roadmap for 4g, lte, td-lte
TRANSCRIPT
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
1 | P a g e
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
2 | P a g e
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
3 | P a g e
Roadmap for 4G, LTE, TD-LTE
By
Name
Ajit Kumar Roll No
12
Under the guidance of
Shri N.K Goyel Dr. R. Kamatchi President Asst. Professor CMAI K J SIMSR
K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research
June, 2013
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
4 | P a g e
DECLARATION
I, Mr. Ajit Kumar hereby declare that this project report is the record of authentic work carried out by me during the period from May 2013 to June 2013 and has not been submitted to any other University or institute for the award of any degree/diploma etc.
Signature
Ajit Kumar
Roll No: 12 Date: 24/06/2013
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
5 | P a g e
Certificate from Industry Guide
This is to certify that Ajit Kumar, a student of the Post-Graduate Diploma in Management PGDM Ex., has worked in our organization on a project assigned by us. To the best of our knowledge, this report is a product of the student’s own effort on the project conducted under our guidance and supervision.
Mr. Naresh Goyal President CMAI
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
6 | P a g e
Certificate from Faculty Guide
This is to certify that Mr. Ajit Kumar, a student of the Post-Graduate Diploma in Management PGDM Ex., has worked under my guidance and
supervision. This Summer Project Report has the requisite standard and to the best of our knowledge no part of it has been reproduced from any other summer project, monograph, report or book. Dr. R Kamatch Asst. Professor SIMSR June 2013
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
7 | P a g e
CONTENTS:
LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................................... 9
LIST OF CHARTS ................................................................................................................................ 10
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................ 11
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 13
ABOUT CMAI ..................................................................................................................................... 15
INTRODUCTION: GENERATION OF WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES............................................... 16
DEVELOPMENT OF CELLULAR WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY ........................................................ 18
A LOOK AT LTE ................................................................................................................................. 19
REVIEW OF ITS FEATURES AND CAPABILITES ....................................................................... 19
3GPP ..................................................................................................................................................... 19
CHALLENGES ................................................................................................................................. 20
LTE-ADVANCE ................................................................................................................................... 21
LTE ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT HISTORY .............................................................................. 21
LTE ADVANCED KAY FEATURES ............................................................................................... 22
TD-LTE: ............................................................................................................................................... 23
WIMAX REMAINS A PLAYER .......................................................................................................... 23
WIMAX KEY FEATURES ............................................................................................................... 24
WIMAX2: THE TRUE 4 G ............................................................................................................... 24
FRAME WORKS FOR IMT-ADVANCED SYSTEM........................................................................... 25
FDD LTE vs. TD-LTE ...................................................................................................................... 26
REGULATORY ISSUES IN IMT-ADVANCED SYSTEMS (INDIA) .................................................. 27
INDIAN SCENARIO ........................................................................................................................ 27
REFRAMING OF SPECTRUM ........................................................................................................ 29
REFRAMING CHALLENGES ......................................................................................................... 29
VARIOUS APPROACHED ADOPTED BY COUNTRIES FOR REFRAMING OF SPECTRUM .... 31
Sweden ............................................................................................................................................. 31
Denmark .......................................................................................................................................... 31
Ireland .............................................................................................................................................. 31
INTERNATIONAL PRACTICES ON IMT-ADVANCES ..................................................................... 32
IMT –ADVANCED SECURITY ISSUE ............................................................................................... 33
CHALLENGES FAEC BY THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT IN IMPLEMENTING LTE/TD-LTE. ....... 34
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT: INDIA .............................................................................................. 34
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
8 | P a g e
Country Briefing | 18 Sep 2012 [13] 34 CORRUPTION IMPACTS INDIA’S BUSINESS AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT ................... 34
PREVENTIVE ACTION TAKEN BY INDIAN GOVERNMENT .................................................... 36
TECHNOLOGY, COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA: INDIA ....................................................... 37
DRIVERS FOR IMPLEMENTING LTE ADVANC SYSTEM: INDIA ................................................. 39
Indian Telecom Sector Offering Brighter Prospects in 2013.......................................................... 39
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE: INDIA ......................................................................................... 41
MARKET OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................... 41
PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................................................... 42
