Technical reminders on cellular networks:

The history of mobile networks is relatively recent since the opening

the commercial launch of the first mobile network was announced in 1979 in Japan. Until then,
the state of the art in electronics and microwaves did not allow
radio emission/reception with portable equipment. Major advancements
achievements in these areas have drastically reduced the size of the
terminals.

Mobile networks are all based on this cell concept, which is why they are
also called cellular networks.

A cell is controlled by a transmitter/receiver called a base station, which

ensures the radio link with the mobile terminals within its coverage area. The
The coverage of a base station is limited by several factors, namely:

the emission power of the mobile terminal and the base station;
the frequency used;
the type of antennas used at the base station and the mobile terminal;
the propagation environment (urban, rural, etc.).

A cell is commonly represented in the form of a hexagon; indeed,

the hexagon is the geometric pattern closest to the coverage area of a
cell that ensures a regular mesh of space. In reality, there really exists
heard about overlapping areas between adjacent cells, which create
intercellular interference.
The architecture of a mobile network includes three functional entities:

the mobile terminal, also called user equipment (or end user), abbreviated as
UE (User Equipment) ;
the access network or RAN (Radio Access Network);
the core network or CN (Core Network).

We also distinguish two areas:

the EU domain, which includes user-specific equipment;

the field of infrastructure, consisting of equipment specific to
the operator.
The following figure presents the structure of a mobile network. The UE is part of the
user equipment domain and is interconnected to the access network by
the intermediary of the radio interface.
The interconnection element of the access network with the radio interface is the station of
base. The access network and the core network are linked to the domain of
the infrastructure and are interconnected by one or more terrestrial interfaces.
The link between the EU and the base station is specific to the meaning of transmission between
these two entities. Indeed, the EU typically has emission power
lower than that of the base station, of less efficient antennas and of
less computational resources, which limit the complexity of signal processing
implemented. Thus, we distinguish two communication channels:
the uplink or UL (UpLink), where the user equipment transmits to the base station;
the downlink or DL (DownLink), where the base station transmits to
the EU.

Another element characterizing a mobile system is the separation technique.

between the ascending path and the descending path. This technique is also called the
duplexing. Two modes of duplexing are possible.
In frequency duplexing or FDD (Frequency Division Duplex),
The ascending and descending channels operate on different frequencies.
In time division duplexing or TDD (Time Division Duplex), the channels
Ascending and descending operate on the same frequencies but are separated
in time. The TDD mode requires a temporal synchronization between
the base stations, a requirement that can sometimes be complex to ensure from a technical perspective

operational.

The First Generation of Mobile Phones (1G)

The First Generation of Mobile Phones appeared in the early of
the 80s by providing a mediocre and very expensive mobile communication service.
1G had many flaws, such as the incompatible standards from one region to another.
another, an unsecured analog transmission (listening to calls), no
roaming to international.

The first cellular telephone networks, known as cellular system

1st generation, used analog traffic channels

In the early 1980s, the most widespread first-generation system in America

from the North has been AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service). 2 bands of 25 MHz are
allocated to the AMPS

A band for transmissions from base stations to mobiles,

the other for the transmissions from mobile devices to base stations

Each of these bands is divided into 2 to encourage competition

Each operator therefore receives only a band of 12.5 MHz in each

direction

The channels are spaced 30 kHz apart, allowing for a total of 416 channels per
operators of which 21 are dedicated to control

Control channels are data channels operating at 10 kbit/s.

Voice channels carry communications via modulated analog signals.

in frequency

Base station transmission band: 869 to 894 MHz

Mobile transmission band: 824 to 849 MHz

Spacing between upstream and downstream channels: 45 MHz

Bandwidth of a channel: 30 kHz

Maximum mobile power: 3 W

Cell size: 2 to 20 km

Transmission rate: 10 kbit/s

Modulation type: FM with a carrier of 8KHz.

Multiplexing type: FDMA

The Second Generation of Mobile Phones (GSM)

The GSM appeared in the 90s. It is the 2G standard. Its principle is to

making phone calls, relying on digital transmissions
allowing for data security (with encryption), it has experienced success and has
permission to create the need to make phone calls everywhere with the ability to emit
mini messages (SMS, limited to 80 characters). As well as allowing roaming between
country operating the GSM network.
In light of the success, it was necessary to offer new frequencies to the operators for
route all communications, and new services have also emerged,
like MMS. The 9.6 kbps rate offered by GSM is insufficient, in this
concept, they thought about developing new modulation techniques and
coding that has enabled increased throughput for the new generation.

Max. bit rate of 9600 bits/s

Circuit switching mode

Based on a digital technology

A phone = a terminal + a SIM card

International success: presence in many countries....

Cell radius: 0.3 to 30 Km

Multiplexing type: TDMA

Modulation type: GMSK

Channel width: 200 KHz

Number of channels: 124

Number of time slots per TDMA frame: 8

TDMA Multiplexing:

TDMA allows multiple transmitters to operate on the same frequency. Each

the transmitter successively emits its signal and requires good management of the periods
of the broadcast.

