Technology and Business of Mobile Communications

Mythri Hunukumbure earned his PhD degree in Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Bristol in 2004. He is currently a Principal Research Engineer and a Project Lead at Samsung Electronics R&D Institute UK. He has contributed to and later led mobile communication research, standardisation, and product development activities. While at Samsung, he has participated in flagship EU projects mmMAGIC, ONE5G and 5G LOCUS as a work package leader. He is actively contributing to 3GPP RAN1 and SA2 standardisation topics, securing vital IPR. He has filed around 50 patents to date and has also published extensively in leading conferences and journals, receiving the best paper award at the World Telecommunications Congress (WTC) in 2012.Justin P. Coon received his PhD in Communications from the University of Bristol, UK in 2005. From 2004 until 2013, he held various technical and management positions at Toshiba Research Europe Ltd. (TREL). Professor Coon also held a Reader position in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol from 2012 until 2013. In 2013, he took a faculty position at Oxford University with a Tutorial Fellowship at Oriel College. Professor Coon is a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications (FIMA) and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Ben Allen completed his PhD degree at the University of Bristol in 2001. He completed a Royal Society Industry Fellowship with the University of Oxford and Network Rail, and has led several R&D activities involving telecoms for railways, several of which exhibit state-of-the-art advances. He is now working in the satellite communications industry. He has published numerous papers and several books on radio and telecommunications research developments. Dr Allen is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology, Institute of Telecommunications Professionals and the Higher Education Academy. Tony Vernon graduated from the University of Glasgow, UK, in 1987 with a Joint Honours in Electronic Engineering with Physics. After a few years in the cellular industry, he obtained chartered status and in 2002 received a PhD in Mobile Telecoms from the University of Bristol, UK. His main interests and career contributions lie in the planning and optimisation of digital mobile networks ranging from the dawn of 2G in 1991 to 5G in 2021. Dr Vernon's focus has moved to the vehicular channel (V2X) and the future use of soon-to-be-ubiquitous mobile broadband networks for national and public-access broadcasting. He is based on the Scottish Outer Hebridean island of South Uist and is passionate about expanding 4G and 5G mobile broadband connectivity to rural and remote areas.

• Foreword xvPreface xviiAbout the Authors xixAcknowledgements xxiList of Abbreviations xxiii1 A Technology that Changed the World 11.1 Social and Economic Impact of Mobile Communications 21.1.1 Social Impact 31.1.2 Economic Impact 51.2 A Brief History of Mobile (Cellular) Communications 81.3 The Journey of Mobile Communications as Seen from User and Operator Perspectives 18References 202 The Mobile Telecoms Ecosystem 232.1 Introduction 232.2 Telecommunications Ecosystem 242.3 Regulation and Spectrum 262.3 Standardisation 272.4 Research 282.5 End Users 302.6 The Role of Operators (Carriers) 302.7 The Role of Vendors/Manufacturers 312.8 The Role of Standard Bodies and Regulators 312.9 Telecoms Ecosystem Dynamics and Behaviour 322.10 5G Ecosystem 352.10.1 Datacentres 362.10.2 RF Chip and Component Manufacturers 362.10.3 Telecom Operators (Carriers) 362.10.4 Infrastructure Service Providers 362.10.5 Gaming 372.10.6 Over The Top (OTT) 372.10.7 Low-Cost Processing Unit Manufacturer 372.10.8 Investors 382.10.9 Potential Disruptions in the 5G EcoSystem 382.11 Summary 41References 413 The Business of a Mobile Operator 433.1 Business Challenges Faced by Operators 433.1.1 Third-Party Costs 433.1.2 Radio Access Network Costs 453.1.3 Transmission Costs 493.1.4 Physical Locations 533.1.5 Power Costs for Multiple Technologies 543.2 MVNOs – Mobile