and

present:

LTE Carrier Aggregation: An Overview White Paper Published Fourth Quarter, 2013 Version 1.0

iGR 12400 W. Hwy 71 Suite 350 PMB 341 Austin TX 78738

Table of Contents Executive Summary.....................................................................................................1 Methodology ..............................................................................................................3 What is Carrier Aggregation? ......................................................................................4

Inter-band and Intra-band CA .............................................................................................4 Figure 1: Inter-band and Intra-band Aggregation ................................................................... 5 CA Terminal Considerations ................................................................................................5 Figure 2: Uplink and Downlink Communications .................................................................... 6 CA Roaming Issues .............................................................................................................7

What is the Current State of Standards Related to Carrier Aggregation? ......................8

Table 1: 3GPP Releases 8 – 12 Standardization and Commercialization Schedule ................. 8

How Will Carrier Aggregation Impact Current Technology and the Mobile Market? ... 10 Spectrum .........................................................................................................................10 Market timing ..................................................................................................................10 Roaming ..........................................................................................................................10 Contiguous vs. Non-contiguous .........................................................................................11 Operator strategies ..........................................................................................................11

SWOT Analysis: Carrier Aggregation .......................................................................... 12 Figure 3: SWOT Analysis ........................................................................................................ 13

Definitions ................................................................................................................ 14

General ............................................................................................................................14 Device Types ....................................................................................................................14 Services ...........................................................................................................................15 Network Technology ........................................................................................................16

About iGR ................................................................................................................. 21 Disclaimer ........................................................................................................................21

Quoting information from an iGillottResearch publication: external — any iGillottResearch information that is to be used in press releases, sales presentations, marketing materials, advertising, or promotional materials requires prior written approval from iGillottResearch. iGillottResearch reserves the right to deny approval of external usage for any reason. Internal-quoting individual sentences and paragraphs for use in your company’s internal communications activities does not require permission from iGillottResearch. The use of large portions or the reproduction of any iGillottResearch document in its entirety does require prior written approval and may have some financial implications. Copyright © 2013 iGillottResearch, Inc. Reproduction is forbidden unless authorized. FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT IAIN GILLOTT (512) 263-5682.

Executive Summary Carrier Aggregation (CA) provides the foundation for very high data volumes and data rates by combining contiguous and non-contiguous spectrum bands into a single logical LTE channel. iGR believes this is very important because very few carriers have 20 MHz of contiguous spectrum available, which is a critical need of LTE-A. This is a major problem in the U.S. because of extensive spectrum fragmentation. Simply put, the U.S. operators have acquired, divested, and merged multiple times over the last two decades, resulting in a highly fragmented spectrum map. Small pieces of spectrum, which alone are not sufficient to support an LTE channel, are available in multiple bands – CA allows these ‘left overs’ to be ‘glued’ together into a larger spectrum block suitable for LTE. iGR believes that CA is likely to have a significant impact on the value of spectrum and has increased the number of spectrum-related transactions. Mobile operators are constantly buying, selling, or bidding for new spectrum in an effort to garner as much spectrum as possible in an effort to begin planning and deploying a CA solution. While international roaming is likely to be difficult, the same could also apply within countries such as the U.S. where carriers have not only different bands but also different combinations of bands for CA. CA is terminal specific and quite complex. For example, different terminals can be configured to utilize only specific combinations of carriers, and restricted from utilizing other carriers. This presents a great challenge in managing network handovers and roaming. For example, an LTE-A smartphone from the U.S. roaming into Europe may not support the necessary frequencies nor the correct combination of frequencies for CA. Similarly, the U.S. smartphone may support the necessary European frequency bands but not the correct combinations necessary for CA. Note that the terminal manufacturers may have significant turnover in terminal models. For the contract-dependent U.S. market, the timing of the various LTE releases is important. For example, consider a subscriber who purchased an LTE device in early 2012 – by the end of 2013, they are likely to be eligible for an upgrade on their device. Therefore, the mobile operator could quickly replace the initial Release 8 devices with new Release 10 devices in 2013 and 2014. This has implications for CA. While Release 8 devices can support limited CA functionality with some tricks in the signaling protocols, CA is likely to be far more efficient with Release 10 and above devices. By the time the Release 10 networks are deployed and the operator has secured suitable spectrum for CA, 1 Distribution of this report outside of your company or organization is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2013 iGillottResearch Inc.

it is likely that Release 10 terminals will also be in the market and so the operator can realize some benefit immediately. From iGR’s perspective, the main strengths of and opportunities for CA are: 

Ability to allow mobile operators to make use of all of their available spectrum, including the sections that are too small for traditional LTE channels, to increase capacity.



