SYSTEM TRAINING

Introduction to UMTS
Training Document

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The information in this document is subject to change without notice and describes only the product defined in the introduction of this documentation. This document is intended for the use of Nokia Networks' customers only for the purposes of the agreement under which the document is submitted, and no part of it may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or means without the prior written permission of Nokia Networks. The document has been prepared to be used by professional and properly trained personnel, and the customer assumes full responsibility when using it. Nokia Networks welcomes customer comments as part of the process of continuous development and improvement of the documentation. The information or statements given in this document concerning the suitability, capacity, or performance of the mentioned hardware or software products cannot be considered binding but shall be defined in the agreement made between Nokia Networks and the customer. However, Nokia Networks has made all reasonable efforts to ensure that the instructions contained in the document are adequate and free of material errors and omissions. Nokia Networks will, if necessary, explain issues which may not be covered by the document. Nokia Networks' liability for any errors in the document is limited to the documentary correction of errors. Nokia Networks WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE IN ANY EVENT FOR ERRORS IN THIS DOCUMENT OR FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL (INCLUDING MONETARY LOSSES), that might arise from the use of this document or the information in it. This document and the product it describes are considered protected by copyright according to the applicable laws. NOKIA logo is a registered trademark of Nokia Corporation. Other product names mentioned in this document may be trademarks of their respective companies, and they are mentioned for identification purposes only. Copyright Nokia Networks Oy 2005. All rights reserved.

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Contents
1 2 2.1 2.2 3 3.1 3.1.1 3.2 3.3 3.3.1 3.4 3.4.1 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.7.1 3.7.2 3.8 4 4.1 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.1.2.1 4.1.2.2 4.1.2.3 4.1.2.4 4.2 4.3 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.4 4.4.1 5 6 Module objectives ..................................................................................4 Background and history ........................................................................5 Specification process for UMTS ...............................................................7 UMTS network structure ........................................................................11 Network evolution ................................................................................15 Starting with the basic GSM ...................................................................15 GSM network elements ..........................................................................16 Adding value to GSM networks ..............................................................17 Adding value with GSM phase2+ and IN services .................................18 IN services .............................................................................................18 Increasing data transfer in existing GSM networks ................................19 Benefits of faster data and services .......................................................19 Evolving GSM to packet core .................................................................20 Increasing speed with EDGE .................................................................21 Evolving towards to the universal mobile network (Service platform) ....22 UMTS development ...............................................................................23 Service potential in the mobile information society ................................23 3G end-to-end IP solutions ....................................................................23 Basics of the air interface and the path to WCDMA..........................25 Wireless principles .................................................................................25 Duplex transmission ...............................................................................25 Radio communication.............................................................................26 Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) .........................................27 Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA)................................................28 Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) ..................................................29 Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) .................................................31 CDMA background .................................................................................32 Principles of CDMA ................................................................................32 CDMA information, theory and codes ....................................................34 Spread spectrum and the principle of direct sequence CDMA...............35 Motives for using WCDMA in UMTS ......................................................37 Features of WCDMA in UMTS ...............................................................37 User Services .......................................................................................39 Review questions .................................................................................40

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Module objectives
The aim of this module is to give the participant the introductory knowledge needed for explaining how the UMTS network has evolved. Topics to be covered in this module include understanding the historic factors driving the system development and the evolution of the mobile networks. Furthermore, the student should gain a basic understanding of the different types of the air interface and list the key benefits of UMTS for the operator and the end user. After completing this module, the participant should be able to:

List at least three significant events in the evolution of CDMA networks List the four main network subsystems of UMTS Release 99 Explain how existing GSM networks have evolved to support additional services and new technologies Name the four basic air interface access technologies List at least three key benefits of WCDMA and identify at least three advantages of 3G networks for both the operator and the end user

without using any references.

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Background and history

There are three different generations as far as mobile communication is concerned. The first generation, 1G, is the name for the analogue or semi-analogue (analogue radio path, but digital switching) mobile networks established after the mid-1980s, such as NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephone) and AMPS (American Mobile Phone System). These networks offered basic services for the users, and the emphasis was on speech and services related matters. 1G networks were mainly national efforts and very often they were specified after the networks were established. Due to this, the 1G networks were incompatible with each other. Mobile communication was considered some kind of curiosity, and it added value service on top of the fixed networks in those times. As the need for mobile communication increased, also the need for a more global mobile communication system increased. The international specification bodies started to specify what the second generation, 2G, mobile communication system should look like. The emphasis on 2G is/was on compatibility and international transparency; the system should be a global one and the users of the system should be able to access it basically anywhere the service exists. Due to some political reasons, the concept of globalisation did not succeed completely and there were some 2G systems available on the market. Out of these, the commercial success story is/was GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) and its adaptations: GSM has clearly exceeded all the expectations set, both technically and commercially. The third generation, 3G, is expected to complete the globalisation process of the mobile communication. Again there are national interests involved. Also some difficulties can be foreseen. Several 3G solutions were standardised, such as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), cdma2000, and UWC-136 (Universal Wireless Communication). The 3G system UMTS is mostly be based on GSM technical solutions due to two reasons. Firstly, the GSM as technology dominates the market, and secondly, investments made to GSM should be utilised as much as possible. Based on this, the specification bodies created a vision about how mobile telecommunication will develop within the next decade. Through this vision, some requirements for UMTS were short-listed as follows:

The system to be developed must be fully specified (like GSM). The specifications generated should be valid world-wide. The system must bring clear added value when comparing to the GSM in all aspects. However, in the beginning phase(s) the system must be backward compatible at least with GSM and ISDN. Multimedia and all of its components must be supported throughout the system. The radio access of the 3G must be generic. The services for the end users must be independent: Radio access and the network infrastructure must not limit the services to be generated. That is, the

