Engineers Guide to Wimax and Lte

Engineers’ Guide to WiMAX & LTE

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Welcome to the Engineers’ Guide to WiMAX and

LTE Solutions 2012

Amidst continuing news of a stagnant economy, spending on mobile and infrastructure keeps on growing, albeit with a few bumps in the road. While the global 2G/3G/4G infrastructure market declined 13.8% in the first quarter of 2011, that came on the heels of a very strong fourth quarter 2010, and the market is up 14.4% year-over-year (from the first quarter of 2010), according to Infonetics Research. That sets the foundation for a new investment cycle that is expected to last through 2014. Infonetics Research forecasts service providers will spend a cumulative $245 billion worldwide on mobile infrastructure during the five years from 2011 to 2015. That’s a lot of opportunity for developers, in a lot of different technologies.

Stéphane Téral, Infonetics Research’s principal analyst for mobile infra-structure, stated, “Although LTE and 4G continue to make the headlines, GSM was definitely the 2Q11 reality, with massive capacity upgrades in China and India. In addition, 2G and 3G network modernization with multi-standard base transceiver stations (BTS) continues to be strong and will remain the main theme throughout the second half of 2011.”That said, equipment spending in LTE and WiMAX 4G technologies remains strong, and for the first time LTE equipment surpassed WiMAX equipment in the second quarter of 2011, with the global LTE market at about $0.6 billion and WiMAX at $0.5 billion.

In this issue, you’ll find a wide array of product, technology and develop-ment information to help you find your place in these new 4G markets. We cover development tools and environments in “What Makes an Ideal Wireless Stack Developer Tool?” and “Even Better than the Real Thing.” Our panel of experts discusses FPGAs’ roles in advanced telecom sys-tems, and we address the opportunities for distributed base stations in “Taking LTE Where You Need It.” “CSFB: Supporting Voice Services in LTE Migration” provides an option for the transition to LTE, and we look at “Secure Communications in Military 4G LTE Environments” with an insightful view into that market. Both WiMAX and LTE have plenty to look forward to, and we provide a look into trends and forecasts for both with “LTE Momentum Building, Key Rollout Issues Remain” and “WiMax Celebrates 10 Years with Strong Growth.”

And there’s a lot more from our sponsors, with data sheets, event listings, white papers and other resources. We’d love to hear from you. Send your comments and ideas to [email protected].

Cheryl Berglund CoupéEditor

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The Engineers’ Guide to WiMAX and LTE Solutions is published by Extension Media LLC. Extension Media makes no warranty for the use of its products and assumes no responsibility for any errors which may appear in this Catalog nor does it make a commitment to update the information contained herein. Engineers’ Guide to WiMAX and LTE Solutions is Copyright ®2011 Extension Media LLC. No information in this Catalog may be reproduced without expressed written permission from Extension Media @ 1786 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107-2343.

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2 Engineers’ Guide to WiMAX and LTE Solutions 2012

Contents

Advanced Telecom Systems Drive FPGA Market Growth

by Cheryl Coupé ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Circuit-Switched Fallback

by Drew Sproul, Adax ................................................................................................................................................................................ 6

Even Better than the Real Thing

by Dr. Konstantinos Stavropoulos, Anite ................................................................................................................................................... 8

Compact Base Stations

by Marc DeVinney, Interphase ................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Enabling Secure Communications in Military 4G LTE Environments

by Kevin Kelly, LGS Innovations (a Division of Alcatel-Lucent) ................................................................................................................ 18


by Rick Denker, Packet Plus, Inc. ............................................................................................................................................................. 20


by Cheryl Coupé ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 23

Online & Offline ➔ WiMAX and LTE Solutions Resources ............................................................................................. 25

LTE Momentum Building, Key Rollout Issues Remain

by Charlie Ashton, 6WIND ....................................................................................................................................................................... 32

Products and Services

Boards

AMC Boards

Adax Inc.

ATM4-AMC ........................................................................... 26

HDC3 ..................................................................................... 27

PacketAMC (PktAMC) ........................................................... 28

Blades

Adax Inc.

Adax PacketRunner (APR) ..................................................... 29

Integrated Platforms

Adax Inc.

AdaxGW ................................................................................ 30

Software

Libraries

6WIND

6WINDGate Multicore Packet Processing Software ............ 31

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EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE

by Cheryl Coupé

Advanced Telecom Systems Drive FPGA Market Growth

In a recent report, TechNavio’s analysts forecasted that

the global market for FPGAs in the communications

industry will reach $2.9 billion in 2014, with expected

compound annual growth rate of 8.6 percent. This growth

is being driven by the demand for high-bandwidth devices

for 3G and 4G networks. According to the Technavio

analyst, “In order to meet the growing demand for these

devices and applications, the FPGA vendors are focusing

on bandwidth- and I/O-centric technologies. As a result,

there is a shift to serial interfaces such as PCI Express and

Gigabit Ethernet across the entire infrastructure, with

primary importance given to transceivers.” The report

also points out conflicting market drivers: while lack of

standardized verification techniques for advanced FPGAs

hinders market growth, demand for compact-sized ICs

from smart-device manufacturers is expected to drive it.

EE Catalog asked several industry players how developers

can best take advantage of FPGAs in advanced telecom-

munications equipment for new 4G, WiMax and LTE

systems. Sunil Kar, senior director, wireless communica-

tions, Xilinx; Patrick Dietrich, hardware design engineer

and project manager at Connect Tech Inc.; and Shakeel

Peera, director of marketing, silicon/solutions, Lattice

Semiconductor provide their insight.

EE Catalog: How can developers best take advantage of

FPGAs in advanced telecommunications equipment for

new 4G, WiMax and LTE systems?

Sunil Kar, Xilinx: OEMs

are locked in a fierce battle

to dominate the next gen-

eration 4G telecom platforms

with features and require-

ments that are still evolving.

In such a dynamic market,

FPGAs are coming in handy

as they provide the logic and

programmable resources to

implement custom hardware

functionalities. Wireless

system architects and developers for long have taken

advantage of the dynamic re-configurability and in-field

programming features of FPGAs compared to fixed-

function ASICs. In 4G base stations, FPGAs provide the

functional advantages in terms of performance in both

baseband as well as radio/DFE processing. FPGAs have

proven to exceed the performance of mainstream DSPs.

This fact is exploited by architects in designing 4G base

stations with new baseband feature requirements.

System architects are leveraging FPGA in high-throughput

4G packet-core platforms for traffic management, fabric

and to implement value-add differentiating features.

Wireless backhaul for the 4G networks use FPGAs for

functional integration of both radio and baseband fea-

tures as well as network interfaces. FPGA providers

go beyond the silicon and provide a comprehensive

set of tools, IP and design platforms to help wireless

designers. The maturity of high-level synthesis tools

has improved FPGA design productivity by raising the

level of design abstraction. FPGA suppliers have always

been at the forefront driving Moore’s law with resulting

benefits in system performance and lower power. Wire-

less system architects continue to leverage these devices

for differentiated implementation of high-performance,

cost-sensitive nodes such as 4G base stations as well as

backhaul platforms.

Patrick Dietrich, Con-

nect Tech Inc.: With rapidly

changing and emerging stan-

dards along with the increasing

need for multi-mode radio

support, FPGAs are becoming

an important part of wireless

infrastructure, particularly

in base station design. From

a board design standpoint,

the latest FPGAs allow for the

integration of multiple ASSPs

and ASICs into a single device, which reduces BOM cost

and decreases power consumption. For example, a typical

radio equipment board design would have several DSPs

or other ICs for the transmitter block (including digital-

up conversion, digital pre-distortion and crest factor

reduction to increase amplifier efficiency), receiver block

(digital-down conversion) a small FPGA for interfacing

and framing, and a SERDES PHY to connect to the radio


EECatalog SPECIAL FEATURE

equipment controller via the common public radio inter-

face (CPRI). The latest FPGAs can implement all of these

features in a single device, taking advantage of low cost

built-in SERDES (such as Xilinx’s GTX transceivers),

dedicated DSP blocks, embedded processors and the

general high-speed logic. And of course, there is always

the benefit of the FPGA’s re-configurability, allowing for

upgrades to accommodate evolving standards and new

air interfaces.

Shakeel Peera, Lattice Semi-

conductor: The price, power

and total footprint of FPGAs

suitable for these types of

applications have come down

exponentially over the past

five years, while functionality

has increased dramatically.

The features of most interest

are signal processing horse-

power, memory for coefficient

storage and packet buffering,

and the inclusion of high speed I/O and SERDES. If users

can efficiently craft their RF and baseband algorithms to

take advantage of the powerful parallel processing capa-

bilities of FPGAs, then from a price, performance and

power perspective there will be a huge increase in the use

of FPGAs in these types of systems. Consequently, FPGA

vendors must make it easier for customers to port signal-

processing algorithms developed by non-FPGA users to

their FPGA fabric.

