LTE, LTE-Advanced and WiMAX: Towards IMT-Advanced Networks

Preface

This is a book about IMT-Advanced access networks.

It is also a book that describes how these networks will be able to satisfy the ever increasing demand for mobile data. By some estimates, mobile traffic will take up to 6.3 exabytes (that is, 6.3 mega terabytes) per month in 2015. In 2015, there will also be one mobile device per capita–something in the range of 7.2 to 7.5 billion devices connected to the a wireless network. In 2020, the number of connected wireless devices will be more than 50 billion.

In 2008, the International Telecommunications Union–Radio Communications Sector (ITU-R) issued the requirements for the next generation cellular networks. In the requirements, the ITU-R the goals for the performance requirements of IMT-Advanced networks. The goals were ambitious relative to their predecessors, IMT-2000 or 3G networks, but not in terms of technologies. Simply put, the requirements had to do with accommodating the above noted increasing demand. They also had to do with enhancing the user overall wireless experience, starting from reducing the cost of the mobile handset the wireless device; reducing the cost and enhancing the quality mobile access; providing better support for both indoors and outdoors, in addition to higher quality connections at different mobility speeds. The requirements also made better international roaming a mandate. For operators, the requirements facilitated economic deployment, expansion and operation of wireless networks–a highly ...