will underlie them.

Marylin Arndt of France Telecom, Chairman of ETSI's M2M Technical Committee, said: 'The committee will continue in its role of creating standards that build on what we already have, to ensure that the emerging 'vertical' M2M applications can be supported effectively. At the same time, the committee (and ETSI in general) has a vital responsibility to co-ordinate and direct the wider work on M2M. We are here to lead the way.'

All presentations could be downloaded from here.

The conclusions from the meeting is summarised in the presentation embedded below:

ETSI M2M Workshop Oct. 2010 Conclusions

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Complete Coverage of 4G World 2010 ... in case you missed

Wireless Week has a very good magazine with detailed highlights of everything that happened in the recently concluded 4G World event in Chicago. The links are as follows:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

NGMN Top 10 Operational Efficiency Recommendations

Setting up and running networks is a complex task that requires many activities, including planning, configuration, Optimization, dimensioning, tuning, testing, recovery from failures, failure mitigation, healing and maintenance. These activities are critical to successful network operation and today they are extremely labour-intensive and hence, costly, prone to errors, and can result in customer dissatisfaction. This project focuses on ensuring that the operators’ recommendations are incorporated into the specification of the 3GPP O&M (and similar groups in other standardisation bodies) so that this critical task moves towards full automation.

The overall objective is to provide operators with the capability to purchase, deploy, operate and maintain a network consisting of Base Stations (BTS) and “Access Gateways (AGw)” from multiple vendors. The NGMN project Operational Efficiency OPE has taken the task to elaborate solutions and recommendations for pushing the operational efficiency in NGMN networks and has produced recommendations on standards and implementations. The NGMN OPE project also influenced strongly the setup of a TOP10 document reflecting main recommendations in operational area. This document (embedded below) binds these two sources which are anyhow strongly linked together into one common NGMN recommendation document.

NGMN Top OPE Recommendations

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IMB and TDtv (and DVB-H)

Its long time since I blogged about TDtv. Its been quite a while since I heard about TDtv. Apparently its been superseded by IMB, aka. Integrated Mobile Broadcast.

IMB is used to stream live video and store popular content on the device for later consumption. This results in a significant offloading of data intensive traffic from existing 3G unicast networks and an improved customer experience. The multimedia client features an intuitive electronic program guide, channel grid and embedded video player for live TV viewing and video recording. All IMB applications can be quickly and cost-effectively adapted to support all major mobile operating systems and different mobile device types, including smartphones, tablets and e-readers.

IMB was defined in the 3GPP release 8 standards, and was recently endorsed by the GSMA as their preferred method for the efficient delivery of broadcast services. In June 2010, O2, Orange and Vodafone – three of the five major UK mobile operators – announced that they have teamed up for a three-month trial that will explore IMB wireless technology within a tranche of 3G TDD spectrum.

This spectrum already forms part of the 3G licenses held by many European mobile operators, but has remained largely unused because of a lack of appropriate technology. Currently, 3G TDD spectrum is available to over 150 operators across 60 countries, covering more than half a billion subscribers. IMB enables spectrally efficient delivery of broadcast services in the TDD spectrum based on techniques that are aligned with existing FDD WCDMA standards. This enables a smooth handover between IMB and existing 3G networks.

Issues that previously limited uptake of IMB, or IPWireless' tdTV system, have now all been addressed. Namely, the standard now allows for smooth handover between IMB and unicast delivery; has the potential to be integrated onto a single W-CDMA chip rather than requiring a separate chip; and has resolved interference issues with FDD W-CDMA, at least for spectrum in the 1900MHz to 1910MHz range.

IP Wireless already had a trial at Orange and T-Mobile in the UK (which have just agreed to merge), but in that pilot each 5MHz segment only gave rise to 14 TV channels per operator. The new standard could support 40 separate TV channels if two operators shared their TDD spectrum.

The GSMA announced its support and is backed up with additional support from both IPWireless and Ericsson as well as operators Orange, Softbank and Telstra.

There have been recently quite a few bad news for DVB-H and on top of that IP Wireless has announced that Samsung is going to be releasing phones with IMB support so it may be that we will see IMB sometime next year.

The GSMA paper that details IMB service scenarios and System requirements is embedded below:

Integrated Mobile Broadcast (IMB) Service Scenarios and System Requirements

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Fast Dormancy in Release-8

Nokia Siemens Networks has collaborated with Qualcomm to carry out the industry’s first successful interoperability test of the new 3GPP standardized Release 8 Fast Dormancy feature. Unlike proprietary approaches to fast dormancy, the new standard allows operators to take full advantage of smart network features such as Cell_PCH without worrying that individual handset settings will ignore network controls.

The test was conducted at Nokia Siemens Networks’ Smart Lab in Dallas using Nokia Siemens Networks’ Flexi Multiradio Base Station and Radio Network Controller and Qualcomm’s QSC7230TM smartphone optimized chipset. The test showed how smartphones can act dynamically, exploiting Cell_PCH on Nokia Siemens Networks’ smart networks or adjusting to Fast Dormancy on other vendors’ traditional networks.

