Enabling Technologies for 3GPP LTE-Advanced Networks

The specifications of Long Term Evolution (LTE) in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) (Release 8) were just finished when work began on the new Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) standard (Release 9 and beyond). LTE-A meets or exceeds the requirements imposed by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to Fourth Generation (4G) mobile systems, also called International Mobile Telecommunication Advanced (IMT-A). These requirements were unthinkable a few years ago, but are now a reality. Peak data rates of 1 Gbps with bandwidths of 100 MHz for the downlink, very low latency, more efficient interference management and operational cost reduction are clear examples of why LTE-A is so appealing for operators. Moreover, the quality breakthrough affects not only operators but also end users, who are going to experience standards of quality similar to optical fiber. To reach these levels of capacity and quality, the international scientific community, in particular the 3GPP, are developing different technological enhancements on LTE. The most important technological proposals for LTE-A are: support of wider bandwidth (carrier aggregation), advanced Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) techniques, Coordinated Multipoint transmission or reception (CoMP), relaying, enhancements for Home eNodeB (HeNB) and machine-type communications. To analyze both the context of LTE-A and the new enabling technologies, this chapter is divided as follows: