ENHANCED DATA FOR GLOBAL EVOLUTION

(EDGE)
A Mobile communication tecnolo!"

EDGE technology
EDGE leverages the knowledge gained through use of
the existing GPRS standard to deliver significant technical improvements
Figure 2 compares the
basic technical data of GPRS and EDGE
!lthough GPRS and EDGE share the same
s"mbol rate# the modulation bit rate differs
EDGE can transmit three times as man"
bits as GPRS during the same period of
time $his is the main reason for the higher
EDGE bit rates$he differences between the radio and user data rates are the result of
whether or not the packet headers are taken into consideration $hese different wa"s of
calculating throughput often cause misunderstanding within the industr" about actual
throughput figures for GPRS and EGPRS $he data rate of %&' kbps is often used in
relation to EDGE $he (nternational $elecommunications )nion *($)+ has defined %&'
kbps as the data rate limit re,uired for a service to fulfill the (nternational -obile
$elecommunications.2/// *(-$.2///+ standard in a pedestrian environment $his %&'
kbps data rate corresponds to '& kbps per time slot# assuming an eight.time slot terminal
EDGE modulation techni,ue
$he modulation t"pe that is used in GS- is the Gaussian
minimum shift ke"ing *G-S0+# which is a kind of phase modulation $his can be
visuali1ed in an (23 diagram that shows the real *(+ and imaginar" *3+ components of the
transmitted signal *Figure %+$ransmitting a 1ero bit or one bit is then represented b"
changing the phase b" increments of 4 or . p Ever" s"mbol that is transmitted represents
one bit5 that is #each shift in the phase represents one bit
$o achieve higher bit
rates per time slot than those
available in GS-2GPRS# the
modulation method re,uires
change EDGE is specified to
reuse the channel structure#
channel width# channel coding
and the existing mechanisms and functionalit" of GPRS and 6S7SD $he modulation
standard selected for EDGE# &.phase shift ke"ing *&PS0+# fulfills all of those
re,uirements &PS0 modulation has the same ,ualities in terms of generating interference
on ad8acent channels as G-S0 $his makes it possible to integrate EDGE channels into
an existing fre,uenc" plan and assign new EDGE channels in the same wa" as standard
GS- channels $he &PS0 modulation method is a linear method where three consecutive
bits are mapped onto one s"mbol in the (23 plane $he s"mbol rate# or the number of
s"mbols sent within a certain period of time# remains the same as for G-S0# but each
s"mbol now represents three bits instead of one $he tota ldata rate is therefore increased
b" a factor of three $he distance between the different s"mbols is shorter using &PS0
modulation than when using G-S0 Shorter distances increase the risk from
interpretation of the s"mbols because it is more difficult for the radio receiver to detect
which s"mbol it not matter )nder poor radio conditions# however# it does $he 9extra:
bits will be used to add more error correcting coding# and the correct information can be
recovered ;nl" under ver" poor radio environments is G-S0 more efficient $herefore
the EDGE coding schemes are a mixture of both G-S0 and &PS0
7oding schemes
For GPRS# four different coding schemes#
designated 7S< through 7S'# are defined Each has different amounts of error.correcting
coding that is optimi1ed for different radio environments For EGPRS# nine modulation
coding schemes# designated -7S<through -7S=# are introduced $hese fulfill the same
task as the GPRS coding schemes $he lower four EGPRS coding schemes *-S7< to
-S7'+ use G-S0 # whereas the upper five *-S7> to -S7=+ use &PS0modulation
Figure ' shows both GPRS and EGPRS coding schemes# along with their maximum
throughputs GPRS user throughput reaches saturation at a maximum of 2/ kbps with
7S'# whereas the EGPRS bit rate continues to increase as the radio ,ualit" increases
#until throughput reaches saturation at >=2 kbps ?oth GPRS 7S< to 7S' and EGPRS
-7S< to -7S'use G-S0 modulation with slightl" different throughput performances
$his is due to differences in the header si1e *and pa"load si1e+ of the EGPRS packets
$his makes it possible to resegment EGPRS packets ! packet sent with a higher coding
scheme*less error correction+ that is not properl" received# can be retransmitted with a
lower coding scheme *more error correction+ if the new radio environment re,uires it
$his resegmenting *retransmitting with another coding scheme+ re,uires changes in the
pa"load si1es of the radio blocks# which is wh" EGPRS and GPRS do not have the same
performance for the G-S0 modulated coding schemes Resegmentation is not possible
with GPRS
Packet handling
!nother improvement that has been made to the EGPRS
standard is the abilit" to retransmit a packet that has not been decoded properl" with a
more robust coding scheme For GPRS# resegmentation is not possible ;nce packets
have been sent# the" must be retransmitted using the
original coding scheme even if the radio environment
has changed $his has a significant impact on the
throughput# as the algorithm decides the level of confidence with which the link
adaptation *@!+ must work
!ddressing window
?efore a se,uence of coded radio link control packets or radio blocks can be transmitted
over the )m *radio+ interface# the transmitter must address the packets with an
identification number $his information is then included in the header of ever" packet
$he packets in GPRS are numbered from < to <2&!fter transmission of a se,uence of
packets *eg# </packets+# the transmitter asks the receiver to verif" the correctness of the
packets received in the form of an acknowledged2unacknowledged report $his report
informs the transmitter which packet or packets were not successfull" decoded and must
be retransmitted Since the number of packets is limited to <2& and the addressing
window is A'# the packet sending process can run out of addresses after A' packets (f an
