Mobile WiMAX: A Systems Approach to Understanding IEEE 802.16m Radio Access Technology

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Dedication

Copyright

Preface

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Chapter 1. Introduction to Mobile Broadband Wireless Access

Introduction

1.1 Mobile Broadband Wireless Access Technologies

1.2 Introduction to the IEEE 802.16 Standards

1.3 Introduction to WiMAX Forum Mobile System Profiles

1.4 Introduction to 3GPP Standards

REFERENCES

Chapter 2. WiMAX Network Architecture

Introduction

2.1 Design Principles of WiMAX Network Architecture

2.2 Network Reference Model

2.3 Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA)

2.4 Mobile Ip

2.5 Radio Resource Management (RRM)

2.6 Mobility Management

2.7 Paging and Idle State Operation

2.8 Overview of 3gpp Evolved Packet Core Network Architecture

REFERENCES

Chapter 3. IEEE 802.16m Reference Model and Protocol Structure

Introduction

3.1 The IEEE 802.16m Reference Model

3.2 The IEEE 802.16m Protocol Structure

3.3 3GPP LTE/LTE-Advanced Protocol Structure

REFERENCES

CHAPTER 4. IEEE 802.16m System Operation and State Diagrams

Introduction

4.1 IEEE 802.16m Mobile Station State Diagrams

4.2 Network Entry

4.3 State Transitions and Mobility

4.4 State Transitions in Relay Stations

4.5 Operational States of Femto Base Stations

4.6 3GPP LTE User Equipment States and State Transitions

REFERENCES

Chapter 5. The IEEE 802.16m Convergence Sub-Layer

Introduction

5.1 Header Compression

5.2 Service Flow Classification and Identification

5.3 Packet Convergence Sub-layer

5.4 Generic Packet Convergence Sub-layer

5.5 The 3GPP LTE Packet Data Convergence Protocol

REFERENCES

Chapter 6. The IEEE 802.16m Medium Access Control Common Part Sub-layer (Part I)

Introduction

6.1 Addressing

6.2 MAC PDU Headers

6.3 MAC Signaling Headers

6.4 Mobility Management and Handover

6.5 Quality of Service

6.6 IEEE 802.16m QoS Classes

6.7 MAC Management/Control Messages

6.8 Connection and Session Management

6.9 Mobility and Power Management

6.10 Scheduling Services

6.11 Bandwidth Request and Allocation

6.12 Multi-radio Coexistence

6.13 3GPP LTE Radio Resource Control Functions

Appendix A: Proportional Fair Scheduling Algorithm

REFERENCES

Chapter 7. The IEEE 802.16m Medium Access Control Common Part Sub-layer (Part II)

Introduction

7.1 AUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST

7.2 HYBRID AUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST FUNCTIONS

7.3 MAC PDU FORMATION

7.4 3GPP LTE RADIO LINK CONTROL AND MEDIUM ACCESS CONTROL SUB-LAYERS

REFERENCES

Chapter 8. The IEEE 802.16m Security Sub-Layer

Introduction

8.1 Security Architecture

8.2 Authentication

8.3 Key Management Protocol (PKMv3)

8.4 Security Association Management

8.5 Cryptographic Methods

8.6 Control-plane Signaling Protection

8.7 User Privacy

8.8 3GPP LTE Security Aspects

REFERENCES

Chapter 9. The IEEE 802.16m Physical Layer (Part I)

Introduction

9.1 Overview of IEEE 802.16M Physical Layer Processing

9.2 Characteristics of Wireless Channels

9.3 SC-FDMA and OFDMA Principles

9.4 Downlink and Uplink Multiple Access Schemes

9.5 IEEE 802.16M Duplex Modes

9.6 Frame Structure

9.7 The Concept of Time Zones and Frequency Regions

9.8 Subchannelization and Permutation

9.9 Pilot Structure and Channel Estimation

9.10 MIMO Midamble

9.11 Pilot-based Channel Estimation

9.12 Channel Coding and Modulation

9.13 Synchronization Channel

9.14 Superframe Headers (Broadcast Channel)

9.15 3GPP LTE Physical Layer Protocols

REFERENCES

Chapter 10. The IEEE 802.16m Physical Layer (Part II)