In addition to frequency separation, GSM uses time division, TDMA.

(Time Division Multiple Access), TDMA allows multiple users to occupy the
same radio channel. Users will be offset in time, but use
always the same 200 kHz radio channel. The radio spectrum in GSM (900)
is divided into 124 radio channels, each of these radio channels being further divided into
Eight channels divided into time called time intervals (TSL).

Each TDMA frame time interval consists of 156.25 bits, among

which 114 (2 to 57) are coded data, including the correction. All the
The transmitted information is transferred in blocks of 456 bits, divided into four.
periods of time slots (456 = 4 * 2 * 57). The maximum net throughput per slice
The speed is 13 kbps, excluding error correction.

At the reception, it is enough to use a switch that toggles from one user to another.
following all the Time Slots.
GMSK modulation:

In the field of telecommunications, the aim is often to concentrate

maximum power around the carrier and thus minimize the bulkiness
spectral. In the case of FSK modulations, it is therefore important to look
the importance of secondary lobes. Among the different modulation indices, the
The MSK modulation process (x=0.5) features relatively secondary lobes.
attenuated.

When the data is processed by a Gaussian low-pass filter, the

MSK modulation is referred to as GMSK, Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying.

If the central lobe is preserved, the lateral lobes have practically disappeared.

This type of frequency modulation works in GSM telephony (or 2G) with
D » 271kbit/s; 99% of the power is concentrated in a bandwidth of 250kHz.
The spectral efficiency is close to 1.3 bit/[Link]

The architecture of GSM:

The GSM Network's primary role is to enable communications between subscribers.

mobiles and subscribers of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). It is distinguished by a
specific access called the radio link. Figure 1 shows the architecture of the Network.
GSM.
The mobile station:
The Mobile Station (MS) consists of the Mobile Equipment (the GSM terminal) and
the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), a small memory card that is capable of
microprocessor, which is used to identify the subscriber independently of the terminal
employee; it is therefore possible to continue receiving and making calls and
to use all these services simply by inserting the SIM card into a
any terminal.

The Mobile Equipment is identified (exclusively) within any

GSM network by the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI).
The SIM card contains the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), which
is used to identify
the subscriber in any of the GSM systems, and the crypto procedures
graphics that save the user's information secret as well as others
data

The BSS radio subsystem:

The BTS base station (Base Transceiver Station)

The Base Transceiver Station contains all the transceivers called TRX connected
to the cell and whose function is to transmit and receive information about the
Radio channel by providing a physical interface between the Mobile Station and the BSC.

The BTS, which are transmitters-receivers with a minimum level of intelligence, they
are involved with the following features:

Ensure radio coverage of a cell (radius of 200m to ~30 km).

Presents from 1 to 8 radio carriers, 8 full-rate channels per carrier.
Handles: modulation/demodulation, error correction,
 encryption of communications, measuring quality and reception strength.

BSC Base Station Controller

The station controller of n Controller manages the radio resources for one or
several BTS, through monitoring the connection between the BTS and the MSC (it
These are switching centers that provide connection to the fixed network or to others.
networks), and, also, through radio channels, coding, frequency hopping and the
handover. It allows more precisely:

The management and configuration of the radio channel: he must choose for each call
the most suitable cell and must select within it the channel
the most suitable radio for starting communication.
The decoding functions of Full Rate (16 kbps) or Half Rate radio channels
(8 kbps) for 64 kbps channels.
The intra BSC handover management: it decides, based on the readings received by
the BTS, the
time to perform the handover, in other words, the change of cell
lule lors des déplacements de l'utilisateur pendant une conversation, à
the inside of the surface of his competence
Pilot a set of base stations (up to 60)
Radio resource management: frequency assignment, control of
power...
Call management: establishment, supervision, release of
communications, etc.
Operating mission.

The Network Station Subsystem NSS

It mainly ensures the switching and routing functions. Therefore, it is.

which allows access to the public RTCP or ISDN network. In addition to the functions
essential switching components, we find functions for managing mobility,
of the security and privacy that are embedded in the GSM standard.

The MSC (Mobile Services Switching Center)

The Mobile Switching Center (MSC) is the central element of the NSS. It manages through the
information received by the HLR and the VLR, the startup and management of the coding of
all direct calls and those from different types of networks such as PSTN,
ISDN, PLMN, and PDN. It also develops the gateway functionality in relation to others.
system components and handover process management, and it ensures the
handover of ongoing calls between different BSCs or to another MSC.

Inside the service area, we can find several MSCs and each
of them is responsible for managing the traffic of one or more BSS and from
as long as users move across the entire coverage area, the MSC
must be able to manage a variable number of users in terms of type
and to the quantity and be able to ensure a consistent level of service for everyone.

It ensures the continuity of the call through the Handover process.