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technology platform is one issue and the services using the platform totally another issue. In order to appreciate the work in creating standards like UMTS, it is helpful to understand the history and background of wireless communications in general, as well as GSM and CDMA. A timeline of significant GSM and CDMA events is contained in the following table.
Table 1. Year 1900 1906 1948 1949 1956 1970s 1980s 1981 1982 1983 1985 Significant events Event In December, the first human voice transmission via radio was accomplished by Reginald Fessenden. First radio broadcast (also Reginald Fessenden). John Pierce writes a memo describing CDMA multiplexing. Claude Shannon and John Pierce describe major CDMA effects. Antimultipath RAKE receiver patented. CDMA used in several military communication and navigation systems. Studies for narrowband CDMA for mobile cellular systems. Nokia introduces Nordic Mobile Telephone System (NMT). CEPT established Groupe Spciale Mobile by the joint proposal of the Nordic countries and the Netherlands. Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) introduced. ITU starts studies for Future Public Land Mobile Telecommunication Systems (FPLMTS). A decision made on GSM time schedule and action plan. 1986 1987 Eight experimental GSM systems are tested in Paris. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU); the services of the GSM system will be offered in all of western Europe. A decision on system parameters and preparation of draft recommendations. 1989 1990s 1991 1992 Final GSM recommendations and specifications. Studies for wideband ~5 MHz CDMA for mobile cellular systems. First official GSM call in the world was made on January 7th using Nokia equipment. GSM system ready in capitals and international airports. DCS 1800 start-up implementation. In February, the World Administrative Radio Conference allocates initial global radio spectrum for 3rd generation mobile systems in the 1885 2025 and 2110 2200 MHz frequency ranges.

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Year 1993

Event Major European urban areas have GSM coverage. 2nd generation mobile system using narrowband CDMA standardised in USA; it is called IS-95 (Intermediate Standard).

1994 1995 1996 1997

ARIB in Japan forms a special group for FPLMTS radio interface development. GSM covers main transportation links between major urban areas. UMTS Forum formed to raise market awareness. In December, ETSI SMG2 forms study group for UTRA. ITU changes FPLMTS name to International Mobile Telecommunications 2000 (IMT-2000) during WARC-97. ITU requests proposals of Candidate Radio Transmission Technologies (RTTs) for IMT-2000 Radio Interface.

1998

In June, ITU receives 10 proposals for terrestrial RTTs and five for satellite RTTs. These include CDMA2000 from the USA, ARIB W-CDMA from Japan, and UTRA from Europe. 3GPP formed to co-ordinate the development of a joint 3rd generation system based on evolved GSM core and UTRA air interface.

1999

ETSI start UMTS project to co-ordinate European 3rd generation network development. In January, four operators are given 3rd generation mobile network operating licenses in Finland.

2003 2005

Commercial use of WCDMA systems. First commercial launch of HSDPA network.

2.1

Specification process for UMTS

As the 3G system is expected to be global, world-wide and generic, the specification bodies related are also global ones (see the following list). In addition to the

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specification bodies, the specification process includes co-operation of operators and manufacturers.

3GPP - Third Generation Partnership Project ARIB - Association of Radio Industries and Businesses CWTS - China Wireless Telecommunication Standard group ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute T1 - Standards Committee T1 Telecommunications TTA - Telecommunications Technology Association TTC - Telecommunication Technology Committee GSM - Global System for Mobile communications UMTS - Universal Mobile Telecommunications System IETF - Internet Engineering Task Force ITU-R - International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication ITU-T - International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardisation

Figure 1.

3G specification bodies

There are four international standardisation bodies acting as generators for 3G specification work:
ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union)

This organisation provides in practise all the telecommunication branch specifications that are official in nature. Hence, these form all the guidelines required by the manufacturers and country-specific authorities. ITU-T has finished its development process for IMT2000, International Mobile Telephone 2000. IMT2000 represents a framework on how the network evolution from a second to a third generation mobile communication system shall take place. Even more important, different radio interface scenarios were outlined for 3G systems (see figure below).

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IMT-2000 radio interface options

CDMA
Direct Spread
(on paired frequency spectrum)

TDMA
(on unpaired frequency spectrum)

FDMA
(on unpaired frequency spectrum)

Multi Carrier
(on paired frequency spectrum)

Time Code

Single Carrier
(on paired frequency spectrum)

Time Code

3G systems
cdma2000 FDD mode

UWC-136 (EDGE) TDD mode

(DECT)

UMTS

Figure 2.

IMT-2000 framework and resulting 3G standards

ETSI (European Telecommunication Standard Institute)

This organisational body has had a very strong role when GSM Specifications were developed and enhanced. ETSI is divided into workgroups named SMG (number), and every workgroup has a specific area to develop. Because of the GSM background, ETSI is in a relatively dominant role in this specification work.
ARIB (Alliance of Radio Industries and Business)

ARIB conducts studies and R&D, establishes standards, provides consultation services for radio spectrum coordination, cooperates with other overseas organizations and provides frequency change support services for the smooth introduction of digital terrestrial television broadcasting. These activities are conducted in cooperation with and/or with participation by telecommunication operators, broadcasters, radio equipment manufacturers and related
ANSI (American National Standard Institute)

ANSI is the American specification body that has issued a license for a subgroup to define telecommunication-related issues in that part of the world. Because of some political points of view, ANSIs role is relatively small as far as UMTS concerned. The ANSI subgroup is mainly concentrating on a competing 3G air interface technology selection called cdma2000. In order to maintain globalisation and complete control of the UMTS specifications, a separate specification body called 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) was established to take care of the specification work in co-operation with the previously listed institutes. The outcome of the 3GPP work is a complete set of specifications defining the 3G network functionality, procedures, and service aspects.

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OHG

UMTS
3G.IP

Figure 3.