Introduction

10.1 Control Channels

10.2 Downlink Control Channels

10.3 Uplink Control Channels

10.4 Multi-antenna Transmission Schemes

10.5 IEEE 802.16M Downlink MIMO Schemes

10.6 The IEEE 802.16M Uplink MIMO Schemes

10.7 Multi-BS MIMO

10.8 Interference Mitigation

10.9 Multi-antenna Techniques in 3GPP LTE

10.10 Multi-antenna Techniques in 3GPP LTE-Advanced

REFERENCES

Chapter 11. Multi-Carrier Operation

Introduction

11.1 Principles of Multi-Carrier Operation

11.2 Sub-carrier Alignment and Use of Guard Sub-Carriers

11.3 Carrier Aggregation and Spectral Mask Considerations

11.4 MAC Aspects of Multi-Carrier Operation

11.5 3GPP LTE-Advanced Multi-Carrier Operation

REFERENCES

Chapter 12. Performance of IEEE 802.16m and 3GPP LTE-Advanced

Introduction

12.1 Definition of the Performance Metrics

12.2 Calculation Of Static and Dynamic Overhead

12.3 Traffic Models

12.4 Link-to-system Mapping (PHY Abstraction)

12.5 IMT-Advanced Test Environments

12.6 Network Layout For System-Level Simulations

12.7 IMT-Advanced Evaluation Methodology and Baseline Configurations

12.8 Link-level And System-Level Channel Models

12.9 IEEE 802.16M Link-Level And System-Level Performance

12.10 3GPP LTE-Advanced Link-Level And System-Level Performance

REFERENCES

Index

Dedication

To my wife Shahrnaz and my children Roya and Nima

Copyright

Academic Press is an imprint of Elsevier

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First published 2011

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Notices

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Ahmadi, Sassan.

Mobile WiMAX : a systems approach to understanding the IEEE

802.16m radio access network.

1. IEEE 802.16 (Standard) 2. Wireless communication systems. 3. Mobile communication systems.

I. Title

621.3’84-dc22

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010935393

ISBN: 978-0-12-374964-2

For information on all Academic Press publications visit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com

Printed and bound in the United States

10 11 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Preface

Wireless communication comprises a wide range of technologies, services, and applications that have come into existence to meet the particular needs of users in different deployment scenarios. Wireless systems can be broadly characterized by content and services offered, reliability and performance, operational frequency bands, standards defining those systems, data rates supported, bi-directional and uni-directional delivery mechanisms, degree of mobility, regulatory requirements, complexity, and cost. The number of mobile subscribers has increased dramatically worldwide in the past decade. The growth in the number of mobile subscribers will be further intensified by the adoption of broadband mobile access technologies in developing countries such as India and China with large populations. It is envisioned that potentially the entire world population will have access to broadband mobile services, depending on economic conditions and favorable cost structures offered by regional network operators. There are already more mobile devices than fixed-line telephones or fixed computing platforms, such as desktop computers, that can access the Internet. The number of mobile devices is expected to continue to grow more rapidly than nomadic and stationary devices. Mobile terminals will be the most commonly used platforms for accessing and exchanging information. In particular, users will expect a dynamic, continuing stream of new applications, capabilities, and services that are ubiquitous and available across a range of devices using a single subscription and a single identity. Versatile communication systems offering customized and ubiquitous services based on diverse individual needs require flexibility in the technology in order to satisfy multiple demands simultaneously. Wireless multimedia traffic is increasing far more rapidly than voice, and will increasingly dominate traffic flows. The paradigm shift from predominantly circuit-switched air interface design to full IP-based delivery has provided the mobile users with the ability to more efficiently, more reliably, and more securely utilize packet-switched services such as e-mail, file transfers, messaging, browsing, gaming, voice-over Internet protocol, location-based, multicast, and broadcast services. These services can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical (in terms of the use of radio resources in the downlink or uplink) and real-time or non real-time, with different quality of service requirements. The new applications consume relatively larger bandwidths, resulting in higher data rate requirements.

In defining the framework for the development of IMT-Advanced and systems beyond IMT-Advanced radio interface technologies, it is important to understand the usage models and technology trends that will affect the design and deployment of such systems. In particular, the framework should be based on increasing user expectations and the growing demand for mobile services, as well as the evolving nature of the services and applications that may become available in the future. The trend toward integration and convergence of wireless systems and services can be characterized by connectivity (provision of an information pipe including intelligence in the network and the terminal), content (information including push and pull services as well as peer-to-peer applications), and e-commerce (electronic transactions and financial services). This trend may be viewed as the integration and convergence of information technology, telecommunications, and content, which has resulted in new service delivery dynamics and a new paradigm in wireless telecommunications, where value-added services have provided significant benefits to both the end users and the service providers.

Present mobile communication systems have evolved by incremental enhancements of system capabilities, and gradual addition of new functionalities and features to baseline IMT-2000 systems. The capabilities of IMT-2000 systems have continued to steadily evolve over the past decade as IMT-2000 technologies are upgraded and deployed (e.g., mobile WiMAX and the migration of UMTS systems to HSPA+). The IMT-Advanced and systems beyond IMT-Advanced are going to be realized by functional fusion of existing IMT-2000 system components, enhanced and new functions, nomadic wireless access systems, and other wireless systems with high commonality and seamless interworking. The systems beyond IMT-Advanced will encompass the capabilities of previous systems, as well as other communication schemes such as machine-to-machine, machine-to-person, and person-to-machine.