The HLR (Home Location Register)

When a user subscribes to a new subscription to the GSM network, all the
information concerning its identification is stored on the HLR. It has for
mission to communicate to the VLR some data related to subscribers, starting from
as long as they move from one rental area to another. Inside
in HLR the subscribers are identified as follows: MSISDN = CC / NDC / SN

Where:

. CC = Country Code, international dialing code (the French CC is 33)

. NDC = National Destination Code, national subscriber code without the zero
. SN = Subscriber Number, a number that identifies the mobile user

The Home Location Register (HLR) is a database that can be either unique
for the entire network to be distributed within the system

Permanent type information:

. The International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), information that identifies

exclusively the subscriber within any GSM network and who is also
well in the SIM card.
. The Mobile Station ISDN Number (MSISDN).
. All the services to which the subscriber has subscribed and to which he is capable
to access (voice, service
of data, SMS, possible locking of international calls, and of a
other complementary services).

Dynamic type information:

. The current position of the mobile station MS, in other words, the address of the VLR
on which it was recorded.
. Eventually the situation of a certain number of auxiliary services.

To summarize, the functions performed by the HLR are:

Security: dialogue with the AUC and the VLR

The position recording: dialogue with the VL as seen with the MSC.
The management of subscriber-related data: dialogue with the WTO and the VLR.

The VLR (Visitor Location Register)

The Visitor Location Register (VLR) is a database that stores information in a way
temporary data concerning all subscribers belonging to the surface
geographical area it controls. This data is requested from the HLR to which the subscriber
belongs. Generally to simplify the requested data and thus the structure
of the system, the manufacturers install the VLR and the MSC side by side, in such a way
that the geographic area controlled by the MSC and that controlled by the VLR
correspondent.

The visitor location recorder is a database associated with a

MSC switch. The VLR is responsible for recording information.
relative dynamics of transient subscribers in the network, thus the operator can
to know at any moment in which cell each of its subscribers is located. The data
stored by the VLR are similar to the data from the HLR but concern the
subscribers present in the concerned area.

With each movement of a subscriber, the network must update the VLR of the network.
visited the subscriber's HLR in order to be able to route a call to
the concerned subscriber or to establish a communication requested by a subscriber
visitor

The AuC (Authentication Center)

The authentication center is a function of the system that aims to verify whether the
service is requested by an authorized subscriber, either by providing the codes
authentication only for encryption.

The AUC (Authentication Center) stores for each

subscribed a secret key used to authenticate service requests and for
encrypt (crypt) communications. The AUC of each subscriber is associated with the HLR.
However, the HLR is part of the 'fixed subsystem' while the AUC is attached to the
operating and maintenance subsystem

The Operating Sub-System OSS

He ensures the management and supervision of the network. This is the function of which
The implementation is left with the most freedom in the GSM standard. The
network supervision intervenes at many levels:

. Fault detection.
. Commissioning of sites.
. Parameter setting modification.
. Statistical analysis.

In the OMCs (Operation and Maintenance Centers), we distinguish the OMC/R (Radio)
who is connected to all the entities of the BSS, through the BSC, the OMC/S (System) which is
related to the NSS subsystem through the MSC. Finally, the OMC/M (Maintenance) controls
the WTO/R and the WTO/S.
The GSM standard specifies that mobile telephony via GSM occupies two bands of
frequencies around 900 [MHz]. Table 1 shows the characteristics of
networks with GSM technology.

890-915 : Upward liaison

Frequency (MHz)
869-894: Descending liaison
Number of time intervals per frame
8
TDMA
Multiplexing technique Frequent and temporal

Modulation GMSK

Filter Gaussian (BT=0.3)

Width of the channels 200 Khz

Number of channels. 124

Total flow by channel 271 Kbits/s

Speech rate 13 Kbits/s

Maximum data rate 12 Kbits/s

Cell radius 0.3 to 30 Km

The interfaces of the GSM network:

Interfaces are protocols that allow communication between each other.

structure of the GSM network. They are an essential element defined in the GSM standard
for it is these interfaces that determine the network interconnections at the level
international. The standardization of interfaces ensures interoperability of
heterogeneous equipment.
The following table represents the names of the interfaces that connect the equipment of the
GSM network

NAME RELATION
UM MS - BTS
A-BIS BTS - BSC
A BSc - MSc
B MSC - VLR
D VLR - HLR
E MSC–MSC
 G VLR–VLR
H HLR - AUC

The GPRS Network (2.5G)

The GPRS technology adds a number of 'modules' to the network

GSM without changing the existing network. Thus, our goal is to preserve the entire
modules of the GSM architecture, we will also see that some GSM modules
will be used for the operation of the GPRS network. The establishment of a network
GPRS will allow the operator to offer new types of "Data" services to
his clients. GPRS operates in packet mode. Figure 2 presents the architecture of
GPRS network.
The Third Generation of Mobile Phones 3G (UMTS)

3G was driven to enable video applications on mobile devices and

improve the QoS of Multimedia. The targeted applications were the possibility of
watching YouTube, videoconferencing, aside from the increase in bandwidth, a point
The complex issue to solve was to move from a circuit-switched telephony service.
towards a DATA service (packet connection).

