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Executive summary
3GPP placed another stepping-stone
on the path to the all-IP network when
Contents
it standardized the Evolved Packet
Executive summary System (EPS) with Rel-8. The advanced
1. What LTE femtocells can do Evolved next generation Packet Core
(EPC) provides the architectural
1.1 Improving coverage, lightening the load
underpinning. And the Long-Term
1.2 Resolving the high-frequency quandary Evolution (LTE) radio access network
delivers powerful broadband
2. Places for LTE femtocells to go
performance, makes the most
2.1 At home of radio resources, and cuts
latency and per-bit costs.
2.2 At work
2.3 In public 3GPP formulated LTE to make mobile
communication a more satisfying
3. The importance of being flat:
experience for users, driving demand
LTE femtocell architecture for streaming, gaming, social networking,
3.1 Standardized from the start and other multimedia services. The LTE
femtocell is a key ingredient. Also called
3.2 Network architecture
the Home Evolved Node B (HeNB),
3.3 Security architecture this low power, high-performance access
device operates in licensed spectrum,
3.4 Management architecture
providing low-cost coverage and
3.5 Femtozone services capacity for small areas over public
Internet backhaul. Usually deployed
4. What to consider when
in homes and businesses, it can also
deploying LTE femtocells cover hotspots indoors and out.
4.1 Allocating spectrum
Radio waves fade faster at higher
4.2 Dealing with interference
carrier frequencies, making it hard to
4.3 Backhauling serve indoor subscribers with outdoor
macro base transceiver stations (BTS).
4.4 Synchronizing
This requires smaller cells, so femtocells
4.5 Managing locations are sure to figure prominently in LTE’s
future. Committed to both breeds of
5. Why Nokia Siemens Networks?
LTE femto, Time Division Duplex LTE
(TD-LTE) and Frequency Division
Duplex, Nokia Siemens Networks
staged the first demo of a TD-LTE
femto prototype in 2009. This paper
looks at how LTE femtocells work and
what they can do, and presents a
viable solution for service providers.
2 Improving 4G coverage and capacity indoors and at hotspots with LTE femtocells
1. What LTE femtocells
On the move
can do 90%
Out of home /
80% office
Business requirements, customer 70% Office
>80% indoors
demand, and higher frequency band 60% Home
allocations compel service providers 50%
to roll out smaller LTE-based cells. 40%
30%
Burgeoning data traffic and capacity
20%
demand are outpacing revenue growth,
10%
creating a capacity-cost dilemma. Data
traffic’s growth curve will remain steep 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Source: Informa
in the years ahead, so service providers
must find ways of cutting per-bit costs,
Figure 2: Mobile data traffic´s phenomenal growth indoors
extending margins, and leveraging new
services to boost revenue.
1.1 Improving coverage, For one, walls shield the femtocell,
lightening the load attenuating interference with the macro
Traffic volume Network cost The relentless advance of smart network. For the other, the geometry
(existing technologies) phones, broadband-enabled laptops, of rooms creates a rich and angular
and other data-hungry devices has multipath environment that maximizes
mobile data traffic doubling from one multi-input multi-output gains. This
Revenue year to the next. Much of it originates helps LTE achieve peak modulation
Profitability at home and in the office, and devices rates and spectral efficiency, creating
Network cost (LTE) outdoors are hard-pressed to meet the perfect conditions for delivering
indoor bandwidth demand. It will take premium services to demanding
Time a lot more macrocells to deliver deep customers.
Voice Data indoor coverage and sophisticated
dominated dominated services. But most service providers
2. Places for LTE
want to reuse legacy sites, and adding
new sites is not always feasible. femtocells to go
Figure 1: The capacity-cost dilemma
Improving 4G coverage and capacity indoors and at hotspots with LTE femtocells 3
2.1 At home
Residential femtocells generally cover Macro eNB Management
system
one household with a radius of about
25 meters. Service providers or
subscribers can furnish these plug-
and-play devices. Digital subscriber
S1
line (xDSL) cable and a passive optical
network (xPON) already installed in the
house connect the devices to the core
network. Operating mainly in closed S-GW MME
and hybrid access modes, they support S1 Femtocell
seamless mobility with the surrounding
macro layer. Only user equipment (UE)
within the closed subscriber group can
Figure 3: A simplified diagram of LTE femtocell network architecture
camp on a femtocell in closed access
mode. Accommodating between 4 and
8 concurrent users, and perhaps up to 2.3 In public 3.1 Standardized from the start
20 in connected mode, these femtocells Public femtocells cover buildings such Engineered to make the most of LTE
are managed by a system based on as airports, railway stations, shopping standards, LTE femtocells are in step
TR069 protocols, connected to the malls, and large plants, or outdoor with the LTE schedule and fit for
radio access network’s management hotspots. They need dedicated backhaul day-one deployment. They integrate
system. links, probably deployed by the service seamlessly into the EPC infrastructure
provider, and may accommodate using the same interfaces defined for
2.2 At work hundreds of concurrent users, the macrocells, so the same EPC can
Enterprise femtocells must interwork to if necessary. The macro network’s support both femtocells and macrocells.
ensure service continuity and seamless management system will most likely Nokia Siemens Network, a driving
handover, which may call for the X2 also manage the public femtocell, force in standardization efforts, will
interface. It will probably take ‘light’ often called a picocell. continue to chart LTE femto’s course.