MOBILE CONNECTIVITY .............................................................................................................. 43
HOME CONNECTIVITY ................................................................................................................. 45
PUBLIC CONNECTIVITY ............................................................................................................... 46
WEB 2.0 APPLICATIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA .......................................................................... 47
DIGITAL MEDIA ............................................................................................................................. 48
SOFTWARE AND STORAGE FACILITIES .................................................................................... 49
CONSUMERS OF TCM SERVICES ................................................................................................ 49
BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY ................................................................................................... 50
INDIAN MOBILE PHONE USERS TO REACH 250 MILLION IN 2007 ......................................... 51
FUTURE SCENARIOS ..................................................................................................................... 53
INDIA’S BROADBAND AMBITIONS WILL BOOST BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT .................... 53
CONSUMERS AND BUSINESS CHOOSINGS LTE AHEAD of WIMAX IN WIRELESS BROADBAND WAR ........................................................................................................................... 55
THE FUTURE OF NEXT GENERATION WIRELESS COMMUNICATION ...................................... 57
When there’s No Spectrum Left...................................................................................................... 57
5G ..................................................................................................................................................... 57
APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................................... 60
Note on OFDM: ............................................................................................................................. 60
Note on MIMO: ............................................................................................................................. 60
What is EE? ................................................................................................................................... 61
Are the new 4G phones any good? ................................................................................................. 61
Will I be able to import a 4G phone and use it in the UK? .............................................................. 61
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................... 62
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
9 | P a g e
LIST OF TABLES
Table No
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
Title
3GPP Organizational Partners
The development of LTE Advanced and evolution from the 3G services that
were developed using UMTS / W-CDMA technology
Framework for the development of IMT-Advanced systems
Advantages / disadvantages of TDD and FDD
Spectrum bands for various technology
Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for Selected
Countries: 2010
Ten Most Visited Internet Sites by Reach in India : June 2012
The development of LTE Advanced
The development of LTE Advanced from various 3GPP releases from
Rel99/4 onwards.
Page No
19
22
25
26
28
35
48
60
60
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
10 | P a g e
LIST OF CHARTS
Chart no
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.10
1.11
1.12
Title
India’s General Government Budget Deficit: 2005-2010
India’s Internet User and Mobile Telephone Subscriptions: 2007-2020
Capital Investment in Telecommunications and Telecommunications Revenues
in India: 2006-2011
Broadband Internet Subscriptions for India 2006-2020
% of Telecom Revenue and % of Households
Household possession of broadband Enabled Computer and Fixed line
Telephone in India: 2006-2020
Internet users and and internet users per 100 Inhabitants in India: 2006-2020
Household possessions of digital equipment by decline in India: 2011
Extent of business Internet use in India and regional countries: 2010-2011
Number of mobile phone users and per capita annual disposable income in
India 2000-2006
Mobile telecommunication revenue as % of telecom revenue in china and
India
Internet users and broadband subscribers in India: 2005--2010
Page No
36
40
42
43
44
46
47
49
50
51
52
53
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
11 | P a g e
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
C2C
CPI
DL
DoS
EDGE
EV-DO
FCC
FDD
GPRS
HDUPA
HSDPA
HSPA
HSPA+
IMT
IP
ITU
LPTV
LTE
MIMO
MMS
OFDMA
QAM
QPSK
SAE
SC-FDMA
SMS
TDC A/S
TDD
TDLTE
TKK
UL
UMTS
WAP
WCDMA
Wimax
1G
2G
3G
3GGP
4G
5G
Consumer-to-Consumer
Corruption Perceptions Index
Down Link
Denial of service
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution
Enhanced Voice-Data Optimized/Enhanced Voice-Data Only
Federal Communications Commission
Frequency Division Duplex
General Packet Radio Service
High-Speed Uplink Packet Access
High-Speed Downlink Packet Access
High Speed Packet Access
Evolved High-Speed Packet Access
International Mobile Telecommunications
Internet Protocol
International Telecommunication Union
Low Power T.V Stations
Long term evolution
Multiple Input Multiple Output
Multimedia Messaging Service
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access
Quadrature amplitude modulation
Quadrature phase shifting key
System Architecture Evolution
Single-carrier frequency-division multiple access
Short Message Service
Telia Nattjanster Norden
Time Division Duplex
Time Division long term evolution
Telekom Control Commission
Up link
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
Wireless application protocol
Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
First generation of cell phone technology
Second generation of cell phone technology
Third generation of cell phone technology
Third Generation Partnership Project
Fourth generation of cell phone technology
Fifth generation of cell phone technology
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
12 | P a g e
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
13 | P a g e
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Existing mobile networks use 3G/UMTS technology, which is now almost 10 years old and
struggling to cope with the needs of today's data hungry users. 4G/LTE (Fourth Generation /
Long Term Evolution) is the next stage in mobile network development and will provide users
with much faster data speeds than 3G is able to. 4G is a blanket term for this generation of
mobile networks, WiMAX, LTE & TD-LTE. Basically, there are two kinds of 4G technology.