Cheryl Berglund Coupé is editor of EECatalog.

com. Her articles have appeared in EE Times,

Electronic Business, Microsoft Embedded Re-

view and Windows Developer’s Journal and

she has developed presentations for the Embed-

ded Systems Conference and ICSPAT. She has

held a variety of production, technical marketing and writing

positions within technology companies and agencies in the

Northwest.

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SPECIAL FEATURE

by Drew Sproul, Adax

Circuit-Switched FallbackSupporting Voice Services in LTE Migration

The Challenge of Supporting Voice while Deploying LTEThe move to LTE is advancing full-speed ahead. This build-

out of new equipment and services is complex and will not

happen overnight. The ever-increasing demand for high-

speed, high-volume data applications requires network

service providers (NSPs) to focus on providing data services

first and foremost in their initial LTE deployments. With

Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) not yet a ubiquitous solution, how

can NSPs ensure support for voice and deploy LTE?

Since voice remains the major source of NSP revenue,it must

be protected and maintained. Subscribers expect the high

quality of voice services, especially roaming, to continue

unaffected on their new smart, video- data-centric phones.

The challenge then is how to preserve voice services and

build out mobile broadband services in the absence of IMS/

VoIP. One solution is circuit-switched fallback (CSFB).

Today’s 2G/3G legacy networks currently enabling the voice

revenue stream have sufficient capacity for continued voice

service support. It only makes sense to let this gear continue

to generate voice revenue. CSFB allows NSPs to preserve the

sunken investment in existing circuit-switched networks.

This extended life of legacy equipment and its associated rev-

enues stream is a double bonus. Revenues remain the same

without the expense of new CAPEX; and with some exten-

sions, it can even promote the move to the all-IP network.

Circuit-Switched Fallback Provides a SolutionCSFB provides new LTE data-centric deployments with back-

ward compatibility to circuit-switched services. As specified in

3GPP TS 23.272, CSFB is the preferred solution for the early

and even later stages of LTE. It allows network operators to

carry voice traffic over existing GERAN/UTRAN networks

from multimode LTE user equipment (UE) devices. This prac-

tical goal is realized by a clever innovation: network awareness

in the mobility management entity (MME). Where overlap-

ping networks exist, the MME may carry maps of UTRAN

tracking areas (TAs) to LTE location areas (LAs) that allow the

UE to utilize circuit-switched services, all managed from the

MME in conjunction with the mobile switching center (MSC).

Without the IP multimedia subsystem (IMS),VoIP services are

not available in the LTE network so the UE is instructed to

access the alternate network for voice calls.

CSFB enables mobile operators to quickly and economically

support services in conjunction with their LTE network

roll-outs. It allows mobile devices to “fall back” to GSM or

UMTS domains for incoming or outgoing voice calls, and

subscribers maintain access to the wide array of rich circuit-

switched capabilities, including international roaming,

while enjoying LTE broadband access to the Internet and

protected corporate VPNs.

CSFB with Enhanced VoIP Services Implementing CSFB does not require changes to the GERAN or

UTRAN user plane transport services. Existing signaling links

Figure 1: EPS architecture for CS fallback and SMS over SGs from 3GPP TS 23.272 V10.2.1 (2011-04)


SPECIAL FEATURE

and associated transport protocols can be retained if desired,

however many media gateways in the field support VoIP.

Adding VoIP services to the CSFB gateway is clearly a benefit.

Network equipment providers (NEPs) and NSPs realize that

interworking legacy voice to IP at the earliest network entry

point possible facilitates the transition to the all-IP network.

Voice interworking is being added to the CSFB formula by

many forward-looking telecom equipment manufacturers

based on multi-vendor, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)

ATCA equipment (see Figure 2).

This enhancement brings CS-based voice calls into existing

VoIP networks quickly and efficiently. In the UTRAN,

interworking between ATM-IP is performed on already

AMR-encoded voice using real-time transport protocol(RTP),

which facilitates not only voice but multi-media streaming

over IP. For 2G voice over DS0s, the ATCA I-TDM specifica-

tion allows T1/E1 and DSP cards to pass traffic seamlessly

between them and their associated networks. Such solutions

for both GERAN and UTRAN networks can be provided on a

single ATCA platform with multi-vendor, industry-standard

AMC cards as a sub-system for OEM/VAS applications.

The CSFB gateway architecture illustrated in Figure 2 for

existing TDM-based network services uses a standard ATCA

carrier-grade chassis, equipped with switches, SBCs and carrier

blades hosting TDM T1/E1 and VoIP/DSP AMC cards. Legacy

voice and SS7 signaling enter the system on TDM links via the

T1/E1 ports. Voice channels are interworked to IP using I-TDM

and sent to the VoIP/DSP card, which transmits VoIP packets

to the network. Data services are handled by the LTE network

or the legacy interface when there is no LTE connection. The 3G

solution maps ATM voice traffic to IP on an advanced AMC ATM

card. RTP is added on the intelligent carrier blade or an SBC, all

of which are again ATCA COTS products.

These components for an enhanced CSFB gateway are the foun-

dation for OEMs and TEMS to build advanced CSFB solutions

including fully redundant systems of cards and blades that may

be added, removed and re-allocated with no loss of service. The

flexible ATCA architecture fulfills the promise of cost-effective,

multi-vendor solutions and short time-to-market through close

cooperation between committed ecosystem partners.

LTE in support of streaming video and data services is rolling

out to everyone’s satisfaction. Voice continues to be supported

via dual and tri-mode phones without service interruption of

any kind. CSFB allows the integration of these two types of

services based on different networks types seamlessly and effec-

tively. Enhanced CSFB gateways will bring the legacy voice into

IP all that much quicker, paving the way for the all-IP network.

All of this is made possible by industry-standard protocols and

an ecosystem of ATCA network equipment. The future never

looked so bright, at least in this one corner of the world.

Andrew (Drew) Sproul is currently director of mar-

keting at Adax, Inc. During his 20+ year career in

telecom, Drew has held management positions in

sales and marketing at Adax, Trillium, and Ob-

jectStream. Drew has a BA in human services from

Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA.

Figure 2: Adax CSFB GW w/VoIP IW FX


SPECIAL FEATURE

by Dr. Konstantinos Stavropoulos, Anite

Even Better than the Real ThingThe Competitive Advantage of Network Simulation for Mobile Device Testing

Mobile network users have higher expectations than ever

before. Mobile network operators have therefore been

trying to enhance their offering and to minimize the

possibility of defective or poor-quality devices reaching

the end user. Such improvements can only be introduced

and sustained in a cost-effective fashion, especially in

the current economic climate. Network simulation can

help operators meet user expectations and gain competi-

tive advantage.

With mobile standards evolving from 2G to 3g and now

to LTE, original voice-centric handsets have been super-

seded by data-driven devices with PC-like capabilities.

Mobile users demand great performance when they buy

new devices, especially if they opt for the ‘smart’-labeled

ones. Unless these high

expectations are met, users

are likely to be disappointed

and use their devices less or

even churn.

The significance of quality

has also increased due to

the media spotlight. Any

negative reference to a f lag-

ship device is a nightmare

scenario for both the device

manufacturer and the oper-

ator who has launched the

device. In many cases, news

coverage may not clarify

whether the issue is associated with the device only or

the network only or both, and could even highlight the

wrong ‘culprit’. Operators who consider device accep-

tance schemes would like to pre-empt these situations

and minimize the possibility of launching devices that

affect the performance of the network and ultimately the

mobile user experience.

Comprehensive tests to help identify and rectify device

and network issues before commercial launch are essen-

tial. Such tests can be run in the lab or in the field.

Despite the growing adoption of lab testing, some people

are still skeptical about its capability to ref lect what hap-

pens in the live network, which they believe only field

testing can capture, and its overall practical significance.

As a consequence, many operators do not regard lab

testing as the ‘real thing’ and find the need for lab-based

device assessment superf luous. Lab testing is the proac-

tive approach to test mobile devices/applications. Testing

in the lab enables the evaluation of mobile devices in a

controllable and repeatable – simulated network – envi-

ronment, which is immune to statistical uncertainty.

The following simplified diagram depicts the setup of the

leading network simulator solution for device interoper-

ability testing (IOT). The system shown at the top is

connected to the device under test via an RF cable, and

can be driven locally or remotely via a pc/laptop. As shown

in the diagram, test automation is supported too. This

setup can also be extended to consider RF fading, and

hence simulate the dynamic

network environment in an

even more realistic fashion.

Furthermore, mobile appli-

cations can be tested by

connecting the system to

internal or external data

servers.

The real-world relevance

(accuracy) of a network

simulator depends on the

modeled network character-

istics and the capabilities

of the underlying hardware

platform. By considering

real-world cell configuration data, in the form of hun-

dreds of settings, as well as changing RF conditions, the

leading network simulators can support realistic device

test scenarios in the lab.

Lab tests are based on scripts, i.e., software programs

that simulate interoperability scenarios, written by the

test solution provider or an operator’s engineers. New

devices may fail up to 40% of such tests when tested in

operator labs. Of course, not every scenario is run in the

lab. For instance, due to their infrastructure vendor-

agnostic nature, simulators may support simplified

signaling/other messaging. Yet this does not reduce the

power or value of network simulation.