The UMTS Frequencies

The frequencies allocated for UMTS are 1885-2025 MHz and 2110-2200 MHz. The ITU
(International Telecommunication Union) designated frequency bands
for the different types of UMTS which are: UMTS TDD (Time Division Demultiplexed)
1885 to 1920 MHz and 2010 to 2025 MHz. Frequency duplex FDD (Frequency
Demultiplexed Division) 1920 to 1980 MHz and 2110 to 2170 MHz. Satellite bands:
1980 to 2010 MHz and 2170 to 2200 MHz. The bandwidth of a channel is 5 MHz.
with a real spectral width of 4.685 MHz.

The UMTS data rates

UMTS theoretically allows transfer rates of 1.920 Mbit/s, but by the end of 2004
the speeds offered by operators rarely exceed 384 Kbit/s. Nevertheless, this
The speed is significantly higher than the basic GSM bitrate of 9.6 kbit per second.

The flow rate varies depending on the place of use and the speed of movement of
the user :

In rural areas: 144 kbit/s for mobile use (car, train, etc.);

In urban areas: 384 kbit/s for pedestrian use.

In building zone: 2000 kbit/s from a fixed point.

Thanks to its bandwidth, UMTS paves the way for new applications and services.
UMTS allows, in particular, to transfer in relatively short times
multimedia content such as images, sounds, and video.

The new services mainly concern the video aspect: Video Calling, Video MMS,
Video on demand, Television.

Architecture du Réseau UMTS

The core network of UMTS is based on the fundamental elements of the GSM network and
GPRS. It is responsible for switching and routing communications (voice and
data) to external networks. Initially, the UMTS network should
rely on the GPRS network.

The UMTS network comes to combine with the already existing GSM and GPRS networks, which
bring respective Voice and Data functionalities, the UMTS network
then brings multimedia features.

The network course is divided into two parts: the circuit domain in the first.
time and the packet domain. The following figure presents the network architecture
UMTS.

Equipment Function

Node B It is an antenna that plays the role of the BTS for GSM. It manages the layer
radio interface physics. It governs channel coding, interleaving,
the adaptation of flow and the spreading. They communicate directly with
the mobile.

RNC It is a Node B controller that manages radio resources.

of the access network in a quasi-autonomous way. It is equivalent to the BSC
in the GSM network.

USIM card It ensures the security of the terminal and the confidentiality of
communications. It is the 3G equivalent of the SIM card in 2G.
 Mobile station It is a terminal that can communicate with GSM / GPRS networks.
UMTS for nationwide coverage while relying on networks
satellites for global coverage if necessary. The terminal is
equipped with a browser, an evolution of the WAP browser present in the
current GSM system.

Equipment Domain circuit for telephone conversations: MSC/VLR and

GSM/GPRS GMSC.

Package domain for non-real-time services (browsing on

the Internet, network game management and access/use of e-
mails) : SGSN and GGSN.

Le mode de transmission dans le réseau UMTS

This network relies on two modes:

The circuit mode

The circuit domain will manage the real-time services dedicated to

telephone conversations (video telephony, video games, multimedia applications).
These applications require a fast transfer time. When introducing
In UMTS, the data rate of the circuit-switched mode will be 384 Kbits/s. The infrastructure
then relies on the main elements of the GSM network: MSC1VLR (bases
existing data) and the GMSC in order to have a direct connection to the network
external.

Packet mode

The packet domain will allow for the management of non-real-time services. It is about
primarily from Internet browsing, from managing online games as well
that the access and use of emails. These applications are less time-sensitive
of transfer, that is why the data will be transmitted in packet mode. The
The packet domain throughput will be seven times faster than the circuit mode, approximately.
2Mbits1s. The infrastructure relies on the main elements of the GPRS network.
SGSN (existing databases in GPRS packet mode, equivalent to MSC 1
VLR in GSM network) and the GGSN (equivalent of the GMSC in GSM network) that will play the
role of switch to the Internet and other public or private networks
data transmission.

The interfaces of the UMTS network.

 Interfaces are protocols that allow communication between each other.
structure of the UMTS network. They are an essential element defined in the standard
UMTS, the following table represents the names of the interfaces that connect the
equipment of a GSM network:

NAME RELATION
UU UE - UTRAN
LUB NodeB–RNC
LUR RNC–RNC
LU RNC–CN

Access method CDMA

Access mode FDD and TDD

Frequencies - FDD mode (MHz) 1920-1980 for the ascending channel

2110-2170 for the downlink channel

Frequencies - TDD mode (MHz) 1900-1920 for the rising canal

2010-2025 for the downstream channel

Frequency band (MHz) 5

Modulation QPSK

Radio frame duration (ms) 10

Theoretical flow 1.99 Mbit/s

Actual flow 384 Kbit/s

Conclusion:

GSM UMTS
MAXIMAL DEBIT UL 118 Kbits/s 384 Kbits/s
MAXIMAL DEBIT DL 236 Kbits/s 384 Kbits/s
LATENCY 300 ms 250 ms
 WIDTH OF THE CHANNEL 200 KHz 5 MHz
ACCESS TECHNIQUES TDMA CDMA
MULTIPLES
MODULATION UL 8PSK BPSK
MODULATION DL GMSK QPSK
BANDS OF 900/1800 MHz 900/2100 MHz
USUAL FREQUENCIES

The Fourth Generation of Mobile Phones 4G

Services associated with LTE

It is still early to definitively identify new services associated with LTE.