3 Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standardisation body for UMTS

rd

Because there are some political desires involved, the issue is not as simple as described; global system means global business and this is why there has been a lot of pressure to select or emphasise certain solutions more than others. This political debate actually delayed the specification work remarkably, and finally an organisation was established to take care of the harmonisation issues. This organisation, OHG (Operator Harmonisation Group) aims to find a common understanding concerning the global issues. The results of this organisation are used as inputs in 3GPP work as well as in 3G future implementations. The OHG made its maybe the most remarkable decision in April-May 1999, when it decided the common-for-all-variants code word (chip) rate in the 3G WCDMA air interface. This issue has a direct effect on the system capacity and implementation and it was maybe the biggest delaying factor concerning the UMTS specifications. The aim of the OHG work is to affect the specifications so that all radio access variants are compatible with all the variants meant for switching; this will ensure true globalisation for 3G systems. The first UMTS release was frozen in December 1999. This release is called UMTS Release 99. In UMTS Release 99, the specification body 3GPP concentrated on two main aspects: Inauguration of a new radio interface solution. A new 3G radio interface solution must use the radio interface resources more efficient than it is the case with 2G radio interface solution. In addition to that, it must be very flexible in terms of data rates to allow a wide range of applications to be served. The UMTS radio interface solutions are based on the multiple access

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principle CDMA. CDMA stands for Code Division Multiple Access. In UMTS Release 99, CDMA is applied on 5 MHz carrier frequency bands. This is the reason, why in some areas of the world, UMTS is called Wideband CDMA (WCDMA). Two radio interface solutions were specified with UMTS Release 99: The FDD-mode combines CDMA with frequency division duplex, i.e. uplink and downlink transmission are realised on separate 5 MHz frequency carriers The TDD-mode combines CDMA with time division duplex, i.e. uplink and downlink are made available of the same 5 MHz frequency carrier, separated by time. Network evolution: GSM is nowadays the dominating mobile communications technology. In order to protect the investment of a large number of mobile operators, network evolution guarantees the re-use of the existing core network and service infrastructure in UMTS. This was archived in UMTS Release 99 by adopting an enhanced GSM core network solution for the UMTS core network.

The next version of the 3GPP Specifications is Release 4, which was frozen March 2001, and Release 5, which was frozen in March/June 2002. In Release 4 and 5, the upgrades in the radio access and radio access network were minor. The main focus lay on the core network and the service infrastructure. UMTS Release 4 included a specification of the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), a new radio interface solution for China called low chip rate TDD mode (or TD-SCDMA). While in UMTS Release 4 the first steps toward a 3G All IP could be found, this was fully specified in UMTS Release 5, including the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).

2.2

UMTS network structure

The obvious lack of GSM systems is the bandwidth offered to the end user. In the beginning the bandwidth offered to the end user was reasonable, but as the technology developed, the end user requirements increased. New services (such as the Internet) became more common, so the bandwidth became inadequate. This was the main reason for starting the specification for the next generation cellular networks. As mentioned earlier in this document, one of the requirement points was that the air interface of the 3G should be generic. Roughly, this means that the radio part of the network should be even more functionally separated than in the GSM. To clarify and specify this, the call establishment related parts of the 3G network are expressed as follows:

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ATM WCDMA

Uu

Iu

Service Service Platform Platform

UE UE
UE = User Equipment RAN = Radio Acces Network CN = Core Network NMS = Network Management System

RAN RAN

CN CN
O&M

NMS NMS

Figure 4.

3G network principle diagram

The multiple access method used between the User Equipment (UE) and the RAN (Radio Access Network) is called Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA). The 3GPP is aiming to specify open interfaces also within the RAN in order to guarantee multivendor scenarios. Despite this, it is reasonable to believe that operators will not select a large number of suppliers for the RAN, nor for the Core Network (CN) implementation. In GSM, we use TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) as the transmission method between the different network elements. For UMTS, ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) has been chosen as the transmission method in the radio access network. The basic difference between TDM and ATM is that in TDM, we use timeslots for conveying information between network elements. In ATM, on the other hand, the data is transmitted in cells (packets) of fixed size across the network. (An ATM cell has 48 octets of payload, 5 octets of headers.) Also the interfaces within the CN and between the CN and the other networks can be considered as open, but there may be several national limitations / enhancements / extensions present. The 3G network can also be presented as a collection of management layers, which cover certain parts of the network.

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Communication Management (CM) Session Management (SM) Mobility Management (MM) Radio Resource Management (RRM)

UE

RAN
3G network management layers

CN

Figure 5.

The radio resource management (RRM) is completely covered between the RAN and the user equipment (UE) and it involves managing how the channels are allocated. The core network (CN) domains control the mobility management (MM), session management (SM) and call control layers. The functions depend on whether the core network domain is the CS (circuit switched) or PS (packet switched). The higherlayer functions performed between the UE and CN are often called communication management (CM). The CM entity covers the topics like call control (CC), supplementary services (SS) and short message service (SMS). In the module UMTS Traffic Management, these management layers are further explained. The added value that the WCDMA brings into the 3G network is the wideband radio access, thus enabling a situation, in which the operator is able to offer completely new services to the end users. The planned access rates to be offered with WCDMA are roughly presented in Figure 6. In 3G networks, the user access rate will vary as a function of the speed. It should be noted that the bit rates presented here are mainly points of interest when data services are in question. The very basic circuit-switched services, such as a plain voice calls, do not require these bit rates, but when the user chooses to use e.g. fast Internet or video phone services, the bit rates face the limits as expressed in Figure 6. The 3GPP Specifications have been designed to divide the service platform from the physical platform. This means that the services are independent from the physical network. In GSM, we use traffic channels to carry data from the terminal to the core network. In UMTS, the physical network routes a bearer between the terminal and the core network. The bearer is variable in terms of speed and quality, and it is allocated depending on the services the subscriber wishes to use. The subscriber may also be using different bearers for different services simultaneously.

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3G Radio Access

Pedestrian & Office (<10 km/h): bit rate <= 2 Mb/s

Outdoor (< 150 km/h): bit rate 384 kb/s, target 512 kb/s

Outdoor (<250 km/h): bit rate 144 kb/s, preferably more

Figure 6.

