3GPP Work Item description

This page contains informal descriptive text only.  See master WID page for further details.

Feature: FS on Evolved UTRA and UTRAN

With enhancements such as HSDPA and Enhanced Uplink, the 3GPP radio-access technology will be highly competitive for several years. However, to ensure competitiveness in an even longer time frame, i.e. for the next 10 years and beyond, a long-term evolution of the 3GPP radio-access technology needs to be considered.

Important parts of such a long-term evolution include reduced latency, higher user data rates, improved system capacity and coverage, and reduced cost for the operator. In order to achieve this, an evolution of the radio interface as well as the radio network architecture should be considered.

Considering a desire for even higher data rates and also taking into account future additional 3G spectrum allocations the long-term 3GPP evolution should include an evolution towards support for wider transmission bandwidth than 5 MHz. At the same time, support for transmission bandwidths of 5MHz and less than 5MHz should be investigated in order to allow for more flexibility in whichever frequency bands the system may be deployed in.

The objective of this study item is to develop a framework for the evolution of the 3GPP radio-access technology towards a high-data-rate, low-latency and packet-optimized radio-access technology. Thus the study should focus on supporting services provided from the PS-domain. In order to achieve this, studies should be carried out in at least the following areas:

    §         Related to the radio-interface physical layer (downlink and uplink):

e.g. means to support flexible transmission bandwidth up to 20 MHz, introduction of new transmission schemes and advanced multi-antenna technologies

    §         Related to the radio interface layer 2 and 3:

e.g. signaling optimization

    §         Related to the UTRAN architecture:

identify the most optimum UTRAN network architecture and functional split between RAN network nodes, not precluding considerations on the functional split between UTRAN and CN (SA2 experts should be invited to the latter topic)

    §         RF-related issues

The targets for the evolution of the radio-interface and radio-access network architecture should be:

    §         Significantly increased peak data rate e.g. 100 Mbps (downlink) and 50 Mbps (uplink)

    §         Increase “cell edge bitrate” whilst maintaining same site locations as deployed today

    §         Significantly improved spectrum efficiency ( e.g. 2-4 x Rel6)

    §         Possibility for a Radio-access network latency (user-plane UE – RNC (or corresponding node above Node B) - UE) below 10 ms

    §         Significantly reduced C-plane latency (e.g. including the possibility to exchange user-plane data starting from camped-state with a transition time of less than 100 ms (excluding downlink paging delay))

    §         Scaleable bandwidth

5, 10, 20 and possibly 15 MHz

[1.25,] 2.5 MHz: to allow flexibility in narrow spectral allocations where the system may be deployed

    §         Support for inter-working with existing 3G systems and non-3GPP specified systems

    §         Further enhanced MBMS

    §         Reduced CAPEX and OPEX including backhaul

    §         Cost effective migration from Rel-6 UTRA radio interface and architecture

    §         Reasonable system and terminal complexity, cost, and power consumption.

    §         Support of further enhanced IMS and core network

    §         Backwards compatibility is highly desirable, but the trade off versus performance and/or capability enhancements should be carefully considered.

    §         Efficient support of the various types of services, especially from the PS domain (e.g. Voice over IP, Presence)

    §         System should be optimized for low mobile speed but also support high mobile speed

    §         Operation in paired and unpaired spectrum should not be precluded

    §         Possibility for simplified co-existence between operators in adjacent bands as well as cross-border co-existence

Service Aspects:

The result will enhance the capabilities of UTRA and UTRAN, enabling more advanced services. No direct study of particular services will be done.