Nevertheless, the technical characteristics of the latter allow for the release
some clues. LTE is distinguished from previous technologies by:

a large cellular capacity, which can be broken down into a large number of UEs
using medium or low bandwidth services simultaneously, or few EU
using high-speed services simultaneously;

a low latency.

The first change brought by LTE in terms of user experience is

therefore an increased comfort in using online services: web pages and
emails load quickly thanks to the very high speed, while the
reduced latency guarantees an almost instant response to requests, for example
to initiate the loading of a web page or a video. The very high speed allows
also the introduction of new mobile services such as high video
3D definition on wide tablet-type screens. Furthermore, the low latency.
opens the door to new mobile services that were difficult to implement until now.
One can particularly mention online video games, which are expected to develop accordingly.
on mobile terminal. The low latency also allows for support on the networks
mobile developments from fixed Internet, such as the development of services of
cloud computing or SaaS (Software as a Service), where the user makes use of
computing capabilities and software implemented on a remote server, the resources
the terminal calculation only serving to access the network and to ensure the interface
user. Low latency is essential for these services to ensure the subscriber
a service perception similar to what he would have with installed software
directly on the terminal.

Generalities:

The LTE standard is defined by the 3GPP consortium.

It was considered a third generation standard '3.9G' because in the

"versions 8 and 9" of the standard, it did not meet all the specifications
techniques imposed for 4G standards.

the ITU granted in December 2010, to the standards the commercial possibility of being
considered as "4G" technologies, due to a significant improvement in
performance compared to that of the first "3G" systems: UMTS and
CDMA2000.

LTE uses radio frequency bands with a width that can vary.
from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz in a theoretical frequency range of 450 MHz
at 3.8 GHz.

The following table represents the different characteristics of the LTE network.
modulation, access modes, frequency bands...)

1910-1920 : Rising Liaison

Frequency (Mhz) in TDD
2010-2025: Downward link
1920-1960: Rising Connection
Frequency (MHz) in FDD
2110-2170: Downlink
OFDMA: Downlink liaison
Access mode
SC-FDMA: Uplink
Duplication FDD/TDD

Modulation QPSK/16QAM/64QAM

Width of the channels From 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz.

100 Mbps: Downlink.
Flow
50 Mbps: Upload link.
5 Bits/s/Hz: Downlink
Spectral efficiency
2.5 Bits/s/Hz: Uplink

Architecture of the 4th generation:

 The new blocks specified for the architecture, also known as EPS
(Evolved Packet System), are the EPC (Evolved Packet Core) and the E-UTRAN
Evolved UTRAN

Evolved Packet System EPS :

The figure below shows a simplified architecture of the EPS part of the network.
LTE:
 EPC: Evolved Packet Core

The core network called 'EPC' (Evolved Packet Core) uses technologies
full IP, that is to say based on Internet protocols for signaling which
allows for reduced latency times, the transport of voice and data.
The core network allows interconnection via routers with other eNodeBs.
distant, the networks of other mobile operators, the fixed-line telephony networks
and the Internet network.
The EPC core network consists of several elements as shown in the figure.
next :

EPC plays a role equivalent to NSS in the GPRS network. The core network is made up of
of two parts:

The Signalization part

Manages the mobility and attachment of subscribers to the network, this is the MME.
A database allowing among other things to authenticate the subscriber, to consult
their subscriptions and encrypt communications, it is the HSS.

MME : Mobility Management Entity

This part is responsible for the localization and tracking of the mobile terminal.
(UE) between calls and selecting a good S-GW (Serving Gateway) through
a connection.
As she completes the final point of protection through coding, therefore by
therefore it is the point that validates the signaling interception. Thus, that it
controls the signal between the UE (User Equipment) and the core network, and ensures
the establishment, maintenance, and expansion of the radio service carrier.

HSS: Home Subscriber Service

Database similar to HLR in GSM/WCDMA core network that contains

the subscriber-related information (the neighboring subscribers), and carries the call of
control and session management. It is primarily intended to
 authentication, authorization, security, throughput and provides a location
detailed to the user.

PDN-GW: Packet Data Network GateWay

It is a bearer of the data path between the UE and PDN with three segments:
- The radio bearer between UE and eNodeB.
- The bearer of data between eNodeB and SGW.
- The bearer of data between SGW and PGW.

PCRF: Policy and Charging Rules Function

Responsible for the main decision of the control. It provides a QoS of authorization.
to decide on data processing while respecting the subscription of
users.

SGW : Serving Gateway

It is the main junction between the radio access network and the core Serving network.
GetWay (SGW) routes the data packets, maintains the connection
the inter-eNodeB Handover, then inter-system Handover between LTE and GSM/UMTS
and reserves the context of the mobile terminal (UE), such as the parameters of the
service bearer and the routing of information.

P-GW: Packet-Switch Gateway

Packet-Switch Gateway (P-GW) Provides connectivity to the mobile terminal (UE)

to the external packet of the information network and allocates the IP addresses of a UE,
as well as QoS applications, and maintains the mobile connection between
LTE/UMTS/GSM systems and non-3GPP systems.