Subscriber should experience improved network performance.



Increased network performance gives the operator a marketing edge against non-CA operators.



Potentially provide the mobile operator increased visibility into the RAN and new management options and flexibility.

However, there are also significant weaknesses and threats associated with CA: 

CA is complex and must be implemented carefully both in the network and on the terminals.



To effectively increase network capacity, there must be a significant number of CA terminals in the LTE subscriber base.



The potential negative impact on terminal battery life is a significant issue that should not be under-estimated.

While CA is a very promising solution, it is not known if the service providers and their network vendors can design, build, test, and deploy a CA solution that works 99.999 % of the time anytime soon. Additionally, can terminal equipment manufacturers design, build, test, and deliver cost-effective hardware solutions for subscribers? The answer is likely yes, but solutions will evolve slowly and will likely not come to fruition until the end of the decade. Although it is likely that contiguous intra-band CA will be deployed in the next few years, the more complex non-contiguous intra-band CA and inter-band CA will likely take longer. This will require a very sophisticated chipset in the mobile device to accommodate multiple transceivers with much-improved antenna and battery technology to address the increased power requirements of running multiple LTE radios.

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Methodology This report provides an introduction and overview to Carrier Aggregation, one of the new RAN features defined by the 3GPP Release 11 specifications for LTE. The information presented in this report originates from iGR’s primary and secondary research. Definitions of industry terminology can be found in the Definitions section towards the end of this report.

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What is Carrier Aggregation? Carrier Aggregation (CA) provides the foundation for very high data volumes and data rates by combining contiguous and non-contiguous spectrum bands into a single logical LTE channel. For example, a mobile operator could have 10 MHz of spectrum in the 1900 band with 10 MHz in the 800 band and combine these into a single 20 MHz carrier channel. iGR believes this is very important because very few carriers have 20 MHz of contiguous spectrum available, which is a critical need of LTE-A. This is a major problem in the U.S. because of extensive spectrum fragmentation. Simply put, the U.S. operators have acquired, divested, and merged multiple times over the last two decades, resulting in a highly fragmented spectrum map. Small pieces of spectrum, which alone are not sufficient to support an LTE channel, are available in multiple bands – CA allows these ‘left overs’ to be ‘glued’ together into a larger spectrum block suitable for LTE. iGR believes that CA is likely to have a significant impact on the value of spectrum and has increased the number of spectrum-related transactions. Mobile operators are constantly buying, selling, or bidding for new spectrum in an effort to garner as much spectrum as possible in an effort to begin planning and deploying a CA solution.

Inter-band and Intra-band CA With CA, multiple LTE-A carriers, up to 20 MHz each, can be transmitted in parallel to or from the same terminal (user device such as a smartphone or tablet). This provides a much wider bandwidth and higher data rates demanded by new wireless devices. Figure 1 below illustrates intra-band and inter-band aggregation in both contiguous and non-contiguous circumstances within a single frequency band or multiple frequency bands. C1 and C2 refer to different carriers.

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Figure 1: Inter-band and Intra-band Aggregation

C1 C2 C1

Source: LTE-A Forum, 2013

C1

C2

C

In the above scenario, up to five non-contiguous carriers of different bandwidths can be combined up to a total of 100 MHz. This scenario is supported by Release 10 of the 3GPP LTE standards, which also supports only asymmetric carrier transmission on the downlink. Releases 11 and 12 of 3GPP will further leverage CA.

