Book Overview

This book is about IMT-Advanced access networks. It begins with two introductory chapters. This chapter provides a brief history and motivation for IMT-Advanced networks, and establishes the requirements for IMT-Advanced networks—as set by the ITU-R. The next chapter, Chapter 2, introduces the physical layer technologies and networking advances that are collectively enabling both IEEE and 3GPP to satisfy the IUT-R requirements in their IMT-Advancements, respectively the IEEE 802.16m amendment and 3GPP'S Release 10. The chapter covers the multi-carrier access technologies utilized in IMT-Advanced networks and their immediate predecessors, including OFDMA and SC-FDMA. It also reviews notions of diversity, adaptive modulation and coding, and frequency reuse, in addition to how wideband transmissions (<20 MHz) are made possible using carrier aggregation techniques. Advanced antenna techniques, including MIMO, CoMP, and inter-cell MIMO are also introduced. Finally, the chapter discusses the use of small cells through wireless multihop relaying and femtocells, in addition to access composites will be utilized in IMT-Advanced networks.

The remainder of the book is divided into three parts. The first discusses WiMAX or IEEE 802.16 networks based on the amalgamated IEEE 802.16-2009 documents, which includes the IEEE 802.16j amendment for multihop relay WiMAX networks, in addition to the IEEE 802.16m amendment. The second Part discusses LTE and LTE-Advanced documents based on Release 9 and Release 10 recommendations. The third and last part of the book, “The Road Ahead”, offers a multi-faceted comparison of the two technologies, provides a view of the IMT-Advanced market and identifies the future outlook for this next generation cellular networks.

Part I consists of Chapters 3 to 8. Chapter 3 introduces the WiMAX network, its air interface and its network architecture. In doing so, it identifies the differences between the IEEE 802.16-2009 and its m amendment. The chapter also provides a brief overview of the functionalities discussed in the remainder of the part, which is organized as follows.

Chapter 4 describes the WiMAX frame structure, in addition to how addressing and identification are performed. The chapter discusses both the TDD and FDD options, how relay stations are accommodated in WiMAX and new frame structure for IEEE 802.16m better suits the ITU-R requirements. It then discusses how addressing and connections identifications are performed in the two generations. Chapter 5 discusses network entry, connection initialization and ranging. Chapter 6 details WiMAX's quality of service classes, initially defined in IEEE 802.16-2009, in addition to how bandwidth requests, reservations and grants are communicated in the network. Meanwhile, Chapter 7 delves into the details of mobility management in the IEEE 802.16 access networks, including the management between legacy and Advanced WiMax and between WiMAX and other access technologies. Finally, the security aspects of the IEEE technologies are introduced in Chapter 8.

Part II, comprising Chapters 9 to 14, discusses LTE and LTE-Advanced and follows the outline of the first part. In Chapter 9, LTE's air interface and architecture is introduced, including 3GPP's support for femtocells and relay stations LTE-Advanced. The chapter also briefs the reader on the contents of the remainder of the part, which is organized as follows.

Chapter 10 delves into the descriptions of the frame structures utilized in both LTE and LTE-Advanced. It also summarizes how 3GPP network elements are identified. Chapter 11 describes the states and state transition of user equipment, describing the processes for both the idle and connected states, and connection establishment and tear down. As well, the chapter describes the state mapping between access and core signaling. In Chapter 12, quality of service handling and connection management is explained, while Chapter 13 describes intra-network and intra-network mobility management and signaling. Additionally, Chapter 13 gives an overview of LTE-Advanced mobility management for femtocells and relay stations. The last chapter in Part II, Chapter 14, discussed security in 3GPP.

Chapters 15 to 19 make up Part III of book. Chapter 15 offers a comparison between the two standards based on how they satisfy the ITU-R requirements, their functionalities, and their individual use of the enabling technologies described in Chapter 2. Meanwhile, Chapter 16 goes into how each technology attends to the ITU-R coexistence and inter-technology handover requirements. Chapter 17 goes into the quality of service aspects of the IMT-Advanced networks. Specifically, the chapter looks at the two technologies' QoS definitions and handling. A market view of the IMT-Advnaced is provided in Chapter 18, and a future outlook is offered in Chapter 19.

A reader interested in a thorough understanding of the two IMT-Advanced networks and their current and future standing is invited to read all the chapters in their given sequence. Readers interested in any of the individual technologies need only to read the respective part. A head-to-head comparison can be made by reading the relevant chapters, for example, Chapters 10 and 16 for frame structure and network identification; Chapters 13 and 18 for mobility management; and so on. Meanwhile, a reader interested into the comparative analysis of the technologies' current and future status can jump right ahead to Part III.