SGSN: Serving GPRS Support Node

Interconnect LTE, UMTS, and the GSM network to increase mobility.

The eUTRAN radio part

The radio part of the network, called 'eUTRAN', is simplified compared to those
of 2G networks (BSS) and 3G (UTRAN) through integration into base stations
eNodeB » with fiber optic links and IP links connecting the eNodeB
between them (links X2). As well as control functions that were previously
implemented in the RNC (Radio Network Controller) of 3G UMTS networks.
This part is responsible for the management of radio resources, the carrier,
compression, security, and connectivity to the advanced core network.

eNodeB
 The eNodeB is the equivalent of the BTS in the GSM network and NodeB in UMTS,
The handover feature is more robust in LTE. These are antennas that
connecting the UEs to the LTE core network via the RF air interface. As they
the functionality of the radio controller lies in eNodeB, the result is
more efficient, and the network has less latency, for example, mobility is determined
instead of BSC or RNC.

The IMS (IP Multimedia Sub-system) part

The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a standardized NGN (Next Generation Network) architecture.
Generation Network) for telecommunications operators, which allows providing
fixed and mobile multimedia services. This architecture uses VoIP technology
as well as a standardized 3GPP implementation.

Existing telephone systems (packet switching and switching of

circuits) are supported. The goal of IMS is not only to allow
new services, existing or future, offered on the Internet, users must
also be able to use these services while traveling (situation of
roaming) than from their home.

To do this, the IMS uses standard IP protocols. Thus, a multimedia session,

that it takes place between two IMS users, between an IMS user and a
internet user, or rather between two internet users, is established using exactly
the same protocol. In addition, the service development interfaces are
also based on IP protocols. That is why IMS truly
converge the Internet and the world of mobile telephony; It uses technologies
cell phones to provide access anywhere, and Internet technologies to provide
the services.

The layers of the radio interface:

The physical layer

Layer 1, also called Layer 1 (L1) or the PHY layer, represents the layer
physical. Its role is to ensure the transmission of data in a form capable
to propagate in the air and to resist the various disturbances inherent in the
mobile radio channel. From a functional point of view, the physical layer offers a
transport service on the air interface at the MAC layer.

The physical layer performs the following functions for data transmission:

channel coding, which protects information bits against errors

transmission, by introducing redundancy in the bit sequence
transmission;
modulation, which associates the bits to be transmitted with modulation symbols
capable of producing an electromagnetic wave;
 spatial treatments (known as MIMO), which precodes the symbols of
modulation in order to transmit them from multiple antennas (for example to
give a direction to the emitted signal);
the multicarrier modulation, which associates the signal to be transmitted on each
antenna with multiple carriers, according to the principle of OFDM for the channel
downlink and SC-FDMA in uplink.

The inverse operations are performed by the physical layer in reception, as well as
treatments to combat interference (for example, equalization). Moreover, the
physical layer performs functions not involving data transmission,
but necessary for its operation, as well as for certain functions of the layer
MAC :

radio measurements, to estimate the transmission channel, the quality of the signal
from the serving cell, or the power levels received from another
cell, or another radio system;
synchronization, in order to acquire and maintain synchronization over time
and frequency with the transmitter's carrier;
cell detection, in order to detect the presence of cells and to it
connect, at the start of the EU or to prepare a handover;
the signaling of control information between eNodeB and UE.

Layer 2

Layer 2 consists of three sub-layers:

PDCP (Packet Data Compression Protocol)

RLC (Radio Link Control)
MAC (Medium Access Control).

These sublayers are involved in the transfer of data, from the user plane as
of the control plane. Only the PDCP sub-layer is designed to handle differently
the data from these two plans. For RLC and MAC, it is the configuration that
determine the possible treatment differences to apply to the flows.

MAC (Media Access Control) is responsible for the interface between the upper layers.
and the physical layer. It also includes multiplexing mechanisms.

RLC (Radio Link Control) ensures reliable data transmission in packet mode.

PDCP (Packet Data Control Protocol): This layer is responsible for compression
and data decompression for their transmission over the network.

Layer 3:

RRC (Radio Resource Control): is layer 3. As its name suggests, the RRC
is responsible for monitoring resources to ensure Quality of Service (QoS).
Two states are possible:
RRC_IDLE (no device connected) or RRC_CONNECTED.
The following figure presents the layered architecture:

The following figure presents a summary of the functions performed by the different
protocols present in the protocol stack of an LTE UE.
4G speeds and frequencies:

The maximum throughput targets defined for LTE are as follows:

- 100 Mbit/s downstream for an allocated bandwidth of 20
MHz, resulting in a peak spectral efficiency of 5 bits/s/Hz.
- 50 Mbit/s upstream for an allocated bandwidth of 20 MHz,
a peak spectral efficiency of 2.5 bit/s/Hz.

These figures assume a reference EU including:

- Two antennas in reception.
- A transmitting antenna.

