LTEQuickGuide

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LTEOverview
LTEstandsforLongTermEvolutionanditwasstartedasaprojectin2004bytelecommunicationbody
knownastheThirdGenerationPartnershipProject(3GPP).SAE(SystemArchitectureEvolution)isthe
correspondingevolutionoftheGPRS/3Gpacketcorenetworkevolution.ThetermLTEistypicallyusedto
representbothLTEandSAE.
LTEevolvedfromanearlier3GPPsystemknownastheUniversalMobileTelecommunicationSystem
(UMTS),whichinturnevolvedfromtheGlobalSystemforMobileCommunications(GSM).Evenrelated
specificationswereformallyknownastheevolvedUMTSterrestrialradioaccess(EUTRA)andevolved
UMTSterrestrialradioaccessnetwork(EUTRAN).FirstversionofLTEwasdocumentedinRelease8of
the3GPPspecifications.
ArapidincreaseofmobiledatausageandemergenceofnewapplicationssuchasMMOG(Multimedia
OnlineGaming),mobileTV,Web2.0,streamingcontentshavemotivatedthe3rdGenerationPartnership
Project(3GPP)toworkontheLongTermEvolution(LTE)onthewaytowardsfourthgenerationmobile.
ThemaingoalofLTEistoprovideahighdatarate,lowlatencyandpacketoptimizedradioaccess
technologysupportingflexiblebandwidthdeployments.Sametimeitsnetworkarchitecturehasbeen
designedwiththegoaltosupportpacketswitchedtrafficwithseamlessmobilityandgreatqualityofservice.

LTEEvolution
Year
Mar2000
Mar2002
Mar2005
Year2007
November2004
January2008
2010

Event
Release99UMTS/WCDMA
Rel5HSDPA
Rel6HSUPA
Rel7DLMIMO,IMS(IPMultimediaSubsystem)
WorkstartedonLTEspecification
SpecfinalizedandapprovedwithRelease8
Targetedfirstdeployment

FactsaboutLTE
LTEisthesuccessortechnologynotonlyofUMTSbutalsoofCDMA2000.
LTEisimportantbecauseitwillbringupto50timesperformanceimprovementandmuchbetter
spectralefficiencytocellularnetworks.
LTEintroducedtogethigherdatarates,300Mbpspeakdownlinkand75Mbpspeakuplink.Ina
20MHzcarrier,dataratesbeyond300Mbpscanbeachievedunderverygoodsignalconditions.
LTEisanidealtechnologytosupporthighdateratesfortheservicessuchasvoiceoverIP(VOIP),
streamingmultimedia,videoconferencingorevenahighspeedcellularmodem.

LTEusesbothTimeDivisionDuplex(TDD)andFrequencyDivisionDuplex(FDD)mode.InFDD
uplinkanddownlinktransmissionuseddifferentfrequency,whileinTDDbothuplinkanddownlink
usethesamecarrierandareseparatedinTime.
LTEsupportsflexiblecarrierbandwidths,from1.4MHzupto20MHzaswellasbothFDDandTDD.
LTEdesignedwithascalablecarrierbandwidthfrom1.4MHzupto20MHzwhichbandwidthisused
dependsonthefrequencybandandtheamountofspectrumavailablewithanetworkoperator.
AllLTEdeviceshavetosupport(MIMO)MultipleInputMultipleOutputtransmissions,whichallow
thebasestationtotransmitseveraldatastreamsoverthesamecarriersimultaneously.
AllinterfacesbetweennetworknodesinLTEarenowIPbased,includingthebackhaulconnectionto
theradiobasestations.Thisisgreatsimplificationcomparedtoearliertechnologiesthatwereinitially
basedonE1/T1,ATMandframerelaylinks,withmostofthembeingnarrowbandandexpensive.
QualityofService(QoS)mechanismhavebeenstandardizedonallinterfacestoensurethatthe
requirementofvoicecallsforaconstantdelayandbandwidth,canstillbemetwhencapacitylimitsare
reached.
WorkswithGSM/EDGE/UMTSsystemsutilizingexisting2Gand3Gspectrumandnewspectrum.
Supportshandoverandroamingtoexistingmobilenetworks.

AdvantagesofLTE
Highthroughput:Highdataratescanbeachievedinbothdownlinkaswellasuplink.Thiscauses
highthroughput.
Lowlatency:Timerequiredtoconnecttothenetworkisinrangeofafewhundredmillisecondsand
powersavingstatescannowbeenteredandexitedveryquickly.
FDDandTDDinthesameplatform:FrequencyDivisionDuplex(FDD)andTimeDivisionDuplex
(FDD),bothschemescanbeusedonsameplatform.
Superiorenduserexperience:Optimizedsignalingforconnectionestablishmentandotherair
interfaceandmobilitymanagementprocedureshavefurtherimprovedtheuserexperience.Reduced
latency(to10ms)forbetteruserexperience.
SeamlessConnection:LTEwillalsosupportseamlessconnectiontoexistingnetworkssuchasGSM,
CDMAandWCDMA.
Plugandplay:Theuserdoesnothavetomanuallyinstalldriversforthedevice.Insteadsystem
automaticallyrecognizesthedevice,loadsnewdriversforthehardwareifneeded,andbeginstowork
withthenewlyconnecteddevice.
Simplearchitecture:BecauseofSimplearchitecturelowoperatingexpenditure(OPEX).

