Seminar report on

ENHANCED DATA RATES FOR GLOBAL EVOLUTION

By

BHAVNA SEWLANI Roll No. 4165, BE I, Computer Engineering, Pune Institute of Computer Technology At Pune Institute of Computer Technology, S No.27, Pune Satara Road, Dhankavadi, Pune - 411043

Pune Institute of Computer Technology

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Bhavna Sewlani, Roll No 4165, a student of B.E. Computer Engineering has completed the seminar report and other requirements of the seminar for the batch of Computer Engineering 2004-2005.

Date : Place :

Mrs. M. S. Taklikar Seminar Coordinator

Mrs. K. Mehunkar Seminar Guide

Prof. S. S. Pawar HOD, Computers

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It gives me immense pleasure in expressing my gratitude to my seminar coordinator Mrs. M. S. Taklikar and my seminar guide Mrs. K. Mehunkar for their tremendous help and valuable guidance. I am also grateful to Prof S. S. Pawar (HOD, Computers) for providing all facilities and help for smooth progress of seminar work.

Bhavna Sewlani BE - Computers

ABSTRACT

EDGE (or Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution) is a 3G technology that delivers broadband-like data speeds to mobile devices. Thus the goal of EDGE is to provide a packet data network that provides operating rates that are of adequate speed for most applications. An overview of EDGE with particular focus on enhancement in GPRS is discussed in brief. This paper also describes the GPRS/EDGE Network Architecture. The primary modifications required are at physical layer and data link layer, which are the focus of this paper. EDGE achieves this increase in throughput rate mainly through enhancement to the physical layer and the RLC/MAC layer of the GPRS system. This paper also discusses the processes that occur when a mobile user wishes to use the GPRS packet data system. Lastly the advantages and applications of EDGE services are provided.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 6 2. What is EDGE?.. 6 3. Standard EDGE.. 7 3.1.EDGE Classic.. 7 3.2.EDGE Compact.... 8 3.3.Classic versus Compact.... 9 4. GPRS/EDGE Network Architecture.10 4.1.Mobile Station.10 4.2.Base Station Subsystem (BSS)... 11 4.3.GPRS Support Nodes. 12 4.3.1. Serving GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN).12 4.3.2. Gateway GPRS Support Nodes (GGSN).. 12 5. Processes that occur due to use of GPRS packet data system. 13 5.1.Data Transfer.. 13 5.2.Physical Layer 13 5.3.Channel Coding, Interleaving and Puncturing... 14 5.4.Modulation. 15 5.5.Link Adaptation & Incremental Redundancy 15 5.6.MAC Layer 17 5.6.1. Dynamic Allocation. 18 5.6.2. Extended Dynamic Allocation. 18 5.6.3. Fixed Allocation18

5.7.RLC layer19 5.7.1. Unacknowledged Operation.. 19 5.7.2. Acknowledged Operation..19 6. Advantages of EDGE20 6.1.EDGE Brings More Speed and Capacity when Needed.20 6.2.EDGE Boosts Data Rates 21 6.3.EDGE builds on existing GSM network.... 21 7. Added Benefits with EDGE. 21 7.1.For Operators. 21 7.2.For End Users 22 8. Applications of EDGE. 22 9. Conclusions.. 23 10.Notes. 23 11.References 24

1. INTRODUCTION Enhancements in data capability over the core GSM network will be provided with the introduction of Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution - known as EDGE. It is a 3G technology that delivers broadband-like data speeds to mobile devices. This will achieve the delivery of advanced mobile services such as the downloading of video and music clips, full multimedia messaging, high-speed color Internet access and e-mail on the move. It allows consumers to connect to the Internet and send and receive data, including digital images, web pages and photographs, three times faster than possible with an ordinary GSM/GPRS network. EDGE enables GSM operators to offer higher-speed mobile-data access, serve more mobile-data customers, and free up GSM network capacity to accommodate additional voice traffic.