CA Terminal Considerations Note that CA terminals are capable of simultaneous transmitting or receiving, which is a mandatory capability required for new smartphones, tablets, and other devices. A terminal capable of CA has one primary uplink and one primary downlink. In addition, as indicated in Figure 2 below, each link could have one or more additional carriers. Once the primary carrier, noted as P, establishes the primary connection, the ancillary carriers are automatically configured. Uplink or downlink communications can have either: 1) No aggregation 2) Symmetric aggregation, or 3) Asymmetric aggregation. While it is generally accepted that a Release 10 or higher terminal is required to use CA, Release 8 LTE devices can be ‘fooled’ into using some limited forms of 5 Distribution of this report outside of your company or organization is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2013 iGillottResearch Inc.

CA. Essentially, the terminal signaling is amended so that the terminal acquires a second carrier in addition to the primary carrier – normally, the second carrier would be acquired and then the primary dropped as the terminal moves between cells or sectors. Figure 2: Uplink and Downlink Communications

P

Source: LTE Forum, 2013

P

P P

While CA could be implemented with Release 8 terminals, iGR believes this is unlikely for two main reasons: 

The Release 8 terminals used for the initial LTE networks (for example at 700 MHz in the U.S.) may not support the necessary additional bands for later LTE network deployments. For example, AT&T initially launched LTE in the 700 MHz bands but will supplement this with AWS networks – the initial LTE devices offered are unlikely to support these additional bands.



CA is realistically unlikely to be deployed in major markets until late 2013 or 2014 when the Release 10 LTE-A networks are first deployed (T-Mobile is expected to launch its first Rel. 10 markets in the U.S. in late first quarter 2013). For AT&T and Verizon Wireless, who deployed LTE in 2011 and 2012, LTE-A is not expected until later in 2013 and 2104. By this time, Release 10 terminals are expected to be more widely available and the early Release 8 terminals will likely have been upgraded. Thus, it may not be economic to support CA with Release 8 terminals.

For the terminal OEMs, CA presents significant challenges: 

The need to support not only additional LTE frequency bands but also the necessary combinations of bands for specific operators. Qualcomm has 6 Distribution of this report outside of your company or organization is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2013 iGillottResearch Inc.

P P

commented that while there are more than 40 separate bands defined globally for LTE, the operators are requesting more than 90 different combinations of those bands. Handset designs cannot support an endless combination of frequency bands and so must decide which requests are most important – this is likely to favor the larger operators, obviously. 

CA necessarily requires that two LTE radios be powered for the primary and secondary carrier. This means that the radio will require twice the power from the device’s battery and hence battery life will be shorter with CA. Given that the latest smartphones are already challenged for battery life compared to earlier designs, CA could present significant user experience challenges.

CA Roaming Issues CA is terminal specific and quite complex. For example, different terminals can be configured to utilize only specific combinations of carriers, and restricted from utilizing other carriers. This presents a great challenge in managing network handovers and roaming. For example, an LTE-A smartphone from the U.S. roaming into Europe may not support the necessary frequencies nor the correct combination of frequencies for CA. Similarly, the U.S. smartphone may support the necessary European frequency bands but not the correct combinations necessary for CA. While international roaming is likely to be difficult, the same could also apply within countries such as the U.S. where carriers have not only different bands but also different combinations of bands for CA. Some terminals may be able to transmit and receive on multiple carriers, while others are restricted to only a single carrier. There also may be situations in which different carriers are supported on the uplink and different carriers are supported on the downlink. Combine this with a confusing suite of terminal devices supported; it is likely that there may be significant issues with customer satisfaction due to lack of understanding.

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What is the Current State of Standards Related to Carrier Aggregation? CA is at the heart of 3GPP Release 10 (LTE-A), which was introduced in late 2011. Release 10 is the platform on which Releases 11 to 13 will be built. Table 1 below outlines the current state of the 3GPP standards body planning for the next four years. Release 11 will likely be tested and piloted during 2013/2014, while release 12 will be tested and piloted in 2014/2015, followed by the completion of release 13 in the 2016/2017 timeframe. Table 1: 3GPP Releases 8 – 12 Standardization and Commercialization Schedule Carrier Aggregation