Virtual Network Operators 563.2.1 Economics of an MVNO 573.2.2 Modelling MVNOs and SPs 593.3 Operator Business around International Roaming 633.3.1 The EU Roaming Regulation ‘Roam like at Home’ 643.3.2 Covid-19 Impact on Roaming Revenues 663.4 The Likely Operator Business Models in 5G 663.5 Conclusion 69References 694 Why Standards Matter 734.1 The Creation of a New ‘G’ 744.1.1 Research 744.1.2 Standardisation 754.1.3 Commercialisation 774.1.4 Continued Innovation 794.1.5 Intellectual Property as a Metric and Political Currency 814.2 Shifting Political Power and the Making of an Ecosystem 814.2.1 2G GSM – Europe Leads 824.2.2 3G UMTS – Universal (Except Not Quite) 854.2.3 4G EPS – Avoiding Old Mistakes (and Making New Ones?) 894.2.4 5G NR – New World Order? 944.3 Future Standards 97References 995 The Mobile Network 1015.1 Mobile Network Architecture 1015.2 The Radio Access Network (RAN) 1035.2.1 Synchronisation 1045.2.2 Broadcast Messages 1045.2.3 Paging 1045.2.4 Random Access 1055.2.5 Scheduling 1055.2.6 Power Control 1065.2.7 Handover 1065.2.8 Link Adaptation 1085.2.9 HARQ, Error Correction 1085.2.10 MIMO Techniques 1095.2.11 The Control/data Channels and Reference Signals 1095.3 The Core Network (CN) 1105.3.1 Circuit Switching and Packet Switching Networks 1105.3.2 Tunnelling and Encapsulation 1115.4 The Protocol Stack 1125.4.1 The OSI Model of 7 Layer Protocol Stack 1135.4.2 Protocol Stacks for Mobile Communications 1155.5 The 2G Network 1185.5.1 The Network Architecture of 2G 1185.5.2 The GSM Frame Structure 1205.5.3 GSM (And GPRS) RAN Features 1225.5.4 2G Evolutions 1245.6 The 3G Network 1245.6.1 The UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) 1255.6.2 UTRAN Features 1295.6.3 The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 1305.6.4 Issues with the UMTS Air Interface 1315.6.5 3G Evolution to HSPA 1325.7 The 4G Network 1335.7.1 LTE System Architecture 1345.7.2 LTE Protocol Layers 1365.7.3 LTE Multiple Access Schemes 1395.7.4 LTE Frame Structures 1425.7.5 LTE Reference Signals 1445.7.6 LTE main RAN procedures 1445.7.7 Main Features of Subsequent LTE Releases 1485.8 The 5G Network 1505.8.1 5G-NR Deployment Options 1525.8.2 5G-NR System Architecture 1535.8.3 Spectrum Options for 5G-NR 1545.8.4 5G-NR Protocol Layers 1555.8.5 The 5G-NR Air Interface 1585.8.6 5G-NR RAN procedures 1605.8.7 5G-NR Reference Signals 1615.8.8 5G Core – Concepts and Functionalities 1625.9 The Centralisation and Virtualisation of the Mobile Network 1635.9.1 The Centralised RAN (C-RAN) 1645.9.2 NFV (Virtualised Network Functions) and SDN (Software Defined Networking) Concepts 1665.10 Conclusions 169References 1706 Basics of Network Dimensioning and Planning 1736.1 Properties of Signal Strength, Noise and Interference 1746.2 The Link Budget and Coverage Dimensioning 1786.2.1 The Transmit Power 1786.2.2 The Antenna Gains 1786.2.3 Transmit and Receive Diversity Gains 1796.2.4 The EIRP 1796.2.5 Modelling the Path Loss 1806.2.6 Modelling the Log Normal Fade Margin 1836.2.7 The FFM 1846.2.8 Building Penetration Loss 1856.2.9 Building the Link Budget 1856.3 Capacity Dimensioning 1876.3.1 The Capacity Demand Estimation Process 1886.3.2 Capacity Demand Estimation – Worked Example 1896.3.3 Resource Provision – Worked Example 1946.4 The Dimensioning of Backhaul Links 1996.4.1 LTE Backhaul Provision – General Aspects 2006.4.2 LTE Backhaul Provision – Capacity Aspects 2016.4.3 New Developments in Backhaul/fronthaul Provision 2076.5 The Network Planning Process 2086.5.1 The Network Area Maps 2086.5.2 Site Placement and Antenna Radiation Patterns 2096.5.3 Traffic Modelling and Capacity Provision Information 2106.5.4 Fine Tuning and Optimisation 2126.6 A Look at 5G Networks 213References 2167 Spectrum – The Life Blood of Radio Communications 2197.1 Introduction 2197.2 Spectrum Management and Its Objectives 2197.2.1 The Role of the ITU 2207.2.2 Regional Bodies 2217.2.3 National Regulators and Their Roles 2227.2.4 The Spectrum Management Process 2237.3 Spectrum Allocations 2257.4 Spectrum Assignment 2257.4.1 Administrative Assignments 2267.4.2 Market Based