EDGE is being introduced into GSM networks around the world in 2003, initially in North America. Currently EDGE is more actively supported by GSM operators in the USA than anywhere else in the world because GSM/GPRS has a strong competitor in USA: CDMA2000. This work is being performed by the UWCC (Universal Wireless Communications Consortium) and ETSI. 2. WHAT IS EDGE? Definition Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) is a digital mobile phone technology which acts as a bolt-on enhancement to 2G and 2.5G (a.k.a.GPRS) networks. This technology is compatible with TDMA and GSM networks.When it is combined with the GPRS, it allows a medium flow of 384 KBits/s (limited to 200 KBits/s for the EDGE Compact) and a theoretical maximum flow of 474 KBits/s.. System EDGE is also called EGPRS (Enhanced GPRS) EDGE is a technology that gives GSM the capacity to handle services for the third generation of mobile telephony. Instead of employing GMSK (Gaussian minimum-shift keying) EDGE additionally uses 8PSK (8 Phase Shift Keying) producing a 3bit word for every change in carrier phase. This effectively triples the gross data rate offered by GSM. Thus EDGE operators can handle three times more subscribers than GPRS; triple their data rate per subscriber, or add extra capacity to their voice communications. EDGE uses the same TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) frame structure, logic channel and 200kHz carrier bandwidth as today's GSM networks, which allows existing cell plans to remain intact. Like GPRS,EDGE uses a rate adaptation algorithm that adapts the modulation and coding scheme (MCS)1 used to the quality of the radio channel, and thus the bit rate and robustness of data transmission. It introduces a new technology not found in GPRS, Incremental Redundancy, which, instead of retransmitting disturbed packets, sends more redundancy information to be combined in the receiver. This increases the probability of correct decoding. It can carry data speeds up to 473Kbps in packet mode and will therefore meet the International Telecommunications Union's requirement for a 3G network, and has been accepted by the ITU as part of the IMT-2000 family of 3G standards. It also enhances the circuit data mode called HSCSD, increasing the data rate of this service also.

Although EDGE requires no hardware changes to be made in GSM core networks, Base Stations must be modified. An EDGE compatible tranceiver unit must be installed and base station system needs to be upgraded to support EDGE. New mobile terminal hardware and software is also required to decode/encode using the new shift keying scheme. 3. Standard EDGE The term EDGE is used to refer to both EDGE Classic and EDGE Compact.

EDGE Classic which allows a total compatibility with the current GSM EDGE Compact which allows implementations with frequency spectra limited (less than 1 MHz)

3.1. EDGE Classic The EDGE Classic air-interface is based on the EDGE standard developed by ETSI. EDGE Classic is ETSI-EDGE with minor modifications, primarily information related to ANSI-136, that enable it to be overlaid as a packet data carrier on top of the existing ANSI-136 30 kHz air-interface. Examples of such information are pointers to the ANSI-136 Digital Control Channels (DCCH) covered by the EDGE cell and some of the broadcast information available on the ANSI- 136 DCCH. A class B ANSI-136 terminal (a terminal with ANSI-136 voice and EDGE packet data) needs this information when camping on the EDGE packet data channel in order to originate and terminate circuit-switched2 services, e.g., incoming and outgoing voice calls. Operators who can set aside 2.4 MHz of initial spectrum for data applications can overlay EDGE Classic on top of their existing ANSI-136 air-interface. 3.2. EDGE Compact EDGE Compact uses the same modulation scheme as EDGE Classic. However, there are certain key differences that enable it to be deployed in less than 1 MHz of spectrum. The key characteristics that differentiate EDGE Compact from EDGE Classic are: Inter base station time synchronization A key characteristic of EDGE Compact is that the base stations are time synchronized with each other. This makes it possible to allocate common control channels in such a way