In fact the operators have been getting upset quite for some time because of smartphone hacks that save the UE battery life but cause network signalling congestion. See here.

To explain the problem, lets look at the actual signalling that occurs when the UE is not transmitting anything. Most probably it gets put into CELL_PCH or URA_PCH state. Then when keep alive messages need to be sent then the state is transitioned to CELL_FACH and once done its sent back to CELL_PCH. Now the transitioning back from CELL_FACH (or CELL_DCH) to CELL_PCH can take quite some time, depending on the operator parameters and this wastes the UE battery life.

To get round this problem, the UE manufacturers put a hack in the phone and what they do is that if there no data to transmit for a small amount of time, the UE sends RRC Signalling Connection Release Indication (SCRI) message. This message is supposed to be used in case when something is gone wrong in the UE and the UE wants the network to tear the connection down by sending RRC Connection Release message. Anyway, the network is forced to Release the connection.

If there is another requirement to send another keep alive message (they are needed for lots of apps like Skype, IM's, etc.) the RRC connection would have to be established all over again and this can cause lots of unnecessary signalling for the network causing congestion at peak times.

To speed up the transitioning to CELL_PCH state in Release-8 when the UE sends SCRI message, its supposed to include the cause value as "UE Requested PS Data session end". Once the network receives this cause it should immediately move the UE to CELL_PCH state.

This is a win win situation for both the network and the UE vendors as long as a lot of UE's implement this. The good thing is that even a pre-Rel8 UE can implement this and if the network supports this feature it would work.

GSMA has created a best practices document for this feature which is embedded below.

Fast dormancy from Dono Miguel

Further Reading:

• UMTS State Switching and Fast Dormancy Evolution - Martin Sauter
• RP-090941 - System impact of poor proprietary Fast Dormancy implementations
• RP-090942 - Clarification on Enhanced SCRI approach for fast dormancy
• RP-090960 - Configuration of Fast Dormancy
• R2-096882 - Changes to Release-8 Fast Dormanc

LTE Self Optimizing Networks (SON) enhancements for Release-10

Capacity and Coverage Optimisation (CCO) was already nominally part of the Release-9 WI, but could not be completed due to amount of work related to other use cases.

Energy Savings are a very important topic, especially for operators, as solutions derived for this use case can significantly limit their expenses. According to TR 36.902 this solution should concern switching off cells or whole base stations. This may require additional standardised methods, once there is need identified for.

Basic functionality of Mobility Load Balancing (MLB) and Mobility Robustness Optimisation (MRO), also listed in TR 36.902, were defined in Rel.9. However, successful roll-out of the LTE network requires analysing possible enhancements to the Rel.9 solutions for MLB and MRO. In particular, enhancements that address inter-RAT scenarios and inter-RAT information exchange must be considered. These enhancements should be addressed in Rel.10.

There may also be other use cases for LTE for which SON functionality would bring optimisations.

Although, it is of primary interest to provide coverage to users during a roll-out, it is equally important to enhance the capacity of the network during operation. As such, both coverage and capacity are considered in the use case and supported by the SON function. The CCO SON function should be configured through appropriate objectives and targets in order to meet the operator’s requirement on coverage and capacity, and the prioritization between them.

The following use cases and scenarios are planned for Release-10:

Coverage and Capacity Optimisation (CCO)

The use case is to enable detection of following problems:

• Priority 1: coverage problems, e.g. coverage holes

• Priority 2: capacity problems

Mobility Robustness Optimisation (MRO) enhancements

The use case is to enable detection and to provide tools for possible correction of following problems:

• Connection failures in inter-RAT environment:

o Priority 1: at HOs from LTE to UMTS/GSM

o Priority 2: at HOs from UMTS/GSM to LTE

• Obtaining UE measurements in case of unsuccessful re-establishment after connection

failure

• Ping-pongs in idle mode (inter-RAT and intra-LTE environment)

• Ping-pongs in active mode (inter-RAT)

• HO to wrong cell (in intra-LTE environment) that does not cause connection failure (e.g. short stay problem)

Mobility Load Balancing (MLB) enhancements

The use case is to fulfil following objectives:

• Improving reliability of MLB in intra-LTE scenarios

• Improving functionality of the MLB in inter-RAT scenarios (the transport method agreed for R9 should be used for R10).

For more info see 3GPP TS 32.521: Self-Organizing Networks (SON) Policy Network Resource Model (NRM) Integration Reference Point (IRP); Requirements; Release-10

There is also a Self-Organising Networks Conference that I am attending next month and I plan to give SON lots of coverage before and after the event.

If you havent read the 3G Americas whitepaper on SON, it is definitely worth a read. I have embedded it below.

Benefits of SON in LTE

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TETRA Evolution

Couple of Interesting presentation on TETRA Evolution.

Network Improvements for Machine Type Communications (NIMTC)

I have blogged about M2M before here.

The Release 10 work item Network Improvements for Machine Type Communications – Stage 1 for NIMTC specified a number of requirements to make the network more suitable for machine type communications. Additional aspects need to be studied before proceeding with their potential inclusion in the normative work.