For LTE, there are two transmission antennas at the base station and two antennas
in reception at the EU level. The user can thus access their favorite services
at home or outside his home with a uniform fluidity. In addition, the
throughput is considered as a factor of comparison between operators and a race for
Debit is up and running in certain countries.

Finally, ever higher speeds open the door to the introduction of new
services, sources of revenue and/or differentiation for operators.

Latency

Control plane latency

The goal set for LTE is to improve the latency of the control plane compared to
UMTS, through a transition time of less than 100 ms between a UE idle state
and an active state authorizing the establishment of the user plan.

User plan latency

The user plane latency is defined by the transmission time of a packet between
the IP layer of the EU and the IP layer of an access network node or vice versa. In
In other words, the user plan latency corresponds to the transmission delay of a
IP packet within the access network. LTE aims for user plane latency.
less than 5 ms under low network load conditions and for packets
Small IP.

The following table presents the two types of latency existing in the LTE network,
as well as their differences in the areas of duplexing (FDD and TDD).
 User plan latency Control plane latency for the transition
(ms) from standby state to active (ms)

FDD TDD FDD TDD

<5 <= 6.2 EN DL 80 85
<= 9.5 EN UL

Agility in frequency

LTE must be able to operate on carriers of different widths in order to

to adapt to varied spectral allocations. The bandwidths initially
requirements were subsequently modified to become the following: 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5
MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz and 20 MHz in both ascending and descending directions. It should be noted that
The peak throughput is proportional to the bandwidth. FDD duplexing modes.
and TDD must be supported for all these bandwidths.

Mobility

Mobility is a key function for a mobile network. LTE aims to remain

functional for units moving at high speeds (up to 350 km/h, and
even 500 km/h depending on the frequency band), while being optimized for
low EU speeds (between 0 and 15 km/h). Real-time services like the
Voice services must be offered with the same level of quality as in UMTS.
Release 6. The effect of intra-system handovers (mobility procedure between two
LTE cells) on voice quality should be lower than in GSM, or equivalent. The
the system must also integrate mechanisms that optimize delays and loss
packets during an intrasystem handover. LTE must also coexist with other
3GPP technologies. To do this, the following requirements have been defined.
The EU implementing GSM and UMTS technologies in addition to LTE.
must be able to carry out handovers from and to
GSM and UMTS systems, as well as the associated measurements. The consequences of
these mechanisms on the complexity of the EU and the system must remain
limited.
The downtime during a handover procedure between the
the LTE system and the GSM or UMTS systems must remain below 300 ms for
real-time services and less than 500 ms for other services

Antenna characteristics:

The antenna is a device for emitting/receiving electromagnetic waves,

characterized by its gain, radiation pattern, its apertures and its bandwidth
passer. This equipment directly influences the performance and range of
system.
 Usage frequencies: The most important characteristic of an antenna,
also called airborne, is the frequency band supported; that is to say the
frequencies that the antenna will be able to emit and receive.
Directivity: The second important characteristic is the directivity on the
horizontal plan, it is actually the direction(s) in which the antenna will go
to emit.
Range: It depends on the EIRP (Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power) of
the antenna, but also its orientation.
Gain–Power: Each antenna has its own gain. The gain
is the amplification that the antenna performs on the input signal. This gain is expressed
in dB or dBi, and is around 2 to 11 dBi for omnidirectional antennas
and up to 18 dBi for directional antennas.
Azimuth: Each antenna is directed in a direction determined by
simulations, in such a way as to precisely cover the defined area. The direction
main propagation of the antenna, that is to say the direction in which
the antenna emits at its highest power directed in the azimuth
established. The azimuth is an angle measured in degrees, positively in the
clockwise, starting from the north (0°). In this way, the azimuth 90° corresponds
to the east, the azimuth 180° to the south, etc....
Tilt: Just like the azimuth, the tilt (or down-tilt) is left to the discretion of the
antenna installers who orient them according to the recommendations of
the operator. The tilt is the angle of inclination (in degrees) of the azimuth of the lobe
the main of the antenna in the vertical plane. The radiation diagram
from an antenna with a positive tilt will be directed upwards, while a negative tilt
will point the antenna downwards.

There are two types of tilt:

Mechanical tilt: is applied through a simple physical inclination of

the antenna in the desired direction, but indeed the tilt is not
applied only to the main lobe while the secondary lobes remain
constants, This phenomenon is not taken into account during the
system planning and can lead to undesirable effects such as the
interference problem.

Electric tilt: is applied by playing on a small mechanical part.

under the antenna, by applying an electrical tilt of 0° to 10°, we play on
the phase shift of signals in the different dipoles and thus the change of
this parameter is applied to all lobes and over the entire azimuth radius
without touching the inclination of the antenna.

The quality of service control

Quality of service control is essential for the operator in order to guarantee a

satisfying user experience. LTE technology offers so-called mechanisms
differentiated quality of service to facilitate the consideration of constraints
different services. Mobile services can be distinguished according to two
main criteria, often closely related.

Is the service real-time or non-real-time?

Does the service tolerate transmission errors?