as to prevent simultaneous transmission and reception. This creates a higher effective reuse, necessary for control signaling, e.g., 3/9 or 4/12. The base station synchronization is carried out such that the timeslot structure is aligned between sectors and the hyper-frame structures are aligned between all sectors. Time Groups and Discontinuous transmission Each base station site is typically allocated at least three frequencies, one per sector, using a 1/3frequency re-use pattern. Inter base station time synchronization makes it possible to create time-groups within every frequency. Each sector is assigned one time-group. EDGE Compact is capable of supporting up to four time-groups per carrier. The typical re-use configurations with three carriers are: 3/9 re-use using three out of the four time-groups 4/12 re-use using all four time-groups When a sector belonging to one of the time-groups transmits or receives common control signaling, the sectors belonging to other time-groups are idle, i.e., are silent in both uplink and downlink. It is worth noting that the data traffic is carried over these same frequencies without using the time group concept. This results in a 1/3 re-use pattern for data traffic. New logical control channel combination based on a standard 52 multi-frames Time Group rotation of Control Channel. EDGE Compact time group (Control Channel) rotation always occurs from frame number 3 to 4 within a 52-frame multi-frame. The pattern of rotation, as shown below, in a physical channels timeslots, is as follows: 1, 7, 5, 3, 1... This rotation makes neighbor channel measurement feasible when the mobile station is in the middle of a packet transaction. 3.3. Compact versus Classic Fundamental difference is the frequency reuse and minimum startup spectrum: Compact (1/3 and 2x 600 kHz) and for Classic (4/12 and 2x 2.4 MHz) Classic is specified by ETSI SMG2

 Compact is specified by the PDFG of the UWCC Compact achieves 4/12 reuse on control channels by combining 4/4 time reuse with 1/3 space reuse Compact achieves 2x spectral efficiency of Classic on traffic channels by combining 1/3 reuse with partial loading

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4. GPRS/EDGE Network Architecture Figure below illustrates the data transmission path of GPRS/EDGE. The GPRS Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) is composed of network elements and the communications links connecting these elements. The network elements relevant to this discussion are the Mobile Station (MS), the Base Transceiver Station (BTS), the Base Station Controller (BSC), the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), and the Gateway GPRS Support Node (SGSN).

SGSN
BTS

GGSN Gn

A-bis
BTS

BSC

Gb

A-bis

8-PSK coverage GMSK coverage

Structure of GSM/GPRS Network 4.1. Mobile Stations GSM mobile stations must be designed with the appropriate protocol layers for them to support GPRS or EDGE. They also must be modified to operate on shared traffic channels and the coding schemes must be added. If the MS is EDGE-capable this means it also must implement a new modulation scheme (8-PSK). There are three classes of Mobile Stations:

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 Class A: Allows for simultaneous use of GPRS/EDGE and other GSM services (such as voice). Class B: Alternate use of GPRS/EDGE or GSM services is possible. Only one can be used at a time but it is possible to toggle back and forth. Class C: Designed for GPRS/EDGE only. This class provides no voice service. 4.2. Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

The BSS is composed of the Base Station Transceiver (BTS) and the Base Station Controller (BSC). The BTS is comprised of all the radio transmission and reception equipment. It provides coverage to a particular geographic area and is controlled by the BSC. The BSC handles the medium access and radio resource scheduling, as well as data transmission toward the mobile station over the A-bis interface. The increased bit rate provided by EDGE also increases the demand on the rest of the network path. Transmission on the A-bis interface varies greatly depending on the call type in use. Instead of allocating fixed transmission capacity according to the highest possible data rate for each traffic channel it is much more efficient and economically practical to share common transmission resources between several traffic channels. This common resource is call the EGPRS Dynamic A-bis Pool (EDAP). The EDAP functionality allocates capacity to cells only when it is needed so reserving a full, fixed transmission link per radio does not waste resources. The size and number of EDAPs in a BSC has an impact on the Packet Control Unit (PCU) dimensioning. The PCU is limited in the number of A-bis channels it can support and The BSC has a limitation on the number of PCUs it can support. The number of PCUs selected for use also has an impact on the Gb interface and the SGSN dimensioning.

