5g, 4g, vowifi calling and volte: using enhanced voice
TRANSCRIPT
© Fraunhofer IIS
5G, 4G, VoWiFi Calling and
VoLTE: Using Enhanced
Voice Service to meet New
Requirements
© Fraunhofer IIS
Sharad Sadhu
Technology Consultant
Fraunhofer IIS
© Fraunhofer IIS
EVS Enhances Sound Quality,
Coverage of VoLTE, Vo5G, VoWiFi;
Reduces Spectrum Crunch
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Malaysia: 4G, 5G
Mobile industry has progressed well
Most networks have introduced VoLTE
VoWiFi services not yet announced
EVS-VoLTE has many benefits
to subscribers and operators
Industry prepares for 5G implementation
What is the way forward?
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Relevance of EVS
in Malaysian Mobile Ecosphere
EVS offers
Vo5G, VoLTE, VoWiFi applications
‘Human voice’ speech quality
Larger cell size / lower power
Lesser bit rate / spectrum saving
© Fraunhofer IIS
Dr. Alfonso Carrera Executive MBA
Senior Consultant
Telecom, Broadcast and New Media
Audio and Media Technologies
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
© Fraunhofer IIS 7
ENHANCED VOICE SERVICE (EVS)
Next generation 3GPP communications codec for Voice over IMS
2001 2003 2004 2010 2014 2013 1998
First mp3
players
Apple iTunes
store starts
using AAC
AAC in
mobile
phones
Japanese
ISDB-T TV
system
adopts AAC
HE-AAC
in 3GPP
& DVB
Apple
Facetime
starts
using AAC-
ELD
DRM
adopts
xHE-AAC 3GPP
adopts
EVS
Symphoria® in
Audi A4, A5, A8, TT,
R5, R8, Q5, Q7 &
Mercedes
E-Class
Cingo® in
LG 360 VR,
Samsung Gear
VR & Google
Nexus
Who is Fraunhofer IIS?
„Institute for Integrated Circuits“ in Erlangen, Germany, the largest
institute of Germany‘s Fraunhofer Gesellschaft for applied research
Main developer of mp3, AAC, xHE-AAC, MPEG-H; Co-developer of EVS
Foto
s: F
raunhofe
r IIS
/ K
urt
Fuchs; A
udi M
edia
Serv
ice
2008 2005 2007
DCI-
specifications
easyDCP
appearance ARRI D-20
2017
MPEG-H
starts in
Korea
More Than 10 Billion Devices:
Some Milestones
© Fraunhofer IIS
Introduction
What is EVS?
EVS = Enhanced Voice Services
The next generation 3GPP communication codec (after AMR-WB, 2001)
Substantially improved with respect to
Speech quality and compression efficiency
Quality for non-speech content (mixed content, music)
Audio bandwidth (superwideband, fullband)
Error robustness
Integrated AMR-WB for seamless switching from/to EVS
Result of a cooperation of 12 companies:
© Fraunhofer IIS
EVS Status - Standards
3GPP
EVS for packet switched (4G) standardized in September 2014
Primary use case is VoLTE, but also fit for VoWiFi, fixed VoIP
Extensive performance data available in 3GPP TR 26.952
Specifications available to enable the use of EVS in Circuit Switched 3G
GSMA
EVS integrated into VoLTE Specification IR.92 in March 2015
EVS Mandatory for SWB, optional for WB and NB services
EVS integrated into HD-Voice logo requirements Document
HD-Voice+ logo for EVS SWB mobile networks and terminals since March
2017
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EVS Status in 5G – Standards
3GPP
UE offering speech shall support NB, WB and SWB communication
UE offering SWB or FB speech shall support EVS
GSMA
UE must support and offer all speech codecs mandated for MTSI clients in terminal
In particular, the UE must support the EVS codec
Entities in the IMS core network supporting SWB must support EVS
UE Category M1 devices offering SWB speech shall support EVS
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EVS Status - Voice over IMS Variants