These kinds are LTE and WiMax. LTE, the Long Term Evolution of the 3G services, eyes are
now turning towards the next development, that of the truly 4G technology named IMT
Advanced. The new technology being developed under the auspices of 3GPP to meet these
requirements is often termed LTE Advanced. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is
collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational
Partners. LTE is currently deployed on a relatively small scale worldwide. Most carriers have
committed to LTE but implementation is slow due to the high cost of new infrastructure
equipment. Users are experiencing downlink data rates of 5 to 12 Mbits/s and 2 to 5 Mbits/s on
the uplink, a major improvement over older 3G systems. As 3G can coexist with 2G systems in
integrated networks, it is possible that LTE systems coexist with 3G and 2G systems. Multimode
devices will function across LTE/3G or even LTE/3G/2G, depending on market circumstances.
As India Broadband penetration is far behind the target. However from the year 2011, data usage
was expected to grow at a faster pace with 3G, Smart Phones, I-Phones, Social networking sites
are expected to catalyze the data usage growth.
TDD (time division duplex) version of LTE is known as TD-LTE. The IMT-Advanced 802.16m
version also known as WiMAX2 is even more broadly defined with frequency coverage down to
450 MHz and through the 5-GHz range. The framework for the development of IMT-Advanced
systems can be considered from multiple perspectives, including the users, manufacturers,
application developers, network operators, and service and content providers. It is required that
there should be a well defined path for moving towards IMT-Advanced services which include
timely availability of sufficient spectrum, identification of frequency band.
The Authority (Department of Telecommunication & TRAI) is aware of the rapid technological
advances that had been made in the preceding decade, especially in With respect of broadband
wireless access technologies. There is two concerns:
First, that the demand for data, new wireless technologies and new services would increase and
this, in turn, would necessitate the availability of high quality “low frequency” spectrum for new
technologies. Secondly, from a pure allocative efficiency perspective, it was vitally important to
utilize the scarce national resource, spectrum, in an optimal manner.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
14 | P a g e
The Government authority noted that reviews conducted by the Governments in other countries
have resulted in creation of significant economic value by re-farming and harmonizing
international bands for mobile usage. In most of foreign countries, because of the small number
of incumbents having 900 MHz spectrum (2 to 4), it was feasible to redistribute the available 900
MHz spectrum amongst the operators. However, in India, on account of the fact that the number
of operators is 6 to 9 in all the LSAs and the available spectrum in 900 MHz 11 band is only
18.6-22.2 MHz, the approach to be adopted has perforce to be different.
Due to open architectures and IP based protocols, 4G, LTE, networks will be prone to security
attacks similar to those of Internet. As a result, IMT-Advanced networks will be more prone to
Trojans, Malwares and Virus attacks than 3G wireless systems.
Corruption seriously affects India's business and political environment, posing a challenge to the
country's economic growth. India ranked 87th place out of 178 countries in Transparency
International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in 2010, down from 84th place in 2009.
Indian Government try to mitigate the corruption for sustaining the economic growth. There are
numerous of drivers which boost the implementation of LTE. The security infrastructure should
be scalable and accounts for new usage patterns like social networking and peer-to-peer
applications. In areas where the amount of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band is insufficient for
fully carrying out reframing, immediate steps must be taken to get Government agencies to
vacate 1800 MHz spectrum so that the entire 900 MHz spectrum could be reframed. The
reframing of spectrum in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands should be carried out progressively
at an early date but not later than the due date of renewal of the licences.
The future of next generation wireless communication. When we run out of radio spectrum, we
can still resort to the optical spectrum, including infrared (IR) light. Based on current trends, it’s
possible to predict what 5G may be like. First, given the ongoing spectrum shortage and crisis,
higher-level modulation and coding schemes can help in the interim with higher speeds.
Adaptive beam forming antenna techniques will also help access and speeds.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
15 | P a g e
ABOUT CMAI
Communication Multimedia and infrastructure (CMAI): Communicating with the world
CMAI Profile:
CMAI Association of India is apex premier and foremost non-profit trade promotion
organization based in India with MOU partners and representatives spread across globe. CMAI
invests heavily in industry services, education and training, industry promotion, market
researches etc.
CMAI is prominent trade association promoting growth in communications, manufacturing trade
sector through Legislative and Regulatory Advocacy, Research, Exhibitions, Trade shows,
Conferences and Seminars, Technology events, Buyer sellers meets, B2B meetings, promotion
and fostering business and strategic relationships.
