Fundamentals of Network Planning and Optimisation 2G/3G/4G

Evolution to 5G

Ajay R. Mishra

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781119331711
• eBook ISBN: 9781119331766
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Electrical Engineering & Telecommunications
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Updated new edition covering all aspects of network planning and optimization

This welcome new edition provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of network planning in all the technologies, from 2G to 5G, in radio, transmission and core aspects. Written by leading experts in the field, it serves as a handbook for anyone engaged in the study, design, deployment and business of cellular networks. It increases basic understanding of the currently deployed, and emerging, technologies, and helps to make evolution plans for future networks. The book also provides an overview of the forthcoming technologies that are expected to make an impact in the future, such as 5G.

Fundamentals of Cellular Network Planning and Optimization, Second Edition encompasses all the technologies as well as the planning and implementation details that go with them. It covers 2G (GSM, EGPRS), 3G (WCDMA) and 4G (LTE) networks and introduces 5G. The book also looks at all the sub-systems of the network, focusing on both the practical and theoretical issues.

• Provides comprehensive coverage of the planning aspects of the full range of today's mobile network systems, covering radio access network, circuit and packet switching, signaling, control, and backhaul/Core transmission networks
• New elements in book include HSPA, Ethernet, 4G/LTE and 5G
• Covers areas such as Virtualization, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Spectrum Management and Cloud

By bringing all these concepts under one cover, Fundamentals of Cellular Network Planning and Optimization becomes essential reading for network design engineers working with cellular service vendors or operators, experts/scientists working on end-to-end issues, and undergraduate/post-graduate students.

1
Overview of Mobile Networks

1.1 Introduction

Mobile networks are differentiated from each other with the word ‘generation’, such as ‘first generation’, ‘second generation’, etc. This is quite correct because there is a big ‘generation gap’ between the technologies.

The first‐generation mobile systems were the analogue (or semi‐analogue) systems, which came in the early 1980s, also called NMTs (Nordic Mobile Telephones). They offered mainly speech and related services and were highly incompatible with each other. Thus, their main limitations were the limited amount of services offered and their incompatible nature.

An increase in the necessity for a system that catered to mobile communication needs and also offered increased compatibility with other systems, resulted in the birth of the second‐generation mobile systems. International bodies played a key role in evolving a system that would provide better services and was more transparent and compatible with networks globally. But, unfortunately, the second‐generation network standards could not fulfil the dream of having just one set of standards for networks globally. The standards in Europe differed from the standards in Japan and that of the Americas and so on. Of all the standards, the GSM went all the way in fulfilling the technical and the commercial expectations.

But, again, none of the standards in the second generation was able to fulfil the globalisation dream of the standardisation bodies. This would be fulfilled by the third‐generation mobile systems. Also, it is expected that the third‐generation systems will be predominantly data traffic oriented as compared with the second‐generation networks that were carrying predominantly voice traffic.

The major standardisation bodies that play an important role in defining the specifications for the mobile technology are:

• ITU (International Telecommunication Union): The ITU with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland is an international organisation within the United Nations, where governments and the private sector coordinate global telecom networks and services. The ITU‐T is one of the three sectors of ITU, which produces the quality standards covering all the fields of telecommunications.
• ETSI (European Telecommunication Standard Institute): This body was primarily responsible for the development of the specifications for the GSM. Due to the technical and commercial success of the GSM, this body will also play an important role in the development of the third‐generation mobile systems. ETSI mainly develops the telecommunication standards throughout Europe and beyond.
• ARIB (Alliance of Radio Industries and Business): This body is predominant in the Australasian region and is playing an important role in the development of the third‐generation mobile systems. ARIB basically serves as a standards developing organisation for radio technology.
• ANSI (American National Standard Institute): ANSI currently provides a forum for over 270 ANSI‐accredited standards developers representing approximately 200 distinct organisations in the private and public sectors. This body has been responsible for the standards development for the American networks.
• 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project): This body was created to maintain the complete control of the Specification design and process for the third‐generation networks. The result of the 3GPP work is a complete set of specifications that will maintain the global nature of the 3G networks.
• 5GPPP (Fifth Generation Public Private Partnership): This is driven by the EU (European Commission) and ICT Industry under the EU's Horizon 2020 initiative. More than 30 members are part of this consortium including Industry bodies, SMEs, research bodies, etc.