3G access rates

As indicated already, the 3G network will have the means and readiness for data transfer in all forms. The traffic to be delivered through 3G can be divided into two categories: Circuit Switched and Packet Switched. The circuit switched traffic normally has a high real-time requirement (that is, no delay or the delay occurring must be constant). Normal speech and video phoning are examples of this kind of traffic. The packet switched traffic normally does not have such exact real-time requirements, and a good example of this kind of traffic is an Internet connection. Based on this traffic division, the services generating traffic are either Real-Time (RT) or Non-Real-Time (NRT) services. The following values are defined for the 3G and services to be used.
Table 2. Environment Rural outdoor (Speed < 250 km/h) Urban/Suburban (Speed < 150 km/h) Indoor/Low range outdoor (Speed < 10 km/h) 3G RT and NRT service access rates as a function of user speed RT Service Peak Rate (Delay fixed 20 300 ms) 144 384 kb/s 384 512 kb/s - 2 Mb/s (Special conditions) NRT Service Peak Rate (Delay varies 20 300 ms) 144 384 kb/s 384 512 kb/s - 2 Mb/s (Special conditions)

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Network evolution
How can GSM as a system be converted or upgraded further on to face the increased requirements set by the cellular operators and their subscribers? When studying this matter, it is relatively easy to realise that there are several steps as to how things will be implemented. On the other hand, there are several "clans" being either for or against certain technical development step(s). The majority of networks will support UMTS by evolving from GSM backbones. Several public authorities have announced that it is not necessary to implement every single step described here, but, by experience, a complicated technical concept must be done in phases in order to guarantee final quality and better working equipment.

3.1

Starting with the basic GSM

HLR & AC & EIR

BTS

BSC

TCSM

MSC&VLR

PSTN ISDN

BTS

BSC

TCSM

Figure 7.

Basic GSM network principle diagram

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3.1.1

GSM network elements

The GSM radio access network called BSS (Base Station Subsystem) consists of the following elements:

BSC (Base Station Controller) is responsible for radio path and radio resource management. BTS (Base Transceiver Station) is the network radio terminal forming the air interface that the MSs (Mobile Stations) use for network access and communication purposes. TCSM (Transcoding and Sub-Multiplexer Unit) is the channel coding converter making it possible to use more effective channel coding within the BSS (transcoding), and thus enables saving in transmission costs (through sub-multiplexing).

NSS (Network Switching (Sub) system), the switching part of the GSM network, contains the following elements:

MSC (Mobile Switching Centre) performs the traffic path connections and is responsible for the majority of the connection management related entities. VLR (Visitor Location Register) contains subscription and security information of the active subscribers located in the radio network part. The nature of the data the VLR contains is not stable: when the subscribers change their location(s), the VLR data changes respectively. HLR (Home Location Register) is the static data storage of the subscription information. The HLR also contains the subscriber location information, but the accuracy of this information is on the VLR level. AC (Authentication Centre) maintains security information of the subscriptions. EIR (Equipment Identity Register) maintains security information related to the mobile equipment, not to the subscription.

Figure 7 presents a very basic GSM network made strictly according to specifications. That is, all possible open and proprietary interfaces are included. The network described above is always the first step when a new/old operator is starting its GSM cellular business. The subscribers in this kind of network have all the basic services available:

Speech, circuit switched data up to 9.6 kb/s, Facsimile Call forwarding, call barring, in-call services (Wait, Hold, Multi-Party)

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3.2

Adding value to GSM networks

The GSM Technical Specifications define certain interfaces, which make it possible to add some value to the system. Through these interfaces, the operators connect the Value Added Service (VAS) platform(s) into use. A typical VAS platform consists of two elements: Short Message Service Centre (SMSC) and Voice Mail System (VMS). In other respects the GSM network is the same as in the previous phase.

HLR & AC & EIR

BTS

BSC

TCSM

MSC&VLR

PSTN ISDN

BTS

BSC

TCSM

Value Added Service Platform(s): SMSC, VMS

Figure 8.

GSM & Value Added Services

The Short Message Service (SMS) has proven its potential in commercial use. Originally, the SMS was not seriously considered as a service at all and thus it was very cheap to use. However (and partly surprisingly), the subscribers adopted this service and nowadays a remarkable share of the traffic in the GSM networks is SMS based. Another issue is the capacity offered. In this phase the capacity of the network is (normally) drastically increased, and a clear difference between the analogue and digital technology in this respect becomes evident.

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3.3

Adding value with GSM phase2+ and IN services

The control of the services provided by the basic GSM is relatively good. However, these services are not very flexible. In other words, the basic GSM offers mass service for mass subscribers. To change the situation, the IN (Intelligent Network) is integrated to the cellular network. The IN platform provides the operator the tools for creating completely new services, as well as full access to modify existing ones, even on a subscriber basis.

HLR & AC & EIR

BTS

BSC

TCSM

MSC&VLR

PSTN ISDN

BTS

BSC

TCSM

Value Added Service Platform(s): SMSC, VMS

IN

Figure 9.

GSM Intelligent Network included

3.3.1

IN services
Fraud management is a very essential issue for the operators. For this purpose, the basic GSM has two registers: AuC and EIR. However, these registers cannot guarantee that the subscribers pay their bills. IN is maybe the most common and flexible way to create a service called Prepaid, where the prepaid customers have their own account (paid in advance) with a call credit balance. During each call the account balance is regularly checked. When the balance is 0 it is not possible to establish any calls. Naturally, the subscribers are able to buy more airtime, thus increasing their account balances. The Intelligent Network has the following advantages:

Possibility to differentiate and compete with services. Customer segmentation from the operators point of view. Better utilisation of the service platform: VAS (Value Added Service) components used in IN services.

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3.4

Increasing data transfer in existing GSM networks

The data transfer rate of the basic GSM is low. Thus, new concepts to tackle this issue are introduced. The first one is HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data), with its more effective channel coding. The enhancements allow the end user to have data calls with bit rates like 40 60 kb/s. These enhancements require only very limited changes in the existing network elements.

HW/SW Ch

HLR & AC & EIR

IP Networks

BTS

BSC

TCSM

MSC&VLR

PSTN ISDN

BTS

BSC

TCSM

Value Added Service Platform(s): SMSC, VMS

IN

Figure 10.

Enhancing GSM High Speed Data

3.4.1

Benefits of faster data and services

HSCSD increases data transfer capability. Hereby, physical radio channels are allocated to the HSCSD subscriber on demand only one physical channel is guaranteed to the subscriber. The operator can therefore optimise the radio interface usage given the demand of normal GSM subscribers and HSCSD subscribers. A set of coding schemes allows a dynamic adjustment of the amount of redundancy added to the user information. This is done to maximise the throughput via the radio interface. Mobile phones usually have small screens. Therefore http-pages cannot be presented in a satisfying way. WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) was introduced to overcome this problem. This is a uniform way to browse the Internet from the mobile station without any accessory equipment. Roughly, the WAP changes the nature of the mobile equipment from pure mobile towards data terminal; the mobile able to use WAP is actually an ASCII based Internet browser.