CMAI is the only trade organization bringing in focuses harmony in between manufacturing
across all sectors including ICT, Communications and Environmental Management policies.
CMAI, a professional registered association, has become extremely pro-active, forward looking
and effective catalyst between the Government, industry and the consumers at large.
CMAI is involved:
In developing scientific knowledge and practical means for protecting man and his environment
from the harmful effects of environmental hazards like e waste, radiations etc. In encouraging
research and scientific publications dedicated to the science and practice of in this field
In promoting educational opportunities in those disciplines which support the science and
practice of environment protection.
CMAI support to industry and Trade:
CMAI derives its strength from its data base. CMAI provides with public policy establishment,
industry competitiveness upgrade, development strategy and planning, marketing strategy and
research, HR management, IT programming and management. The CMAI Members ranges from
industrial users in electronics, telecommunications, energy, finance, automobile, telecom, ICT to
autonomous Institutes like Research bodies, trade associations, policy forums to Government
departments at all levels and diversified industrial parks. CMAI is emerging as No.1 Advisor for
enterprise management, the No.1 Consultancy for Government decisions and the No.1 brand for
informatization consulting.
CMAI publishes Daily News Letter in association with its partner Telelinkers, which is
distributed complimentary to all the members and other stake holders.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
16 | P a g e
INTRODUCTION: GENERATION OF WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES Quite simply, the “G” stands for Generation, as in the next generation of wireless technologies.
Each generation is supposedly faster, more secure and more reliable. The reliability factor is the
hardest obstacle to overcome. 1G was not used to identify wireless technology until 2G, or the
second generation, was released. That was a major jump in the technology when the wireless
networks went from analog to digital. It’s all uphill from there. 3G came along and offered
faster data transfer speeds, at least 200 kilobits per second, for multi-media use and is still the
standard for wireless transmissions regardless of what you here on all those commercials. It is
still a challenge to get a true 4G connection, which promises upwards of a 1Gps, Gigabit per
second, transfer rate if standing still and in the perfect spot.
1G –This was the first generation of cell phone technology. Simple phone calls were all it was
able to do.
2G – The second generation of cell phone transmission. A few more features were added to the
menu such as simple text messaging. 2G is found in most basic cell phones, and features slow
transmission of data (10 kb/s), phone calls, reception of basic emails and voice mails.
The most important 2G standards that emerged were the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and the first Code Division multiple Access (CDMA) systems 3G – This generation set the standards for most of the wireless technology. Web browsing,
email, video downloading, picture sharing and other Smartphone technology were introduced in
the third generation. 3G should be capable of handling around 2 Megabits per second.
The third generation (3G) brought more CDMA developments like UMTS/WCDMA to boost
data rates to as much as 2 Mbits/s. Some variants of 3G provide even greater data rates. These
include the more recent 3G additions such as EV-DO Rev. A and B as well as the
HSDPA/HDUPA/HSPA+ standards where data rates extend to as much as 21 and 42 Mbits/s.
4G – The speed and standards of this technology of wireless needs to be at least 100 Megabits
per second and up to 1 Gigabit per second to pass as 4G. It also needs to share the network
resources to support more simultaneous connections on the cell. As it develops, 4G could
surpass the speed of the average wireless broadband home Internet connection. Few devices are
capable of the full throttle yet. Coverage of true 4G is limited to large metropolitan areas.
Existing mobile networks use 3G/UMTS technology, which is now almost 10 years old
and struggling to cope with the needs of today's data hungry users. 4G/LTE (Fourth
Generation / Long Term Evolution) is the next stage in mobile network development
and will provide users with much faster data speeds than 3G is able to. 4G is a blanket
term for this generation of mobile networks, WiMAX, LTE & TD-LTE.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
17 | P a g e
Outside of the covered areas, 4G phones regress to the 3G standards. We have a ways to go. For
now, 4G is simply a little faster than 3G.
WiMAX - Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access – should be capable of around 40
megabits per second with a range of 30 miles. It is one of the closest technologies to meet the
standards of true 4G and as it develop should surpass the 100MB/second which is the 4G
standard. Mobile WiMAX allows the use of high speed data transfers and is the main
competition for the 4G LTE services provided by cellular carriers. [1]
GPRS: 2.5G General Packet Radio Service, offered a speed of 56 kb/s to 114 kb/s EDGE: 2.75G Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution, offered a speed of 64 kb/s to 144 kb/s HSPA: 3G High Speed Packet Access, offered a speed of 144 kb/s – 2 MB/s 4G This network is IP based; i.e. packet switched Network.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
18 | P a g e
DEVELOPMENT OF CELLULAR WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
Due to demand for fast transmission, 2G was replaced by 2.5G and with it came the very
familiar GPRS. General Packet Radio Service took the mobile phone technology higher than
before as now it offered better services and faster transmission. It supported emailing, web
browsing and surfing, SMS, MMS and WAP access.