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4.3. GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN) The advent of GPRS brought two new elements to the GSM system. These are the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). The SGSN controls GPRS service in a particular geographical coverage area. The GGSN serves as the gateway between the GPRS network and other packet networks. 4.3.1. Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) The SGSN handles mobility functions and controls the data flow toward the BSC over the Gb interface. The SGSN provides a point of attachment for the GPRS mobiles. After the mobile station has attached to the system a logical link is established between the mobile station and the SGSN, via the base station. The SGSN is responsible for the transport and delivery of packets to and from the user. This requires the SGSN to keep track of the current location of each mobile station attached to it. It is responsible for validating the mobile stations, before they are allowed access to the GPRS system, and also performing security functions such as authentication and ciphering. 4.3.2. Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) The GGSN provides connectivity to the external packet data networks (PDN). The primary role of the GGSN is to route data to the mobile stations at their current points of attachment. All packets between the external PDNs and the GPRS network enter and exit from the GGSN. Once the mobile station activates its packet data address, the mobile station is registered with the corresponding GGSN. The GGSN maintains a routing table associating the active GPRS mobiles in the system with a particular SGSN. The enhancement of GPRS to EDGE does not greatly impact these important network support elements (SGSN and GGSN) with the exception of the increased demand associated with the faster data rates that EDGE allows. The primary modifications required are at the physical layer and the data link layer, therefore, these required major modifications are the focus of this paper. However, before concentrating on the differences required for EDGE it may be useful to briefly discuss the process that occurs when a mobile user wishes to use the GPRS packet data system.

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5. PROCESSES THAT OCCUR DUE TO USE OF GPRS PACKET DATA SYSTEM 5.1. Data Transfer When the PDP Context Activation has been completed, the data session may begin. Communication between the SGSN and the GGSN is achieved through the use of tunneling. This is the process of adding a header to the existing packet so that it can be routed through the backbone network. When the packet reaches the far side of the GPRS network the additional header is discarded and the packet continues on its route based on the original header. The use of tunneling helps solve the problem of mobility for the packet networks and eliminates the complex task of protocol interworking. The GPRS system employs tunneling when sending packets from the mobile station to fixed nodes and also when sending from fixed nodes to mobile stations. This is a distinction from mobile IP, which only uses tunneling in the second case. 5.2. Physical Layer Both GPRS and EDGE adapt to the current channel conditions. During good channel conditions they utilize coding schemes that result in the highest throughput rate possible. During poor channel conditions they increase error protection to improve the Bit Error Rate (BER) and thereby reduce the need for retransmissions. EDGE has the capability of not only changing the channel coding rate but also changing the modulation technique. GPRS uses a rate convolutional coder and then employs different amounts of puncturing (removal of bits) to yield a code rate that is appropriate for the channel characteristics. The different puncturing levels result in four different effective coding rates and data rates. EDGE uses a rate convolutional coder and selects a puncturing rate that will maximize the net throughput. EDGE has nine different modulation coding schemes (MCS). MCS1 through MCS4 use GMSK modulation while MCS5 thorough MCS9 use 8-PSK. Incremental redundancy, also known as hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) type II, is achieved by puncturing a different set of bits each time a block is retransmitted thus gradually decreasing the effective code rate for every new transmission of the block.