LTEQoS
LTEarchitecturesupportshardQoS,withendtoendqualityofserviceandguaranteedbitrate(GBR)for
radiobearers.JustasEthernetandtheinternethavedifferenttypesofQoS,forexample,variouslevelsof
QoScanbeappliedtoLTEtrafficfordifferentapplications.BecausetheLTEMACisfullyscheduled,QoS
isanaturalfit.
EvolvedPacketSystem(EPS)bearersprovideonetoonecorrespondencewithRLCradiobearersand
providesupportforTrafficFlowTemplates(TFT).TherearefourtypesofEPSbearers:
GBRBearerresourcespermanentlyallocatedbyadmissioncontrol

NonGBRBearernoadmissioncontrol
DedicatedBearerassociatedwithspecificTFT(GBRornonGBR)
DefaultBearerNonGBR,catchallforunassignedtraffic

LTEBasicParameters
ThissectionwillsummarizetheBasicparametersoftheLTE:
Parameters
Frequencyrange
Duplexing
Channelcoding
Mobility

Description
UMTSFDDbandsandTDDbandsdefinedin36.101(v860)Table
5.5.1,givenbelow
FDD,TDD,halfduplexFDD
Turbocode
350km/h

ChannelBandwidth(MHz)

1.4
3
5
10
15
20

TransmissionBandwidth
ConfigurationNRB:(1resource
block=180kHzin1msTTI)

6
15
25
50
75
100

ModulationSchemes

MultipleAccessSchemes

MultiAntennaTechnology

UL:QPSK,16QAM,64QAM(optional)
DL:QPSK,16QAM,64QAM
UL:SCFDMA(SingleCarrierFrequencyDivisionMultipleAccess)
supports50Mbps+(20MHzspectrum)
DL:OFDM(OrthogonalFrequencyDivisionMultipleAccess)
supports100Mbps+(20MHzspectrum)
UL:MultiusercollaborativeMIMO
DL:TxAA,spatialmultiplexing,CDD,max4x4array
UL:75Mbps(20MHzbandwidth)

PeakdatarateinLTE

DL:150Mbps(UECategory4,2x2MIMO,20MHzbandwidth)
DL:300Mbps(UEcategory5,4x4MIMO,20MHzbandwidth)

MIMO

UL:1x2,1x4

(MultipleInputMultipleOutput)

DL:2x2,4x2,4x4

Coverage
QoS
Latency

5100kmwithslightdegradationafter30km
E2EQOSallowingprioritizationofdifferentclassofservice
Enduserlatency<10mS

EUTRAOperatingBands
FollowingisthetableforEUTRAoperatingbandstakenfromLTESepecification36.101(v860)Table5.5.1:

LTENetworkArchitecture
ThehighlevelnetworkarchitectureofLTEiscomprisedoffollowingthreemaincomponents:
TheUserEquipment(UE).
TheEvolvedUMTSTerrestrialRadioAccessNetwork(EUTRAN).
TheEvolvedPacketCore(EPC).
Theevolvedpacketcorecommunicateswithpacketdatanetworksintheoutsideworldsuchastheinternet,
privatecorporatenetworksortheIPmultimediasubsystem.Theinterfacesbetweenthedifferentpartsofthe
systemaredenotedUu,S1andSGiasshownbelow:

TheUserEquipment(UE)
TheinternalarchitectureoftheuserequipmentforLTEisidenticaltotheoneusedbyUMTSandGSM
whichisactuallyaMobileEquipment(ME).Themobileequipmentcomprisedofthefollowingimportant
modules:
MobileTermination(MT):Thishandlesallthecommunicationfunctions.
TerminalEquipment(TE):Thisterminatesthedatastreams.
UniversalIntegratedCircuitCard(UICC):ThisisalsoknownastheSIMcardforLTE
equipments.ItrunsanapplicationknownastheUniversalSubscriberIdentityModule(USIM).
AUSIMstoresuserspecificdataverysimilarto3GSIMcard.Thiskeepsinformationabouttheuser'sphone
number,homenetworkidentityandsecuritykeysetc.

TheEUTRAN(Theaccessnetwork)
ThearchitectureofevolvedUMTSTerrestrialRadioAccessNetwork(EUTRAN)hasbeenillustrated
below.

TheEUTRANhandlestheradiocommunicationsbetweenthemobileandtheevolvedpacketcoreandjust
hasonecomponent,theevolvedbasestations,calledeNodeBoreNB.EacheNBisabasestationthat
controlsthemobilesinoneormorecells.Thebasestationthatiscommunicatingwithamobileisknownas
itsservingeNB.

