UMTS: Alive and Well - 4G Americas

of 50 Mbps were repeatedly demonstrated with terminals and devices on a test drive loop thatincluded handoffs between multiple cells and sectors.The world’s first LTE handover test using a commercially available base station and fully Rel-8standards compliant software was conducted in March 2009. In the same month, anothermilestone was achieved as the world’s first LTE call on Rel-8 baseline standard using acommercial base station and fully standard compliant software was made. This is the firststandardization baseline to which future LTE devices will be backwards compatible. In August2009, T-Mobile (Austria) demonstrated full mobility capabilities on Europe’s largest LTEcommercial trial network.Perhaps among the most exciting milestones in 2009 was TeliaSonera’s December 14 launch ofthe world’s first commercial LTE networks in both Sweden and Norway. With network speedscapable of delivering HD video services, this major achievement was supported by two leadingvendors.The IMS Core in wireless and wireline networks in 2009 are moving from vertically implementedservices towards common session control, QoS policy management and charging control.Additionally, in 2009, the first Voice-over-LTE solutions were launched with IMS.Evolved Packet Core (EPC) is the IP-based core network defined by 3GPP in Rel-8 for use byLTE and other access technologies. The goal of EPC is to provide simplified all-IP core networkarchitecture to efficiently give access to various services such as the ones provided in IMS. EPCconsists essentially of a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Serving Gateway (S-GW) thatinterfaces with the E-UTRAN and a PDN Gateway (P-GW) that interfaces to external packet datanetworks. EPC for LTE networks were announced by numerous vendors beginning in February2009, allowing operators to modernize their core data networks to support a wide variety ofaccess types using a common core network.Gabriel Brown, a senior analyst at Heavy Reading, wrote a white paper entitled, “LTE/SAE & theEvolved Packet Core: Technology Platforms & Implementation Choices,” which provides insightinto the key considerations for EPC. “Evolved Packet Core is critical to capturing the cost andperformance benefits of LTE,” noted Brown. “It introduces demanding new requirements to themobile core network and must support the robust mix of services operators need to maximizereturn on LTE infrastructure investment. Suppliers with deep expertise in both wireless and IPnetworking technology are well positioned to deliver and support this leading edge equipment.”By the third quarter of 2008, the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) – anorganization comprised of the world’s major mobile network operators as well as leadingmanufacturers – selected LTE as the sole technology that successfully matched its requirements.Other technologies such as mobile WiMAX and Ultra Mobile Broadband were not selected at thattime.A strong ecosystem is needed to support the launch of a new technology and offer the benefits ofscope and scale. The LTE/SAE Trial Initiative (LSTI) has provided support to ensure timelydevelopment of the LTE ecosystem; all leading vendors for LTE are actively participating in LSTI.Early co-development and testing with chipset, device and infrastructure vendors will helpaccelerate comprehensive interworking and interoperability activities and the availability of thewww.3GAmericas.org February 2010 Page 23