Any negative reference to a flagship device is a

nightmare scenario for both the device manufacturer

and the operator who has launched the device.


SPECIAL FEATURE

Simulators enable comprehensive performance/compar-

ison testing, and can reveal if/which devices will perform

well in the live network. Lab tests consider real-world

scenarios, from simple (phone call, SMS or web browsing)

to more advanced (multi-call {CS/PS}, data throughput or

setup delay) use cases. International roaming can also be

tested, by using country-specific cell configurations. All

tests are based on 3GPP messages/procedures and terms

obscure to most mobile users, such as PDP Context or

Bearer Combination.

Lab testing helps imitate the real network environment

without fully replicating it. For example, when mobility

handover is tested in the lab, there is no explicit device

movement. Still, such movement is not of interest. What

is of interest is the change in the observed signal strength

and interference, which can be simulated. Hence, the con-

sidered network situation is the same, although strictly

speaking not identical, and a handover for a moving

device – or other real-world network scenarios – can be

tested in the lab.

Yet some people are not convinced. Network-derived

measurements, often described as the ‘real thing,’ can

become an engineer’s ‘gospel.’ Measurements are tan-

gible, directly related with the live network and thus

generally trusted.

Field testing – or field trials or drive testing – has been

a popular way for operators to benchmark and opti-

mize their networks. Conducted indoors/outdoors, field

testing is of great significance, especially for new and

not-so-mature technologies. Field trials can also high-

light issues in the interoperability of a device with the

network. However, device testing in the field presents a

number of challenges, mainly due to its dependence on

the dynamic live network.

Lab testing and field testing can be regarded as both

complementary and competitive options for mobile

device evaluation. While some tests are to be run only

in the lab or only in the field, there are many tests that

could be conducted in either environment.

The wireless environment is dynamic and can change

rapidly. Radio signals are subject to variation due to

the changing RF conditions, while the network load –

demand for resources – is only approximately known and

(to a large extent) unpredictable. Network configuration

changes or issues may also arise unexpectedly. Device

testing engineers are powerless in such cases, as these

changes/issues are outside their control.

Therefore, it is inherently not possible in the field to fully

control tests or to repeat them exactly. This is why, when

Figure 1 – Caption: A simplified (Anite SAS) system diagram for device interoperability testing in the lab


SPECIAL FEATURE

device issues are identified, most engineers opt to repro-

duce use scenarios in the lab for debugging purposes.

Contrary to lab conditions, engineers cannot ‘tame’ the

volatile wireless environment or ‘adjust’ the network

configuration, and know that tests can only be partially

controlled and approximately repeated in the field.

Lab testing provides the f lexibility to consider a variety

of scenarios with full control over their definition. For

example, under- or over-loaded networks can be simu-

lated as per the engineers’ requirements. Simulation is

also a great means to assess roaming without the expense

required to visit countries/regions, where partner net-

works operate, for drive testing. In addition, lab tests

enable the evaluation of features not yet implemented on

the live network.

Device testing in the lab is not inherently restricted

by any live network dependency. With the exception of

trial networks, which are not commercially launched

and hence have no subscribers, testing in the field can

only ref lect the latest cell

configuration. The consider-

ation of ‘what if ’ scenarios,

including ‘bad’ network

settings, is not advisable

as it would have an adverse

impact on mobile users. This

is something that operators

prefer not to risk.

Furthermore, lab testing is

not subject to spatiotem-

poral profile limitations.

Generally speaking, field

tests are conducted in spe-

cific network areas (such as drive test routes) and at

given time intervals during a day. In these terms, field

testing can only provide a partial view/assessment of

how a mobile device would operate when used on the live

network. So, field tests may fail to identify certain device

issues or may discover them late.

The lab environment also allows more scope for compre-

hensive device assessment. In general, testing in the field

comprises standardized tests of mostly basic nature. It is

therefore not surprising that experienced engineers are

reluctant to be actively involved, especially if tests are

repeated on a regular basis. Although lab testing includes

standardized tests too, the controllability of network

simulation and the ability to use automation are price-

less.

It is important to note that device tests in the lab can be

automated to a large degree. As lab testing is controllable

and repeatable, any use scenario that has been captured/

defined can be ‘replayed’ at any time by using the same

setup. This is of great interest to engineers as they are

able to run regression tests and identify with confidence

why the measured device performance may have changed.

Device testing in the lab has evolved in the last few years

due to its popularity with major mobile network opera-

tors. In some cases, it has even been able to discover

problems with the live network setup. When reproducing

in the lab field-identified interoperability issues (for

example, as part of field-to-lab tests), there have been

instances where the network rather than the device was

found to be responsible.

Both lab and field testing have been used by leading oper-

ators to help enhance the quality of launched devices and

meet user expectations. Yet, the lab environment is the

single or preferable option for a large number of device

tests, especially from a commercial viewpoint.

The main reason: lab testing is cost-effective. Interest-

ingly, the capital expenditure (CapEx) for field testing is

typically lower, particularly

if no investment in dedi-

cated drive-test equipment

(including vans) is required.

This has led test solutions

vendors to introduce pricing

models that de-emphasize

the capital nature of the

expenditure for network

simulators. However, it is

the total cost of ownership

that should be considered.

The nature of device testing

in the field is such that

significant resource/time is required. In the absence of

automation and controllability, the operational expendi-

ture (OpEx) exceeds that of lab testing by far. Moreover,

insufficient or statistically uncertain tests pose a higher

risk to the quality of launched devices. Even when a

device passes a test that it may have failed before, it is

not clear whether this would be due to design changes to

the device or because of the changed – ‘everything f lows’

– network environment.

Cost savings with lab testing are multidimensional, and

include manufacturer pre-testing that enables operators

to spot-check devices. This superior cost profile is the

main reason why network simulation dominates device

acceptance programs. In effect, field tests that can be run

in the lab, such as network selection or data throughput,

are reduced in number/scope. Simulation is also typically

used for first-pass evaluation by operators who promote

Tier-2 or own-branded devices, especially for manufac-

turers new to the industry or without a reputation for

quality.

Using a network simulator is a faster, cheaper and ultimately superior way

to meet mobile user expectations compared with other approaches.


SPECIAL FEATURE

Lab testing can support comprehensive yet cost-effective

acceptance programs in an objective and well-functioning

manner. For operators to get the device ecosystem working

at its best, nonobjective criteria or difficult-to-reproduce

tests must be avoided. This would be in accordance with

strict industry quality standards, including ISO.

In general, due to the nature of lab testing, operators can

gain a competitive advantage through:

or run tests and with the ability to consider automation

can pre-test their devices and simply present their results

customer-identified issues, which can positively impact on

defection rates (churn), media coverage and share price

or advanced ones (e.g. smartphones), which can influence

market share and customer opinion.

Using a network simulator is a faster, cheaper and ulti-

mately superior way to meet mobile user expectations

compared with other approaches. More importantly, the

competitive advantage of network simulation has been

proven in practice.

The tangible and intangible benefits from lab testing

are not limited to operators. Device and chipset manu-

facturers have also benefited from 2G/3G operator

acceptance schemes and the ecosystem that these have

established. It is thus no coincidence that network simu-

lation is now used to verify that the highly anticipated

LTE devices will meet the needs of mobile subscribers.

Device testing in the field may be regarded as real-world

testing or as the ‘real thing’, while network simulation

may still be viewed with skepticism by some operators.

However, the ROI benefits of lab testing are so diverse

and so substantial that there should be no doubt: device

testing in the lab is even better than the real thing.

Dr. Konstantinos Stavropoulos joined Anite in 2009

as IOT product manager, responsible for SAS, Anite’s

network simulator product for mobile device interop-

erability testing. Konstantinos holds a PhD in digital

communications from Imperial College (London, UK)

and a Diploma in electrical and computer engineer-

ing from National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) (Athens,

Greece), has presented papers in conferences worldwide and is a mem-

ber of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

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SPECIAL FEATURE

by Marc DeVinney, Interphase

Compact Base StationsTaking LTE Where You Need It

Subscribers are adopting wireless broadband data services

at an unprecedented rate, causing mobile traffic to grow

exponentially. This growth limits the number of users and

their individual traffic loads that a carrier can serve with its

existing spectrum allocation. New technologies such as LTE

are designed to provide additional capacity and higher data

rates to relieve network congestion, but a new approach to

network deployment and expansion is required to address

the demand for high-bandwidth applications in a limited-

spectrum environment:

Higher density. A higher density of base stations placed

in closer proximity increases the overall network capacity

while utilizing the same amount of spectrum in a more effi-

cient manner. More base stations in a smaller radius allow

more traffic to be transported within the same geographic

area.

Base stations closer to subscribers. In an environment

with a high cell density, it is preferable to place base stations

as close as possible to the subscribers to avoid self-interfer-

ence and to improve indoor coverage.