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3.5

Evolving GSM to packet core

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) is the way to transfer packet data over the GSM air interface. This requires HW/SW changes in the existing network elements, and some new elements as well. The term IP backbone refers to the part of the network handling packet switching and connections to the Internet and other data networks. The basic packet switched data core consists of two major elements: SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) and GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node). In addition to these, the IP backbone contains other routers, firewall servers, and DNS (Domain Name Server).

HW/SW C

HLR & AC & EIR

IP Networks

BTS

BSC

TCSM

MSC&VLR

PSTN ISDN

BTS

BSC

TCSM

Value Added Service Platform(s): SMSC, VMS

SGSN

IN

GGSN
IP Networks

Figure 11.

GSM and packet switched data core

The traffic through the packet core is not equal when comparing to the MSC side: the packet core traffic uses free air interface slots and thus the capacity of the packet connection varies all the time. This is the basic reason why the 2G packet traffic does not have exact QoS (Quality of Service) classification in use; it is said that 2G packet connection QoS is best effort. From the operator point of view, the packet connections increase traffic anyway and the time slots not used by circuit switched services are in effective use. Fast, wireless access to the Internet is enabled; theoretically, bit rates of 150 kb/s in optimal circumstances are possible. A subscriber can expect nowadays data rates of about 30 to 40 kb/s. Packet data transfer does not waste the capacity (as the HSCSD does on one physical channel). WAP and SMS will be utilised very effectively in the context of different services either provided by the operator or a 3rd party.

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3.6

Increasing speed with EDGE

Within the existing knowledge and technology, it is possible to further enhance the transferred bit rates up to the level of 384 kb/s for circuit switched services, and to a level of up to 473 kb/s for packet switched services. This is achieved by introducing a new modulation scheme (8PSK), combined with sophisticated coding methods over the air interface. These methods are backward compatible with the existing GSM methods, and they form a concept called EDGE (Enhanced Data rates in GSM Environment). Please note that issues like availability of timeslots, and transmission quality, affect the bit rates that can be obtained.

HW/SW Changes

HLR & AC & EIR

IP Networks

BTS

BSC

TCSM

MSC&VLR

PSTN ISDN

BTS

BSC

TCSM

Value Added Service Platform(s): SMSC, VMS

SGSN TRX Change & Transmission Upgrade

IN

GGSN
IP Networks

Figure 12.

GSM - EDGE

This step will probably be the end point for several operators due to the licensing policy (country-specific regulations). On the other hand, some operators may skip this phase and move on to the next step in this development path. EDGE utilises everything built in the GSM, including the multiple access method used in the air interface (TDMA, Time Division Multiple Access). Because the channel coding methods experience remarkable changes in this step, the spectral efficiency does not change: same kinds of time slots are still in use, carrying traffic like they have been carrying in a normal GSM. Also from the network planning point of view, the use of radio frequencies will not change. The changes in the system are related to transmission and multiple time slot allocation required in PSTN connections.

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3.7

Evolving towards to the universal mobile network (Service platform)

3G has a completely new way to approach the term service: all the services offered should be independent from the technology platform. This really opens the windows for free, 3rd party service development. There will be several services, and the majority of those will be based on the Internet in one form or another. In addition, imaging (picture transfer) and video phoning will be interesting services.

HW/SW Changes HLR & AC & EIR

IP Networks

BTS

BSC

TCSM

MSC&VLR

PSTN ISDN

BTS

BSC

TCSM

Value Added Service Platform(s): SMSC, VMS

IN SGSN GGSN
IP Networks

BTS

RNC

MGW

Figure 13.

UMTS New radio access introduced: UMTS network architecture

If there is a possibility (as well as requirements and license), the operator may move to a completely new level in service offering. This phase introduces new wideband radio access technology, which, in the beginning, roughly equals the bit rates the EDGE concept is able to provide. The new radio access require new network elements in the radio network: RNC (Radio Network Controller) and BS (Base Station) The BS is referred to as Node B in the 3GPP specifications. The new radio access introduced in this phase is, however, utilising the frequency spectrum more efficiently; the data flow and its bit rate is not dependent on time slots any more. When the radio access method was planned, the packet type of traffic was especially considered.

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3.7.1

UMTS development
UMTS will be developed in releases like GSM. When the technology is more mature, the services will be more sophisticated and involved in every area of life. The structure of the network will change considerably. There will be several radio access technologies in use in parallel. The wideband communication has changed the structure of the network equipment and transmission. The trend is that packet switched traffic volume soon will dominate over circuit switched. It is expected that circuit switched traffic is used only in special cases, such as for real time services that have high Quality of Service (QoS) requirements.

3.7.2

Service potential in the mobile information society

The UMTS cellular network is tightly integrated to the society, and some other items (like digital signature) are widely used. This offers the possibility to combine many items together. For instance, banking and business can be done almost completely wirelessly. The 3G terminal is far more than a phone, it may act as a social security card, passport, purse, etc. The business model will change, too. In an ordinary 2G network the operator provides most of the services. In UMTS network the operator can be considered as a carrier provider. Some service providers use carrier provider resources to deliver the service and the content of the service is provided to the service providers by content providers. This structure will create a lot of challenges to be sorted out when integrating UMTS to the other networks and technologies.

3.8

3G end-to-end IP solutions
With UMTS Release 99, a radio interface solution was introduced to allow the transport of a wide range of multimedia services. The transmission network solution

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of the UMTS radio access network is based on ATM (and an alternative specification of IP transport partly exists), which guarantees flexible bearer establishment in the radio access network. But the UMTS CN solution is still rooted in GSM, and this may impose limitations for multimedia applications. In UMTS Rel. 4 and 5, call-processing server solutions combined with media gateways were specified for circuit and packet switched services to allow flexible bearer establishment also in the core network. The specifications explicitly mention IP and ATM as potential transmission solutions for the core network. This means a core network evolution.

IS D N PSTN

Figure 14.