Standardization

Release 8

No

Stage 3 freeze December 2008

Release 9

No

Stage 3 freeze December 2009

Release 10

Yes

Stage 3 freeze March 2011 Protocols stable June 2011

Yes

Stage 1 freeze September 2011 Stage 2 freeze March 2012 Stage 3 freeze September 2012 Core network protocols stable December 2012 RAN protocols stable March 2013 – June 2013 Stage 1 freeze March 2013 Stage 2 freeze December 2013 Stage 3 freeze June 2014

LTEAdvanced Release 11 LTEAdvanced

Release 12 LTEAdvanced

Source: iGR, 2013

Yes

Commercialization

Initial commercial launch 2012 Widespread deployment through 2013 -2014 Initial launches expected mid-late 2014

Initial launches expected 2015 Expect that by 2017, majority of LTE networks will use Rel. 12

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Given the complexities of CA, the standards will build upon Release 10 such that hardware manufacturers will have the ability to design, build, and release new devices that will be compliant with the standard. These future releases will introduce more CA functionality and will be backward compatible. However, iGR believes that the terminal manufacturers may have significant turnover in terminal models. For the contract-dependent U.S. market, the timing of the various LTE releases is important. For example, consider a subscriber who purchased an LTE device in early 2012 – by the end of 2013, they are likely to be eligible for an upgrade on their device. Therefore, the mobile operator could quickly replace the initial Release 8 devices with new Release 10 devices in 2013 and 2014. This has implications for CA. While Release 8 devices can support limited CA functionality with some tricks in the signaling protocols, CA is likely to be far more efficient with Release 10 and above devices. By the time the Release 10 networks are deployed and the operator has secured suitable spectrum for CA, it is likely that Release 10 terminals will also be in the market and so the operator can realize some benefit immediately.

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How Will Carrier Aggregation Impact Current Technology and the Mobile Market? Spectrum The only way to secure additional spectrum is through auctions managed by the U.S. government and buying or trading spectrum with others firms. Another way to enact improvements in spectrum performance is though the capabilities provided by CA. The mobile operators have to determine the bands that they wish to conjoin via CA. Once these determinations are made, mobile operators must undertake a significant software development effort to combine multiple spectrum resources and deploy new control channel software required to manage multiple bands. This software is necessary to collect all the data being transmitted across all bands in order to collate and deliver information to the end user by way of a common carrier. Additionally, iGR believes that there will be differing propagation characteristics because of the wide variety of bands and varying signal strengths that may be impacted by terrain challenges.

Market timing iGR believes that the largest mobile operators in the U.S. will begin to test and deploy initial CA pilots in late 2013 in order to commence the certification process for end-user devices. iGR believes that this will be a significant challenge for the mobile operators and the device manufacturers. It is not anticipated that there will be many such devices coming to market in 2013 until the service providers determine their respective CA strategies.

Roaming iGR believes that there will be demands from roaming partners beginning in 2014 that will be seeking very specific bands and preferences to automatically support spectrum specific roaming. With the arrival of VoLTE-A in 2013 and the migration of 911, GPS, and messaging to LTE-A, the challenges are many. All these challenges will require the creation of a robust testing platform, test methodology and test scripts/protocols to prepare the network technology for commercial availability. Mobile operators will also have to take a large number of small cells into consideration in fine-tuning a CA environment.

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Contiguous vs. Non-contiguous iGR believes that initial CA in 2013 and 2014 will be confined solely to contiguous frequencies, while non-contiguous CA will emerge in between 2014 and 2017. Ultimately, the movement to LTE-A will be mostly via network software upgrades, not network hardware upgrades.

Operator strategies As CA relates to the major mobile operators in the U.S., Verizon plans to blend their new 700 MHz spectrum with spectrum attained from various cable operators. AT&T has been vocal about their intent to combine their 700 MHz Qualcomm spectrum acquisition with either their 850 or 1900 MHz channel. Sprint touts that they are already LTE-A ready, while T-Mobile is deploying their release 10 network sometime during late first quarter 2013. Note that CA can only be used on FDD or TDD LTE channels, not both at the same time. So Sprint will not be able to implement CA with Clearwire’s TDD LTE network, for example.