1.2 Mobile Network Evolution

Mobile network evolution has been categorised into ‘generations’ as shown in Figure 1.1. A brief overview on each generation is given below.

Figure 1.1 Evolution of mobile networks.

1.2.1 First‐generation System (Analogue System)

The first‐generation mobile system started in the 1980s was based on analogue transmission techniques. At that time, there was no worldwide (not even Europe‐wide) coordination for the development of the technical standards for the system. Nordic counties deployed NMTs, while UK and Ireland went for a Total Access Communication System or TACS, and so on. Roaming was not possible and efficient use of the frequency spectrum was not there.

1.2.2 Second‐generation System (Digital System)

By the mid‐1980s, the European commission started a series of activities to liberalise the communications sector, including mobile communication. This resulted in the creation of ETSI, which inherited all the standardisation activities in Europe. This saw the birth of the first specifications and the network based on the digital technology; it was called the Global System for Mobile Communication or GSM. Since the first networks at the beginning of 1991, GSM has gradually evolved to meet the requirements of data traffic and many more services than the original networks that were capable of handling mainly voice traffic.

• GSM (Global System for Mobile communication): The main elements of this system are the mobile, BTS (Base Transceiver Station) and BSC (Base Station Controllers) in the BSS (Base Station Subsystem) and the MSC (Mobile Switching Centre), VLR (Visitor Location Register), HLR (Home Location Register), AC (Authentication Centre), EIR (Equipment Identity Register) in the NSS (Network Switching Subsystem). This network can provide all the basic services such as speech and the data services up to 9.6 kbps, e.g. fax, etc. This GSM network also has an extension to the fixed telephony networks.
• GSM and VAS (Value Added Services): The next advancement in the GSM system was the addition of two platforms, the ‘Voice Mail System’ (VMS) and the ‘Short Message Service Centre’ (SMSC). The SMS proved to be incredibly commercially successful so much so that in some networks, the SMS traffic constitutes a major part of the total traffic of the network. Along with the VAS, IN (INtelligent services.) also made its mark in the GSM system, with its advantage of giving the operators the chance to create a whole range of new services. Fraud management and ‘pre‐paid’ services are the result of the IN service.
• GSM and GPRS (General Packet Radio Services): As the requirement for sending data on the air‐interface increased, new elements such as SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) and GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node) were added to the existing GSM system. These elements made it possible to send the packet data on the air‐interface. This part of the network handling the packet data is also called the packet core network. In addition to the SGSN and GGSN, it also contains the IP routers, firewall servers and the DNS (Domain Name Server). This enables wireless access to the Internet and the bit rate reaching to 150 kbps in optimum conditio...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Foreword by Aruna Sundararajan
• Foreword by Rainer Deutschmann
• Preface
• 1 Overview of Mobile Networks
• Part I: 2G: GSM and EGPRS Network Planning and Optimisation
• Part II: 3G: UMTS Network Planning and Optimisation
• Part III: 4G: LTE Network Planning and Optimisation
• Part IV: 5G: Introduction to 5G Network Planning and Optimisation
• Appendix A: IoT (Internet of Things)
• Appendix B: Introduction to MIMO and Massive MIMO
• Appendix C: Blockchain Technology
• Appendix D: 3GPP Releases
• Appendix E: A Synopsis on Radio Spectrum Management
• Appendix F: Artificial Intelligence
• Appendix G: Erlang B Tables
• Bibliography
• Index
• End User License Agreement