Lower per-bit cost. Average revenues per user (ARPUs)

are not expected to grow in line with the increase in traffic

generated by subscribers, so service providers need to lower

the per-bit cost of transmission—for both CAPEX and OPEX

items—to continue to operate a sustainable business.

Traditional ground-based macrocell base station equip-

ment was designed to provide maximum power and

coverage and to minimize the number of base stations

installed. All the hardware, with the exception of the

antennas, is placed in an air-conditioned enclosure at

the bottom of the cell tower. This design is expensive in

terms of equipment, installation and operation costs,

and has demanding ground space requirements, but it

will undoubtedly retain a crucial role in cellular networks

for the foreseeable future. The traditional macrocell will

remain cost-effective for providing wide-area coverage

in environments where traffic levels are manageable.

However, this deployment model will struggle to remain

viable where a dense concentration of users demand high-

bandwidth wireless access.

Distributed base stations leave the baseband and power

amplifier within the ground enclosure, but move the

radio frequency (RF) equipment to the cell tower to be

close to the antenna. This approach reduces the power

dissipation due to the use of coaxial cables in tradi-

tional, ground-based base stations, increasing the energy

efficiency and providing some limited reduction in the

size and weight of the equipment on the ground. While

providing a reduction in cost and size, distributed base

stations still rely on ground equipment, which limits the

f lexibility of deployment and incurs the cost of installing

and operating the ground-based equipment.

Both ground-based and distributed macrocell base stations are poorly suited for dense, high-capacity 4G network topologies where high power and wide range are unnecessary—and are often not desired, as they may cause self-interference—and where building new cell towers is difficult due to space and permitting restrictions.

In dense deployments, microcell and picocell base stations will become more widely used in the 4G network topology, complementing or replacing mac-rocells in at least two situations. One is downtown

Figure 1. Ground-based, distributed, and compact base stations


SPECIAL FEATURE

environments where tall buildings make it difficult to establish good indoor and outdoor coverage. The new small-cell topology enables service providers to create a dense network of cells installed close to the subscriber and to increase capacity density. Another is providing fill-in coverage for macrocell areas that have zones with limited or no cellular coverage, often in rural areas or environments with complex RF propagation. Compact base stations enable mobile service providers to extend coverage to these areas in a cost-effective way.

Microcell and picocell base stations that use a ground-based or distributed architecture have been available

for a long time. Even though they have a smaller foot-print than ground-based macrocells, they still require ground equipment and, as a result, are expensive to install and operate, use high levels of power, and have demanding site requirements. As a result, micro and pico base stations still account for a small percentage of installed base stations.

To enable high-capacity and dense deployments, service providers need access to equipment that is small, can be installed on non-telecom assets, and is cost-effective to purchase, install and operate. Com-pact base stations have been specifically designed to address this challenge and give service providers the

Architecture Ground-Based Distributed Compact

Design

Description Traditional base

station, installed in a shelter on the ground

Baseband and power amplifier (PA)

equipment in a shelter on the ground.

Radio equipment on the mast, near the

antenna

Baseband, PA, and RF are in a single enclosure which can be inside the antenna

enclosure (zero footprint), have a small stand-alone enclosure, or be added as a

blade in a multifunctional system. No ground equipment.

Performance Same throughput, latency, and coverage area,

assuming they use the same spectrum and transmission power

Form factor Macrocell, microcell, picocell Macrocell, microcell, picocell, femtocell

Sectors Macrocell: 1 to 8, typically 3

Microcell, picocell: typically 1 to 3 1 to 3 sectors

Equipment

Baseband Ground enclosure

Ground enclosure Passively cooled unit PA

RF Passively-cooled unit

Antenna Usually in cell tower or on rooftop, not

integrated Can be integrated with base station unit

Connection to backhaul

Coaxial cable Fiber CAT-5 or fiber

Cooling Temperature-controlled ground shelter None needed

Other metrics

Power consumption*

100 W 26–36 W**

Weight 15% to 25% of ground-based base station

weight**

Cost Comparable to

ground-based base stations

25% of ground-based base station**

* Base station, excluding cooling system and radio components ** Total depends on specific form factor and number of sectors

Table 1. Comparison across base station architectures


SPECIAL FEATURE

tools to evolve to more flexible network topologies as they move to 4G.

In a clear departure from the traditional base station architecture, compact base stations eliminate the need for ground equipment. They strive to maximize traffic capacity and reduce the costs of building and operating a network by being small and flexible, thus reducing both CAPEX and OPEX. The compact architecture can be used for macrocells, microcells, picocells and femtocells, but all compact base sta-tions share some key features:

Compact, lightweight form factor. Base stations can be

installed on virtually any vertical surface or pole. They can

be installed on cell towers as well, but it is not required.

No ground equipment. If solar power and wireless back-

haul are used, there is no need to have any connection from

the base station to the ground. Otherwise, only an Ethernet

connection (typically using CAT-5 or fiber) to the ground is

needed to provide backhaul connectivity and power over

Ethernet (PoE).

System-on-a-chip (SoC) chipset. A single multicore

chipset can support multiple sectors, and it is fully com-

pliant with the air interface standards.

Same performance as traditional equipment. Data

rates for compact base stations are comparable to those for

ground-based or distributed base stations with similar con-

figurations (e.g., spectrum band or channel size).

Single ruggedized enclosure for baseband, PA and RF.

In some configurations, antennas may also be integrated

within the same enclosure; this is called a zero-footprint

configuration.

Low power consumption.

Passive cooling.

Compact base stations include baseband, control, PA and RF in a single low-power, passively cooled package. They enable antenna placement in conve-nient, existing locations, whether mounted on an existing cell tower, a lamppost, a building or even a mobile vehicle. These small, powerful base sta-tions can be made in a variety of form factors: a zero footprint, a small stand-alone enclosure or even a blade where it makes sense to include the small cell application within existing server equipment for a multifunctional system.

Zero-footprint base stations, the ultimate in com-pact size, reduce the base station to a module that is mounted inside the antenna enclosure, similar to

a femtocell but with the performance of a picocell or microcell. Depending on expected user density, these extremely cost-effective base stations can support from one to three sectors.

Stand-alone compact base stations can come in a variety of enclosures to suit the application, including a ruggedized casing suitable for pole or building mounting, a ruggedized chassis for vehicle mounting, and a standards-based, small-footprint chassis such as MicroTCA™. These compact base stations can be configured to handle picocell, microcell or macrocell applications in this single enclosure, supporting one to three sectors. They can even be configured to be a self-contained evolved packet core (EPC), as well as a base station.

The small form factor and low-power consumption that sets compact base stations apart from tradi-tional equipment is enabled by highly integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC) technology. SoC multicore chipsets combine physical (PHY) layer (layer 1), media access control (MAC) sublayer in the data link layer (layer 2), and, optionally, network layer(layer 3) functionality to support the computationally inten-sive processing of 4G wireless interfaces. A compact base station SoC chipset has multiple cores—digital signal processing (DSP), reduced instruction set computing(RISC) and application–specific integrated circuit (ASIC) cores—and hardware accelerators. A single SoC chipset can support up to three sectors with 2x2 multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology. Furthermore, the tight integration of PHY, MAC and layer 3 functionality within the same chipset minimizes the end-to-end latency, which is crucial to real-time applications such as voice, video or gaming. The RF can be part of the base station or in a separate housing.

Since compact base stations are typically placed close to the antennas or inside the antenna enclosure, this arrangement limits the power loss due to the coaxial cable used to connect the ground equipment to the antennas, and substantially reduces the power requirement of the entire base station.

A three-sector compact base station, including the antenna,can weigh as little as 10 kg. Because they do not require a shelter on the ground or active cooling, compact base stations can be installed in virtually any location—from cell towers to lampposts and vertical walls, and from rural assets to corporate cam-puses and indoor locations. The only requirements to operate them are power and backhaul. However, energy consumption is sufficiently low (26 W to 36 W for the processor core in a zero-footprint configura-tion) to allow solar panels to power the base station


SPECIAL FEATURE

or to use power over Ethernet (PoE). Furthermore, wireless backhaul can be used to further reduce the size of the equipment and allow more flexibility in the positioning of the base station. As a result, compact base stations present strong advantages for remote locations where power and wireline connectivity are not available.

Crucially, however, compact base stations do not compromise on performance. Assuming the same spectrum bandwidth and the same transmission power, performance of a compact base station is com-parable to that of ground-based or distributed base stations.

Compact base stations have been primarily developed to meet the demands of 4G high-capacity, high-density networks, but their f lexible form factor, low power consumption, and affordability also make them an ideal technological solution for outdoor locations with multi-sector macrocell and microcells (often used in rural deployments)and for indoor coverage with single-sector picocell and femtocells (Figure 2). Often, these are combined to form a heterogeneous network (or HetNet).

In order to meet the OPEX targets, HetNets require self-organizing network (SON) software to minimize or even eliminate the amount of front-end network planning and ongoing equipment reconfiguration to optimize the performance and reduce RF interfer-

Figure 2. Moving toward smaller form factors and a compact base station architecture

Figure 3. Interphase’s flexiblecompact LTE base station module: form factors.