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SWOT Analysis: Carrier Aggregation The primary Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for the mobile operator are outlined below in Figure 3. From iGR’s perspective, the main strengths of and opportunities for CA are: 

Ability to allow mobile operators to make use of all of their available spectrum, including the sections that are too small for traditional LTE channels, to increase capacity. In essence, CA allows an operator to make more efficient use of the available spectrum and maximize their spectrum investments. This is a significant business driver for CA.



Correspondingly, the subscriber should experience improved network performance, even as the network loads with new users.



Increased network performance gives the operator a marketing edge against non-CA operators, hopefully driving increased adoption of CA terminals.



The tighter control required for the CA terminal also potentially provides the mobile operator increased visibility into the RAN and new management options and flexibility.

However, there are also significant weaknesses and threats associated with CA: 

CA is complex and must be implemented carefully both in the network and on the terminals. Given the need for coordination, there is significant risk that something will be out of sync and that CA will not be as effective as expected. Significant trials and testing are likely to be required before CA can be fully deployed.



To effectively increase network capacity, there must be a significant number of CA terminals in the LTE subscriber base. Thus it could be some time after the initial CA network deployment that the benefits are fully realized due to the need to wait for the CA terminals to penetrate the base.



The potential negative impact on terminal battery life is a significant issue that should not be under-estimated. One of the main consumer complaints about the newer smartphones is the poor battery life (due to big bright screens and the support for multiple radios) – CA will only make this issue worse.

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Figure 3: SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Weaknesses

•CA resolves service provider spectrum availability problem •CA greatly improves network performance and speed •CA greatly increases network capacity •CA increases spectrum efficiency and use by using more available spectrum •Enables leveraging new terminal equipment into revenue

•Must design and develop new CA control channel software •Must define and develop new handover and reallocation of facilities software •Must determine overhead and impact of cross-cell handoffs •Need to define and deploy new resource for cross spectrum scheduling •Unknown hardware availability limitations

Opportunities

Threats

•CA represents new revenue platform to expand •Provides potential cost savings via greater network automation •Maximization of spectrum available •Improve visibility into network, including small cells

•Failure of terminal equipment manufacturers to deliver on time •Synchronization planning of LTE-A launch and phased CA launch •May have to retool personnel resources more toward network •Time to market may be problematic because of big CA challenges

Carrier Aggregation

Source: iGR, 2013

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Definitions General 

ARPU (Average Revenue Per User): The average amount of money a subscriber spends each month on their wireless service.

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CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate): A formula used to calculate the growth rate over a period of time.

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Churn: The percent of subscribers who discontinue wireless usage with the carrier in a given month.

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CPGA (Cost Per Gross Addition): The average marketing, handset subsidy, and other costs incurred by an operator to acquire a new subscriber.

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Penetration: The percentage of a country or region’s population that has adopted a given technology or service.



Postpaid: The traditional method of service billing where the customer receives a bill at the end of the month detailing what they owe for the month’s usage. Postpaid plans are generally packaged with service contracts that provide phone subsidies.



Prepaid: A method of paying for wireless service prior to use, either by purchasing a bucket of usage at the beginning of the month or drawing from an account with stored value on a per usage basis. Prepaid plans generally forgo service contracts or credit checks and are unlikely to provide phone subsidies.

Device Types 

Embedded Modem: A modem that is internally embedded in a device to give the device mobile broadband access. Most laptops and netbooks can be configured to come with embedded modems.



Ereader: Ereaders are portable devices specifically designed for reading digital books, newspapers, magazines, and other literary content. Though ereaders may perform a variety of functions, their focus on reading differentiates them from other devices. Examples include the Amazon Kindle, the Sony Reader, and the Barnes & Noble Nook.

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Feature Phone: A conventional cellular phone for calls, SMS, and other simple tasks with an ordinary, 10-digit keypad and, usually, a camera.

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Netbook: A highly portable laptop that is generally smaller, lighter, cheaper, and more energy efficient than a laptop, at the expense of processing power. Resultantly, many netbooks use legacy or specialized operating systems, such as Windows XP, Windows 7 Starter Edition, or custom Linux distributions. Some netbooks are subsidized when sold in conjunction with 3G mobile broadband service contracts. 14 Distribution of this report outside of your company or organization is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2013 iGillottResearch Inc.