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5.3. Channel coding, Interleaving and Puncturing Channel coding is the process of adding redundancy to a data stream to render it more resilient to impaired transmission situations. This redundancy is achieved by adding extra bits that are used to detect and, in some cases, correct errors. The result of this channel coding is an improvement in the Bit Error Rate (BER) but a reduction in throughput. However, due to the increased robustness of the data stream less retransmission should be required which translates into a final result of improved throughput. Figure shown below, displays the data rates possible with each coding scheme available in GPRS and EDGE. Puncturing or purposely removing bits achieves these different effective coding rates.
GPRS EDGE

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
13.4

8PSK Modulation

Raw data rate Raw data rate kbit/s per timeslot kbps per timeslot

GMSK Modulation

15.6

21.4

11.2

14.8

17.6

22.4

29.6

44.8

54.4

CS 1

CS 2

CS 3

CS 4

MC S 1

MC S 2

MCS 3

MCS 4

MCS 5

MCS 6

Schemes

Raw data rates achievable with EGPRS coding schemes Radio channels are inherently susceptible to fading conditions that can introduce bursty errors into the data transmission. Therefore the coded bits are interleaved in an attempt to randomize any such errors at the receiver. The process of interleaving3 results in output that displays isolated errors as opposed to error clusters. This results in an increased frequency of successful bit stream decoding. A 20ms EDGE radio block consists of one

15

MCS 9

MCS 7

MCS 8

59.2

9.05

8.8

RLC/MAC header and either one or two RLC data blocks. In order to support the incremental redundancy feature the header is coded and punctured independently from the data. In GPRS a radio block is interleaved and transmitted over four bursts; each one must be received correctly in order to decode the entire radio block or it must be retransmitted. EDGE handles the higher, less redundant coding schemes differently than GPRS does in an effort to overcome this problem. MCS7, MCS8 and MCS9 actually transmit two radio blocks over the four bursts and the interleaving occurs over two bursts instead of four. This reduces the number of bursts that must be retransmitted should errors occur. 5.4. Modulation The modulation scheme employed in GPRS is Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK), which provides one bit per symbol. In order to increase the bit rate per time slot 8-Phase Shift Keying (8-PSK) modulation in addition to GMSK was selected for the EDGE standardization. 8-PSK modulations transmit three consecutive bits with each symbol. So EDGE and GPRS both have the same symbol rate but the bit rate is higher in EDGE. This is the primary reason why EDGE can achieve approximately triple the throughput speed of GPRS.
I
010 011

000

111

Q
001 110

101

100

8-PSK constellation diagram 5.5. Link Adaptation and Incremental Redundancy The addition of incremental redundancy combined with link adaptation significantly improves performance compared to that resulting from pure link adaptation. The radio link quality is measured in the downlink by the

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mobile station and in the uplink by the base station. This information is used to determine the most appropriate coding scheme for the current prevailing radio channel conditions. The modulation-coding scheme can be changed for each radio block but the practical adaptation rate is usually dependent upon the measurement interval. EDGE also adds incremental redundancy to the radio link quality. The initial transmission of the data block may include little redundancy. If it is not received correctly more redundant information will be sent in the next retransmission by sending the same data block but using a different puncturing scheme. The blocks of data containing data errors are not discarded but are stored and combined with each new retransmission until the data block is successfully decoded. This process results in a lower effective code rate. Thus, the maximum achievable throughput per time slot depends on the radio channel conditions and cannot be achieved in all environments. Three block sizes are defined for the nine modulation and coding schemes. This is done to facilitate the retransmission process. For the retransmission of data the same MCS or another MCS from the same family of MCSs can be selected. The three RLC block sizes and their corresponding MCSs are shown in Figure below. An example scenario follows: MCS9 carries two RLC blocks each 74 bytes in size. If the signal to interference ratio gets too low or the noise gets too high a transmission error may occur and a retransmission will be requested. The 74 bytes blocks may then be retransmitted using MCS6 with one block per four GSM physical layer bursts. If additional coding is required this can be further segmented into two 37 bytes sub-blocks, and each can be transmitted using MCS3. The header would indicate that this is a segmented portion of a 74 byte RLC block and not a retransmission using 37 byte blocks. Thus, EDGE provides plenty of flexibility for block-by-block rate adaptation.