LTEMobilecommunicateswithjustonebasestationandonecellatatimeandtherearefollowingtwomain
functionssupportedbyeNB:
TheeBNsendsandreceivesradiotransmissionstoallthemobilesusingtheanalogueanddigital
signalprocessingfunctionsoftheLTEairinterface.
TheeNBcontrolsthelowleveloperationofallitsmobiles,bysendingthemsignallingmessagessuch
ashandovercommands.
EacheBNconnectswiththeEPCbymeansoftheS1interfaceanditcanalsobeconnectedtonearbybase
stationsbytheX2interface,whichismainlyusedforsignallingandpacketforwardingduringhandover.
AhomeeNB(HeNB)isabasestationthathasbeenpurchasedbyausertoprovidefemtocellcoverage
withinthehome.AhomeeNBbelongstoaclosedsubscribergroup(CSG)andcanonlybeaccessedby
mobileswithaUSIMthatalsobelongstotheclosedsubscribergroup.

TheEvolvedPacketCore(EPC)(Thecorenetwork)
ThearchitectureofEvolvedPacketCore(EPC)hasbeenillustratedbelow.Therearefewmorecomponents
whichhavenotbeenshowninthediagramtokeepitsimple.ThesecomponentsareliketheEarthquakeand
TsunamiWarningSystem(ETWS),theEquipmentIdentityRegister(EIR)andPolicyControlandCharging
RulesFunction(PCRF).

Belowisabriefdescriptionofeachofthecomponentsshownintheabovearchitecture:
TheHomeSubscriberServer(HSS)componenthasbeencarriedforwardfromUMTSandGSMandis
acentraldatabasethatcontainsinformationaboutallthenetworkoperator'ssubscribers.
ThePacketDataNetwork(PDN)Gateway(PGW)communicateswiththeoutsideworldie.packet
datanetworksPDN,usingSGiinterface.Eachpacketdatanetworkisidentifiedbyanaccesspoint
name(APN).ThePDNgatewayhasthesameroleastheGPRSsupportnode(GGSN)andtheserving
GPRSsupportnode(SGSN)withUMTSandGSM.
Theservinggateway(SGW)actsasarouter,andforwardsdatabetweenthebasestationandthePDN
gateway.
Themobilitymanagemententity(MME)controlsthehighleveloperationofthemobilebymeansof
signallingmessagesandHomeSubscriberServer(HSS).

ThePolicyControlandChargingRulesFunction(PCRF)isacomponentwhichisnotshowninthe
abovediagrambutitisresponsibleforpolicycontroldecisionmaking,aswellasforcontrollingthe
flowbasedchargingfunctionalitiesinthePolicyControlEnforcementFunction(PCEF),whichresides
inthePGW.
TheinterfacebetweentheservingandPDNgatewaysisknownasS5/S8.Thishastwoslightlydifferent
implementations,namelyS5ifthetwodevicesareinthesamenetwork,andS8iftheyareindifferent
networks.

FunctionalsplitbetweentheEUTRANandtheEPC
FollowingdiagramshowsthefunctionalsplitbetweentheEUTRANandtheEPCforanLTEnetwork:

2G/3GVersusLTE
FollowingtablecomparesvariousimportantNetworkElements&Signalingprotocolsusedin2G/3Gabd
LTE.
2G/3G
LTE
GERANandUTRAN
EUTRAN
SGSN/PDSNFA
SGW
GGSN/PDSNHA
PDNGW
HLR/AAA
HSS
VLR
MME
SS7MAP/ANSI41/RADIUS Diameter
DiameterGTPcv0andv1
GTPcv2
MIP
PMIP

LTERoamingArchitecture
AnetworkrunbyoneoperatorinonecountryisknownasaPublicLandMobileNetwork(PLMN)andwhen
asubscribeduseruseshisoperator'sPLMNthenitissaidHomePLMNbutroamingallowsuserstomove
outsidetheirhomenetworkandusingtheresourcesfromotheroperator'snetwork.Thisothernetworkis
calledVisitedPLMN.
AroaminguserisconnectedtotheEUTRAN,MMEandSGWofthevisitedLTEnetwork.However,
LTE/SAEallowsthePGWofeitherthevisitedorthehomenetworktobeused,asshowninbelow:

Thehomenetwork'sPGWallowstheusertoaccessthehomeoperator'sservicesevenwhileinavisited
network.APGWinthevisitednetworkallowsa"localbreakout"totheInternetinthevisitednetwork.
TheinterfacebetweentheservingandPDNgatewaysisknownasS5/S8.Thishastwoslightlydifferent
implementations,namelyS5ifthetwodevicesareinthesamenetwork,andS8iftheyareindifferent
networks.Formobilesthatarenotroaming,theservingandPDNgatewayscanbeintegratedintoasingle
device,sothattheS5/S8interfacevanishesaltogether.