SPECIAL FEATURE

ence of nearby eNode B cell sites. With advanced SON software currently available in the market, compact base stations have become even more practical.

Compact base stations are also well placed to sup-port vertical applications in markets—such as safety, transportation, corporate, asset-tracking and utili-ties—where equipment flexibility and affordability are key requirements. Because the eNode B module used in all these configurations can be the same, service providers can easily integrate and manage different form factors within their core network.

The topology of wireless networks is rapidly evolving to meet the need to transport much larger volumes of data traffic, to keep the per-bit costs at a minimum, and to extract the maximum performance from new, computationally-intensive 4G interfaces such as LTE. Deploying a larger number of traditional base sta-tions that require actively cooled ground equipment is a solution that is too expensive, and that fails to the deliver the spectrum efficiency,capacity density

and coverage that wireless service providers need in their 4G deployments.

Compact base stations have been designed to meet these challenges. This new base station architecture is ideally suited for dense, high-capacity deployments in urban areas, for vertical applications and for cost-effective wide-area coverage in under served areas. Their small footprint and low power consumption allow service providers to reduce their CAPEX and OPEX, while retaining the advanced performance of 4G technologies.

Marc DeVinney is the vice president of engineering

for Interphase Corporation, where he is responsible

for all aspects of the planning, development and de-

livery of Interphase products. He also leads the LTE

line of business for Interphase. He has more than 25

years of experience in the telecom arena and holds a

master’s degree in electrical engineering.

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SPECIAL FEATURE

by Kevin Kelly, LGS Innovations (a Division of Alcatel-Lucent)

Enabling Secure Communications in Military 4G LTE Environments

The Department of Defense (DoD) is actively exploring

how to securely leverage 4G commercial systems, tech-

nologies, innovations and applications more effectively

in its missions. It envisions using wireless terminals

such as smartphones, tablets and pads that are adaptable

to various DoD use cases and threat scenarios and that

connect to DoD applications over encrypted channels.

Historically, developing technology is driven by mili-

tary needs and funding. The military has implemented

a variety of communications waveforms targeted at dif-

ferent operational needs and service-specific constraints.

Over the last few decades, we have seen the commercial

sector fund, accelerate and amplify the development of

advanced technology for globally deployed communica-

tions systems. During this same period, the commercial

cellular communications infrastructure has evolved from

second, to third and currently fourth generation systems

and standards. Beyond higher capacity, multi-standard

support and highly power-optimized waveforms to

support an ever-growing number of users, the opening

of new spectral resources has driven the application of

software-defined radio (SDR) principles to the new gen-

eration of cellular infrastructure and mobile devices.

This commercial cellular communications infrastructure

has evolved into 4G systems and standards. The stan-

dards organizations supporting these developments have

been the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP),

initially for GSM systems, and the 3rd Generation Part-

nership Project 2 (3GPP2), initially for CDMA systems.

“Long Term Evolution” (LTE) and its 4G evolution, “LTE-

Advanced,” is defined by 3GPP as the evolution path for

wireless networks. The initial release of the standard

is currently being deployed commercially and LTE-

Advanced is targeted for service in several years.

The 4G LTE standard has been endorsed by the DoD as

well as major U.S. public-safety organizations as the

technology of choice for public safety in the 700 MHz

band 14. LTE proponents include Public Safety Spectrum

Trust, National Emergency Number Association, Associa-

Figure 1. Centralized Authentication, Identity and Policy Management


SPECIAL FEATURE

tion of Public-Safety Communications Officials, Major

Cities Chiefs Association and the National Public Safety

Telecommunications Council.

This is because 4G LTE provides high-bandwidth con-

nectivity in the field to enable real-time, mission-critical

applications such as multi-point video conferencing, full

multi-media collaboration, telepresence, low-latency

closed loop command and control, and many other

applications that provide a tactical advantage. When

these applications are used,

security is a key concern,

especially in military the-

ater environments. Security

considerations encompass

all aspects of information

protection, including mutual

authentication and bearer-

application-channel

encryption, and at the

tactical edge, the 4G air

interface needs to be

hardened and the secure

architecture needs to be

modified to create protected

mobile ad hoc, multi-hop

networks.

Fortunately, the 4G LTE standard builds in the latest

security features such as mutual authentication of user

and network, centralized identity management and

policy enforcement. End-user authentication, tracking-

area list management and idle-mode mobile device

reachability are managed in the mobility management

entity (MME) in the network core. The system-wide user

identity is maintained in the home subscriber server

(HSS) database with the illustrated features. The policy

and charging resource function (PCRF) queries the policy

database and enforces quality of service (QoS)policy. In

LTE, data-plane traffic is carried over bearers in virtual

containers with unique QoS characteristics. The PCRF

supports dynamic QoS management and the packet

data network gateway (PDN GW) acts as the policy and

charging enforcement function (PCEF) point to maintain

QoS / SLA for each of the service data f lows.

Looking ahead, ALU personnel have proposed a stan-

dards contribution to the Internet Engineering Task

Force (IETF) for advanced encryption and key manage-

ment for secure Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE). Although these

standards are works in progress and not complete, one

possible solution for encrypted VoLTE communications

is based on identity-based mode of key distribution in

multimedia Internet KEYing (MIKEY-IBAKE). The goal

in the VoLTE call encryption service is to provide an

additional layer of security for voice calls made between

mobile phones to assure end-to-end voice security and

prevent third-party eavesdropping. To achieve this ser-

vice requires mutual authentication between the user and

IP multimedia system (IMS)

service management, sig-

naling protection and media

encryption.

The DoD has many new

options to leverage this LTE

off-the-shelf technology and

more extensively use broad-

band wireless for enhanced

effectiveness in its missions

and for productivity of its

personnel, especially as

the latest security features

are being incorporated into

this standard. New military

recruits are technology savvy and mobile-centric and

expect the DoD to be at the forefront of mobile communi-

cations. A second driving force is the substantial, growing

gap in peak data rates between 4G LTE and traditional

plan-of-record military radio systems. Yet another is the

current DoD interest in adding secure military applica-

tions to this wireless ecosystem

Kevin Kelly applies more than 20 years of experi-

ence in the communications industry to his role as

vice president, corporate strategy and marketing at

LGS Innovations. LGS, an independent subsidiary

of Alcatel-Lucent, solves the most complex net-

working and communications challenges facing the

U.S. Federal Government. Mr. Kelly has developed and deployed

mission-critical communications solutions in some of the most

challenging political and geographic environments in the world. Mr.

Kelly holds a B.S.E.E. from Penn State University, and an M.S. in

systems engineering from The George Washington University. For

more information, or to contact Mr. Kelly, please visit www.lgsin-

novations.com.

New military recruits are technology savvy

and mobile-centric and expect the DoD to be at the forefront of mobile

communications.


SPECIAL FEATURE

by Rick Denker, Packet Plus, Inc.


Wireless developer tools are different than the test tools

that are used in quality assurance (QA). A developer

tool needs to be able to work in a leading-edge environ-

ment, when parts of the design are not finished. It must

support broad usage by the development team. It must

give extensive control and allow the exploration of new

options. This leads to tools that may have a complex

interface that require a highly trained user, can be easily

moved to new applications and are economical for use by

the individual engineer.

QA tools need to support repeatable regression testing,

provide coverage to large or maximum configuration

testing and provide an efficient interface. This leads to

tools that are larger and not

portable. They have simpler

interfaces with many pre-

written tests and reports.

They are often more expen-

sive, being priced to be used

one per project, or one per

company.

Custom Tools and Protocol Analyzers are LackingThe most common development tools today are 1)

internal custom tools and 2) protocol analyzers. (Note:

spectrum analyzers are broadly used but generally only

by the hardware engineers and the area is well-served

by commercial tools. Packet-based tools such as custom

tools and protocol analyzers are used broadly by both

hardware and software engineers.)

Internal custom tools are built early in the project so

there is something available when the first silicon or first

prototype gets to the lab. The most common way to build

it is to reprogram the firmware for the product under

development, so that it can loop back and talk the new

protocol to itself. It is built as a stopgap and typically

has a cumbersome interface and is often poorly main-

tained. These limitations cause a loss of productivity for

the whole development team. The issues with custom

tools are the increasing development costs for complex

protocols,consuming a valuable development resource

and possibly masking serious issues by using the loop

back technique. Protocol analyzers are good tools for

the IT department but they have significant limita-

tions for developers. They provide a convenient way

to symbolically view networking traffic with filters to

focus on particular traffic. However, for developers the

protocol analyzer typically needs more timing precision.

Second,they lack the control required to make it useful

for the unit testing of product features.

The key attributes of an ideal wireless stack tool are:

1) Uses their own radio

In most wired protocols are

a few dominant providers of

the physical layer interface

chips. Equipment devel-

opers and test equipment

providers know the quirks of

interfacing between them.

