13-07-2012, 12:40 PM
4G Wireless Systems
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Abstract
The ever-increasing growth of user demand, the limitations of the third generation of wireless mobile communication systems and the emergence of new mobile broadband technologies on the market have brought researchers and industries to a thorough reflection on the fourth generation. Many prophetic visions have appeared in the literature presenting 4G as the ultimate boundary of wireless mobile communication without any limit to its potential, but in practical terms not giving any design rules and thus any definition of it.
The evolution from 3G to 4G will be driven by services that offer better quality (e.g. video and sound) thanks to greater bandwidth, more sophistication in the association of a large quantity of information, and improved personalization. Convergence with other network (enterprise, fixed) services will come about through the high session data rate. It will require an always-on connection and a revenue model based on a fixed monthly fee. The impact on network capacity is expected to be significant. Machine-to-machine transmission will involve two basic equipment types: sensors (which measure parameters) and tags (which are generally read/write equipment). It is expected that users will require high data rates, similar to those on fixed networks, for data and streaming applications. Mobile terminal usage (laptops, Personal digital assistants, and handhelds) is expected to grow rapidly as they become more user friendly. Fluid high quality video and network reactivity are important user requirements. Key infrastructure design requirements include: fast response, high session rate, high capacity, low user charges, rapid return on investment for operators, investment that is in line with the growth in demand, and simple autonomous terminals.
1 Introduction
The Second Generation of Mobile Communication Systems (2G) was a huge success story because of its revolutionary technology and the services brought to its customers. Besides high quality speech service, global mobility was a strong reason for buying 2G terminals. The Third Generation (3G) has been started in some parts of the world, but the success story of 2G is hard to be repeated . One reason is that the evolution from 2G towards 3G has not brought any qualitatively new service for the customer, leaving the business model largely unchanged. The well known services plus some additional ones are provided, which may not be enough to encourage the customers to change their equipment.
The lack of innovative services was encountered too late by the 3G Partnership Project (3GPP). In the latest documents, an attempt was made to incorporate some advanced services into the 3GPP architecture such as the Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service Center (MBMS) in combination with the IP Multimedia System (IMS). However, these smaller corrections were made without the possibility to adjust the access technology properly .
The upcoming Fourth Generation (4G) is projected to solve still-remaining problems of the previous generation and to provide a convergence platform for a wide variety of new services, from high-quality voice to high-definition video, through high-data-rate wireless channels. Various visions of 4G have emerged recently among the telecommunication industries, the universities and the research institutes all over the world .
There has been tremendous interest recently in the Fourth Generation (4G) mobile communication technologies on the worldwide basis. Research and development on 4G technologies mainly focus on two directions: Open Wireless Architecture (OWA), and Cost-effective and spectrum-efficient high-speed wireless transmission. It is well predicted that the business of 4G industries will be over $800 billion by the year 2020, and therefore major developed countries have already spent huge R&D funds on this emerging communication technology.
In Europe, the European Commission (EC) envisions that 4G will ensure seamless service provisioning across a multitude of wireless systems and networks, from private to public, from indoor to wide area, and c (i.e., efficient) network available. From the service point of view, it foresees that 4G will be mainly focused on personalized services . In Asia, the Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo has introduced the concept of MAGIC for defining 4G: Mobile multimedia; anytime, anywhere, anyone; Global mobility support; integrated wireless solution; and Customized personal service, which mostly focuses on public systems and treats 4G as the extension of 3G cellular service. This view is referred to as the linear 4G vision and, in essence, focuses on a future 4G network that will generally have a cellular structure and will provide very high data rates (exceeding 100 Mb/s). In general, the latter is also the main tendency in China and South Korea . Nevertheless, even if 4G is named as the successor of the previous generations, the future is not limited to cellular systems and 4G should not be seen exclusively as a linear extension of 3G.
India aims to leapfrog to 4G (fourth-generation) wireless technologies, skipping 3G technologies as it has not been found to be cost-effective. Even if 4G is named as the successor of previous Wireless communication generations, it is not limited to cellular systems, therefore has not to be exclusively understood as a linear extension of 3G. Figure1 shows the shift in paradigm.
There is clearly a need for a methodological change in the design of 4G. Indeed, in order to boost innovation and define and solve relevant technical problems, the system-level perspective has to be envisioned and understood with a broader view, taking the user as its departing point. This user-centric approach can result in a beneficial method for identifying innovation topics at ‘all’ the different protocol layers and avoiding a potential mismatch in terms of service provisioning and user expectations. A new user-centric methodology that considers users as the cornerstone in the design of 4G and identifies their functional needs and expectations, reflecting and illustrating them in everyday life situations is needed. In this way, fundamental user scenarios that implicitly reveal the key features of 4G, which are then expressed explicitly in a new framework — the “user-centric” system — that describes the various level of interdependency among them. This approach consequently contributes to the identification of the real technical step-up of 4G with respect to 3G and thus to a less prophetic and more pragmatic definition of the forthcoming technology.
While 2G was focused on full coverage for cellular systems offering only one technology and 3G provides its services only in dedicated areas and introduces the concept of vertical handover through the coupling with Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) systems, 4G will be a convergence platform extended to all the network layers. Moreover, in order to boost the innovation and define and solve relevant technical problems, it has to be envisioned and understood the system level at a broader view, taking primarily into account the user. This approach can result in a beneficial method for identifying innovation topics at all the different protocol layers. There is clearly a need for a methodological change in the design of the next wireless communication generation
The design should be more user-centric to avoid potential “flop” of the system. Finally, it is also worth to highlight that the forthcoming technology should be as less dependent as possible from any geographical matter, addressing very different markets, such as Europe, Asia, and America.