LTERoamingCharging
Thecomplexitiesofthenewchargingmechanismsrequiredtosupport4Groamingaremuchmoreabundant
thanina3Genvironment.FewwordsaboutbothprepaidandpostpaidchargingforLTEroamingisgiven
below:
PrepaidChargingTheCAMELstandard,whichenablesprepaidservicesin3G,isnotsupportedin
LTEtherefore,prepaidcustomerinformationmustberoutedbacktothehomenetworkasopposedto
beinghandledbythelocalvisitednetwork.Asaresult,operatorsmustrelyonnewaccountingflowsto
accessprepaidcustomerdata,suchasthroughtheirPGatewaysinbothIMSandnonIMS
environmentsorviatheirCSCFinanIMSenvironment.
PostpaidChargingPostpaiddatausagechargingworksthesameinLTEasitdoesin3G,using
versionsTAP3.11or3.12.WithlocalbreakoutofIMSservices,TAP3.12isrequired.
Operatorsdonothavethesameamountofvisibilityintosubscriberactivitiesastheydoinhomerouting
scenariosincaseoflocalbreakoutscenariosbecausesubscriberdatasessionsarekeptwithinthevisited
networktherefore,inorderforthehomeoperatortocapturerealtimeinformationonbothpreandpostpaid
customers,itmustestablishaDiameterinterfacebetweenchargingsystemsandthevisitednetwork'sP
Gateway.

Incaseoflocalbreakoutofimsservicesscenario,thevisitednetworkcreatescalldetailrecords(CDRs)from
theSGateway(s),however,theseCDRsdonotcontainalloftheinformationrequiredtocreateaTAP3.12
mobilesessionormessagingeventrecordfortheserviceusage.Asaresult,operatorsmustcorrelatethecore
datanetworkCDRswiththeIMSCDRstocreateTAPrecords.

LTENumbering&Addressing
AnLTEnetworkareaisdividedintothreedifferenttypesofgeographicalareasexplainedbelow:
S.N.

AreaandDescription
TheMMEpoolareas

ThisisanareathroughwhichthemobilecanmovewithoutachangeofservingMME.EveryMME
poolareaiscontrolledbyoneormoreMMEsonthenetwork.
TheSGWserviceareas

ThisisanareaservedbyoneormoreservinggatewaysSGW,throughwhichthemobilecanmove
withoutachangeofservinggateway.
TheTrackingareas

TheMMEpoolareasandtheSGWserviceareasarebothmadefromsmaller,nonoverlappingunits
knownastrackingareas(TAs).TheyaresimilartothelocationandroutingareasfromUMTSand
GSMandwillbeusedtotrackthelocationsofmobilesthatareonstandbymode.

ThusanLTEnetworkwillcompriseofmanyMMEpoolareas,manySGWserviceareasandlotsoftracking
areas.

TheNetworkIDs
ThenetworkitselfwillbeidentifiedusingPublicLandMobileNetworkIdentity(PLMNID)whichwill
haveathreedigitmobilecountrycode(MCC)andatwoorthreedigitmobilenetworkcode(MNC).For
example,theMobileCountryCodefortheUKis234,whileVodafone'sUKnetworkusesaMobileNetwork
Codeof15.

TheMMEIDs
EachMMEhasthreemainidentities.AnMMEcode(MMEC)uniquelyidentifiestheMMEwithinallthe
poolareas.AgroupofMMEsisassignedanMMEGroupIdentity(MMEGI)whichworksalongwith
MMECtomakeMMEidentifier(MMEI).AMMEIuniquelyidentifiestheMMEwithinaparticular
network.

IfwecombilePLMNIDwiththeMMEIthenwearriveataGloballyUniqueMMEIdentifier(GUMMEI),
whichidentifiesanMMEanywhereintheworld:

TheTrackingAreaIDs
Eachtrackingareahastwomainidentities.Thetrackingareacode(TAC)identifiesatrackingareawithina
particularnetworkandifwecombiningthiswiththePLMNIDthenwearriveataGloballyUniqueTracking
AreaIdentity(TAI).

TheCellIDs
Eachcellinthenetworkhasthreetypesofidentity.TheEUTRANcellidentity(ECI)identifiesacellwithin
aparticularnetwork,whiletheEUTRANcellglobalidentifier(ECGI)identifiesacellanywhereinthe
world.
Thephysicalcellidentity,whichisanumberfrom0to503anditdistinguishesacellfromitsimmediate
neighbours.

TheMobileEquipmentID
Theinternationalmobileequipmentidentity(IMEI)isauniqueidentityforthemobileequipmentandthe
InternationalMobileSubscriberIdentity(IMSI)isauniqueidentityfortheUICCandtheUSIM.
TheMtemporarymobilesubscriberidentity(MTMSI)identifiesamobiletoitsservingMME.Addingthe
MMEcodeinMTMSIresultsinaStemporarymobilesubscriberidentity(STMSI),whichidentifiesthe
mobilewithinanMMEpoolarea.

