LTE Advanced offers considerably higher data rates than even the initial release

s of LTE. While the spectrum usage efficiency has been improved, this alone cann
ot provide the required data rates that are being headlined for 4G LTE Advanced.
To achieve these very high data rates it is necessary to increase the transmissi
on bandwidths over those that can be supported by a single carrier or channel. T
he method being proposed is termed carrier aggregation, CA, or sometimes channel
aggregation. Using LTE Advanced carrier aggregation, it is possible to utilise
more than one carrier and in this way increase the overall transmission bandwidt
h.
These channels or carriers may be in contiguous elements of the spectrum, or the
y may be in different bands.
Spectrum availability is a key issue for 4G LTE. In many areas only small bands
are available, often as small as 10 MHz. As a result carrier aggregation over mo
re than one band is contained within the specification, although it does present
some technical challenges.
Carrier aggregation is supported by both formats of LTE, namely the FDD and TDD
variants. This ensures that both FDD LTE and TDD LTE are able to meet the high d
ata throughput requirements placed upon them.
LTE carrier aggregation basics
The target figures for data throughput in the downlink is 1 Gbps for 4G LTE Adva
nced. Even with the improvements in spectral efficiency it is not possible to pr
ovide the required headline data throughput rates within the maximum 20 MHz chan
nel. The only way to achieve the higher data rates is to increase the overall ba
ndwidth used. IMT Advanced sets the upper limit at 100 MHz, but with an expectat
ion of 40 MHz being used for minimum performance. For the future it is possible
the top limit of 100 MHz could be extended.
It is well understood that spectrum is a valuable commodity, and it takes time t
o re-assign it from one use to another in view - the cost of forcing users to mo
ve is huge as new equipment needs to be bought. Accordingly as sections of the s
pectrum fall out of use, they can be re-assigned. This leads to significant leve
ls of fragmentation.
To an LTE terminal, each component carrier appears as an LTE carrier, while an L
TE-Advanced terminal can exploit the total aggregated bandwidth.