The framework for the development of IMT-Advanced and systems beyond IMT-Advanced can be viewed from multiple perspectives including users, manufacturers, application developers, network operators, and service and content providers. From the user’s perspective, there is a demand for a variety of services, content, and applications whose capabilities will increase over time. The users expect services to be ubiquitously available through a variety of delivery mechanisms and service providers using a variety of wireless devices. From the service provision perspective, the domains share some common characteristics. Wireless service provision is characterized by global mobile access (terminal and personal mobility), improved security and reliability, higher service quality, and access to personalized multimedia services, the Internet, and location-based services via one or multiple user terminals. Multi-radio operation requires seamless interaction of systems so that the user can receive/transmit a variety of content via different delivery mechanisms depending on the device capabilities, location and mobility, as well as the user profile. Different radio access systems can be connected via flexible core networks and appropriate interworking functions. In this way, a user can be connected through different radio access systems to the network and can utilize the services. The interworking among different radio access systems in terms of horizontal or vertical handover and seamless connectivity with service negotiation, mobility, security, and QoS management are the key requirements of radio-agnostic networks.

The similarity of services and applications across different radio access systems is beneficial not only to users, but also to network operators and content providers, stimulating the current trend towards convergence. Furthermore, similar user experience across different radio interface systems leads to large-scale adoption of products and services, common applications, and content. Access to a service or an application may be performed using one system or using multiple systems simultaneously. The increasing prevalence of IP-based applications has been a key driver for this convergence, and has accelerated the convergence trend in the core network and radio air interface.

The evolution of IMT-2000 baseline systems and the IMT-Advanced systems has employed several new concepts and functionalities, including adaptive modulation and coding and link adaptation, OFDM-based multiple access schemes, single-user/multi-user multi-antenna concepts and techniques, dynamic QoS control, mobility management and handover between heterogeneous radio interfaces (vertical and horizontal), robust packet transmission, error detection and correction, multi-user detection, and interference cancellation. Systems beyond IMT-Advanced may further utilize sophisticated schemes including software defined radio and reconfigurable RF and baseband processing, adaptive radio interface, mobile ad hoc networks, routing algorithms, and cooperative communication.

In response to this demand, the IEEE 802.16 Working Group began the development of a new amendment to the IEEE 802.16 standard (i.e., IEEE 802.16m) in January 2007 as an advanced air interface to meet the requirements of ITU-R/IMT-Advanced for the fourth-generation of cellular systems. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project started a similar effort in 2008 to upgrade the UMTS standards and to further enhance its family of LTE technologies.

Many articles, book chapters, and books have been published on the subject of mobile WiMAX and 3GPP LTE, varying from academic theses to network operator analyses and manufacturers’ application notes. By their very nature, these publications have viewed these subjects from one particular perspective, whether it is academic, operational, or promotional. A very different and unique approach has been taken in this book; a top-down system approach to understanding the system operation and design principles of the underlying functional components of 4th generation radio access networks. This book can be considered as the most up-to-date technical reference for the design of 4G cellular systems. In this book, the protocol layers and functional elements of both the IEEE 802.16m- and 3GPP LTE-Advanced-based radio access and core networks are described. While the main focus of the book (as will be understood from the title) is to provide readers with an in-depth understanding of the IEEE 802.16m radio access system design, and to demonstrate the operation of the end-to-end system; a detailed description of the 3GPP LTE Release 9 and 3GPP LTE-Advanced Release 10 systems is provided to allow readers to better understand the similarities and differences between the two systems by contrasting the protocols and functional elements. It can be concluded that, aside from the marketing propaganda and hype surrounding these technologies, the 3GPP LTE and mobile WiMAX systems are technically equivalent and a fair comparison of the two technologies and their evolutionary paths reveals a similar performance as far as user experience is concerned.

In order to ensure the self-sufficiency of the material, the theoretical background and necessary definitions of all terms and topics has been provided either as footnotes or in separate sections to enable in-depth understanding of the subject under consideration without distracting the reader, and with no impact on the continuity of the subject matter. Additional technical references are cited in each chapter for further study. Each chapter in this book provides a top-down systematic description of the IEEE 802.16m entities and functional blocks, such as state transition models and corresponding procedures, protocol structures, etc., (including similarities and differences with the legacy mobile WiMAX systems to emphasize improvements) starting at the most general level and working toward the details or specifics of the protocols and procedures. The description of corresponding 3GPP LTE/LTE-Advanced protocols and procedures are further provided to enable readers to contrast the analogous terminal and base station behaviors, protocols, and functionalities. Such contrast is crucial in the design of inter-system interworking functions and to provide better understanding of the design strengths and weaknesses of each system.