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MCS-3 Family A 37 octets 37 octets 37 octets 37 octets MCS-6 MCS-9

MCS-2 Family B 28 octets 28 octets 28 octets 28 octets MCS-5 MCS-7 MCS-1 Family C 22 octets 22 octets MCS-4

Relationship of the three RLC block sizes to the EGPRS Modulation coding schemes

RLC/MAC The responsibilities of the Radio Link Control (RLC) include segmentation and reassembly of Logical Link Control (LLC) Packet Data Units (PDU). The Medium Access Control (MAC) has responsibility for resource scheduling and allocation. This combination of functions determines the user performance at a system level. The efficiency of physical layer channel utilization can be determined by the resulting throughput and delay. The RLC/MAC header contains sequence numbers used to identify the order of the blocks. It also contains the Temporary Flow Identifier (TFI) that identifies the Temporary Block Flow (TBF) used to carry the data to a particular mobile station. 5.6. Medium Access Control (MAC) The MAC layer provides the capability for multiple mobile stations to share the same transmission medium through the use of contention resolution and scheduling procedures. A reservation protocol based on the Slotted Aloha protocol is used for contention resolution among several mobile stations. The MAC layer aids in queuing and scheduling of the

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access attempts. Contention can also occur within a single mobile station when different services are competing for the same limited radio resource. The MAC layer prioritizes the data to be sent with signaling data receiving a higher priority than user data. The MAC layer uses three modes to control the transfer of data in the uplink. The initial mode is specified when the Temporary Block Flow (TBF) is established. 5.6.1. Dynamic Allocation Dynamic allocation allows unused channels to be allocated as Packet Data Channels (PDCHs) and if a higher priority application requires resources the PDCHs can be released. The mobile station monitors the downlink to determine when to send data on the uplink. The Uplink State Flag (USF) is assigned to the mobile station during the establishment of a TBF. The USF is included in the header of each RLC/MAC data block sent on the downlink. It designates which mobile is allowed to transmit data in that particular PDCH of the next uplink radio block. When the mobile station detects its assigned USF it can transmit either a single RLC/MAC block or a set of four RLC/MAC blocks. Because all the mobile stations constantly monitor the USF, the allocation scheme can be altered dynamically. There are eight possible USF values, allowing up to eight users to be multiplexed onto one PDCH. 5.6.2. Extended Dynamic Allocation Extended dynamic allocation allows the mobile station to be allocated multiple time slots in a radio block without having to monitor the USF value for each time slot. It differs from dynamic allocation in that when a mobile station sees its USF value in a particular downlink timeslot it assumes that it can use that time slot and all higher numbered time slots in the allocated set during the next uplink radio block. 5.6.3. Fixed Allocation Fixed allocation assigns the mobile station exclusive use of certain channels. The network commands the mobile station to use fixed allocation via the Packet Uplink Assignment message. This message also contains a bitmap indicating the specific PDCHs, which may be used to transfer data.

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5.7. Radio Link Control (RLC) The RLC layer is responsible for error correction, retransmission, segmentation and reassembly. It is important to correct radio link errors before they are passed up to higher layers. If they are passed to the Internet they will only have the opportunity to be corrected by Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) using end-to-end transmission. This would obviously take a long time and use a large number of resources in order to complete the original transmission and then to complete an end-toend retransmission. The RLC layer uses selective retransmission to correct errors. This scheme only requires that erroneous frames be retransmitted. The correctly received frames are buffered until the erroneous frame is received correctly and then all the frames are placed in proper order and sent to the upper layer, which is the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. The RLC layer is responsible for segmentation of Logic Link Control (LLC) layer frames into RLC blocks suitable for transmission and also for reassembly at the destination location. Block Sequence Numbers (BSNs) are assigned in order to complete this reassembly task as well as to detect missing radio blocks. The RLC layer supports two modes of operation. 5.7.1. Unacknowledged Operation Unacknowledged operation does not guarantee the arrival of the transmitted RLC blocks and there is constant delay. The receiver attempts to preserve the length of the data blocks it receives. This is useful for real time applications such as video. 5.7.2. Acknowledged Operation Acknowledged operation does guarantee the arrival of the transmitted RLC blocks. Selective retransmission is used to retransmit data blocks that did not arrive error free. BSNs are used to determine which blocks are missing and to request retransmission of all missing or improperly received blocks. The two types of retransmission schemes are Type I ARQ and Type II hybrid ARQ. Type I ARQ is used by the receiver and the transmitter to ensure that all bocks are delivered error free. Type II hybrid ARQ is the more elaborate method that involves storing incorrectly received blocks and then combining them with the retransmitted blocks in order to restore the correct original data. For each RLC peer-to-peer entity there is a transmit and receive window size established that allows a limited number of blocks to be