VoLTE
EVS use defined by IR.92
Based on E-UTRA(N) + EPC
Vo5G
EVS use defined by NG.114
Based on 5G-RAN + 5GC
VoLTE+
EVS use defined by IR.92 with enhancements
Based on E-UTRA(N) + 5GC
EVS calls on these variants co-exist as seamless interworking is required for VoIMS
continuity
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EVS Status – Chipset Selection
Qualcomm Snapdragon X20 LTE Modem
X16 LTE Modem, 427, 430, 435, 450, 625, 626, 630,
636, 653, 660, 820, 821 and 835
Intel® XMM™ 7480, 7560
Cadence® Tensilica® HiFi 3z DSP IP core
HiSilicon Kirin 970
MEDIATEK Helio X 30
CEVA Teak Lite
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EVS Status – EVS Enabled Handset Selection
Apple: iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X, XS, XR, 11, 11 Pro
Samsung: Galaxy S6(edge), S7(edge), S8(+), S9(+), S10(+), Note 8/9/10
Huawei: P10, P10 Plus, Mate 10 Pro, P20, P20 Plus, P30, P30 Plus
Sony: Xperia XZ/X Performance/XZ Premium
Google: Pixel 2(+), Pixel 3(+), Pixel 4(+)
LG: G5, G6, G7, G8, V20, V30, V40, V50
HTC: U11(+), U12(+)
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EVS Device Ecosystem
Source GSA Report, May 2019
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EVS Device Ecosystem
Source GSA Report, May 2019
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EVS Status – Commercial EVS VoLTE Services
Europe: Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica O2
Germany, EE (British Telecom), T-Mobile
Poland, A1 Austria, Telenor Sweden &
Norway, TeliaSonera Sweden, Swisscom,
Sunrise Switzerland, Orange Romania,
Asia: Japan all carriers, South Korea all
carriers, China Mobile, Airtel India,
Telkomsel Indonesia, Smartfren Indonesia,
Turkcell, Chunghwa Telecom Taiwan,
Singapore StarHub
USA: T-Mobile US, Verizon
Vodafone: Germany, Netherlands, South
Africa, Turkey, Portugal, Romania, Poland
Other: Vodacom South Africa
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EVS Status – APAC EVS VoLTE Situation
India
Airtel: aprox. 300M subscribers; EVS VoLTE 13.2kbps CAM; VoWiFi roll-out
Reliance Jio: aprox. 350M subscribers; EVS VoLTE testing; VoWiFi roll-out
Idea Vodafone: aprox. 100M subscribers; EVS VoLTE testing;
Indonesia
Telkomsel: aprox. 150M subscribers; EVS VoLTE 9.6kbps
Smartfren: aprox. 30M subscribers; EVS VoLTE 13.2kbps
Ooredoo Indosat: aprox. 60M subscribers; EVS VoLTE testing
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2.000
2.500
3.000
3.500
4.000
4.500
5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
MO
S
Nominal Bitrate during Active Speech [kbit/s]
EVS-SWB
EVS-WB
AMR-WB
EVS-NB
AMR
EVS Performance Gain – Clean Speech
HD Voice with EVS
in wideband mode
Today‘s HD
Voice quality
(AMR-WB)
„Full-HD Voice“ EVS Service
(superwideband)
outperforms HD Voice
even at 9.6 kbps
Today‘s
2G/3G standard
quality
Source: 3GPP TR 26.952, Experiment M1 (mixed bandwidth), Clean Speech, DTX on, North American English
Improved connections to
narrowband landline
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EVS Performance Gain – Noisy Speech
Source: 3GPP TR 26.952, Experiment M2 (mixed bandwidth), Noisy Speech (Car Noise 20dB), DTX on, Finnish
1.500
2.000
2.500
3.000
3.500
4.000
4.500
5.000
5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
MO
S
Nominal Bitrate during Active Speech [kbit/s]
EVS-SWB
EVS-WB
AMR-WB
EVS-NB
AMR-NB
EVS-WB 9.6
matches
AMR-WB at 12.65
EVS-SWB (>= 9.6 kbps)
better than any AMR-WB
AMR-WB
saturates
at ~3,3 MOS
EVS-SWB achieves
a new quality level!