In wireless protocols,the

characteristics of range and

resistance to interference

are important product features. This leads to many more

physical layer interface options (radios). Because of this

development engineers need to do a lot more testing with

their own radio. This includes testing both the range and

interference characteristics, but also interoperability

with a larger variety of devices.

A specific wireless situation where it is critical to work

with the customer’s radio is when they are using a soft-

ware-defined radio (SDR), or cognitive radio. The tool

needs to have a f lexible architecture to accommodate

these advanced wireless architectures.

Also for advanced radio developments the ability to

bypass the radio and inject traffic into the rest of the

system not using the radio can provide productivity

when the radio may still have drift issues that can affect

the downstream developers. This allows parallel develop-

ment of the software stack to occur before the radio is

solid.

It’s time for the shift to the interactive debugging of

networking software stacks.


SPECIAL FEATURE

2) Portable across many environments

Complete wireless testing requires a combination of test

environments and tools should move easily between

them. The four primary types of test environments are

Faraday cages, test boxes/chambers, wired and open air.

The environments are described below.

Faraday cages are large, copper mesh-wrapped boxes or

rooms. Because of the expense, they are typically found

in the labs of large equipment manufacturers. Because

Faraday cages assure an interference-free environment,

they are good for a wide variety of individual product

tests, especially for antennas. However, test configura-

tions of more than a few devices can quickly become

congested. In addition, there may not be enough distance

to test effects such as multi-path or diversity.

Test boxes or RF chambers are metal boxes with

absorbing material lining

the inside to dampen inter-

ference. They provide a

controlled environment

for much lower cost than a

Faraday cage. Typically, the

device under test (DUT) is

placed into the test chamber

and probes are used to

couple signals to/from the

DUT through cables to an

external test system. At

some point, it ceases to be

practical to use chambers as

opposed to a larger Faraday

cage. Moreover, because

spatial information is lost,

some equipment, such as

smart antennas, cannot be

tested in a chamber.

Cabled tests substitute a wired connection for the wire-

less connection, bypassing the antennas and directly

connecting two pieces of equipment. As a result, cabled

tests are inexpensive and easy to configure, and provide

good isolation from interference. They are not limited to

small configurations, like cages and chambers. However

because of the lack of interference, their results in con-

figurations are more idealized than would actually occur

in a real environment. In addition, equipment with inte-

gral antennas cannot be tested using this method.

Open air is the only test environment that truly matches

the way the customer will use the equipment. For some

tests, it is ideal because it can test both the antenna

and the protocol effects. Also it is the only solution for

certain location-dependent tests. Open-air test environ-

ments can be separated into indoor and outdoor. Indoor

environments are actual office buildings. Outdoor envi-

ronments are open spaces without obstructions, such as

at an antenna range. Additional detail on test environ-

ments is available at http://www.chipdesignmag.com/

denker.

In addition to the four test environments there are two

other reasons for portability. One is to investigate cus-

tomer situations the tool may be required to be taken to

the customer site, and the second is to allow the devel-

oper to take the equipment home for convenience and

productivity.

3) Handle complex security protocols

Security protocols are becoming a larger part of the

wireless world. As more and more wireless devices are

used for business, financial, medical and other transac-

tions, security protocols are becoming a requirement

for wireless products in our

connected world.

In wireless, the protocols are

becoming more complex and

continually changing. Pro-

tocols have progressed from

simple fixed-key approaches

to more sophisticated

dynamic key protocols. In

many applications where

there is general public access

there are multiple layers of

protocols to increase secu-

rity. The combinations are

becoming extremely com-

plex and the consequences

when information is com-

promised costly.

The good news is that the

complex protocols provide excellent security. The bad

news is that they can lead to a difficult development

environment. Developers work with clear traffic until

they believe everything is working correctly, and then

they add the security protocol. Developers at this point

often feel they are working in the dark. They hope that

the security implementation is working, but are ham-

strung to investigate many of the details.

Given these challenges the ideal tool should have the fol-

lowing attributes:

The issues with custom tools are the increasing development costs for

complex protocols, consuming a valuable development resource and possibly masking

serious issues by using the loopback technique.


SPECIAL FEATURE

4) Work with current tools

One way to effectively create more tools is to work with

the tools that are being underutilized for wireless. For

example, logic analyzers are typically not used because

there is not a convenient signal to attach the probe to.

If other tools can handle the wireless packet and then

trigger the logic analyzer, they can help bring back them

back to the wireless lab bench.

A second way to leverage current tools is to help them

span the radio/packet divide. Most tools fit into either

the radio camp (spectrum analyzers) or the packet camp

(protocol analyzers). A tool that can set up a measurement

at the packet level, then trigger a spectrum analyzer to

make a detailed measurement makes the spectrum ana-

lyzer more productive and useful.

Third, it is important to support the formats that other

tools use such as the Packet Capture (PCAP) format. This

allows the convenient interface to many commercial and

open source tools such as WireShark.

A Call to Action– Interactive Packet DebuggingWireless development tools that can address the needs

described in this article would make a tremendous

improvement in the lives of developers, their managers

and the users of wireless equipment. Developers will

be given more control and f lexibility to tackle wireless

protocols with less frustration. Managers will get more

productivity and predictability from their development

teams. And customers will get products that are more

robust, and secure.

Better development tools are needed. Thirty years ago

the software development tool industry started shifting

to an interactive debugging paradigm. It’s time for the

shift to the interactive debugging of networking soft-

ware stacks.

A more complete discussion comparing development and

QA tools is available at http://www.pktplus.com.

Rick Denker was the co-founder and vice-president

of marketing for VeriWave, Inc., an innovative test

system for wireless networks. He has a long history

of launching new product innovations for leading

companies including WeSync, Synopsys, PMC-Si-

erra, Intel and Hewlett-Packard. He has a computer

science degree from MIT and an MBA from Dartmouth College.

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EECatalog INDUSTRY FORECAST

by Cheryl Coupé


This year, the WiMAX Forum celebrated 10 years as an

industry body with nearly 600 WiMax networks across

150 countries according to Jonathan Singer, marketing

communications and research manager for the organiza-

tion. At the beginning of 2011, over 823 million people

were covered by WiMAX networks, and by the end of 2011

the WiMAX Forum estimates that number to increase to

more than one billion.

Richard Webb, directing analyst for WiMAX, microwave

and mobile devices at Infonetics Research, said in a

release that “…worldwide WiMAX subscribers passed the

20 million mark around the mid-point of 2011 and are on

track to meet our forecast

for around 25 million by the

end of this year. Subscriber

growth continues in all

regions as WiMAX opera-

tors build their customer

bases, but we have tracked

notably strong growth

in the U.S., the Indian

sub-continent and Latin

America. With the levels of

operator activity and device

ecosystem growing, we fore-

cast WiMAX subscribers to

surpass 100 million by the

end of 2015.”

WiMAX service providers

are experiencing exponen-

tial growth. In the first quarter of this year, Clearwire

grew its subscriber base by 1.8 million subscribers, and

ended the second quarter of 2011 with 7.65 million

total subscribers, up 365% from 2Q 2010. Clearwire also

again increased its guidance to an expected 10 million

subscribers by the end of 2011. Also in the Americas,

Jamaican operator Digicel leveraged its WiMAX net-

work to capture 25% of the local broadband market in

less than a year, and Mexican WiMAX operator AXTEL

increased its WiMAX subscriber base more than 80% to

over 332,000. In Europe, Irish operator Imag!ne, Bul-

garian operator Max Telecom and Lithuanian operator

LRTC all also made great subscriber gains and released

new consumer devices.

In Japan, UQ Communications has nearly tripled in the

last six months, breaking the one million subscriber

mark in June. Also in Asia Pacific, new Malaysian WiMAX

operator YTL, which just launched WiMAX services in

November 2010, had netted over 300,000 subscribers

by June. At an event in July, in which UQ Communica-

tions hosted the first public field trial of WiMAX 2, UQ

and YTL signed a MoU to develop a pan-Pacific WiMAX

hotzone.

As subscriber counts con-

tinue to grow throughout

2011, operators continue

to invest in new networks

and network expansions. In

the first half of 2011, over

30 different WiMAX net-

works were either launched

or expanded operations.

According to Infonetics

Research, in the first quarter

of 2011 the total worldwide

sales of WiMAX equipment

reached USD $502.1 million.

Webb added in a release,

“WiMAX equipment is one

of the few segments of

the mobile infrastructure

market to see sequential

revenue growth this quarter (albeit small), and also is

up 49% year-on-year, driven by expansion of existing

networks and by the emerging utility and smart grid seg-

ment, which is proving fruitful for WiMAX vendors.”In

2011,Infonetics Research expects WiMAX equipment

alone to be a USD $2 billion industry. According to

market intelligence firm Infiniti Research, the WiMAX

equipment market will reach $6.9 billion in 2014.

