-- HSPA Evolution (HSPA+) provides a strategic performance roadmap
advantage for GSM-HSPA operators. Features such as dual-carrier operation,
MIMO and higher-order modulation offer operators multiple options for
improving their networks, and some of these features are simply network
software upgrades.
-- Persistent innovation in developing HSPA and HSPA+ is bringing UMTS to
its full potential providing mobile broadband to the mass market; in
current deployments, HSPA users regularly experience throughput rates well
in excess of 1 Mbps under favorable conditions, on both downlinks and
uplinks, with 4 Mbps downlink speed commonly being measured. Planned
enhancements such as dual-carrier operation will double peak user-
achievable throughput rates.
-- LTE has become the next-generation platform of choice for GSM-HSPA and
CDMA/EV-DO operators.
-- The 3GPP OFDMA approach used in LTE matches or exceeds the
capabilities of any other OFDMA system providing the most powerful wide
area wireless technology ever developed. Peak theoretical downlink rates
are 326 Mbps in a 20 MHz channel bandwidth.
-- 3GPP has made significant progress investigating how to enhance LTE to
meet the requirements of IMT-Advanced in a project called LTE-Advanced.
With a customer base of 4 billion connections today, the GSM family of
technologies is available on nearly 800 networks in 219 countries
worldwide. Building on this base, UMTS-HSPA -- the world's dominant mobile
broadband technology today -- has proven to be the most widely deployed and
adopted 3G technology of all time, with more than 352 operators in various
stages of deployment, including 277 commercial HSPA networks in 116
countries.
"Mobile broadband connectivity, already used by hundreds of millions of
people, is on the verge of becoming ubiquitous in many parts of the world,"
stated Chris Pearson, President of 3G Americas. According to Informa
Telecoms & Media, there were an estimated 377 million UMTS-HSPA
subscriptions as of August 2009, and by 2014, the number is expected to
grow to 2.7 billion.
The white paper explains the tremendous opportunity afforded to GSM-HSPA
operators via the 3GPP roadmap to HSPA+. While OFDMA systems such as LTE
and WiMAX have attracted a great amount of attention, evolving HSPA to
exploit available radio technologies can significantly enhance its
performance capabilities and extend the life of sizable operator HSPA
infrastructure investments. Techniques include advanced receivers, MIMO,
Continuous Packet Connectivity, Higher-Order Modulation and One Tunnel
Architecture, many of which are included in the standardization of 3GPP
Release 7 and Release 8.
Depending on the features implemented, HSPA+ can exceed the capabilities of
IEEE 802.16e-2005 (Mobile WiMAX Release-1) in the same amount of spectrum.
Beyond the peak data rate of 42 Mbps for HSPA+ in Release 8 (with 2X2 MIMO,
DL 64 QAM and UL 16 QAM), Release 9 may specify 2X2 MIMO in combination
with dual-carrier operation, which would further boost peak theoretical
downlink network rates to 84 Mbps. In addition to the increased speeds,
HSPA+ also will more than double HSPA capacity and has the potential of
reducing latency to below 25 milliseconds.
HSPA and HSPA+ will continue to dominate mobile broadband subscriptions
worldwide for the remainder of this decade and well into the next. However,
announcements have already begun in support of the next 3GPP evolutionary
step, LTE. Trials and deployments of LTE will begin in 2010 by leading
operators including AT&T, China Mobile, China Telecom, NTT DoCoMo, Verizon
and Vodafone. In fact, today there are more than 2 billion subscriptions
represented by combining the total existing customer bases of the more than
100 operators, both GSM and CDMA operators, who have announced indications
of their intention to deploy LTE networks.
The deployment of LTE and its coexistence with UMTS-HSPA will be analogous
to the deployment of UMTS-HSPA and its coexistence with GSM-EDGE.
"LTE is the future toolkit for success for GSM and CDMA operators because
it will provide higher speeds, lower latency, greater spectral efficiency
and a flatter core network architecture than any other wireless
technology," Rysavy concluded.
Informa Telecoms & Media predicts that by 2014, UMTS-HSPA and LTE
subscriptions will total 2.8
billion -- 84.25 percent of the global total including 147 million LTE
connections. Mobile WiMAX is expected to have a total of 89 million
subscriptions by 2014.
"The future for LTE mobile broadband is clear and well-defined," Pearson
said. "In a forthcoming 3GPP standards release, LTE-Advanced will meet the
requirements of IMT-Advanced, a project led this year by the ITU that
officially defined the requirements of IMT-Advanced."
The white paper, "HSPA to LTE-Advanced: 3GPP Broadband Evolution
to IMT-Advanced (4G)," as well as its accompanying slide presentation, was created
collaboratively with Rysavy Research by the member organizations of 3G
Americas and is available for free download at 3G Americas' website:
www.3gamericas.org.
Glossary of Terms
3G - Third Generation 3GPP - Third Generation Partnership Project 4G - Fourth Generation CDMA - Code Division Multiple Access (3GPP2 technology) DL - Downlink EDGE - Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution EV-DO - Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data Only (CDMA technology) GSM - Global System for Mobile Communications HSPA - High Speed Packet Access HSPA+ - High Speed Packet Access Plus, further evolution of HSPA IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers IMT - International Mobile Telecommunications ITU - International Telecommunication Union QAM - Quadrature Amplitude Modulation LTE - Long Term Evolution Mbps - Megabits per Second MHz - Megahertz MIMO - Multiple-Input Multiple-Output OFDMA - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access UL - Uplink UMTS - Universal Mobile Telecommunications System WiMAX - Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave AccessAbout 3G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Wireless Technology 3G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization's mission is to promote, facilitate and advocate for the deployment of the GSM family of technologies including LTE throughout the Americas. 3G Americas has contributed to the successful commercial rollout of GSM across the Americas and its place as the number one technology in the region, as well as the global adoption of EDGE. The organization aims to develop the expansive wireless ecosystem of networks, devices, and applications enabled by GSM and its evolution to LTE. 3G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas, Texas. More information is available at www.3gamericas.org. 3G Americas' Board of Governors members include Alcatel-Lucent, América Móvil, AT&T, Andrew Solutions, Cable & Wireless, Ericsson, Gemalto, Huawei, HP, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, Openwave, Research in Motion (RIM), Rogers, T-Mobile USA and Telefónica.
Contact Information: Contact: Vicki Livingston +1 262 242 3458