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Portable Modem: A modem packaged in a portable form such as a U.S.B Dongle or ExpressCard that can be used to give compatible devices mobile broadband access.

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Smartphone: A cellular phone that uses a recognizable operating system with an advanced web browser and the capability to install third-party applications. Common smartphone operating systems include Apple’s iOS, RIM’s BlackBerry OS, Palm’s webOS, Google’s Android, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, and Nokia’s Symbian Platform.

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Tablet: A portable computing device that, unlike laptops or netbooks, uses a touch screen as its primary method of input, not a mouse and keyboard. Tablets are generally larger than smartphones, but smaller than laptops. One examples of a tablet is Apple’s iPad.

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Texting Phone: Similar to a feature phone, except has a full QWERTY keyboard, virtual or physical, for convenient messaging. Texting phones often have support for email, some form of web access, and playing music.

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IM (Instant Messaging): a form of live, text based communication between two or more users. A plethora of IM services exist and two users generally must be using the same service in order to chat. Popular IM services include AOL IM (AIM), Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk (GTalk/GChat), and MSN Messenger.

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IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem): a framework originally developed by the 3GPP for delivering multimedia services over an all-IP network, such as voice calling, messaging, video calling, IP TV, or IP radio.

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MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service): an improved version of the popular SMS that allows for the inclusion of larger amounts of text, images, audio, and even video.

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NFC (Near Field Communications): a high frequency wireless technology used at extremely short range. NFC is often implemented in wallet style cards (such as credit, identification, or mass transit cards) as an alternative to magnetic strips, allowing users to make so called “blink” transactions where their card is held in front of a card reader instead of being slid through it. NFC chips can also be embedded in mobile devices to allow the device to make blink transactions.

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SMS (Short Message Service): often referred to as text messaging or simply “texting,” SMS is a text based communication service used to send short messages (generally under 160 characters in length) between mobile phones.

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VoIP (Voice over IP): a term used to describe any service that provides voice communications over a network with IP-based architecture. This could refer to services such as Skype, which provide voice calling over the Internet’s IP

Services

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network, or a voice service for a carrier that is being delivered over an all-IP mobile network.

Network Technology 

1G (First Generation): a generic term to describe analog mobile telecommunications technologies, such as AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) and TACS (Total Access Communication System).



1X: shorthand for CDMA2000 1X (also known as IS-2000), a 2.5G, CDMA based technology developed by Qualcomm that builds on cdmaOne and is capable of peak data rates of 153 Kbit/s. 1X can be upgraded to 1X Advanced, which increases voice and data capacity.



2.5G: a term used to describe to mobile communications technologies evolved from 2G technologies that served as a transitional step to 3G networks, such as EDGE and 1X, which achieved higher voice and data capacity than their 2G counterparts.

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2G (Second Generation): a generic term to describe early digital mobile communications technologies, such as cdmaOne, GSM, and iDEN.

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3G (Third Generation): technically used to describe technologies that fulfill the ITU’s IMT-2000 requirement, but in practice a generic term to describe advanced wireless technologies that are capable of high data rates, such as UMTS and EV-DO.

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3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between multiple telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners, with the principle goal of making a globally applicable 3G mobile phone system specification based on evolved GSM specifications. The 3GPP is designed to work within the scope of the IMT-2000 specs. Today, 3GPP is principally tasked with development of LTE and LTE-A specifications.



4G (Fourth Generation): used to describe technologies that fulfill the ITU’s IMT-Advanced specifications, such as WiMax 2 and LTE Advanced. 4G technologies have flexible channel bandwidths; peak speeds of 100 Mbit/s when mobile and 1.5 Gbit/s when fixed; high spectral efficiency; smooth handoff between different network types; and a flat, all-IP network architecture. In practice, 4G is also used to describe technologies that nearly meet these requirements such Mobile WiMAX and LTE.



CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access): an FDD approach to wireless communications where each transmission is digitized and then tagged with a code. The mobile phone is then instructed to decipher only a particular code to pluck the right conversation off the air. The process can be compared in some ways to an English-speaking person picking out in a crowded room of French speakers the only other person speaking English.