“With over $500 million spent in the first quarter of 2011

on WiMAX RAN equipment alone, WiMAX technology is

continuing to attract operators interested in bringing

broadband internet to their customers immediately,”

“Worldwide WiMAX subscribers passed the 20 million mark around

the mid-point of 2011 and are on track to meet our

forecast for around 25 million by the end of this

year.” (Infonetics Research)


EECatalog INDUSTRY FORECAST

said Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the WiMAX

Forum. “Consumers easily recognize the value of 4G

services, and the entire industry is benefiting through

strong subscriber growth and equipment and device

sales.”

To date, WiMAX Forum Designated Certification Labs

have completed certification for more than 265 products

including smartphones, notebooks, netbooks, dongles,

base stations and more. The WiMAX Forum has six

partner labs offering certification testing to its member

companies, including loca-

tions in China, Korea,

Malaysia, the United States

and two labs in Taiwan.

In addition to the tradi-

tional telecommunications

industry, other opportuni-

ties for WiMAX vendors

are emerging in industry

verticals such as aviation,

education, energy, govern-

ment and healthcare. The

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the

European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recently chose

WiMAX as their technology of choice for airport terres-

trial communications services. Over the next five years,

WiMAX technology will be deployed in 2,000 airports in

the U.S. In Australia, SP Ausnet deployed the world ’s first

WiMAX-based smart metering network. The network

has more than 680,000 WiMAX-connected smart meters

capable of delivering 100% meter population read within

two-hour periods and 15,000 on-demand reads per day.

While the news is good for WiMAX, other standards

continue to make inroads. LTE equipment spending,

specifically, surpassed WiMAX equipment for the first

time in the second quarter of 2011, with the global LTE

market at about $0.6 billion and WiMAX at $0.5 billion.

In September, Infonetics Research released excerpts from

its second quarter 2011 2G/3G/4G (LTE and WiMAX)

Infrastructure and Subscribers report, which takes a

comprehensive look at the mobile and wireless equipment

markets. Stéphane Téral, Infonetics Research’s principal

analyst for mobile infrastructure, stated, “Although LTE

and 4G continue to make the headlines, GSM was defi-

nitely the 2Q11 reality, with massive capacity upgrades

in China and India. In addition, 2G and 3G network

modernization with multi-

standard base transceiver

stations (BTS) continues to

be strong and will remain

the main theme throughout

the second half of 2011.”

LTE is starting to gain

critical momentum, with

12 countries that have com-

mercial LTE services. ABI

Research projects that by

the end of the year there

will be about 16 million subscribers using LTE mobile

devices, and Infonetics Research forecasts the number of

LTE subscribers will top 290 million by 2015.

Cheryl Berglund Coupé is editor of EECatalog.

com. Her articles have appeared in EE Times,

Electronic Business, Microsoft Embedded Re-

view and Windows Developer’s Journal and

she has developed presentations for the Embed-

ded Systems Conference and ICSPAT. She has

held a variety of production, technical marketing and writing

positions within technology companies and agencies in the

Northwest.

LTE equipment spending surpassed WiMAX

equipment for the first time in the second quarter of

2011


EECatalog INDUSTRY RESOURCES

Online & Offline ➔ WiMAX and LTE Solutions ResourcesResources

http://eecatalog.com/4G

Comprehensive technology infor-

mation for engineers, designers

and embedded developers and

managers working on WiMAX and

LTE Solutions.

http://www.lteportal.com/

LTE Portal (www.lteportal.com) is

a 4G LTE (LTE-Advanced) media

solutions group.

http://www.schooloflte.com/

Telecoms Academy’s School of

LTE & Advanced Communications

delivers a range of essential LTE

training courses covering all

aspects of LTE (Long Term Evolu-

tion) and associated advanced

communications technologies.

http://lteworld.org/resources

LteWorld is home of LTE and LTE-

Advanced technology resources.

Analystshttp://www.infonetics.com/Infonetics Research, founded in 1990, is an international market

research and consulting firm helping clients plan, strategize, and

compete in the global communications market.

http://www.abiresearch.com/ABI Research is a market intelligence company specializing in global

connectivity and emerging technology.

http://www.isuppli.comiSuppli is the global leader in technology value chain research and

advisory services and is now part of IHS.

http://www.frost.com/Frost & Sullivan enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve

best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership.

http://www.vdcresearch.com/Founded in 1971, VDC specializes in providing technology execu-

tives with the market intelligence they need to make critical business

decisions with confidence.

Associationshttp://www.wimaxforum.org/The WiMAX Forum® is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization

that certifies and promotes the compatibility and interoperability of

broadband wireless products based upon IEEE Standard 802.16.

http://www.gsacom.com/GSA (the Global mobile Suppliers Association) represents mobile

suppliers worldwide, engaged in infrastructure, semiconductors,

devices, services and applications development, and support services.

EventsConsumer Electronics Show

Jan 10-13, 2012 – Las Vegas, NV

http://www.cesweb.org/

International Wireless Communications Expo

Feb 20-24, 2012 – Las Vegas, NV

http://iwceexpo.com/iwce2012/public/enter.aspx

Mobile World Congress

Feb 27-Mar 1, 2012 – Barcelona, Spain

http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/

Convergence India

Mar 21-23, 2012 – Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

http://www.convergenceindia.org/

European Wireless Conference

April 18-20, 2012 – Poznań, Poland

http://ew2012.org/

4G World Asia

April 19-21, 2012 – Singapore

http://asia.4gworld.com/

LTE World Summit

May 23-24, 2012 – CCIB, Barcelona, Spain

http://www.lteconference.com/world

CTIA 2012: Inside the Network

June 5-7, 2012 – Dallas, TX

www.ctia2011.org

WiMax Member Conferences

http://www.wimaxforum.org/events

Engineers’ Guide to WiMAX and LTE Solutions 2012

CONTACT INFORMATION

Adax Inc.

Adax Inc.2900 Lakeshore AveOakland, CA 94610USA510-548-7047 Telephone510-548-5526 [email protected]

◆ AMC System Interconnect

AMC ports 0-1 and 8-9◆ Front Panel LEDs

◆ Interfaces

AVAILABILITY

Available Now

APPLICATION AREAS

ATM4-AMCCompatible Operating Systems: Linux and Solaris as standard.

Specification Compliance:

The ATM4-AMC card is a high performance AdvancedTCA Mezzanine Controller designed for use in all aspects of tele-communications networks. The ATM4 includes support for

interworking between Gigabit Ethernet interfaces and ATM

and Next Generation Mobile Networks.

The ATM4 enables development flexibility in building Next

converter. This flexibility enables integrators to satisfy a

saving development time and allowing customers to inte-grate their solutions ahead of the competition.

FEATURES & BENEFITS

◆

Wireless Networks ◆

Standard 29.060) - ATM - Ethernet - Ethernet - ATM - Ethernet - Ethernet

◆

◆ ATM AAL2 & AAL5 on a single trunk◆ 256 Virtual Circuits (VCs) for AAL5 termination

TECHNICAL SPECS

◆ W◆ Protocol Support

AM

C B

oardsAM

C B

oard

s


CONTACT INFORMATION

Adax Inc.


G.823

card◆ AMC System Interconnect

PCI Express:pipes region port 4-7 (root complex)Gigabit Ethernet: Two Gigabit Ethernet 1000Base-

port 0-1. ◆ AMC Front Panel LED Interfaces

AVAILABILITY

Available Now

APPLICATION AREAS

HDC3Compatible Operating Systems:

Specification Compliance:

The HDC3 is the third generation of the highly successful

well as I-TDM voice interworking. The HDC3 provides a

interworking applications.

making it ideal for demanding telecommunications appli-

The low-power on board processor performs many thou-

reducing system costs without compromising reliability.

-

scalable and portable signaling solution for all system archi-tectures that maximizes protection of investment.

FEATURES & BENEFITS

◆ 8◆ A

ExpressModule) board formats◆

utilization◆

card◆ n board processor and STREAMS environment for

and maximizes performance

TECHNICAL SPECS

◆ Interfaces:T1:TR-TSY-000170E1:

J1:interfaces (software selectable)

AM

C B

oardsB

oard

s


CONTACT INFORMATION

Adax Inc.


◆ Interfaces

AVAILABILITY

Available Now

APPLICATION AREAS

PacketAMC (PktAMC)Specification Compliance: AMC.0 R2.0 Advance Mezzanine Card Base

-formance is brought to bear on user and control plane

-

the Edge to Core networks.

processing of the Layer 2 protocols can reside on the

FEATURES & BENEFITS

◆

◆

◆ Carrier Ethernet

◆

TECHNICAL SPECS

◆ Processor

◆ Ethernet Controller

◆ Memory

800MHz data rate (2GB standard)

AM

C B

oardsAM

C B

oard

s


CONTACT INFORMATION

Adax Inc.


◆ Ethernet Controller

interfaces and three 10Gbps interfaces◆ Memory

standard)

◆ Interfaces

AVAILABILITY

Available Now

APPLICATION AREAS

Adax PacketRunner (APR)Specification Compliance:

-rier blade for process intensive telecom applications. It has 4 AMC bays to take any combination of Adax or other industry standard AMC cards.