erroneousl" decoded packet must be retransmitted#it ma" have the same number as a new
packet in the ,ueue (f so# the protocol between the terminal and the network stalls# and
all the packets belonging to the same low.la"er capabilit" frame must be retransmitted(n
EGPRS# the addressing numbers have been increased to 2/'& and the window has been
increased to </2' in order to minimi1e the risk for stalling $his #in turn# minimi1es the
risk for retransmitting low.la"er capabilit" frames and prevents decreased throughput
*Figure A+
(nterleaving
$o increase the performance of the higher coding
schemes in EGPRS *-7SB to -7S=+ even at low 72( #the interleaving procedure has
been changed with in the EGPRS standard Chen fre,uenc" hopping is used# the radio
environment is changing on a per.burst level ?ecause a radio block is interleaved and
transmitted over four bursts for GPRS# each burst ma" experience a completel" different
interference environment (f 8ust one of the four bursts is not properl" received# the entire
radio block will not be properl" decoded and will have to be retransmitted (n the case of
7S' for GPRS #hardl" an" error protection is used at all Cith EGPRS# the standard
handles the higher coding scheme differentl" than GPRS to combat this problem -7SB#
-7S& and -7S= actuall" transmit two radio blocks over the four bursts# and the
interleaving occurs over two bursts instead of four $his reduces the number of bursts that
must be retransmitted should errors occur $he likelihood of receiving two consecutive
error free bursts is higher than receiving four consecutive error free bursts $his means
that the higher coding schemes for EDGE have a better robustness with regard to
fre,uenc" hopping
Impact of EGPRS on existing GSM/GPRS networks
Due to the minor differences between GPRS and EGPRS#
the impact of EGPRS on the existing GS-2GPRS network is limited to the base station
s"stem $he base station is affected b" the new transceiver unit capable of handling
EDGE modulation as well as new software that enables the new protocol for packets
over the radio interface in both the base station and base station controller $he core
network does not re,uire an" adaptations Due to this simple upgrade# a network
capable of EDGE can be deplo"ed with limited investments and within a short time
frame
EGPRS benefits Short-term benefits !apacity an" performance
EGPRS introduces a new modulation techni,ue# along
with improvements to the radio protocol# that allows operators to use existing fre,uenc"
spectrums *&//# =//# <&// and <=// -61+ more effectivel" $he simple improvements of
the existing GS-2GPRS protocols make EDGE a cost.effective# eas".to implement
add.on Software upgrades in the base station s"stem enable use of the new protocol5 new
transceiver units in the base station enable use of the new modulation techni,ue
EDGE triples the capacit" of GPRS $his capacit" boost improves
the performance of existing applications and enables new services such as multimedia
services (t also enables each transceiver to carr" more voice and2or data traffic EDGE
enables new applications at higher data rates $his will attract new subscribers and
increase an operatorDs customer base Providing the best and most attractive services will
also increase customer lo"alt"
Mi"-term benefits !omplementary technology
EDGE and C7D-! are complementar" technologies that
together will sustain an operatorDs need for third generation network coverage and
capacit" nationwide Enhancing a GPRS network is accomplished through evolution with
EDGE within the existing spectrum and b" deplo"ing C7D-! in the new fre,uenc"
band Rolling out the two technologies in parallel enables faster time to market for new
high.speed data services as well as lower capital expenditures EDGE is designed to
integrate into the existing network $he installed base evolves5 it is not replaced or built
from scratch# making implementation seamless Fast# eas" rollout means shorter time to
market# which in turn can lead to increased market share Cith EDGE# operators can offer
more wireless data applications# including wireless multimedia# e.mail# web infotainment
and positioning services# for both consumer and business users
Subscribers will be able to browse the (nternet on their
mobile phones #personal digital assistants or laptops at the same speed as on stationar"
personal computers
#ong-term benefit $armoni%ation with &!DM'
EDGE can be seen as a foundation toward one
seamless GS- and C7D-! network with a combined core network and different
access methods that are transparent to the end user

()t)re e*ol)tion
of GSM/EDGE
towar"s
&!DM'
alignment

$he next evolutionar"
step for the
GS-2EDGE cellular
s"stem includes
enhancements of service provisioning for the packet.switched domain and increased
alignment with the service provisioning in )-$S2)$R!E *)-$S terrestrial radio
access network+ $his part of the GS-2EDGE evolution focuses on support for the
conversational and streaming service classes# because ade,uate support for interactive
and background services alread" exists !dditionall" # multimedia applications will be
supported b" parallel simultaneous bearers with different 3oS characteristics towards
the same -S# such as multiple media streams handled through (-S domain ! driver for
such evolution on the packet.switched side is the paradigm shift within the
telecommunications world from circuit to packet.switched communications ?oth the
core network defined for GPRS and the current GS-2EDGE radio access network re,uire
modifications to support enhanced packet services
!oncl)sion
$he above emphasi1ed technolog" is now going to emerge as a fullpledged technolog"
due to its inherent advantages $he implementation of EDGE can over shadow the
existing mobile technologies in near future we can aspire ma8or strides in mobile
technologies with EDGE