FinallyaddingtheMMEgroupidentityandthePLMNidentitywithSTMSIresultsintheGloballyUnique
TemporaryIdentity(GUTI).

LTERadioProtocolArchitecture
TheradioprotocolarchitectureforLTEcanbeseparatedintocontrolplanearchitectureanduserplane
architectureasshownbelow:

Atuserplaneside,theapplicationcreatesdatapacketsthatareprocessedbyprotocolssuchasTCP,UDPand
IP,whileinthecontrolplane,theradioresourcecontrol(RRC)protocolwritesthesignallingmessagesthat
areexchangedbetweenthebasestationandthemobile.Inbothcases,theinformationisprocessedbythe
packetdataconvergenceprotocol(PDCP),theradiolinkcontrol(RLC)protocolandthemediumaccess
control(MAC)protocol,beforebeingpassedtothephysicallayerfortransmission.

UserPlane
TheuserplaneprotocolstackbetweentheeNodeBandUEconsistsofthefollowingsublayers:
PDCP(PacketDataConvergenceProtocol)
RLC(radioLinkControl)
MediumAccessControl(MAC)
Ontheuserplane,packetsinthecorenetwork(EPC)areencapsulatedinaspecificEPCprotocoland
tunneledbetweenthePGWandtheeNodeB.Differenttunnelingprotocolsareuseddependingonthe
interface.GPRSTunnelingProtocol(GTP)isusedontheS1interfacebetweentheeNodeBandSGWand
ontheS5/S8interfacebetweentheSGWandPGW.

PacketsreceivedbyalayerarecalledServiceDataUnit(SDU)whilethepacketoutputofalayerisreferred
tobyProtocolDataUnit(PDU)andIPpacketsatuserplaneflowfromtoptobottomlayers.

ControlPlane
ThecontrolplaneincludesadditionallytheRadioResourceControllayer(RRC)whichisresponsiblefor
configuringthelowerlayers.
TheControlPlanehandlesradiospecificfunctionalitywhichdependsonthestateoftheuserequipment
whichincludestwostates:idleorconnected.
Mode

Description
Theuserequipmentcampsonacellafteracellselectionorreselectionprocesswherefactors
likeradiolinkquality,cellstatusandradioaccesstechnologyareconsidered.TheUEalso
Idle
monitorsapagingchanneltodetectincomingcallsandacquiresysteminformation.Inthis
mode,controlplaneprotocolsincludecellselectionandreselectionprocedures.
TheUEsuppliestheEUTRANwithdownlinkchannelqualityandneighbourcellinformationto
Connected enabletheEUTRANtoselectthemostsuitablecellfortheUE.Inthiscase,controlplane
protocolincludestheRadioLinkControl(RRC)protocol.
TheprotocolstackforthecontrolplanebetweentheUEandMMEisshownbelow.Thegreyregionofthe
stackindicatestheaccessstratum(AS)protocols.Thelowerlayersperformthesamefunctionsasfortheuser
planewiththeexceptionthatthereisnoheadercompressionfunctionforthecontrolplane.

LTEProtocolStackLayers
Let'shaveacloselookatallthelayersavailableinEUTRANProtocolStackwhichwehaveseenin
previouschapter.BelowisamoreellaborateddiagramofEUTRANProtocolStack:

PhysicalLayer(Layer1)
PhysicalLayercarriesallinformationfromtheMACtransportchannelsovertheairinterface.Takescareof
thelinkadaptation(AMC),powercontrol,cellsearch(forinitialsynchronizationandhandoverpurposes)
andothermeasurements(insidetheLTEsystemandbetweensystems)fortheRRClayer.

MediumAccessLayer(MAC)
MAClayerisresponsibleforMappingbetweenlogicalchannelsandtransportchannels,Multiplexingof
MACSDUsfromoneordifferentlogicalchannelsontotransportblocks(TB)tobedeliveredtothephysical
layerontransportchannels,demultiplexingofMACSDUsfromoneordifferentlogicalchannelsfrom
transportblocks(TB)deliveredfromthephysicallayerontransportchannels,Schedulinginformation
reporting,ErrorcorrectionthroughHARQ,PriorityhandlingbetweenUEsbymeansofdynamicscheduling,
PriorityhandlingbetweenlogicalchannelsofoneUE,LogicalChannelprioritization.

RadioLinkControl(RLC)
RLCoperatesin3modesofoperation:TransparentMode(TM),UnacknowledgedMode(UM),and
AcknowledgedMode(AM).
RLCLayerisresponsiblefortransferofupperlayerPDUs,errorcorrectionthroughARQ(OnlyforAMdata
transfer),Concatenation,segmentationandreassemblyofRLCSDUs(OnlyforUMandAMdatatransfer).
RLCisalsoresponsibleforresegmentationofRLCdataPDUs(OnlyforAMdatatransfer),reorderingof
RLCdataPDUs(OnlyforUMandAMdatatransfer),duplicatedetection(OnlyforUMandAMdata
transfer),RLCSDUdiscard(OnlyforUMandAMdatatransfer),RLCreestablishment,andprotocolerror
detection(OnlyforAMdatatransfer).