Introduction

International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced systems are broadband mobile wireless access systems that include new capabilities and versatility that goes beyond those of IMT-2000 systems. IMT-Advanced has provided a global framework for the development of the next generation of wireless radio access networks that enable low-delay, high-speed, bi-directional data access, unified messaging, and broadband wireless multimedia in the form of new service classes. Such systems provide access to a variety of mobile telecommunication services through entirely packet-based access/core networks. The IMT-Advanced systems support low to very high mobility applications and a wide range of data rates proportional to usage models and user density. The design and operational requirements concerning the 4th generation of radio interface technologies may vary from different perspectives with certain commonalities as follows:

End User

• Ubiquitous mobile Internet access;

• Easy access to applications and services with high quality at reasonable cost;

• Easily understandable user interface;

• Long battery life;

• Large choice of access terminals;

• Enhanced service capabilities;

• User-friendly billing policies.

Content Provider

• Flexible billing;

• Ability to adapt content to user requirements depending on terminal type, location, mobility, and user preferences;

• Access to a sizable market based on the similarity of application programming interfaces.

Service Provider

• Fast, open service creation, validation, and provisioning;

• Quality of service and security management;

• Automatic service adaptation as a function of available data rate and type of terminal;

• Flexible billing.

Network Operator

• Optimization of resources in terms of spectrum and equipment;

• Quality of service and security management;

• Ability to provide differentiated services;

• Flexible network configuration;

• Reduced cost of terminals and network equipment based on global economies of scale;

• Smooth transition from legacy systems to new systems;

• Maximizing commonalities among various radio access systems including sharing of mobile platforms, subscriber identity modules, network elements, radio sites;

• Single authentication process independent of the access network;

• Flexible billing;

• Access type selection optimizing service delivery.

Manufacturer or Application Developer

• Reduced cost of terminals and network equipment based on global economies of scale;

• Access to global markets;

• Open physical and logical interfaces between modular and integrated subsystems;

• Programmable/configurable platforms that enable fast and low-cost development.

The capabilities of IMT-2000 systems have continuously evolved over the past decade as IMT-2000 technologies have been upgraded and widely deployed. From the radio access perspective, the evolved IMT-2000 systems have built on the legacy systems, further enhanced the radio interface functionalities/protocols, and at the same time new systems have emerged to replace the existing IMT-2000 radio access systems in the long-term. This evolution has improved the reliability and throughput of the cellular systems and promoted the development of an expanding number of services and applications. The similarity of services and applications across different IMT technologies and frequency bands is not only beneficial to users, but also a similar user experience generally leads to a large-scale deployment of products and services. The technologies, applications, and services associated with systems beyond IMT-Advanced could well be radically different from the present systems, challenging our perceptions of what may be considered viable by today’s standards and going beyond what has just been achieved by the IMT-Advanced radio systems.

The IEEE 802.16 Working Group began the development of a new amendment to the IEEE 802.16 baseline standard in January 2007 as an advanced air interface, in order to materialize the ITU-R vision for the IMT-Advanced systems as laid out in Recommendation ITU-R M.1645. The requirements for the IEEE 802.16m standard were selected to ensure competitiveness with the emerging 4th generation radio access technologies, while extending and significantly improving the functionality and efficiency of the legacy system. The areas of improvement and extension included control/signaling mechanisms, L1/L2 overhead reduction, coverage of control and traffic channels at the cell-edge, downlink/uplink link budget, air-link access latency, client power consumption including uplink peak-to-average power ratio reduction, transmission and detection of control channels, scan latency and network entry/re-entry procedures, downlink and uplink symbol structure and subchannelization schemes, MAC management messages, MAC headers, support of the FDD duplex scheme, advanced single-user and multi-user MIMO techniques, relay, femto-cells, enhanced multicast and broadcast, enhanced location-based services, and self-configuration networks. The IMT-Advanced requirements defined and approved by ITU-R and published as Report ITU-R M.2134 were referred to as target requirements in the IEEE 802.16m system requirement document, and were evaluated based on the methodology and guidelines specified by Report ITU-R M.2135-1. The IEEE 802.16m baseline functional and performance requirements were evaluated according to the IEEE 802.16m evaluation methodology document. The IMT-Advanced requirements are a subset of the IEEE 802.16m system requirements, and thus are less stringent than baseline requirements. Since satisfaction of the baseline requirements would imply a minimum-featured (baseline) system, any minimum performance of the IEEE 802.16m implementation could potentially meet the IMT-Advanced requirements and could be certified as an IMT-Advanced technology. The candidate proposal submitted by the IEEE to the ITU-R (IEEE 802.16m) proved to meet and exceed the requirements of IMT-Advanced systems, and thus qualified as an IMT-Advanced technology.