3G IP Majority of the traffic over IP

The majority of the traffic is expected to be packet switched data transfer over IP (its more mature variant(s)). That is, the IP is expected to fully support mobility management (if expressed in telecommunication terms). Additionally, in this kind of environment the IP must fully support QoS (Quality of Service) thinking. These two conditions are essential if cellular IP terminals are going to be used.

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Basics of the air interface and the path to WCDMA

Air interface is a very complicated part of the UMTS network, especially in comparison to actual 2G networks (such as GSM). The following sections give a basic understanding of the air interface, which in turn helps to gain a better understanding of the issues and properties of the WCDMA interface.

4.1

Wireless principles

4.1.1

Duplex transmission
There are three ways to accomplish communications:

Simplex Half-duplex Duplex

Simplex has been used since the early 1900s. It is communication in a one-way direction, such as AM and FM broadcast stations. Simplex uses one frequency broadcast to one or multiple receivers. Half duplex is communication in a two-way direction. However, only one person may talk at a time, since half duplex uses only one frequency. Half duplex is often referred to as push-to-talk (PTT). Duplex is communication in a two-way direction on two frequencies. One frequency is used to talk and the other one to listen. This is the modern way of cellular communication. There are two common ways to realise duplex transmission: Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) In this case, frequency resources are allocated to the mobile communication system. Some of the frequency bands are allocated to uplink communication only, while other frequency bands are used for downlink communication. In other words duplex transmission is enabled by using different frequency bands, meaning that uplink and downlink are separated by frequency. Time Division Duplex (TDD) In this case, one carrier frequency band is used for uplink and downlink communication. The transmission is organised in time frames. Within in

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each time frame, some time resources are used for uplink transmission, while the remaining ones are used for downlink transmission.
Frequency Division Duplex
e tim

Time Division Duplex

e tim
Uplink Downlink Uplink

lin k

wn li

Up

Downlink Uplink Downlink

Do

frequency

nk

frequency

Figure 15.

FDD and TDD

4.1.2

Radio communication
There are two basic formats used in the radio communication: analogue and digital. The commercially available analogue format has been used since 1900, while the commercially available digital format was introduced in 1990. The difference between the analogue and the digital format is that when using analogue, a persons voice signal is transmitted over the air, while the digital format uses a string of 1s and 0s to represent the voice signal (Figure 16). If someone would lock on to the frequency used for an analogue conversation, he/she could actually hear the users voices. For that same situation in the digital format the observer would need to decode the 1s and 0s before hearing the conversation. There are four basic air interface technologies used for communication:

Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

Both FDMA and SDMA were introduced in the analogue format. TDMA and CDMA technologies are based on the digital format.

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Analogue

So you see bla, bla, bla, yada, yada 110000110101100011101110001

Digital

Figure 16.

The difference between analogue and digital

4.1.2.1

Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

In December 1900, Reginald Fessenden accomplished the first human voice transmission via radio. This first link was over a mile long. Six years later he transmitted the first radio broadcast. Soon afterwards, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) technology was used. Different broadcasts in the same geographical region could be heard by using different radio frequencies. That is the idea behind the FDMA; the frequency range is broken down into unique bandwidths and distributed to the users. FDMA is used in cellular communications. One frequency to speak on and one to listen on; thus we have duplex communications. That way multiple users can operate in a particular frequency spectrum.

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ho m ne ob 1 ile ph m on ob e2 ile ph m on ob e3 ile ph on e4

m ob

ile p

tim

carrier band

frequency

Figure 17.

With FDMA, users transmit simultaneously using separate frequencies

Early cellular systems (1940s - 1960s) used higher power and lower frequencies compared to todays cellular systems.
4.1.2.2 Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA)

In 1946, Bell Telephone System planners started submitting proposals for a largescale system that would satisfy the growing customer demand for more wireless access. The idea behind the proposals was to break a huge geographical region into smaller areas called cells. Each cell would use a frequency different than those of its nearest neighbours to prevent any interference. That is the idea behind the Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA), the same frequency can be used multiple times in the same geographical region. The advantage to this technology is increased network capacity. The easiest way for FDMA broadcasters to increase their coverage area is to increase their transmitting power. However, increased power causes interference problems and increases the distance before a frequency can be reused. SDMA can increase coverage by adding more cells. Modern cellular uses higher frequencies and lower power. This causes less interference and reduces the frequency reuse distance. This technology emerged with the offering of Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) in the early 1980s. Although this was a big capacity improvement, it soon ran into its limits. The network planners made a few modifications to this design to increase capacity. One solution was to reduce the cell size even further and to add more cells to fill in the newly created uncovered areas. A second alternative was to add another frequency to

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the existing cell, so that two calls could be placed from the same cell. Both of these solutions, however, did not overcome the basic limit of one call per frequency.

Figure 18.

Space Division Multiple Access

4.1.2.3

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

The next step in providing greater network capacity was not only to divide frequencies into different cells, but also to divide this frequency into different slices of time. Originally, the frequency could only carry one conversation, but with the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technology, multiple users could carry on conversations using the same frequency in the same cell or space. That is the idea behind TDMA; dividing the frequency into multiple time slices so that multiple users can access the same frequency at the same time. The commercially available products associated with this new technology are Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service (D-AMPS) and Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). D-AMPS was introduced in the late 1980s, and GSM became available in 1990. These two products are not compatible. D-AMPS is a digital overlay to the existing analogue system AMPS for the purpose of increasing capacity. GSM is standalone product with a digital format at its core.

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f3 f1 f4 f2 f5 f1 f7 f3 f6 f2

Figure 19.

Time Division Multiple Access

tim

Mobile Phone 3 Mobile Phone 2 Mobile Phone 1 Mobile Phone 4 Mobile Phone 3 Mobile Phone 2 TDMA frame

Mobile Phone 1 Mobile Phone 4 Mobile Phone 3 Mobile Phone 2 Mobile Phone 1 carrier band TDMA frame frequency

Figure 20.

TDMA divides the frequency into multiple time slices

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4.1.2.4

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) also uses digital format. In CDMA systems, several transmissions via the radio interface take place simultaneously on the same frequency bandwidth. The user data is combined at the transmitters side with a code, then transmitted. On air, all transmission get mixed. At the receivers side, the same code is used as in the transmitters side. The code helps the receiver to filter the user information of the transmitter from the incoming mixture of all transmissions on the same frequency band and same time. This is often represented by layers, as can be seen in the figure below. In contrast to classical FDMA and TDMA systems, the same carrier frequency band can be used in neighbouring cells. Frequency reuse factor in CDMA is one.