-

and control plane applications.

and access to host processing power at a viable price

signaling on a single blade without the need for a gen-

high-performance control and user plane services from one tightly coupled resource.

-

with no loss of service and network operators are able

into the future.

FEATURES & BENEFITS

◆

◆ 4 AMC bays for Adax and/or 3rd party AMC cards◆

DDR2 Memory◆ Robust power & thermal management◆

TECHNICAL SPECS

◆ Processor

(option)

BladesB

lade

s


CONTACT INFORMATION

Adax Inc.


TECHNICAL SPECS

◆ SS7 Application Compatibility

◆ Interfaces Available

◆ Management

protection

◆ Hardware Options

(available with standard single or optional dual

AVAILABILITY

Available Now

APPLICATION AREAS

AdaxGW

from the network and to meet this challenge new LTE tech-

be a while in the making. Legacy connectivity for voice and -

-bases and other Next Generation Mobile applications with legacy circuit switched architecture. This need to intercon-nect different networks demands multi-protocol solutions that combine and connect divergent circuit and packet

-sibilities for replacing expensive dedicated SS7 and ATM

The Adax Gateway (AdaxGW) addresses all of these -

of the AdaxGW enables operators to manage the conver-

satisfy consumer demands for new services and ultimately protect their investment in both traditional signaling and

FEATURES & BENEFITS

◆ Long-haul circuit replacement◆ I◆ Interworking to legacy ATM core networks◆ ffers enhanced routing via GTT◆ T◆ rovides Geographical Redundancy◆ S◆ Multiple simultaneous network presences◆ High Availability (HA) or Simplex solutions◆ I

◆

◆

◆ S

◆ S◆ A

Integrated Platform

sInte

grat

ed P

latf

orm

s


CONTACT INFORMATION

6WIND

6WINDImmeuble Central Gare1 place Charles de GaulleMontigny-le-Bretonneux, 78180France+1 (650) 968-8768 [email protected]://www.6wind.com

◆ By providing support for a wide range of industry-leading multicore processors, the 6WINDGate software enables you to leverage a single, optimized software platform across your product portfolio based on multiple CPU architectures.

◆ 6WINDGate provides full support for High-Availability frameworks and industry-standard HA configura-tions, enabling the development of mission-critical equipment with requirements for five-nines or zero-downtime reliability.

◆ By delivering up to 10x the networking performance of a standard OS stack, 6WINDGate enables you to meet or exceed the most demanding system performance requirements for next-generation networking, telecom and security equipment.

TECHNICAL SPECS

◆ Optimized support for Cavium OCTEON/OCTEON-II, Freescale QorIQ, Intel® x86, NetLogic XLR/XLS/XLP and Tilera TilePro64

◆ Full support for Linux distributions from the open-source community, from commercial suppliers and from multicore processor vendors.

◆ Comprehensive set of protocols available for control plane, networking stack and fast path environments.

APPLICATION AREAS

Telecom infrastructure, networking equipment, security appliances, data centers.

AVAILABILITY

Available now.

6WINDGate Multicore Packet Processing SoftwareCompatible Architectures: Cavium OCTEON/OCETON-II, Freescale QorIQ, Intel® x86, NetLogic XLR/XLS/XLP, Tilera TilePro64

6WINDGate™ is the Gold Standard in packet processing software for networking equipment, wireless infrastructure, security appliances and data centers. It provides up to 10x the packet processing performance of a standard networking stack, significantly improving the price-performance and power-performance ratios of networking equipment.

6WINDGate is compatible with standard Operating System APIs (e.g. Netfilter, Netlink etc). This ensures that clients can migrate either from a single-core to a multi-core platform, or from one multicore platform to another, without needing to rewrite their existing software. Clients minimize the development time for their base multicore software platform, focusing on their unique product dif-ferentiation and accelerating their time-to-market.

With a full set of Layer 2 through Layer 4 protocols for routing, switching, security and mobility, optimized for multicore systems, 6WINDGate is a drop-in replacement for standard networking stacks. The majority of packets are processed in a fast path environment, executing outside the operating system for optimum performance. Available protocols include:

-

6WINDGate supports multicore processors from Cavium, Freescale, Intel, NetLogic and Tilera.

FEATURES & BENEFITS

◆ 6WINDGate is fully compatible with standard OS APIs, so you can migrate your application software from a single-core to multicore platform, or between differ-ent multicore platforms, without needing to re-write or re-verify your code.

◆ 6WINDGate includes 40+ networking protocols, optimized for multicore platforms, eliminating the need for you to integrate software from multiple suppliers and accelerating your time-to-market, while reducing your schedule risk.

LibrariesLibr

arie

s


VIEWPOINT

by Charlie Ashton, 6WIND

LTE Momentum Building, Key Rollout Issues RemainThe mobile industry’s transition to LTE is gaining momentum.

Almost 200 carriers have committed to commercial rollouts and

over 20 offer LTE services. If you like Google Measure, put ‘LTE

Rollout’ into your search bar, narrow the search to the last 30

days, and see what you get - 182,000 results! Companies from

around the world are listed in the results, including Poland

Mobyland, AT&T, Rogers, Vodafone Australia, Verizon, Telstra,

MetroPCS, NTT DoCoMo, Korean Telecom and many others.

Now that LTE devices are hitting the market, consumer interest

is also increasing. LTE promises significant performance

improvements: Verizon claims speeds in the 5Mbps to 12Mbps

(download) range and users are excited by the possibilities these

speeds enable, particularly when applied to mobile video- and

web-access applications.

Consumer expectations are high. To avoid dissatisfaction,

both operators and OEMs are focused on resolving several LTE

rollout challenges. These were aired in the sessions and hallway

conversations at the recent LTE Asia Conference in Singapore.

LTE Devices and SpectrumSpectrum allocation was probably the number one concern in

conference presentations. The LTE standard allows LTE services to

be deployed not only in different spectrum bands, but also in dif-

ferent amounts of spectrum. Currently, operators around the world

are using multiple different bands, including 700/800/900MHz,

1.5GHz, 1.7GHz, 1.8GHz, 1.9GHz, 2.1GHz, 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz.

There is also the issue of the classic LTE standard (Frequency

Division Duplex or FDD) and an emerging Time Division Duplex

implementation (developed by China Mobile) called TD-LTE.

One implication of this is that it will be exceptionally difficult

for handset suppliers to deliver “world-phones” that permit

global LTE roaming. There’s a major concern that if true global

roaming is delayed because of this problem, the adoption of LTE

will be severely constrained. There was some discussion about

1.8GHz (“re-farmed” from GSM) becoming a de-facto standard,

but it was clear that the industry needs to focus more effort on

this crucial aspect before operators and handset manufacturers

will be confident of a clear direction.

There is also a chicken-and-egg problem going on. Exciting new

devices propel consumer interest. Operators and vendors agree that

smartphones, tablets and other devices are the key to LTE success,

but that current devices are not quite there yet. Therefore, opera-

tors are hesitant to make the large capital investments required to

deploy LTE infrastructure until more of the ecosystem is ready. Of

course, the device manufactures will not invest in more interesting

devices until the network is there to use.

Pricing Models There were a number of discussions about new pricing models

that need to be adopted to reflect a world in which data traffic

is 100x (or even 1,000x) voice traffic. Most vendors have moved

away from flat-rate and unlimited pricing models, and the

LTE premium over 3G services ranges from 20% to over 100%

depending upon the operator.

There seemed to be consensus that consumers can be educated

to accept volume-based data plans and CSL (an innovative Hong

Kong operator) has seen good success with such an approach,

marketed under the tag-line of “why pay more?”.

Several operators presented their experiences in starting from

scratch with LTE deployments, rather than bridging from a

previous history of GSM and 3G services. There are still niche

segments and services that provide opportunities for brand new

operators to enter the mobile broadband market successfully.

Operators also want to be more than just the ‘fast pipe’ for

mobile devices. Services associated with cloud computing are

viewed by many as the path to more value-based pricing models.

Cloud RAN deployments (or “Smart Cloud” in Samsung’s ter-

minology) are happening in a small set of locations (e.g., Seoul)

where the benefits of centralized base stations outweigh the

logistical problems of running fiber to the remote radio heads.

While other issues still need to be addressed, spectrum, eco-

system buildup and pricing are at the top of the list. There will

be much more said about these topics at upcoming shows such

as 4G World, CES 2012 and of course, Mobile World Congress.

Charlie Ashton is VP of marketing and business

development at 6WIND and is responsible for

6WIND’s global marketing initiatives and partner-

ships worldwide with semiconductor companies,

subsystem providers and embedded software com-

panies. Charlie has extensive experience in the

embedded systems industry, with his career including leadership

roles in both engineering and marketing at software, semiconduc-

tor and systems companies. He led the introduction of new products

and the development of new business at Green Hills Software,

Timesys, Motorola (now Freescale), AMCC, AMD and Dell.

Engineers Guide to Wimax and Lte

Documents

Engineers Guide to Wimax and Lte