These service characteristics involve differentiated support.

of the network. It is easy to understand that the processing of a voice call will not impose
the same constraints as downloading a file. Generally speaking,
real-time services (for example, a voice call or a video streaming call)
require short transmission times but can tolerate errors of
transmission.

On the other hand, non-real-time services (for example, an email download

electronic or file) have relaxed deadlines constraints but do not
do not tolerate transmission errors. LTE was designed to distinguish
services requiring a guaranteed bitrate or GBR (Guaranteed Bit Rate), services do not
no guaranteed debit request (non-GBR).

Peak spectral efficiency

The peak spectral efficiency (in bits/s/Hz) characterizes the maximum theoretical data rate offered
by technology. It is determined by the modulation and coding scheme.
the highest possible spectral efficiency, as well as by the number of layers
spatial streams that can be multiplexed on the same resources in SU-MIMO. This
spectral efficiency is not very representative of the actual performance of the system, because
To reach it, the UEs must be very close to the eNodeB; on the other hand, it
is easy to calculate.

The peak spectral efficiency of LTE is summarized in the following table for
different antenna configurations, where an antenna configuration is N × M
corresponds to N antennas at the transmitter and M antennas at the receiver. These figures are
obtained from the maximum performances of the system for a single user equipment in the
cell, for the categories of UE 4 and 5.

Handover performance
Principle of handover:

The performance of the handover is measured by the interruption time of the user plan.
during a cell change, or, in other words, the interruption time of the
communication that a user may undergo. This time is calculated analytically in
function of the delay of synchronization procedures and random access on the
new cell. The interruption times for FDD and TDD modes are given
in the following table.

These interruption times correspond to the shortest possible durations.

when the random access procedure is successfully completed. In TDD, the time
interruption depends on the upstream/downstream configuration; that one
given in the table corresponds to the configuration that allows the highest interruption
short. It is observed that these interruption times are very short and cannot be
detected by the user. Note that these interruption times are valid for a
destination cell located on the same frequency as the source cell or on a
different frequency, whether it is on the same frequency band or on
another band.

The MIMO technique:

In traditional communication systems, there is only one antenna.
the broadcast and an antenna at the reception (SISO). However, future services of
wireless mobile communications require more data transmissions
(increase in transmission capacity). Thus, to increase the capacity of
SISO systems and meet these demands, the bandwidths of these systems and the
The powers to be transmitted have been largely increased. But the recent
developments have shown that the use of multiple antennas for transmission and
the reception allowed to increase the data transmission rate and that without
neither increase the bandwidth of the receiving antenna of the SISO system, nor the
signal power at transmission. This transmission technique is called MIMO
(Multiple Input, Multiple Output).
A MIMO system takes advantage of the multipath environment by using the
different propagation channels created by reflection and/or diffraction of waves
to increase the transmission capacity. Hence the importance of obtaining signals
independent on the antennas.

The different types of MIMO coding

Multiplexing:

It is essential that any cellular communication system must be able to

transmit in both directions simultaneously.

In order to be able to transmit in both directions, a UE or a station of

the base must have a duplex scheme.

There are two modes of frequency multiplexing:

The LTE specifications provide for operation in dual mode: multiplexing of

frequencies (FDD) and time division multiplexing (TDD).

In FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) mode, transmission and reception take place at
different frequencies.
In TDD mode, transmission and reception occur at the same frequency, but at
different moments.
FDD multiplexing

FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) refers to a duplexing method in the

wireless telecommunications domain. The transmission and reception of data is
have at different frequencies; in other words, the frequency of the carrier of the
The signal is different depending on whether the direction of the connection is ascending or descending.

This technique allows for simultaneous transmission and reception, that is its main feature.
advantage over the other major duplexing technique, Time Division Duplexing
(TDD).

Multiplexing TDD

The Duplex by time separation TDD (Time-Division Duplex) is a technique

allowing a communication channel using the same resource to
transmission (a radio channel for example) to separate in time the emission and the
reception.

This technique has a clear advantage in cases where the emission rates and
Reception rates are variable and asymmetric. When the emission rate increases
you decrease, more or less bandwidth can be allocated. Another
The advantage of this technique concerns mobile terminals moving at very low speeds.
speed or in fixed position.

Multi-carrier transmissions:

The transmission in LTE is based on a modulation of multiple carriers called

OFDM (for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing). OFDM is used in
downlink, as well as the multiple access mode based on OFDM:
OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access). In the uplink,
use a modulation derived from OFDM called SCFDMA (for Single Carrier)
Frequency Division Multiple Access

OFDM:

Voice call capacity:

The voice call capacity characterizes the maximum number of users that can
passer des appels voix simultanément sur une cellule. Cette capacité en LTE est
often called Voice over IP (VoIP) capability, as the voice service in LTE is not supported
that by VoIP. It is evaluated by computer simulation of the network in some
well-defined scenarios.

VoIP capacity (number of UE/cell)

FDD TDD
69 67

Handover Performance:
The performance of the handover is measured by the user plane interruption time.
During a cell change, or, in other words, the interruption time of the
communication that a user may undergo.
Interruption time during a handover (ms)
FDD TDD
10.5 12.5