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EVS Performance Gain – Mixed and Music
Source: 3GPP TR 26.952, Experiment M3b (mixed bandwidth), Mixed and Music, DTX on, North American English
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
5.00
5 10 15 20 25
MO
S
kbit/s
EVS-SWB
EVS-WB
AMR-WB
EVS-NB
AMR-NB
EVS-WB&SWB >= 9.6 kbps
outperforms any AMR-WB
Huge quality gap between
AMR/AMR-WB
and EVS
Excellent quality for Mixed Content
and Music with EVS
Improved connections to
narrowband landline
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1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
0% P7(3.3%) P8(6.2%) P5(5.9%,2fr/pkt)
P9(8.2%) P10(9.4%)
EVS-WB CAM on (13.2)
EVS-WB CAM off(13.2)
AMR-WB (15.85)
EVS Performance Gain – Error Robustness
Source: 3GPP TR 26.952, Characterization Experiment W1
EVS maintains high quality at
BLER <= 3% EVS-CAM 9.2% BLER
= AMR-WB 3.3% BLER
Almost no loss through
Channel Aware Mode
(CAM) in clean channel
EVS-CAM: More than 1 MOS
gain compared to AMR-WB
Wideband Clean Speech, North American English
FER=Frame Error Rate, CAM = Channel Aware Mode
CAM = Channel Aware Mode,
Enhanced Robustness at 13.2 kbps
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1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
0% P7(3.3%) P8(6.2%) P5(5.9%,2fr/pkt)
P9(8.2%) P10(9.4%)
EVS-WB CAM on (13.2)
AMR-WB (15.85)
EVS Performance Gain – Error Robustness (cont)
Source: 3GPP TR 26.952, Characterization Experiment W1
Qualcomm Input to 3GPP R2-165194
Wideband Clean Speech, North American English
BLER=Block Loss Error Rate, CAM = Channel Aware Mode
CAM = Channel Aware Mode,
Enhanced Robustness at 13.2 kbps
EVS 6%BLER ~ AMR-WB at 1% BLER
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EVS Performance Gain – Error Robustness (cont)
Source: Qualcomm Input to 3GPP R2-165194, BLER versus SNR link level curves for 13.2 kbps TBS = 328 with TTI-B for EPA 5.5 Hz
EVS 13.2 kbps Channel-Aware mode is
significantly more robust to packet loss
According to Qualcomm this corresponds
to an SNR Improvement of 2.5dB
This can be used for
Increased indoor/outdoor cell
coverage
Less interference
Reduced power consumption
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EVS Performance Gain – Error Robustness (cont)
Source: Qualcomm Input to 3GPP R2-165194
Comparative Indoor Coverage Prediction
EVS 13.2 kbps Channel-Aware mode is
significantly more robust to packet loss
Qualcomm prediction for San Diego
indicate an indoor coverage gain from 79%
to 90%
-> cut in half of areas with no reception
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EVS Performance Gain – Error Robustness (cont)
Benefits of RAN awareness of EVS Channel aware mode
Extended coverage/time in VoLTE by setting the threshold for handing over to SRVCC
at a higher BLER target
Lower UL transmit power from the UE as higher BLER target is set for the UE. This
can provide the following benefits:
Better coverage for the EVS channel aware-UE as the UE can meet the target
BLER over wider area/coverage
Better coverage for UEs in adjacent cells as less interference caused by EVS
channel aware-enabled UEs in the center cell
Better battery-life for the EVS CA-enabled UE
This might also be used to improve capacity due to lower interference
Source: 3GPP R2-165194
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Audio Quality and Total Bitrate Comparison
in Clean Channel to [email protected]
MOS = 4.65
1.10 MOS increase
Same total bitrate
MOS = 3.58
Same MOS
37% lower total bitrate
Source: 3GPP Listening Test M1; EVS Header Format = headerless; Robust Header
Compression ON
2.000
2.500
3.000
3.500
4.000
4.500
5 10 15 20 25
EVS-SWB
EVS-WB
AMR-WBM
OS
Total Bitrate in Clean Channel
[kbps]
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EVS Integration into VoLTE network
If both UEs are EVS-enabled, EVS primary mode will be used
If neither UE is EVS-enabled, AMR-WB will be used
If only one of the UEs is EVS-enabled, the connection to the EVS-enabled UE can be
set up in three different ways:
AMR-WB fallback (default if no interaction from network)
QoS: as AMR-WB call, advantages of EVS-enabled UE left unused
Network impact: none
Use of EVS’ AMR-WB-IO-mode
QoS: Increased receive quality due to improved concealment
Network impact: Requires repackaging (not transcoding!)