RadioResourceControl(RRC)
ThemainservicesandfunctionsoftheRRCsublayerincludebroadcastofSystemInformationrelatedtothe
nonaccessstratum(NAS),broadcastofSystemInformationrelatedtotheaccessstratum(AS),Paging,
establishment,maintenanceandreleaseofanRRCconnectionbetweentheUEandEUTRAN,Security
functionsincludingkeymanagement,establishment,configuration,maintenanceandreleaseofpointtopoint
RadioBearers.

PacketDataConvergenceControl(PDCP)
PDCPLayerisresponsibleforHeadercompressionanddecompressionofIPdata,Transferofdata(user
planeorcontrolplane),MaintenanceofPDCPSequenceNumbers(SNs),Insequencedeliveryofupperlayer
PDUsatreestablishmentoflowerlayers,DuplicateeliminationoflowerlayerSDUsatreestablishmentof
lowerlayersforradiobearersmappedonRLCAM,Cipheringanddecipheringofuserplanedataandcontrol
planedata,Integrityprotectionandintegrityverificationofcontrolplanedata,Timerbaseddiscard,duplicate
discarding,PDCPisusedforSRBsandDRBsmappedonDCCHandDTCHtypeoflogicalchannels.

NonAccessStratum(NAS)Protocols
Thenonaccessstratum(NAS)protocolsformthehigheststratumofthecontrolplanebetweentheuser
equipment(UE)andMME.
NASprotocolssupportthemobilityoftheUEandthesessionmanagementprocedurestoestablishand
maintainIPconnectivitybetweentheUEandaPDNGW.

LTELayersDataFlow
BelowisalogicaldigramofEUTRANProtocollayerswithadepictionofdataflowthroughvariouslayers:

PacketsreceivedbyalayerarecalledServiceDataUnit(SDU)whilethepacketoutputofalayerisreferred
tobyProtocolDataUnit(PDU).Let'sseetheflowofdatafromtoptobottom:
IPLayersubmitsPDCPSDUs(IPPackets)tothePDCPlayer.PDCPlayerdoesheadercompression
andaddsPDCPheadertothesePDCPSDUs.PDCPLayersubmitsPDCPPDUs(RLCSDUs)toRLC
layer.
PDCPHeaderCompression:PDCPremovesIPheader(Minimum20bytes)fromPDU,andadds
Tokenof14bytes.Whichprovidesatremendoussavingsintheamountofheaderthatwould
otherwisehavetogoovertheair.

RLClayerdoessegmentationoftheseSDUStomaketheRLCPDUs.RLCaddsheaderbasedonRLC
modeofoperation.RLCsubmitstheseRLCPDUs(MACSDUs)totheMAClayer.
RLCSegmentation:IfanRLCSDUislarge,ortheavailableradiodatarateislow(resultinginsmall
transportblocks),theRLCSDUmaybesplitamongseveralRLCPDUs.IftheRLCSDUissmall,or
theavailableradiodatarateishigh,severalRLCSDUsmaybepackedintoasinglePDU.
MAClayeraddsheaderanddoespaddingtofitthisMACSDUinTTI.MAClayersubmitsMAC
PDUtophysicallayerfortransmittingitontophysicalchannels.
Physicalchanneltransmitsthisdataintoslotsofsubframe.

LTECommunicationChannels
Theinformationflowsbetweenthedifferentprotocolsareknownaschannelsandsignals.LTEusesseveral
differenttypesoflogical,transportandphysicalchannel,whicharedistinguishedbythekindofinformation
theycarryandbythewayinwhichtheinformationisprocessed.
LogicalChannels:Definewhattypeofinformationistransmittedovertheair,e.g.trafficchannels,
controlchannels,systembroadcast,etc.Dataandsignallingmessagesarecarriedonlogicalchannels
betweentheRLCandMACprotocols.
TransportChannels:Definehowissomethingtransmittedovertheair,e.g.whatareencoding,
interleavingoptionsusedtotransmitdata.Dataandsignallingmessagesarecarriedontransport
channelsbetweentheMACandthephysicallayer.
PhysicalChannels:Definewhereissomethingtransmittedovertheair,e.g.firstNsymbolsintheDL
frame.Dataandsignallingmessagesarecarriedonphysicalchannelsbetweenthedifferentlevelsof
thephysicallayer.