Figure 21.

Code Division Multiple Access

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Power (P)

Time
Codes

Frequency

Figure 22.

CDMA is digital and identifies each conversation by a code rather than frequency or time slice

4.2

CDMA background
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is a type of spread-spectrum; a family of digital communication methods that the military has used for some time dating back to World War II. It is particularly useful to the military for two reasons:

It provides protection from enemy jamming, because the spread signal is difficult to interfere with. It can conceal that any communication is taking place.

Even though CDMA was hypothetically possible in the late 1940s, it was not available to the civilian market for another four decades. A primary reason for this was that low cost, high-density digital integrated circuits had to be developed to keep the cost and the weight of the units down.

4.3

Principles of CDMA
CDMA can be compared to a room with people speaking different languages.

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Let us imagine that a corporate CEO is hosting a large multinational gathering. Our host, having mastered many languages, is primarily the one making the conversation. Our host demands that his guests speak in their native tongues. Our host, a true mediator, is able to interpret the conversations between guests if they wish to talk with each other; he can fluently follow several conversations at the same time. He can understand different speakers, all talking at the same time, because they speak in different languages. He occasionally has to tell some guests, who tend to get carried away, to speak a little softer; and he has to ask the soft speakers to talk more loudly so that he can hear them better. The party starts to mature and many more guests arrive. The overall volume begins to rise, because there are more people speaking at the same time. The host asks the guests nearest to him to speak more softly, while he asks the ones further away to please speak up. CDMA functions are much like our party. The CEO hosting the party is our Base Station (BS) and the guests are the Mobile Stations (MS). The different languages correspond to codes in a CDMA system. The BS can tell the mobiles apart, even though they are transmitting at the same time, by the codes that they use. Each MS uses a separate code.

Figure 23.

The CDMA multinational gathering

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4.3.1

CDMA information, theory and codes

Originating Bit

WCDMA

Received Bit

Power

Frequency Band

Spreading Factor

Figure 24.

General transmission principle

In direct sequence CDMA, the transmission takes place continuously. If one user data bit has to be transmitted from the transmitter (e.g. the mobile phone) to the receiver (e.g. the base station), a certain amount of energy is required. The amount of energy depends on the distance of the transmitter from the receiver, the obstacles in the transmission path, etc. The energy can be represented like a box having specific volume. The energy/volume is constant - but the dimensions of the box can be change. As can be seen above, the boxs volume is made of the frequency band, transmitter power, and time for the transmission. In UMTS, the frequency band is constant. The other two dimensions, power and duration for the transmission, are subject to change. A high data rates means many bits in one second, so the duration for each information bit is short. Consequently, the output power for each bit must be high to keep the boxs volume at a specific, constant level. If the data rate goes down, less information bits are transmitted in one second, and therefore the duration of one information bit is longer. If the energy for the transmission of the information bit has not changed, the volume of the box is the same. Consequently, less output power is required at the transmitters side.

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Power (P)

Time
Codes

Frequency
Figure 25. CDMA Code Division Multiple Access

In direct sequence CDMA technology based systems (like WCDMA), every user is assigned a code/codes varying per transaction, i.e. the different users use separate codes. These codes are called spreading codes. It should be noted that one user may also use several spreading codes in certain situations. The user data is directly multiplied with his code. This processes is called spreading. Then the user data is transmitted via the common frequency band.

If the originating bit rate is low, the power required for transmission is small. This kind of case can be seen as a narrow layer in Figure 25. If the originating bit rate is high, is higher. This kind of case can be seen as a thick layer in Figure 25.

4.3.2

Spread spectrum and the principle of direct sequence CDMA

There are several spread spectrum system designs: In direct sequence spread spectrum we spread or code the message we want to send by directly multiplying it with a large bandwidth user-specific code called the spreading sequence. Frequency hopping spread spectrum utilises the large system bandwidth by periodically changing the carrier frequency of the narrowband message according to a user-specific sequence. Time hopping spread spectrum uses a user-specific sequence to key the transmitter on and off at equal duration time segments. Unlike GSM, there is no user-specific timeslot.

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The direct sequence (DS) spread spectrum method is used in both the 2nd generation CDMA systems (that is, IS-95) and in the new 3rd generation Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) (UMTS and cdma2000). Let us visualise the spreading process. We have the information bits with some power per bits. The spreading signal is like a monster truck driving over the bits. The bits get squashed and spread over the ground. The power that previously defined the height of the bits is also flattened. The power is spread over the spectrum, that is, the power per unit bandwidth is small. This is our goal. For someone not knowing how the information was actually squashed, it is very difficult to detect the presence of a spread spectrum user. All one would hear is an increased amount of noise.

User A

f Data P User B
Data after spreading

f
Transm ission over the air

f
Despread User A signal at the receiver

Figure 26.

Spreading and sharing the same space

In a spread spectrum system all the users are in the same frequency band. The frequency band is not divided in time to the users as in GSM. All users may send at the same time at will. The users information is spread over the whole frequency band with a user-specific pseudo-noise (PN) signal, the spreading code. The transmitted signal occupies a much wider bandwidth than would be necessary to send the information. The bits in the spreading code are called chips. In a multiple access environment, we will have at the receiver our spread spectrum signal summed with the other user signals. Our receiver will decode the original message fine as long as the noise caused by the other signals present is not too high. This is why we can say that each user is sharing a pool of power in the system.

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4.4

Motives for using WCDMA in UMTS

The UMTS specifications include 3rd generation mobile services platforms. Being able to deliver wideband multimedia services is going to require a higher performance standard than the current wireless standards. UMTS will smooth the progress of new wireless wideband multimedia applications, while fully supporting both packet and circuit switched communications (e.g. Internet and traditional landline telephone). From the outset, UMTS has been designed for high-speed data services and Internet based packet data offering up to 2 Mbps in stationary or office environments and up to 384 Kbps in wide area or mobile environments. In UMTS Release 99, there are two WCDMA modes: FDD mode FDD stands for frequency division duplex. Two separate 5 MHz frequency bands are used one for uplink transmission and another one for downlink transmission. TDD mode TDD stands for time division duplex. Hereby, one frequency band is used both for uplink and downlink transmission.