Transcoding to EVS
QoS: Improved Error Robustness (indoor reception) if in Channel-Aware Mode
Improved Network Capacity, if EVS compression advantage is used
Slight Quality Reduction due to transcoding
Network impact: Requires transcoding
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EVS Network Integration
Legacy VoLTE call, both UEs without EVS
VoLTE
Mobile Network
3G voice
Landline/
G711/G722
AMR-WB
QoS: legacy AMR-WB quality
Network: no impact on network
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EVS Network Integration
VoLTE call, both UEs EVS-capable
VoLTE
Mobile Network
Landline/
G711/G722
EVS
3G voice
QoS: Highest possible quality and
error robustness
Network: No impact on network
(needs to allow EVS)
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EVS Network Integration
VoLTE call, only one UE EVS-capable
Variant using AMR-WB fallback
VoLTE
Mobile Network
Landline/
G711/G722
QoS: Legacy AMR-WB quality
(no gain through EVS)
Network: No impact on network
3G voice
AMR-WB
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EVS Network Integration
VoLTE call, only one UE EVS-capable
Variant using EVS-AMR-WB-IO Mode
VoLTE
Mobile Network
Landline/
G711/G722
AMR-WB
QoS: Increased receive quality due
to improved concealment
Network: Requires repackaging in the
network (no transcoding!)
3G voice AMR-WB-IO
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EVS Network Integration
VoLTE call, only one UE EVS-capable
Variant using transcoding to EVS
VoLTE
Mobile Network
Landline/
G711/G722
AMR-WB
QoS: Increased error robustness through Channel-Aware mode and/or
improved capacity through EVS compression advantage
Network: Requires transcoding in the network
3G voice EVS
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EVS network integration
SRVCC
Variant using EVS-AMR-WB-IO
VoLTE
Mobile Network
Landline/
G711/G722
SRVCC: UE leaves VoLTE
area
3G voice AMR-WB-IO AMR-WB
QoS: VoLTE phone switches from
EVS to AMR-WB-IO via CMR
Network: Requires repackaging in the
network (no transcoding!)
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EVS Network Integration
Call to landline/G.711/G.722
Variant using EVS transcoding
VoLTE
Mobile Network
Landline/
G711/G722
3G voice
G.711/G.722
EVS
QoS: Highest possible quality due to good EVS
transcoding performance to G.711/G.722
Network: Requires EVS transcoding (instead of
AMR-WB transcoding)
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EVS Performance Summary
Unprecedented quality through superwideband audio at mobile bitrates
First 3GPP communication codec to support speech, mixed content & music
5G voice service mandates the use of EVS
Outperforming AMR and AMR-WB at all operation points
Superwideband audio starting from as low as 9.6 kbps
Excellent quality versus efficiency at 13.2 kbps and 16.4 kbps
Highest quality speech, mixed content and music at 24.4 kbps
High robustness against packet loss enabling increased coverage in LTE
and improving performance in Voice over Wifi
Integrated AMR-WB interoperable mode
Avoids transcoding/re-negotiation between AMR-WB and EVS in SRVCC case
-> improved handover from VoLTE/EVS to CS/3G with AMR-WB
Improved quality and robustness while 100% compatible with AMR-WB
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… and now let’s address your questions
Dr. Alfonso Carrera Executive MBA
Senior Consultant
alfonso.carrera@iis-
extern.fraunhofer.de
+34655717235
Sharad Sadhu
Technology Consultant
sharadindoo.sadhu@iis-
extern.fraunhofer.de