[attachment=27539]
Abstract
The ever-increasing growth of user demand, the limitations of the third generation of wireless mobile communication systems and the emergence of new mobile broadband technologies on the market have brought researchers and industries to a thorough reflection on the fourth generation. Many prophetic visions have appeared in the literature presenting 4G as the ultimate boundary of wireless mobile communication without any limit to its potential, but in practical terms not giving any design rules and thus any definition of it.
The evolution from 3G to 4G will be driven by services that offer better quality (e.g. video and sound) thanks to greater bandwidth, more sophistication in the association of a large quantity of information, and improved personalization. Convergence with other network (enterprise, fixed) services will come about through the high session data rate. It will require an always-on connection and a revenue model based on a fixed monthly fee. The impact on network capacity is expected to be significant. Machine-to-machine transmission will involve two basic equipment types: sensors (which measure parameters) and tags (which are generally read/write equipment). It is expected that users will require high data rates, similar to those on fixed networks, for data and streaming applications. Mobile terminal usage (laptops, Personal digital assistants, and handhelds) is expected to grow rapidly as they become more user friendly. Fluid high quality video and network reactivity are important user requirements. Key infrastructure design requirements include: fast response, high session rate, high capacity, low user charges, rapid return on investment for operators, investment that is in line with the growth in demand, and simple autonomous terminals.
1 Introduction
The Second Generation of Mobile Communication Systems (2G) was a huge success story because of its revolutionary technology and the services brought to its customers. Besides high quality speech service, global mobility was a strong reason for buying 2G terminals. The Third Generation (3G) has been started in some parts of the world, but the success story of 2G is hard to be repeated . One reason is that the evolution from 2G towards 3G has not brought any qualitatively new service for the customer, leaving the business model largely unchanged. The well known services plus some additional ones are provided, which may not be enough to encourage the customers to change their equipment.
The lack of innovative services was encountered too late by the 3G Partnership Project (3GPP). In the latest documents, an attempt was made to incorporate some advanced services into the 3GPP architecture such as the Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service Center (MBMS) in combination with the IP Multimedia System (IMS). However, these smaller corrections were made without the possibility to adjust the access technology properly .
The upcoming Fourth Generation (4G) is projected to solve still-remaining problems of the previous generation and to provide a convergence platform for a wide variety of new services, from high-quality voice to high-definition video, through high-data-rate wireless channels. Various visions of 4G have emerged recently among the telecommunication industries, the universities and the research institutes all over the world .
There has been tremendous interest recently in the Fourth Generation (4G) mobile communication technologies on the worldwide basis. Research and development on 4G technologies mainly focus on two directions: Open Wireless Architecture (OWA), and Cost-effective and spectrum-efficient high-speed wireless transmission. It is well predicted that the business of 4G industries will be over $800 billion by the year 2020, and therefore major developed countries have already spent huge R&D funds on this emerging communication technology.
In Europe, the European Commission (EC) envisions that 4G will ensure seamless service provisioning across a multitude of wireless systems and networks, from private to public, from indoor to wide area, and c (i.e., efficient) network available. From the service point of view, it foresees that 4G will be mainly focused on personalized services . In Asia, the Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo has introduced the concept of MAGIC for defining 4G: Mobile multimedia; anytime, anywhere, anyone; Global mobility support; integrated wireless solution; and Customized personal service, which mostly focuses on public systems and treats 4G as the extension of 3G cellular service. This view is referred to as the linear 4G vision and, in essence, focuses on a future 4G network that will generally have a cellular structure and will provide very high data rates (exceeding 100 Mb/s). In general, the latter is also the main tendency in China and South Korea . Nevertheless, even if 4G is named as the successor of the previous generations, the future is not limited to cellular systems and 4G should not be seen exclusively as a linear extension of 3G.
India aims to leapfrog to 4G (fourth-generation) wireless technologies, skipping 3G technologies as it has not been found to be cost-effective. Even if 4G is named as the successor of previous Wireless communication generations, it is not limited to cellular systems, therefore has not to be exclusively understood as a linear extension of 3G. Figure1 shows the shift in paradigm.
There is clearly a need for a methodological change in the design of 4G. Indeed, in order to boost innovation and define and solve relevant technical problems, the system-level perspective has to be envisioned and understood with a broader view, taking the user as its departing point. This user-centric approach can result in a beneficial method for identifying innovation topics at ‘all’ the different protocol layers and avoiding a potential mismatch in terms of service provisioning and user expectations. A new user-centric methodology that considers users as the cornerstone in the design of 4G and identifies their functional needs and expectations, reflecting and illustrating them in everyday life situations is needed. In this way, fundamental user scenarios that implicitly reveal the key features of 4G, which are then expressed explicitly in a new framework — the “user-centric” system — that describes the various level of interdependency among them. This approach consequently contributes to the identification of the real technical step-up of 4G with respect to 3G and thus to a less prophetic and more pragmatic definition of the forthcoming technology.
While 2G was focused on full coverage for cellular systems offering only one technology and 3G provides its services only in dedicated areas and introduces the concept of vertical handover through the coupling with Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) systems, 4G will be a convergence platform extended to all the network layers. Moreover, in order to boost the innovation and define and solve relevant technical problems, it has to be envisioned and understood the system level at a broader view, taking primarily into account the user. This approach can result in a beneficial method for identifying innovation topics at all the different protocol layers. There is clearly a need for a methodological change in the design of the next wireless communication generation
The design should be more user-centric to avoid potential “flop” of the system. Finally, it is also worth to highlight that the forthcoming technology should be as less dependent as possible from any geographical matter, addressing very different markets, such as Europe, Asia, and America.