This upgraded tech offered a speed of 56 kb/s to 114 kb/s. With the ever evolving technology,
demand for better and quicker transmission kept growing. To cater this requirement of users,
mobile technology developers came up with 2.75G introducing EDGE; Enhanced Data rates for
GSM Evolution. EDGE is not only regarded as 2.75G feature but also a 3G feature. The main
attributes were voice mails, phone calls, fax, rich emailing, maps and navigation, web
browsing and a speed of 64 kb/s to 144 kb/s.
The 3G tech introduced UMTS networks. It catered to most of the essentialities of corporate life
like internet access, intranet access, interactive app sharing and video conferencing.
Moreover, it offered global roaming, HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), TV streaming and a
speed of 144 kb/s – 2 MB/s. Now, we are on the edge of a new revolutionary technological
development i.e. 4G. Highlighting features of 4G are multi-carrier transmission and ultra-
broadband i.e. gigabit speed.
Basically, there are two kinds of 4G technology. These kinds are LTE and WiMax LTE:
Though this is a pre-4G technology, it is associated with 3G. LTE stands for Long Term
Evolution. It is important to note that the LTE is such a network which treats each and
everything (EE) that is transmitted by it as data, no matter it is voice. Theoretically talking, the
LTE is capable of providing a high speed data transfer rate of 100MB/s regarding download and
50 MB/s while uploading, provided that a 20 MHz channel is used.
WiMax:
This long abbreviation stands for even longer term; Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave
Access. It is better to associate it with Wi-Fi technology than to the cellular networks. It is
capable of long distance transmission; 30 miles. The peak data transmission rates (as stated) are
128 Mbps downlink and 56 Mbps uplink. [2]
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
19 | P a g e
A LOOK AT LTE
LTE, the Long Term Evolution of the 3G services, eyes are now
turning towards the next development, that of the truly 4G
technology named IMT Advanced. The new technology being
developed under the auspices of 3GPP to meet these requirements
is often termed LTE Advanced.
In order that the cellular telecommunications technology is able to
keep pace with technologies that may compete, it is necessary to
ensure that new cellular technologies are being formulated and
developed. This is the reasoning behind starting the development
of the new LTE Advanced systems, proving the technology and
developing the LTE Advanced standards.
One of the key milestones is October 2010 when the ITU-R
decides the framework and key characteristics for the IMT
Advanced standard. Before this, the ITU-R will undertake the
evaluation of the various proposed radio interface technologies of
which LTE Advanced is a major contender. [3]
REVIEW OF ITS FEATURES AND CAPABILITES
Since the cellular industry is mostly focused on deploying LTE
systems, a review of its features and capabilities is in order.
First, LTE is based on orthogonal frequency-division multiple
access (OFDMA). It uses OFDM for the modulation and OFDMA
for the access of multiple subscribers in a single channel. LTE also
is flexible, as it can be configured to operate in different channel
bandwidths. Common channel sizes are 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20
MHz.
The number of OFDM subcarriers varies as a function of the
bandwidth. Subcarrier spacing or width is 15 kHz. The subcarriers
are modulated by quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), 16-phase
quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM), or 64-phase QAM
(64QAM). The duplexing mode is frequency-division duplex
(FDD) where two equal but spaced channels are needed. The
standard also defines a time-division duplex (TTD) mode.
LTE has adopted multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna
technology to boost data rates and improve link reliability. It also
supports the single-input single-output (SISO) antenna
3GPP The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners. The initial scope of 3GPP was to make a globally applicable third-generation (3G) mobile phone system specification based on evolved Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) specifications within the scope of the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 project of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Table 1.1 3GPP Organizational Partners
Organization Base
region
Association of Radio
Industries and
Businesses(ARIB)
Japan
Alliance for
Telecommunications
Industry
Solutions(ATIS)
USA
China Communications
Standards
Association(CCSA)
China
European
Telecommunications
Standards
Institute(ETSI)
Europe
Telecommunications
Technology
Association (TTA)
Korea
Telecommunication
Technology
Committee (TTC)
Japan
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
20 | P a g e
configuration. MIMO configurations include 2x2 (two transmit, two receive paths) and 4x4.
Most handsets will use a 1x2 (one transmit, two receive channels) arrangement because of the
limited space for antennas and power requirements.