LogicalChannels

Logicalchannelsdefinewhattypeofdataistransferred.Thesechannelsdefinethedatatransferservices
offeredbytheMAClayer.DataandsignallingmessagesarecarriedonlogicalchannelsbetweentheRLC
andMACprotocols.
Logicalchannelscanbedividedintocontrolchannelsandtrafficchannels.ControlChannelcanbeeither
commonchannelordedicatedchannel.Acommonchannelmeanscommontoallusersinacell(Pointto
multipoint)whilededicatedchannelsmeanschannelscanbeusedonlybyoneuser(PointtoPoint).
Logicalchannelsaredistinguishedbytheinformationtheycarryandcanbeclassifiedintwoways.Firstly,
logicaltrafficchannelscarrydataintheuserplane,whilelogicalcontrolchannelscarrysignallingmessages
inthecontrolplane.FollowingtableliststhelogicalchannelsthatareusedbyLTE:
ChannelName
BroadcastControlChannel
PagingControlChannel
CommonControlChannel
DedicatedControlChannel
MulticastControlChannel
DedicatedTrafficChannel
MulticastTrafficChannel

Acronym
BCCH
PCCH
CCCH
DCCH
MCCH
DTCH
MTCH

Controlchannel Trafficchannel
X

TransportChannels
Transportchannelsdefinehowandwithwhattypeofcharacteristicsthedataistransferredbythephysical
layer.DataandsignallingmessagesarecarriedontransportchannelsbetweentheMACandthephysical
layer.
TransportChannelsaredistinguishedbythewaysinwhichthetransportchannelprocessormanipulates
them.FollowingtableliststhetransportchannelsthatareusedbyLTE:
ChannelName
Acronym
BroadcastChannel
BCH
DownlinkSharedChannel DLSCH
PagingChannel
PCH
MulticastChannel
MCH
UplinkSharedChannel ULSCH
RandomAccessChannel RACH

Downlink
X
X
X
X

Uplink

X
X

PhysicalChannels
Dataandsignallingmessagesarecarriedonphysicalchannelsbetweenthedifferentlevelsofthephysical
layerandaccordinglytheyaredividedintotwoparts:
PhysicalDataChannels
PhysicalControlChannels

Physicaldatachannels
Physicaldatachannelsaredistinguishedbythewaysinwhichthephysicalchannelprocessormanipulates
them,andbythewaysinwhichtheyaremappedontothesymbolsandsubcarriersusedbyOrthogonal
frequencydivisionmultiplexing(OFDMA).Followingtableliststhephysicaldatachannelsthatareused
byLTE:

ChannelName
Physicaldownlinksharedchannel
Physicalbroadcastchannel
Physicalmulticastchannel
Physicaluplinksharedchannel
Physicalrandomaccesschannel

Acronym
PDSCH
PBCH
PMCH
PUSCH
PRACH

Downlink
X
X
X

Uplink

X
X

Thetransportchannelprocessorcomposesseveraltypesofcontrolinformation,tosupportthelowlevel
operationofthephysicallayer.Thesearelistedinthebelowtable:
FieldName
Acronym
Downlinkcontrolinformation DCI
Controlformatindicator
CFI
HybridARQindicator
HI
Uplinkcontrolinformation UCI

Downlink
X
X
X

Uplink

PhysicalControlChannels
Thetransportchannelprocessoralsocreatescontrolinformationthatsupportsthelowleveloperationofthe
physicallayerandsendsthisinformationtothephysicalchannelprocessorintheformofphysicalcontrol
channels.
Theinformationtravelsasfarasthetransportchannelprocessorinthereceiver,butiscompletelyinvisibleto
higherlayers.Similarly,thephysicalchannelprocessorcreatesphysicalsignals,whichsupportthelowest
levelaspectsofthesystem.
PhysicalControlChannelsarelistedinthebelowtable:
ChannelName
Acronym
Physicalcontrolformatindicatorchannel PCFICH
PhysicalhybridARQindicatorchannel PHICH
Physicaldownlinkcontrolchannel
PDCCH
Relayphysicaldownlinkcontrolchannel RPDCCH
Physicaluplinkcontrolchannel
PUCCH

Downlink
X
X
X
X

Uplink

Thebasestationalsotransmitstwootherphysicalsignals,whichhelpthemobileacquirethebasestation
afteritfirstswitcheson.Theseareknownastheprimarysynchronizationsignal(PSS)andthesecondary
synchronizationsignal(SSS).

LTEOFDMTechnology
ToovercometheeffectofmultipathfadingproblemavailableinUMTS,LTEusesOrthogonalFrequency
DivisionMultiplexing(OFDM)forthedownlinkthatis,fromthebasestationtotheterminaltotransmitthe
dataovermanynarrowbandcareersof180KHzeachinsteadofspreadingonesignaloverthecomplete
5MHzcareerbandwidthie.OFDMusesalargenumberofnarrowsubcarriersformulticarriertransmission
tocarrydata.
Orthogonalfrequencydivisionmultiplexing(OFDM),isafrequencydivisionmultiplexing(FDM)scheme
usedasadigitalmulticarriermodulationmethod.
OFDMmeetstheLTErequirementforspectrumflexibilityandenablescostefficientsolutionsforverywide
carrierswithhighpeakrates.ThebasicLTEdownlinkphysicalresourcecanbeseenasatimefrequency
grid,asillustratedinFigurebelow:

TheOFDMsymbolsaregroupedintoresourceblocks.Theresourceblockshaveatotalsizeof180kHzinthe
frequencydomainand0.5msinthetimedomain.Each1msTransmissionTimeInterval(TTI)consistsoftwo
slots(Tslot).