In the course of the development of the IEEE 802.16m, and unlike the process used in the previous amendments of the IEEE 802.16 standard, the IEEE 802.16m Task Group developed system requirements and evaluation methodology documents to help discipline and organize the process for the development of the new amendment. This would allow system design and selection criteria with widely agreed targets using unified simulation assumptions and methodology. The group further developed a system description document to unambiguously describe the RAN architecture and system operation of the IEEE 802.16m entities, which set a framework for the development of the IEEE 802.16m standard specification. To enable a smooth transition from Release 1.0 mobile WiMAX systems to the new generation of the mobile WiMAX radio access network, and to maximize reuse of legacy protocols, strict backward compatibility was required. The author’s original view and understanding of backward compatibility was similar to that already seen in other cellular systems such as the migration of 1 × EV-DO Revision 0 to 1 × EV-DO Revision A, to 1 × EV-DO Revision B on the cdma2000 path and evolution of UMTS Release 99 to HSDPA to HSPA, and to HSPA+ on the WCDMA path. In these examples, the core legacy protocols were reused and new protocols were added as complementary solutions, such that the evolved systems maintained strict backward compatibility with the legacy systems, allowing gradual upgrades of the base stations, mobile stations, and network elements. Had it been materialized, the author’s vision would have resulted in a fully backward compatible system with improvement and extension of the legacy protocols and functionalities built on top of the existing protocols as opposed to from ground up. However, the enthusiasm for the IMT-Advanced systems and the ambitious baseline requirements set by the IEEE 802.16 group resulted in deviation from the original vision and the new amendment turned into describing a new system that was built more or less from scratch. A large number of legacy physical, lower and upper MAC protocols were replaced with new and non-backward compatible protocols and functions. The co-deployment of the legacy and the new systems on the same RF carrier is only possible via time-division or frequency-division multiplexing of the legacy and new protocols in the downlink and uplink legacy/new zones. More specifically, the legacy and new zones are time division multiplexed in the downlink and are frequency division multiplexed in the uplink. Figure 1 illustrates an example where the legacy system is supported in an IEEE 802.16m system. The overhead channels corresponding to each system (i.e., synchronization, control, and broadcast channels) are duplicated due to incompatibility of the physical structures and transmission formats of these overhead channels. Although IEEE 802.16m specifies handover mechanisms to and from the legacy systems, the handover protocols, MAC messages, and triggers are different, requiring a separate protocol/software stack for dual-mode implementation of the two systems. Table 1 compares the physical layer and lower MAC features of the legacy mobile WiMAX and IEEE 802.16m. It can be seen that many important features and functions such as HARQ, subchannelization, control channels, and MIMO modes have changed in the IEEE 802.16m, making migration from legacy systems to the IEEE 802.16m systems not straightforward and also expensive. The complexity of later upgrades is similar to that of migration of UMTS/HSPA systems to 3GPP LTE systems given the non-backward compatible nature of 3GPP LTE enhancements relative to UMTS. The features and functions listed in this table will be described in Chapters 9 and 10.

Figure 1 Example Sharing of Time-Frequency Resources over one Radio Frame between IEEE 802.16m and the Legacy Systems in TDD Mode

Table 1 Comparison of the Legacy Mobile WiMAX Features with IEEE 802.16m

As a result of extensive changes and enhancements in the IEEE 802.16m standard relative to legacy mobile WiMAX, it will not be surprising to realize that the throughput and performance of the IEEE 802.16m surpasses that of the legacy system, resulting in extended capabilities to support a variety of existing and future services and applications with high quality and capacity. Table 2 compares the throughput of the two systems under selected test scenarios that were specified in the IMT-Advanced evaluation methodology document.

Table 2 Comparison of the Throughput of the Legacy Mobile WiMAX and IEEE 802.16m Systems

In Table 2, a TDD system with 10 MHz bandwidth and frequency reuse 1, as well as a DL:UL ratio of 29:18 was assumed for both systems. The legacy system employs a 4 × 2 single-user MIMO configuration and sounding-based beamforming in the downlink, along with a 1 × 4 collaborative MIMO in the uplink. The IEEE 802.16m uses a 4 × 2 multi-user MIMO in the downlink in addition to a 2 × 4 collaborative MIMO in the uplink with codebook-based beamforming for both links. There are up to four multi-user MIMO users in the downlink and up to two multi-user MIMO users in the uplink.

