LTE and the Gateway to 4G

Mobile broadband continues to inch closer with the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards. LTE continues to enhance the wireless capabilities beyond HSPA. Gearing for higher peak data rates, lower latency and high spectral efficiency, LTE is poised to deliver a strong foundation for a rich set of multimedia services. The harmonization of the OFDMA and SC-FDMA air-interface heralds a new era in establishing unity between the GSM and CDMA and broadband standards.

LTE has begun to deliver initial results in a 70 Mb/sec with 20 Mhz of spectrum. It is moving towards the promised data rates of a 100 Mb/sec. Achieving this in a large spectrum will continue to require innovation.

But is just LTE enough? An efficient flat all-IP core architecture is required to fully utilize the potential of these high-speed broadband speeds and also to accommodate disparate networks. The System Architecture Evolution (SAE) is the 3GPP vision for the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) which will continue to get fully defined with the Release 8 of its standards.

The major change in the architecture is the transformation of the multi-tier RAN model into a flat two tier-structure. There are only two types of nodes in the user plane – base stations and anchor gateways. The Control plane is also simplified with a separate Mobility Management Entity (MME).The EPC continues to support this infrastructure in a Packet switched domain, with all IP interfaces only.Behind this transformational technology LTE and SAE, are a set of challenges, especially as the standards are still evolving.

IntelliNet provides the technology enablers for supporting the evolution of the LTE radio in your innovative architecture. IntelliNet brings a unique combination of expertise in the mobility domain and the Convero Platform. The Convero has delivered a flexible gateway for other radio technologies using Femtocells and UMA for instance to bridge to both a CS-Core and an IP-Core.