Eachuserisallocatedanumberofsocalledresourceblocksinthetime.frequencygrid.Themoreresource
blocksausergets,andthehigherthemodulationusedintheresourceelements,thehigherthebitrate.
Whichresourceblocksandhowmanytheusergetsatagivenpointintimedependonadvancedscheduling
mechanismsinthefrequencyandtimedimensions.
TheschedulingmechanismsinLTEaresimilartothoseusedinHSPA,andenableoptimalperformancefor
differentservicesindifferentradioenvironments.

AdvantagesofOFDM
TheprimaryadvantageofOFDMoversinglecarrierschemesisitsabilitytocopewithseverechannel
conditions(forexample,attenuationofhighfrequenciesinalongcopperwire,narrowband
interferenceandfrequencyselectivefadingduetomultipath)withoutcomplexequalizationfilters.
ChannelequalizationissimplifiedbecauseOFDMmaybeviewedasusingmanyslowlymodulated
narrowbandsignalsratherthanonerapidlymodulatedwidebandsignal.
Thelowsymbolratemakestheuseofaguardintervalbetweensymbolsaffordable,makingitpossible
toeliminateintersymbolinterference(ISI).
Thismechanismalsofacilitatesthedesignofsinglefrequencynetworks(SFNs),whereseveral
adjacenttransmitterssendthesamesignalsimultaneouslyatthesamefrequency,asthesignalsfrom
multipledistanttransmittersmaybecombinedconstructively,ratherthaninterferingaswouldtypically
occurinatraditionalsinglecarriersystem.

DrawbacksofOFDM
Highpeaktoaverageratio
Sensitivetofrequencyoffset,hencetoDopplershiftaswell

SCFDMATechnology
LTEusesaprecodedversionofOFDMcalledSingleCarrierFrequencyDivisionMultipleAccess(SC
FDMA)intheuplink.ThisistocompensateforadrawbackwithnormalOFDM,whichhasaveryhighPeak
toAveragePowerRatio(PAPR).

HighPAPRrequiresexpensiveandinefficientpoweramplifierswithhighrequirementsonlinearity,which
increasesthecostoftheterminalanddrainsthebatteryfaster.
SCFDMAsolvesthisproblembygroupingtogethertheresourceblocksinsuchawaythatreducestheneed
forlinearity,andsopowerconsumption,inthepoweramplifier.AlowPAPRalsoimprovescoverageandthe
celledgeperformance.

LTEGlossary
Term
3GPP
3GPP2
ARIB
ATIS
AWS
CAPEX
CCSA
CDMA
CDMA2000
DAB
DSL
DVB
eHSPA
ETSI
FDD
FWT
GSM
HSPA
HSS
IEEE
IPTV
LTE
MBMS
MIMO
MME
NGMN
OFDM
OPEX
PAPR
PCI
PCRF
PDSN
PS
QoS
RAN
SAE
SCFDMA
SGSN

Description
3rdGenerationPartnershipProject
3rdGenerationPartnershipProject2
AssociationofRadioIndustriesandBusinesses
AllianceforTelecommunicationIndustrySolutions
AdvancedWirelessServices
CapitalExpenditure
ChinaCommunicationsStandardsAssociation
CodeDivisionMultipleAccess
CodeDivisionMultipleAccess2000
DigitalAudioBroadcast
DigitalSubscriberLine
DigitalVideoBroadcast
evolvedHighSpeedPacketAccess
EuropeanTelecommunicationsStandardsInstitute
FrequencyDivisionDuplex
FixedWirelessTerminal
GlobalSystemforMobilecommunication
HighSpeedPacketAccess
HomeSubscriberServer
InstituteofElectricalandElectronicsEngineers
InternetProtocolTelevision
LongTermEvolution
MultimediaBroadcastMulticastService
MultipleInputMultipleOutput
MobilityManagementEntity
NextGenerationMobileNetworks
OrthogonalFrequencyDivisionMultiplexing
OperationalExpenditure
PeaktoAveragePowerRatio
PeripheralComponentInterconnect
PolicingandChargingRulesFunction
PacketDataServingNode
PacketSwitched
QualityofService
RadioAccessNetwork
SystemArchitectureEvolution
SingleCarrierFrequencyDivisionMultipleAccess
ServingGPRSSupportNode

TDD
TTA
TTC
TTI
UTRA
UTRAN
WCDMA
WLAN

TimeDivisionDuplex
TelecommunicationsTechnologyAssociation
TelecommunicationTechnologyCommittee
TransmissionTimeInterval
UniversalTerrestrialRadioAccess
UniversalTerrestrialRadioAccessNetwork
WidebandCodeDivisionMultipleAccess
WirelessLocalAreaNetwork