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transmitted prior to receiving an acknowledgement. The window size for EDGE is set according to the number of time slots allocated in the direction of the TBF and ranges from 64 to 192 for single time slot operation or 64 to 1024 for 8-time slot operation. In GPRS the window size is set at 64. The larger window size in EDGE allows more blocks to be transmitted before the acknowledgement is required and reduces the probability of stalling the transmission window. It also makes it possible for EDGE to use a higher operating Block Error Rate because of the use of incremental redundancy. For this purpose a larger window is needed to enable multiple copies of each data block without causing the window to stall. Thus the physical layer is enhanced by the addition of 8-PSK modulation, new coding schemes, and incremental redundancy. 8-PSK increases the bit rate by mapping three bits to each symbol, which has the effect of almost tripling the bit rate. The number of coding schemes has been increased from four to nine permitting the selection of the optimal rate for the current channel conditions through the link adaptation mechanism. Incremental redundancy is the mechanism by which erroneous data packets get combined to re-create an error free data packet. EDGE introduces re-segmentation of RLC blocks. Blocks determined to contain errors can be retransmitted utilizing a more robust coding scheme until they are correctly received. A larger window size is provided in EDGE that prevents the stalling of transmission, which in turn reduces the wasteful transmission of blocks due to the RLC protocol. The use of the combined Link Adaptation and Incremental Redundancy scheme results in an increase in system capacity due to the reduced need for retransmissions. Upgrading a network to EDGE requires relatively minor changes and results in a rather significant gain in performance and capacity. 6. ADVANTAGES OF EDGE 6.1. EDGE Brings More Speed and Capacity when Needed In mature markets, cellular data penetration is forecast to increase exponentially during the early 2000s. New wireless data applications and innovative terminal types will generate completely new markets. In a Yankee group survey, over 77 % percent of corporate respondents said that the minimum data speeds required to make mobile data viable was 56

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kbps. Aggressive operators can expect to obtain up to 30 % of their airtime and revenue from wireless data by 2000. It is also possible for EDGE to evolve to provide a voice service. EDGE transceivers would then be capable of carrying multiple speech calls per time slot, increasing voice capacity. Also, high quality codecs, e.g. 32 kbps, would be feasible. EDGE, as a voice solution, looks especially interesting for indoor systems because of its easily increased capacity. 6.2. EDGE Boosts Data Rates The EGPRS standard, for EDGE Classic and Compact, is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2000. It is expected that packet data will dominate circuit switched data in future ANSI-136/TDMA data networks, calling for EGPRS solutions with high flexibility and spectral efficiency. Also, high data rate real time services are seen as important for applications such as video retrieval and video telephony. EDGE will provide very high data rates over the 200 kHz carrier. The data rates being specified provide raw data rates of up to 60 kbps/timeslot. The aggregate data throughput of all timeslots in a EDGE carrier would exceed 473 Kbps. The EDGE features will enabled enhanced modulation to adapt to radio circumstances and hence offer the highest data rates in good propagation conditions, whilst ensuring wider area coverage at lower data speeds per timeslot. 6.3. EDGE builds on existing GSM network Due to the new air interface modulation and the greatly increased data rates, some software and hardware changes will be required to make a network EDGE capable and new mobile terminals are required for enhanced services. However, EDGE will not require any new network elements and will be able to support older mobile terminals with GMSK modulation. 7. ADDED BENEFITS WITH EDGE 7.1. For the Operator Migration to Wireless Multimedia Services The operator can increase data revenues by offering attractive new types of applications to end-users.