In the course of the Release 10 work item, it was decided to leave out MTC Device to MTC Device communications from Release 10. This because it was felt it was not possible to do it justice within the Release 10 time frame. Nevertheless, MTC Device to MTC Device communications are expected to become of major importance, especially with consumer devices communicating directly to each other. Therefore, this work item aims to study the network improvements requirements of MTC Device to MTC Device scenarios. A particular aspect of MTC Device to MTC Device scenarios is the identification and functionality needed to set up a connection towards a MTC Device. The IMS domain may provide a solution for this required functionality. In this case the impacts and requirements of MTC on IMS needs to be studied.

Additionally MTC Devices often act as a gateway for a capillary network of other MTC Devices or non-3GPP devices. These gateway MTC Devices may have specific requirements on the mobile network, which have not yet been taken into account in the Release 10 NIMTC work item. Study is needed to determine to what extent improvements are needed and can be specified by 3GPP for MTC Devices that act as a gateway for 'capillary networks' of other devices. Also alignment with what is specified by ETSI TC M2M on this aspect is needed.

Further optimisations may be possible for (groups of) MTC Devices that are co-located. An example of this could be a car with a number of different MTC Devices that always move along together. Optimisations for these kind of scenarios have been suggested, but have not yet been taken into account in the Release 10 NIMTC. Study is needed to determine to what extent network improvements can be specified for co-located MTC Devices.

Because of the different characteristics of Machine-Type Communications, the optimal network for MTC may not be the same as the optimal network for human to human communications. Optimisations of network selections and steering of roaming may be needed. Study is needed to determine to what extent improvements are needed on network selection and steering of roaming for MTC.

Many MTC applications use some kind of location tracking. E.g. the existing LCS framework could be used to provide location information for these kinds of MTC applications. Study is needed to determine to what extent improvements are needed for MTC location tracking.

MTC brings a new concept of a MTC User and MTC Server. So far little attention has been given to service requirements on the communication between the network and the MTC User/MTC Server. Also alignment with what is specified by ETSI TC M2M on that aspect is needed. Study is needed on what kind of service requirements are needed and can be specified by 3GPP.

The Objective of Study on enhancements for Machine-Type Communications item is to study additional requirements, use cases and functionality beyond that specified by the Release 10 NIMTC work item on the following aspects:

• network improvements for MTC Device to MTC Device communications via one or more PLMNs. Note: direct-mode communication between devices is out of scope.

• possible improvements for MTC Devices that act as a gateway for 'capillary networks' of other devices. Note: capillary networks themselves are out of scope of 3GPP.

• network improvements for groups of MTC Devices that are co-located with other MTC Devices

• improvements on network selection mechanisms and steering of roaming for MTC devices

• possible enhancements to IMS to support MTC

• possible improvements for location tracking of MTC Devices

• service requirements on communications between PLMN and the MTC User/MTC Server (e.g. how the MTC User can set event to be monitored with MTC Monitoring);

• possible service requirements to optimize MTC Devices

• possible New MTC Features to further improve the network for MTC

The results of the study will be recorded in a Technical Report. Work ongoing in external standard organization shall be considered (e.g. ETSI M2M, CCSA TC 10).

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) now has a Technical Committee exclusively focused on M2M; the Chinese Communications Standards Association (CCSA) is currently exploring the definition of M2M standards for China and the Geneva-headquartered International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is working on “mobile wireless access systems providing telecommunications for a large number of ubiquitous sensors and/or actuators scattered over wide areas in the land mobile service,” which are at the center of the M2M ecosystem.

Closer to us, the US Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has also launched a new engineering committee centered on Smart Device Communications (TIA TR-50). Incidentally, at Global Standards Collaboration 15 (GSC-15), which will be held on August 30- September 2, 2010 in Beijing and hosted by CCSA, the world’s leading telecommunications and radio standards organizations will meet to promote innovation and collaboration on a broad spectrum of standards topics among which M2M has been identified as a “High Interest Subject.”

Related subject on 3GPP here.

M2M workshop is happening in ETSI next week. More details here.

Definitions:

MTC Device: A MTC Device is a UE equipped for Machine Type Communication, which communicates through a PLMN with MTC Server(s) and/or other MTC Device(s).

Local-Access Device: A Local-Access Device is a device in MTC Capillary Network, which has no 3GPP mobile communication capability.

MTC Capillary Network: An MTC Capillary Network is a network of devices that provides local connectivity between devices within its coverage and MTC Gateway Device.

MTC Gateway Device: An MTC Gateway Device is an MTC device equipped for Machine Type Communication, which acts as a gateway for a group of co-located MTC Devices or to connect MTC Devices and/or Local-Access Devices in an MTC Capillary Network to communicate through a PLMN with MTC Server(s), and/or other MTC Device(s).

Further Interesting Reading:

The M2M Switch - turning the wireless business model upside down

MARKET FOR M2M APPLICATIONS EXPLODES

Embedded Mobile M2M Modem Market on Track to More Than Triple in 2010

Recap of Handover procedures in LTE

Interoperability in LTE

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