In the FDD mode a continuous transmission in one transmission direction can take place. The TDD mode is more similar to GSM. Bursts are transmitted. The reason for that is routed in the fact, that uplink and downlink transmission must be managed on the same frequency bands at different times. The FDD mode is seen as a very good solution to get coverage. The TDD mode is especially efficient, when there is asymmetric traffic. Because of this and its bursty nature, it use is seen mainly in the pico and micro cell environment. Both in the FDD and TDD mode, direct sequence CDMA is applied. The radio interface solution is called Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), because 5 MHz carriers are used.

4.4.1

Features of WCDMA in UMTS

WCDMA for UMTS has several advantages, for example:
Efficient use of the radio frequency spectrum

Different technologies, which improve the spectrum usage, are easy to apply to CDMA. E.g. in GSM, one physical channel is dedicated to one user for speech transmission. If discontinuous transmission is applied, several timeslots of the physical channels are not used. These timeslots cannot be used otherwise. In UMTS, the transmission of several mobile phones takes place on the same frequency band at the same time. Therefore, each transmission imposes interference to the transmissions of other mobile phones on the same carrier frequency band. UMTS supports discontinuous transmission via the radio interface. Consequently, if mobile phones are silent, when there is nothing to transmit, the interference level is reduced

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and therefore the radio interface capacity increased. Another option allowed in UMTS is the multiplexing of packet switched traffic with circuit switched traffic. If there is no speech to transmit for a subscriber, the silent times are used for packet switched traffic.
Limited frequency management

CDMA uses the same frequency in adjacent cells. There is no need for the FDMA/TDMA type of frequency assignment that can sometimes be difficult. This is the main reason for increased radio interface efficiency of WCDMA
Low mobile station transmit power

With advanced receiver technologies, CDMA can improve the reception performance. The required transmit power of a CDMA mobile phone can be reduced as compared to TDMA systems. In the FDD mode, where bursty transmission is avoided, the peak power can be kept low. Continuous transmission also avoids the electromagnetic emission problems caused by pulsed transmission to, for example, hearing aids and hospital equipment.
Uplink and downlink resource utilisation independent

Different bit rates for uplink and downlink can be allocated to each user. CDMA thus supports asymmetric communications such as TCP/IP access.
Wide variety of data rates

The wide bandwidth of WCDMA enables the provision of higher transmission rates. Additionally, it provides low and high rate services in the same band.
Improvement of multipath resolution

The wide bandwidth of WCDMA makes it possible to resolve more multipath components than in 2nd generation CDMA, by using a so-called RAKE receiver. This assists in lowering the transmit power required and lowers interference power at the same time. The result is further improved spectrum efficiency.
Statistical multiplexing advantage

The wideband carrier of the WCDMA system allows more channels/users in one carrier. The statistical multiplexing effect also increases the frequency usage efficiency. This efficiency drops in narrowband systems with fast data communications, because the number of the users on one carrier is limited.
Increased standby time from higher rate control channels

The wideband carrier can enhance the transmission of the control channels. The MS only listens to the control channels part of the time, thereby increasing the standby time.

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User Services
Subscribers are paying for value added services offered to them. Therefore mobile operators are currently concentrating in broadening the services, offered to the subscribers.

Access to a complete range of integrated, customer-friendly services customised to their needs by operators and service providers. These services will be available irrespective of the serving network and terminal, assuming that similar capabilities are available. Where the capabilities are not available, the user will be presented with a subset of the service. Enhanced user service management covering the ability to customise and configure the appearance and behaviour of user services and applications. This management may include user interface customisation where the terminal supports that capability. Simplified service provisioning and service upgrades through the capability to download new service applications with minimal customer interaction. Wireless personal Internet information anywhere at anytime. Multimedia messaging E-mail Telecommuting Improved quality of service Support for video/audio clips If the subscriber benefits from the UMTS introduction, so does the operator:

New service capabilities (means new business opportunity for operators) Revenue opportunity with increased data/voice traffic New frequency spectrum (new capacity)

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Review questions
Please take some time to answer the following questions. 1. Which of the following definitions for the abbreviation 3GPP is true? a. b. c. d. e. It is a specification body organised by the manufactures to promote new technologies. It is an EU organisation that specifies all the features that a 3G network must support. It is an organisational body by the operators to promote the harmonisation of different 3G technologies. It is the name of the interface between the RAN and the CN. It is a specification body that takes care of the specification work in cooperation with many institutes.

2.

Name the four subsystems in the UMTS network Release 99.

3.

Which of the following elements is not part of the core network? a. b. c. d. HLR GGSN RNC EIR

4.

Which of the following sentences about EDGE is true? a. b. c. d. EDGE is needed to support IN prepaid services. EDGE is using a more efficient coding and modulation technique than in GSM to increase data throughput. EDGE and GSM networks are incompatible. EDGE will allow telephone calls to take place faster as people can talk faster than in GSM.

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5.

The SGSN is not needed to support 3G IP connections.

6.

True

False

List the four basic air interface technologies.

7.

Which of the following is true (circle the correct answer)? a. b. c. d. 1st generation networks are digital and 2nd generation networks are analogue. WCDMA is a 2nd generation technology. TDMA and CDMA were introduced in 2nd generation networks. Data, fax, and SMS services will first be introduced with WCDMA.

8.

Describe the main difference between analogue and digital.

9.

Which of the following are benefits of WCDMA (circle the correct answer)? a. b. c. d. Improvement of Erlang capacity. No frequency change allows imperceptible soft handovers. New available frequency spectrum. All of the above.

10.

CDMA is an access technology, which was developed for high capacity commercial mobile networks.

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11.

True

False

Which of the following are benefits or services for the end user? a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. Integrated services that may be customised per subscriber Ability to download and activate new services at will Multimedia messaging Possibility for telecommuting Improved quality of service Videophony Location-based services Support for video/audio clips All of the above.

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