The uplink for LTE uses single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA). This
technology is similar to OFDMA but has a lower peak to average power ratio (PAPR) than
OFDMA for greater power efficiency and improved battery life, which are essential in a handset.
As for speed performance, LTE brings a considerable upgrade to the cellular network over even
the latest version of HSPA+. Using 64QAM in a SISO configuration, the peak data rate is 100
Mbits/s in a 20-MHz channel. That rate drops to 57.6 Mbits/s with 16QAM and 50 Mbits/s with
QPSK. The data rate jumps to a peak of 172.8 Mbits/s using 2x2 MIMO. Although not widely
supported, 4x4 MIMO is expected to deliver a peak of 326.4 Mbits/s.
CHALLENGES
LTE is currently deployed on a relatively small scale worldwide. Most carriers have committed
to LTE but implementation is slow due to the high cost of new infrastructure equipment. The
trend to adoption is clear even among carriers that previously followed the cdma2000 EV-DO
route. In fact, two of the cdma2000 carriers, MetroPCS and Verizon, are the first to implement
LTE in the U.S. MetroPCS has LTE service in all of its major metropolitan coverage. It uses the
Samsung LTE phones.
Verizon Wireless launched its LTE network in December last year 2012 in 39 market areas.
Since then, the company has continuously rolled out new LTE coverage. Its plans call for
coverage in as many as 175 markets by the end of 2011. Verizon uses the Samsung handsets as
well as the newer HTC Thunderbolt.
Users are experiencing downlink data rates of 5 to 12 Mbits/s and 2 to 5 Mbits/s on the uplink, a major improvement over older 3G systems. LTE is expected to gain increasing momentum through the second quarter of 2011. Currently, 12
countries have commercial LTE services. ABI Research projects that by the end of the year,
there will be some 16 million subscribers using LTE mobile devices. Now all we need is a good
supply of LTE smart phones.
Due to the lack of harmonization of LTE spectrum bands across different countries, it is almost
impossible within the near future to support LTE global roaming.
To use a LTE device for data roaming based on the current worldwide spectrum usage, the
device needs to support at least 15 bands.
From an engineering perspective, supporting so many bands on a device is really tough.
Therefore, for the next decade, 3G data roaming will still be dominant.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
21 | P a g e
LTE-ADVANCE
LTE-Advanced is what will become the formal ITU-blessed version of 4G. As an evolved
version of LTE, it boosts data rates to 1 Gbit/s by using wider-bandwidth channels and higher-
level MIMO schemes. Data rates beyond the theoretical peak of 326.4 Mbytes/s are achieved by
using bandwidths of 40 to 100 MHz.
The channel width ideally should be one contiguous segment if possible. But if not, the standard
allows non-contiguous segments to be aggregated. With the spectrum limitations that most
carriers live with, it is more likely that the non-contiguous aggregation will be the norm.
LTE-Advanced also defines a maximum of 8x8 MIMO, but it isn’t likely to be widely supported.
However, various other MIMO configurations will be more common such as 2x2, 4x4, and 4x2.
Handset MIMO is more likely to be 1x2, but up to 4x4 could be used if the antennas can be de-
correlated. Separation between antennas is the solution, but that’s difficult in something as small
as a handset.
Work continues in this area. This standard also is
expected to cover:
• Coordinated multipoint (CoMP): This is an
arrangement where transmitters do not have to be co-
located and can be linked by a high-speed connection
of some sort.
• Relaying: Relay stations between the end user and
base station will retransmit downlink and uplink
signals to improve coverage. It will also increase data
rates and help eliminate dead zones in coverage as
well as extend coverage in rural areas.
• Femtocells: These home-based cell sites along with enterprise picocells should further increase
coverage areas at lower cost.
LTE-Advanced is not finalized yet, and it will be years before we see it. It will ultimately
become one of the technologies along with WiMAX2 to form IMT-Advanced, which is the
ITU’s final say on 4G.
LTE ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
With 3G technology established, it was obvious that the rate of development of cellular
technology should not slow. As a result initial ideas for the development of a new 4G system
started to be investigated. In one early investigation which took place on 25 December 2006 with
information released to the press on 9 February 2007, NTT DoCoMo detailed information about
As 3G can coexist with 2G
systems in integrated networks, it is possible that LTE systems coexist with 3G
and 2G systems. Multimode devices will function across
LTE/3G or even LTE/3G/2G, depending on market
circumstances. [6]
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
22 | P a g e
trials in which they were able to send data at speeds up to approximately 5 Gbit/s in the downlink
within a 100MHz bandwidth to a mobile station moving at 10km/h. The scheme used several
technologies to achieve this including variable spreading
factor spread orthogonal frequency division multiplex,
MIMO, multiple input multiple output, and maximum
likelihood detection. Details of these new 4G trials were
passed to 3GPP for their consideration
In 2008 3GPP held two workshops on IMT Advanced,
where the "Requirements for Further Advancements for E-
UTRA" were gathered. The resulting Technical Report
36.913 was then published in June 2008 and submitted to
the ITU-R defining the LTE-Advanced system as their proposal for IMT-Advanced.