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cdmaOne: a CDMA based 2G network technology developed by Qualcomm that is also known by its technical name, IS-95, or just CDMA for short. 16 Distribution of this report outside of your company or organization is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2013 iGillottResearch Inc.

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DAS: Distributed Antenna System is a network of spatially separated antenna nodes connected to a common radio that provides wireless service within a geographic area or structure.

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E-UTRAN: Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network is the air interface for LTE.

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EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution): a 2.5G technology for GSM and TDMA networks that offers peak mobile data downlinks speeds of up to 384 Kbit/s in end-user devices.

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EMS: Element Management System are the systems and applications used to manage network elements on the network element management layer (NEL) of the Telecommunication Management Network (TMN) model.

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eNode B: E-UTRAN Node B is the base transceiver station hardware in LTE networks. Node B uses the WCDMA/TD-SCDMA as the air interface technology. eNode B is therefore the enhanced version of Node B.

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EPC: Evolved Packet Core is the core IP processing functionality for LTE and beyond, as defined by the SAE.

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EV-DO: shorthand for CDMA2000 1xEV-DO (also known as IS-856), a CDMA based 3G technology developed by Qualcomm and supported by the 3GPP2 that builds on 1X and supports entirely packet based networks. The first iteration of the technology, Rel. 0, can be upgraded to Rev. A, Rev. B, Rev. B Multi-Carrier with a hardware upgrade, and even EV-DO Advanced. Rev A, the most deployed version of the technology, is capable of peak rates of 3.1 Mbit/s in a 1.25 MHz channel.

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FDD (Frequency Division Duplex): segregates uplink and downlink operations into two spectrum bands of equal width (paired spectrum bands), which are separated by one or more other bands to avoid interference.

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Fixed WiMax: the common name for 802.16d, since it does not support client or terminal mobility.

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GPRS (General Packet Radio Service): a technology for data transmission on GSM networks.

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GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications): a TDMA based 2G air interface technology used throughout the world.

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HETNET: Heterogeneous Network is a network connecting computers and other devices with different operating systems and/or protocols. In wireless, HetNet indicates the use of multiple types of access nodes, including macrocells, picocells, femtocells and/or Wi-Fi, in order to offer wireless coverage in an environment with a wide variety of wireless coverage zones.

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

HSPA: High Speed Packet Access is an amalgamation of High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) that supports increased peak data rates of up to 14 Mbit/s in the downlink and 5.76 Mbit/s in the uplink. Evolved HSPA (also known as HSPA+) is a wireless broadband standard defined in 3GPP release 7 and 8 of the WCDMA specification that provides data rates up to 84 Mbit/s in the downlink and 22 Mbit/s in the uplink (per 5 MHz carrier) with MIM) technologies and higher order modulation.



HSS: Home Subscriber Server is the central network database that contains user-related and subscription-related information. The HSS provides mobility management, call and session establishment support, user authentication and access authorization. The HSS is based on pre-Rel-4 Home Location Register (HLR) and Authentication Center (AuC).

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iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network) is a 2G TDMA based mobile communications technology developed by Motorola that provides users with the benefit of Push To Talk (walkie talkie style) communication.

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IMS: IP Multimedia Subsystem is an architectural framework for delivering Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia services, originally designed by the 3GPP as a part of the vision for evolving mobile networks beyond GSM.

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LTE (Long Term Evolution): a OFDMA based 3GPP standard, generally branded as 4G, that uses an all-IP flat network architecture and is capable of peak downlink speeds 100 Mbit/s and uplink speeds of 50 Mbit/s when deployed in a 20 MHz channel, and even higher rates if used with MIMO to deploy LTE in multiple channels. LTE is generally FDD, but also has an TDD implementation, TD-LTE.



LTE-Advanced: a 3GPP standard that builds off LTE, offering even greater channel flexibility and peak data rates of more than 1 Gbit/s.

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MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output): the use of multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver to increase spectral efficiency and link reliability.

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MME: Mobile Managed Entity is the key control-node for the LTE accessnetwork. It is responsible for idle mode UE (User Equipment) tracking and paging procedure including retransmissions.

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Mobile WiMax: the common name for 802.16e, since the technology includes support for high-speed client mobility. Mobile WiMax networks are not backwards compatible with Fixed WiMax networks and offer peak speeds of up to 40 Mbit/s in a single 20 MHz channel.