A common confusion arises concerning the terminologies used for mobile and base stations compliant with different versions of the IEEE 802.16 standard and mobile WiMAX system profile. The IEEE 802.16-2009 standard specifies a large number of optional features and parameters that may define various mobile station and base station configurations. One of the possible implementation variants was selected and specified by the WiMAX Forum as Release 1.0 of the mobile WiMAX system profile. The latter configuration was chosen by the IEEE 802.16m as the reference for backward compatibility. Consequently, when referring to a mobile station and base station in different amendments of the IEEE 802.16 standard, as well as mobile WiMAX profiles, one must make sure that a consistent reference is made, and that backward compatibility and interoperability can be maintained. Unlike the IEEE 802.16m specification that refers to the new IEEE 802.16 entities as advanced mobile station, advanced base station, and advanced relay station to differentiate them from their counterparts in the IEEE 802.16-2009 and IEEE 802.16j-2009 standards specifications, we refer to these entities as mobile station, base station, and relay station, assuming that the reference system is compliant with Release 1.0 of the mobile WiMAX system profile and that the extended functions and protocols corresponding to IEEE 802.16m can be distinguished from their legacy counterparts by the reader.

Similar to the IEEE, the 3GPP initiated a project on the long-term evolution of UMTS radio interface in late 2004 to maintain 3GPP’s competitive edge over other cellular technologies. The evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network substantially improved end-user throughputs, and sector capacity, and reduced user-plane and control-plane latencies, bringing a significantly improved user experience with full mobility. With the emergence of the Internet protocol as the protocol of choice for carrying all types of traffic, the 3GPP LTE provides support for IP-based traffic with end-to-end quality of service. Voice traffic is supported mainly as voice over IP, enabling integration with other multimedia services. Unlike its predecessors, which were developed within the framework of UMTS architecture, 3GPP specified an evolved packet core architecture to support the E-UTRAN through a reduction in the number of network elements and simplification of functionality, but most importantly allowing for connections and handover to other fixed and wireless access technologies, providing network operators with the ability to deliver seamless mobility experience. Similar to the IEEE 802.16, 3GPP set aggressive performance requirements for LTE that relied on improved physical layer technologies, such as OFDM and single-user and/or multi-user MIMO techniques, and streamlined Layer 2/Layer 3 protocols and functionalities. The main objectives of 3GPP LTE were to minimize the system and user equipment complexities, to allow flexible spectrum deployment in the existing or new frequency bands, and to enable coexistence with other 3GPP radio access technologies. The 3GPP LTE has been used as the baseline and further enhanced under 3GPP Release 10 to meet the requirements of the IMT-Advanced. A candidate proposal based on the latter enhancements (3GPP LTE-Advanced) was submitted to the ITU-R and subsequently qualified as an IMT-Advanced technology. However, concurrent with the 3GPP LTE standard development, the operators were rolling out HSPA networks to upgrade their 2G and 2.5G, and early 3G infrastructure, thus they were not ready to embrace yet another paradigm shift in radio access and core network technologies. Therefore, 3GPP has continued to improve UMTS technologies by adding multi-antenna support at the base station, higher modulation order in the downlink, multi-carrier support, etc., to extend the lifespan of 3G systems. It is anticipated that the new releases of 3GPP standards (i.e., LTE/LTE-Advanced) will not be commercially available worldwide on a large scale until current operators’ investments are properly returned.

A comparison of 3GPP LTE-Advanced and IEEE 802.16m basic and advanced features and functionalities reveals that the two systems are very similar and may perform similarly under the same operating conditions. Therefore, there is effectively no technical or performance distinction between the two technologies. It will be shown throughout this book that the two radio access technologies are practically equivalent as far as user experience is concerned. Table 3 summarizes the major differences between IEEE 802.16m and 3GPP LTE-Advanced physical layer protocols. The features and functions listed in this table will be described in Chapters 9 and 10.

Table 3 Major Differences between IEEE 802.16m and 3GPP LTE-Advanced Physical Layers

In the course of design and development of the IEEE 802.16m standard, the author decided to write a book and to take a different approach than was typically taken in other books and journal articles. The author’s idea was to take a top-down systems approach in describing the design and operation of the IEEE 802.16m, and to contrast the 3GPP LTE/LTE-Advanced and IEEE 802.16m/mobile WiMAX algorithms and protocols to allow readers to better understand both systems. The addition of the 3GPP LTE/LTE-Advanced protocols and system description further expanded the scope of the book to a systems approach to understanding the design and operation of 4th generation cellular systems. There has been no attempt anywhere in this book to compare, side-by-side, the performance and efficiency of the mobile WiMAX and 3GPP LTE systems and to conclude that one system outperforms the other, rather, it is left to the reader to arrive at such a conclusion. In addition to a top-down systems approach, another distinction of this book compared to other publications in the literature is the inclusion of the theoretical background or a description of uncommon terminologies and concepts in each chapter, so that readers can understand the subject matter without getting distracted with additional reading in the citations and references. In each chapter the design criteria and justification for modifications and extensions relative to the legacy systems have been described.