The development of LTE Advanced / IMT Advanced can be seen to follow and evolution from
the 3G services that were developed using UMTS / W-CDMA technology. Table 1.2
WCDMA
(UMTS)
HSPA
HSDPA /
HSUPA
HSPA+ LTE LTE ADVANCED
(IMT
ADVANCED)
Max downlink speed
bps
384 k 14 M 28 M 100M 1G
Max uplink speed
bps
128 k 5.7 M 11 M 50 M 500 M
Latency
round trip time
approx
150 ms 100 ms 50ms
(max)
~10 ms less than 5 ms
3GPP releases Rel 99/4 Rel 5 / 6 Rel 7 Rel 8 Rel 10
Approx years of initial
roll out
2003 / 4 2005 / 6
HSDPA
2007 / 8
HSUPA
2008 / 9 2009 / 10
Access methodology CDMA CDMA CDMA OFDMA / SC-
FDMA
OFDMA / SC-
FDMA
LTE ADVANCED KAY FEATURES
With work starting on LTE Advanced, a number of key requirements and key features are
coming to light. Although not fixed yet in the specifications, there are many high level aims for
the new LTE Advanced specification. These will need to be verified and much work remains to
be undertaken in the specifications before these are all fixed. Currently some of the main
headline aims for LTE Advanced can be seen below:
India Broadband penetration is far behind the target. However from the year 2011, data usage was expected to grow at a faster pace with 3G, Smart Phones, I-Phones, Social networking sites are expected to catalyze the data usage growth.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
23 | P a g e
Peak data rates: downlink - 1 Gbps; uplink - 500 Mbps.
Spectrum efficiency: 3 times greater than LTE.
Peak spectrum efficiency: downlink - 30 bps/Hz; uplink - 15 bps/Hz.
Spectrum use: the ability to support scalable bandwidth use and spectrum aggregation where
non-contiguous spectrum needs to be used.
Latency: from Idle to Connected in less than 50 ms and then shorter than 5 ms one way for
individual packet transmission.
Cell edge user throughput to be twice that of LTE.
Average user throughput to be 3 times that of LTE.
Mobility: Same as that in LTE
Compatibility: LTE Advanced shall be capable of interworking with LTE and 3GPP legacy
systems. [5]
TD-LTE:
TDD (time division duplex) version of LTE is known as TD-LTE. Recently operators and
vendors across world have requested the 3GPP standards body to begin working on
specifications that would enable TD-LTE to be deployed in the 2.6 GHz band of spectrum as
well.
Last October 2012, the ITU stepped in and declared that LTE, EV-DO Rev. A and B, HSPA, and WiMAX are still 3G. The ITU says that 4G is what it calls IMT-Advanced. Of the various standards being considered for real 4G, only two have met the requirements for IMT-Advanced: LTE-Advanced and WiMAX2, also known as Wireless MAN-Advanced or IEEE 802.16m [4]
WIMAX REMAINS A PLAYER
As good as it is, WiMAX always seems to be treated as the black sheep of the broadband
wireless flock. Yet it appears to be just as good as LTE. Both are OFDM-based with minimal
differences. WiMAX, which means Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a
wireless metropolitan-area network (MAN) system designed for broadband access. The standard
was originally intended to be a wireless alternative to DSL or cable TV Internet connections, but
it has become more than that. The IEEE originally standardized it as 802.16 or fixed WiMAX in
2004. A mobile version designated 802.16e was standardized in 2005. The ITU has designated
all of these versions as 3G, but the newer 802.16m is a candidate for IMT-Advanced, making it
4G WiMAX.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
24 | P a g e
WiMAX has been deployed for Internet access in more than 580 installations in 150 countries
including the U.S. It uses the 2.3-, 2.5-, 3.3-, 3.5-, and 5-GHz bands, with 2.5 and 3.5 GHz being
the most common.
There’s no doubt WiMAX will ultimately be used in the newer 700-MHz bands. Besides its
primary use in broadband Internet access, it is also used in microwave backhaul links for cellular
base stations and Wi-Fi hotspots.