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NGMN: Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance is an industry association founded to develop a common solutions view of next generation wireless networks.

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OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access): and advanced method of wireless communications that uses complex channel division 18 Distribution of this report outside of your company or organization is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2013 iGillottResearch Inc.

methods to achieve minimal interference, high spectral efficiency, and efficient use of MIMO. 

PGW (PDN Gateway): PDN Gateway provides connectivity from the user equipment (UE) to external packet data networks by being the point of exit and entry of traffic for the device. A UE may have simultaneous connectivity with more than one PGW for accessing multiple PDNs. The PGW performs policy enforcement, packet filtering for each user, charging support, lawful interception and packet screening. PGW also provides for mobility between 3GPP and non-3GPP technologies such as WiMAX, CDMA 1X and EvDO.

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RAN: Radio Access Network – the physical radio layer at the front of each wireless network. Provides the RF connection to the end user device.

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S-GW: Serving Gateway routes and forwards user data packets and acts as the mobility anchor for the user plane during inter-eNodeB handovers. The S-GW also manages mobility between LTE and other 3GPP technologies (terminating S4 interface and relaying the traffic between 2G/3G systems and PGW).

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SAE: System Architecture Evolution is the core network architecture of 3GPP's LTE wireless communication standard.

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SGSN: Service GPRS Support Node is responsible for the delivery of data packets from and to the 2G and 3G mobile base stations within its geographical service area. Its tasks include packet routing and transfer, mobility management (attach/detach and location management), logical link management, and authentication and charging functions.

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SON: Self-Organizing Network has been defined by the 3GPP and NGMN as a framework for functions on future radio access networks that make it easier to plan, configure, manage, optimize and correct radio networks.

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TDD (Time Division Duplex): a method of separating a channel’s uplink and downlink signals by assigning each unique time slots, allowing use of a single, unpaired block of spectrum.

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TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access): a TDD method of wireless communications that allows many users to access a single radio frequency channel without interference by allocating unique time slots to each user within each channel.

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UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System): the 3GPP’s standardized CDMA based approach to 3G cellular systems. UMTS includes technologies such as W-CDMA (Wideband CDMA), HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), and HSPA+. In a 5 MHz channel, HSPA+ can reach peak download speeds of 21 Mbit/s, or even higher if deployed with MIMO.

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Wi-Fi: Wireless Fidelity is a wireless network for connecting computing devices, as defined by IEEE 802.11 in the 2.4 GHz, 3.6 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands.

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WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access): refers to set of implementations of the IEEE’s 802.16 wireless network standards supported 19 Distribution of this report outside of your company or organization is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2013 iGillottResearch Inc.

by the WiMax Forum, which certifies vendor equipment to ensure interoperability. WiMax requires an all-IP, network architecture, makes uses of OFDMA, and generally uses unpaired, TDD spectrum. 

WiMax 2: the common name for 802.16m, which is expected to be the first truly 4G WiMax technology capable of mobile data speeds up to 120 Mbit/s in a single 20 MHz channel. 802.16m will succeed 802.16e, with which it is backwards compatible.

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About iGR iGR is a market strategy consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile communications industry. Founded by Iain Gillott, one of the wireless industry’s leading analysts, we research and analyze the impact new wireless and mobile technologies will have on the industry, on vendors’ competitive positioning, and on our clients’ strategic business plans. Our clients typically include service providers, equipment vendors, mobile Internet software providers, wireless ASPs, mobile commerce vendors, and billing, provisioning, and back office solution providers. We offer a range of services to help companies improve their position in the marketplace, clearly define their future direction, and, ultimately, improve their bottom line. Note that Iain Gillott currently serves as an independent director for Wmode, Inc. A more complete profile of the company can be found at http://www.igrinc.com/.

Disclaimer The opinions expressed in this white paper are those of iGR and do not reflect the opinions of the companies or organizations referenced in this paper. All research was conducted exclusively and independently by iGR.

21 Distribution of this report outside of your company or organization is strictly prohibited. Copyright © 2013 iGillottResearch Inc.