The present book begins with an introduction to the history of broadband mobile wireless access and an overview of the IEEE and 3GPP standards and standardization processes in Chapter 1. The approach taken in this book required the author to review the network architecture and to examine each and every significant network element in mobile WiMAX and 3GPP LTE networks. Since the WiMAX Forum has yet to update the WiMAX Network Architecture specification to support the IEEE 802.16m standard, the latest revision of the WiMAX Network Architecture document which is publicly available from the WiMAX Forum has been used. It is expected that the early deployment of IEEE 802.16m would rely on the legacy network architecture until network upgrades become available. Once the access network and core network aspects of the system are described, we turn our attention to the reference model and protocol structure of IEEE 802.16m and 3GPP LTE/LTE-Advanced, and discuss the operation and behavior of each entity (base station, mobile station, and relay station), as well as functional components and their interactions in the protocol stack. The remaining chapters of this book are organized to be consistent with the protocol layers, starting from the network layer and moving down to the physical layer. The overall operation of the mobile station, relay station, and base station and their corresponding state machines are described in Chapter 4. Perhaps this chapter is the most important part of the book, as far as understanding the general operation of the system is concerned. Chapter 5 describes the interface with the packet data network. Chapters 6 and 7 describe the medium access control layer protocols. Due to the size of content, the medium access control and physical layer chapters (Chapters 6, 7, 9 and 10) have been divided into two parts. The security aspects of the systems under consideration are described in Chapter 8. The additional functional components, algorithms, and protocols which have been introduced by the 3GPP LTE-Advanced are emphasized so that they are not confused with the legacy components. The multi-carrier operation of the IEEE 802.16m and 3GPP LTE-Advanced are described in Chapter 11. The performance evaluation of the IEEE 802.16m and 3GPP LTE-Advanced against the IMT-Advanced requirements has been described in Chapter 12, where all the performance metrics are defined and link-level and system-level simulation methodologies and parameters are elaborated.

The existing mobile broadband radio access systems will continue to evolve and new systems will emerge. The vision, service and system requirements for systems beyond IMT-Advanced will be defined as soon as the IMT-Advanced standardization process winds down. While it is not exactly clear what technologies will be incorporated into the design of such systems and whether the existing radio access technologies will converge into a single universal radio interface, it is envisioned that the future radio interfaces will rely on distributed antenna systems, low-power emission, distributed computing, seamless connectivity, software defined radio, cognitive radio systems, multi-resolution wireless multimedia, and cooperative communication concepts, as well as reconfigurable RF and baseband circuitry in order to provide a higher quality of user experience, higher capacities, and a wider range of services with minimal cost and complexity.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank his colleagues at Intel Corporation, ZTE Corporation, Samsung Electronics, Motorola, LG Electronics, the IEEE 802.16, and the 3GPP RAN groups for their contributions, consultation, and assistance in proofreading and improving the quality and content of the chapters of this book.

The author would like to sincerely thank Academic Press (Elsevier) publishing and editorial staff for providing the author with the opportunity to publish this book and for their assistance, cooperation, patience, and understanding throughout the past two years.

Finally, the author would like to thank his wife (Shahrnaz) and his children (Roya and Nima) for their unwavering encouragement, support, patience, and understanding throughout this long and challenging project.

Abbreviations

Chapter 1

Introduction to Mobile Broadband Wireless Access

Introduction

The last two decades have witnessed a rapid growth in the number of subscribers and incredible advancement in technology of cellular communication from simple, all-circuit-switched, analog first generation systems with limited voice service capabilities, limited mobility, and small capacity to the third generation systems with significantly increased capacity, advanced all-digital packet-switched all-IP implementations that offer a variety of multimedia services. With the increasing demand for high-quality wireless multimedia services, the radio access technologies continue to advance with faster pace toward the next generation of systems. The general characteristics envisioned for the fourth generation of the cellular systems include all-IP core networks, support for a wide range of user mobility, significantly improved user throughput and system capacity, reliability and robustness, seamless connectivity, reduced access latencies, etc.