network planning to deploy these plug-
and-play devices. The data transmission 3.2 Network architecture
3. The importance of being
link currently in place connects these There are several ways of connecting
devices to the core network, but it may flat: LTE femtocell the LTE femto access point (FAP) to
have to evolve for a better LTE user architecture the core network, depending on if
experience. and how an LTE femto gateway is
The LTE EPC bases on flat IP put in place. If the setup lacks a femto
Companies want simple, secure local architecture, and so do femtocells gateway, S1 interfaces connect LTE
services. Service providers want to and macrocells’ architecture and femtocells straight to the Mobility
keep huge loads of enterprise packet interfaces. There is no need for new Management Entity (MME) and Serving
traffic off their core network. A local interfaces between LTE femtocells Gateway (SGW). In setups with a control
breakout for data traffic satisfies both and EPC elements. The femto plane (CP), the femto gateway only
demands. Accommodating between gateway is optional. aggregates CP traffic from multiple
32 and 64 concurrent users, enterprise FAPs to the MME. In setups with a
femtocells are managed by the service CP and user plane (UP), the femto
provider’s enterprise management gateway aggregates both CP traffic
system, possibly with a TR069 system from femtocells to the MME and UP
serving as the front end to femtocells. traffic from femtocells to the SGW.
4 Improving 4G coverage and capacity indoors and at hotspots with LTE femtocells
LTE Femto
Management
TLS for
MP traffic
MME S-GW
CSG list
Backhaul IPSec for
MP traffic
LTE IPSec tunnel MNO
SeGW
Femto Network
IPSec for
Network UP&CP
traffic
Certificates
1 UP: User plane
CP: control plane
MP: Management plane
Macro
CRM
OAM
Point of sale
Provisioning
LTE femto
management
TR-069 (TLS)
MME
TR-069 S1-MME
TR-069
WAN backhaul S-GW
O&M
IPSec tunnel SeGW
Femto-AP
S1 S1-U
Improving 4G coverage and capacity indoors and at hotspots with LTE femtocells 5
Connected family, happy home
• Plug and play, auto-connection, and auto-configuration
• No interference, security, and smart evolution
• Seamless mobility, flexible billing, info sharing
and entertainment
Last mile:
ADSL/
Ethernet
Application
Macro eNB servers
6 Improving 4G coverage and capacity indoors and at hotspots with LTE femtocells
SeGW FGW MME
S1/IP S1
Internet
DSL
Macro Femto Serving GW
site CPE O&M
server
Provision
SeGW: Security gateway manager
Home/enterprise FGW: LTE femto gateway Core network
is optional
4.5 Managing locations 5. Why Nokia Siemens The FAP or Customer Premises
Some use cases such as emergency Networks? Equipment (CPE) provides all
calls and positioning applications, transmission and control functions
for example, device-to-device for one femtocell. Sited in the home
Nokia Siemens Networks is leading the
communication, need to know an or business, it will connect to the EPC
way in LTE femto, performing the world’s
LTE femtocell’s location. This is why via an S1 interface. A FAP shares the
first demo of a TD-LTE femto concept
location management features include same functions as an eNB, although with
in Q3 of 2009, followed by the May
the ability to detect and verify the added CSG support. It communicates
2010 release of a prototype. With lab
FAP’s location. with the SeGW across an IPSec tunnel,
tests and field trials underway in 2011,
via the customer’s broadband wireline
the commercial version’s debut is slated
With a radius of about 25 meters, an LTE access. The SeGW may be a separate
for 2012. Chipset availability will be a
femtocell is small enough so that its physical entity or co-located. It will
factor in the timing, as most vendors
position is tantamount to that of the UE provide security association(s) for the
intend to release LTE femto chipsets
it serves. Femtocells may be located backhaul link connecting the FAP and
by Q1 of 2012.
via GPS/GNSS. The service provider’s core network.
management system can also identify
With this solution in the works, Nokia
the xDSL line to pinpoint the residential The TR069 standard and TR196 data
Siemens Networks aims to implement
femtocell. model provide the framework for the
the 3GPP Rel9 femto standard using
LTE femto management system. Nokia
network architecture that is open,
LTE femtocells operate in the licensed Siemens Networks has a proven 3G
scalable, and flat. The subsequent
frequency band, so different frequency Femto O&M server and provisioning
2013 version is expected to build on
policies in different regions prevent any manager, and a 4G version in the works.
the Rel10 standard. The company’s
‘anarchical’ use. A location locking Comprised of an MME, a Serving and
experience in mobile radio access,
function powered by GPS positioning, PDN Gateway, a Policy Control and
core, and residential broadband access
xDSL ID tracking, neighboring macro Charging Rule Function, and a Home
networks runs deep, enabling it to
radio scanning, or other technique Subscriber Server, the EPC also
offer peerless integration and support
precludes use from unregistered supports femto features. Femtocells
services.
locations. can be served by the same EPC
deployed for the macro network.
This solution will factor all the
indispensable functional entities
Engineered to make the most of all
discussed in this paper into the
these features and attributes, this
femtocell equation – the FAP, SeGW,
solution will provide precisely what
Femto Network Management System,
service providers need to deliver low-
and the Provision Manager. The LTE
cost coverage and capacity to homes,
femto gateway will be optional.
businesses, and hotspots. Readers
wishing to learn more about this LTE
Femto solution are asked to please
contact Nokia Siemens Networks.
Improving 4G coverage and capacity indoors and at hotspots with LTE femtocells 7
Nokia Siemens Networks
P.O. Box 1
FI-02022 NOKIA SIEMENS NETWORKS
Finland
Visiting address:
Karaportti 3, ESPOO, Finland