Mechanisms 2267.4.3 Beauty Contests 2277.5 Spectrum Licensing 2287.5.1 Spectrum for Mobile Services 2287.5.2 Dimensions of Spectrum Sharing 2337.6 Spectrum Bands Considered for 5G 2357.6.1 Example Illustration of Spectrum Deployment Strategy for MNOs 2367.6.2 Local Access Spectrum 237References 2388 Fundamentals of Digital Communication 2418.1 Basic Digital Communication System Overview 2418.2 Encoding Information 2438.2.1 Sampling 2438.2.2 Source Coding 2458.2.3 Channel Coding 2468.3 Signal Representation and Modulation 2518.3.1 Mapping Bits to Signals 2538.3.2 Signal Spectrum 2568.4 Signal Demodulation and Detection 2578.4.1 System Model and Sources of Noise 2578.4.2 Demodulation 2588.4.3 Detection 2608.5 Performance Analysis 2608.5.1 Capacity 2608.5.2 Bit-error Rate and Symbol-error Rate 2628.6 Communication Through Dispersive Channels 2648.6.1 Time-domain Equalization and Detection 2648.6.2 Frequency-domain Equalisation 2678.7 Multiple Access: A Second Look 2728.7.1 CDMA and 3G 2728.7.2 OFDMA/SC-FDMA and 4G 2758.7.3 NOMA and 5G 2778.8 System Impairments 2788.8.1 Carrier Phase Estimation 2798.8.2 Timing Recovery 2808.8.3 Channel Estimation 2808.9 Further Reading 282Notes 282References 2839 Early Technical Challenges and Innovative Solutions 2859.1 Wireless Channels: The Challenge 2859.1.1 Propagation 2859.1.2 Fading and Multipath 2879.1.3 Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Fading Channels 2939.2 Multicarrier Modulation: A Second Look 2959.2.1 Coded OFDM 2959.2.2 Capacity and Adaptive Modulation 2959.3 Diversity 2979.3.1 Macro Diversity 2979.3.2 Time Diversity 2989.3.3 Frequency Diversity 3009.3.4 Spatial Diversity 3009.4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) 3079.4.1 Capacity 3089.4.2 MIMO Transmission Techniques 3099.4.3 MIMO Reception Techniques 3119.4.4 MIMO vs Multicarrier 3129.4.5 Multi-User and Massive MIMO 313References 31510 Small Cells – an Evolution or a Revolution? 31710.1 Introduction 31710.2 Small Cells Concept Formation 31910.3 Multi-tier Cellular Networks/HetNets Architecture 32010.3.1 Interference Management 32010.3.2 Mobility Management 32110.3.3 Backhaul 32210.4 Interference Management and Modelling in Small cell/HetNets 32210.4.1 Interference Management 32210.4.2 Interference Modelling 32510.5 Mobility Management 32910.6 Backhaul 33210.7 Small-Cell Deployment 33510.8 Future Evolution of Small Cells 33910.9 Conclusion 342References 34211 Today’s and Tomorrow’s Challenges 34511.1 The Capacity Crunch 34511.1.1 A Historical Perspective 34511.1.2 Methods for Capacity Enhancement 34611.1.3 Impact on Transport and Core Networks 34911.1.4 Complementary Technologies 35211.2 Increasing Network Complexity 35411.2.1 The Self-Organising Networks 35511.2.2 Network Automation in 5G 35911.2.3 The Business Rationale for Network Automation 36111.3 The Need for Greener and Lower EMF Networks 36211.3.1 Greener Mobile Networks 36211.3.3 Green Manufacturing and Recycling 36411.3.4 Applications of Mobile Networks for Energy Reduction 36411.3.5 Electromagnetic Field Exposure and Mobile Networks 36511.4 Covering the Unserved and Under-served Regions 36811.4.1 New Access Technologies 36811.4.2 Initiatives Driven by Government Funding and Policy 371Reference 37312 The Changing Face of Mobile Communications 37712.1 Changes with Centralisation and Virtualisation of the Mobile Network 37712.2 Supporting Multiple Vertical Industries through 5G 38012.2.1 Automotive Sector 38012.2.2 Smart City 38312.2.3 Industry 4.0 38612.2.4 Critical Communications Sector 38812.2.5 Other Vertical Areas under Development 39112.3 The Continuous Evolution of the Mobile Device 39312.4 What Will 6G Look Like? 39512.4.1 Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence 39512.4.2 Blockchain and the Internet of Things 39612.4.3 Evolutions in Cloud and Edge Computing 39712.4.4 Advanced Hybrid Beamforming 39812.4.5 New Modulation Schemes 39912.4.6 Tera-Hertz (Thz) Communications 39912.4.7 Orbital Angular Momentum 40112.4.8 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 40112.4.9 Quantum Technology 401References 402Index 407