In this chapter we discuss the current status of broadband wireless access technologies and the efforts that are made by prominent standardization organizations to materialize the vision and to fulfill the objectives for the next generation of broadband radio access systems. Presently, the most important activities in this area are conducted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and 3rd Generation Partnership Project. These two organizations have historically contributed to the development and advancement of fixed and mobile broadband systems such as the IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.3, and the UMTS family of standards. Both organizations have already taken significant steps toward the next generation of fixed and mobile broadband wireless access technologies also known as IMT-Advanced systems.

There is a great amount of commonality and similarity between the latest generations of wireless access system standards that started with similar system requirements and has further continued with similar functional blocks, protocols, and baseband processing, resulting in the notion of ultimate convergence in the 4th or later generations of broadband wireless access technologies. An attempt will be made to provide the background information and justification for this viewpoint throughout this chapter, while adhering to a systematic and structured approach.

1.1 Mobile Broadband Wireless Access Technologies

Wireless broadband technologies provide ubiquitous broadband access to mobile users, enabling consumers with a broad range of mobility and a variety of wireless multimedia services and applications. Broadband wireless access technologies provide broadband data access through wireless media to consumer and business markets. The most common example of broadband wireless access is wireless local area network. There have been continued efforts to deliver ubiquitous broadband wireless access by developing and deploying advanced radio access technologies such as 3GPP UMTS and LTE, as well as mobile WiMAX systems. The broadband wireless access is also an attractive option to network operators in geographically remote areas with no or limited wired network. The advantages in terms of savings in speed of deployment and installation costs are further motivation for broadband wireless access technologies.

There are various types of broadband wireless access technologies that are classified based on the coverage area and user mobility as follows:

1. Personal Area Network (PAN) is a wireless data network used for communication among data devices/peripherals around a user. The wireless PAN coverage area is typically limited to a few meters with no mobility. Examples of PAN technologies include Bluetooth or IEEE 802.15.1 [1] and Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology [2].

2. Local Area Network (LAN) is a wireless or wireline data network used for communication among data/voice devices covering small areas such as home or office environments with no or limited mobility. Examples include Ethernet (fixed wired LAN) [3] and Wi-Fi or IEEE 802.11 [4] (wireless LAN for fixed and nomadic users).

3. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is a data network that connects a number of LANs or a group of stationary/mobile users distributed in a relatively large geographical area. Wireless infrastructure or optical fiber connections are typically used to link the dispersed LANs. Examples include the IEEE 802.16-2004 (fixed WiMAX) [5] and Ethernet-based MAN [3].

4. Wide Area Network (WAN) is a data network that connects geographically dispersed users via a set of inter-connected switching nodes, hosts, LANs, etc., and covers a wide geographical area. Examples of WAN include the Internet [3] and cellular networks such as 3GPP UMTS [6], 3GPP LTE [7], and mobile WiMAX or IEEE 802.16-2009 [8].

The user demand for broadband wireless services and applications are continually growing. In particular, users expect a dynamic, continuing stream of new applications, capabilities, and services that are ubiquitous and available across a range of devices using a single subscription and a single or unique identity. Offering customized and ubiquitous services based on diverse individual needs through versatile communication systems will require certain considerations in the technology design and deployment.

A number of important factors are accelerating the adoption of wireless data services. These include increased user demand for wireless multimedia services, advances in smart-phone technologies, and global coverage of broadband wired and wireless access. In the meantime, application and content providers are either optimizing their offerings or developing new applications to address the needs and expectations of fixed and mobile users.

Wireless multimedia applications are growing far more rapidly than voice, and are increasingly dominating network traffic. There has been a gradual change from predominantly circuit-switched to packet-based and all-IP networks since the beginning of this millennium [9]. This change will provide the user with the ability to more efficiently utilize multimedia services including e-mail, file transfers, IP TV, VoIP, interactive gaming, messaging, and distribution services. These services are either symmetrical or asymmetrical and real-time or non real-time. They require wider frequency bandwidths, lower transmission and processing latencies, and higher data throughputs.

It is envisioned that within the next decade a large number of the world population would have access to advanced mobile communication devices. The statistics suggest that the number of broadband wireless service subscribers can exceed two billion in the next few years [9]. There are already more portable handsets than either fixed line telephones or wired line equipment such as desktops that can access the Internet, and the number of mobile devices is expected to continue to grow more rapidly than fixed line devices. Mobile terminals will be the most commonly used devices for accessing and exchanging information as well as e-commerce [10]. This trend is viewed as the integration and convergence of information technology, telecommunications, and content. This trend has resulted in new service delivery dynamics and a paradigm shift in telecommunications that will benefit both end users and service providers [10].

The following general requirements are applied to telecommunication services and applications, noting that the requirements may be different from one service offering to another:

• Seamless and