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Improved Customer Satisfaction Increased data capacity and higher data throughput will decrease response times for all data services, thus keeping end users satisfied and connected. Possibility of Early Market Deployment of Third Generation Type Applications EDGE networks are expected to emerge in year 2001, when mature markets are likely to start demanding multimedia applications. Quick Network Implementation EDGE will be deployed as an overlay in ANSI-136/TDMA systems and will therefore require minimal changes to the existing network. Further, EDGE capability can be introduced to the network gradually. 7.2. For the End User Improved Quality of Service Increased data capacity and higher data throughput will decrease response times for all data services, thus keeping end users satisfied and connected. Personal Multimedia Services Attractive new types of applications and terminals will become available. Potentially Lower Price Per Bit The lower cost of data capacity for high-speed data applications gives the operator flexibility in pricing. 8. APPLICATIONS OF EDGE On-line E-mail Web Enhanced short messages Wireless imaging with instant pictures Video services Document and information sharing Surveillance Voice over Internet Broadcasting required. Multimedia applications: - Customized screening and routing of calls

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- Automated media conversions to facilitate the delivery of messages - Access control (security related) services 9. CONCLUSIONS EDGE Compact can be deployed with < 2x 1 MHz of spectrum EDGE is a 3G technology offering a common migration path and convergence for GSM and TDMA operators EDGE supports IP packet data at peak rates > 384 kbps Voice over IP is planned for EDGE R2000 standards Link adaptation and Incremental Redundancy improve wireless data throughput - High rates @ good SIR, smoothly adapting to low rates - Less redundancy transmitted if not needed Tight reuse (1/3) improves spectrum efficiency - Soft capacity with partial loading - Also good for initial startup with small spectrum - Uses time reuse with synchronized base stations to address common control channel performance issues Possible Enhancements: - PHY: Diversity & Interference Suppression, smart antennas, MIMO... - MAC: Intelligent channel assignment

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10. NOTES

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MCS: Modulation & Coding Scheme. It is a term used within E-GPRS to specify which of the 9 different modulations and coding schemes is being

applied. Modulation schemes can be either GMSK or 8PSK.

2

Circuit-switched: The traditional method of providing dedicated bandwidth between sender and receiver in the form of a Time slot. End to-end delay

is predictable and constant for each connection. This type of network approach was designed for high quality- of service leased line and voice connections.
3

Interleaving: It is a process by which a stream of bits or symbols from a PDU (Protocol Data Unit) or SDU (Service Data Unit) may be spread in a

specific order with bits or symbols from other PDU or SDU. This technique is often used to reduce the effect of a burst of errors on a radio transmission link.

11. REFERENCES Books 1. Wireless Broadband Networks Handbook by John R. Vacca (TMH) 2. Computer networks By Andrew S. Tanenbaum (PHI) Websites 1. http://www.totaltele.com/whitepaper/docs/Nokia_EDGE_ANSI_136 2. Enhanced data rate for global evolution-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 3. Enhanced Data-rates for Global Evolution (EDGE): An Overview, http://www.3gamericas.org/English/Technology_Center/tutorials/edge_tutorial/sld 001.htm- 2k 4. Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution, http://www.factindex.com/e/en/enhanced_data_rates_for_global_evolution.html 5. Definition of Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution, http://www.wordiq.com/definition/EDGE 6. Deana Branton EETS8316 EDGE-Term Paper