The latest and most widely used version of WiMAX, Mobile WiMAX 802.16e, uses a scalable
OFDM and OFDMA for access where the number of subcarriers can be 128, 512, 1024, or 2048
depending on the channel bandwidth, which may be 1.25, 5, 10, or 20 MHz. The basic subcarrier
spacing is 10.94 kHz. The standard supports antenna diversity, adaptive antennas, and MIMO for
improved link reliability and higher data rates.
WIMAX KEY FEATURES:
Turbo coding and low-density parity check forward error correction schemes are used. Access is
primarily TDD in mobile applications, though a FDD profile is defined. The modulation is
adaptive to the link robustness. It uses binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) for the poorest
conditions. QPSK and 16QAM can also be used to boost data rate under better path conditions.
Range and data rate both vary widely depending upon the application. In a fixed-station
application, the range can be as great as 30 miles. In mobile applications, stations or cell sites are
mainly in the 3- to 10-mile radius. Most mobile cell sites have a range of only 1.5 miles to
provide good, reliable connections while maintaining a good, useable data rate.
Data rates for individual users in most systems range from 1 to 5 Mbits/s. But in a single-user
downlink, a data rate of 128 Mbits/s in a 20-MHz channel with a 56-Mbit/s uplink speed can be
achieved.
WIMAX2: THE TRUE 4 G
The IMT-Advanced 802.16m version also known as WiMAX2 is even more broadly defined with frequency coverage down to 450 MHz and through the 5-GHz range. It can achieve 1-Gbit/s speeds in a fixed environment and 100 Mbits/s in a mobile environment. A minimum of 2x2 MIMO is defined for base stations, but they will no doubt use 4x4 or higher plus beam forming as well. A mobile user will have at a minimum of one transmitted and two receive signal chains (1x2 MIMO). Modulation is 64QAM in a 20-MHz channel. This is true 4G. [4]
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
25 | P a g e
FRAME WORKS FOR IMT-ADVANCED SYSTEM
The framework for the development of IMT-Advanced systems can be considered from multiple
perspectives, including the users, manufacturers, application developers, network operators, and
service and content providers. (Table 1.3)
Perspective Objectives
END USER
Ubiquitous mobile access Easy access to applications and services Appropriate quality at reasonable cost Easily understandable user interface
Long equipment and battery life Large choice of terminals
Enhanced service capabilities User-friendly billing capabilities
CONTENT PROVIDER
Flexible billing capabilities Ability to adapt content to user requirements
depending on terminal, location and user preferences
Access to a very large marketplace through a high similarity of application programming
interfaces
SERVICE PROVIDER
Fast, open service creation, validation and provisioning
Quality of service (QoS) and security management
Automatic service adaptation as a function of available data rate and type of terminal
Flexible billing capabilities
NETWORK OPERATOR
Optimization of resources (spectrum and equipment)
QoS and security management Ability to provide differentiated services
Flexible network configuration Reduced cost of terminals and network
equipment based on global economies of scale Smooth transition from IMT-2000 to systems
beyond IMT-2000 Maximization of sharing capabilities between
IMT-2000 and systems beyond IMT-2000 (sharing of mobile, UMTS subscriber identity module (USIM), network elements, radio sites)
Single authentication (independent of the access network)
Flexible billing capabilities Access type selection optimizing service delivery
MANUFACTURER/ APPLICATION DEVELOPER
Reduced cost of terminals and network equipment based on global economies of scale
Access to a global marketplace Open physical and logical interfaces between modular
and integrated subsystems Programmable platforms that enable fast and low-cost
development. [6]
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
26 | P a g e
FDD LTE vs. TD-LTE
TD-LTE is a 4G technology; it has expanded in Japan, the Middle East, Europe, and the US. It is
believed that it will serve 25% of the market by 2016.
FDD-LTE is the world’s dominant 4G technology. Of the 156 commercial 4G networks
operating around the world in March 2013, 142 were FDD LTE and 14 were TD-LTE. There are
reports that FDD LTE is faster than TD-LTE. [7]
Advantages / disadvantages of TDD and FDD (Table1.4)
Parameter TDD
FDD
Paired spectrum
Does not require paired spectrum as both transmit and
receive occur on the same channel.
Requires paired spectrum with sufficient frequency separation
to allow simultaneous transmission and reception.
Hardware cost
Lower cost as no diplexer is needed to isolate the
transmitter and receiver. As cost of the UEs is of major
importance because of the vast numbers that are produced,
this is a key aspect.
Diplexer is needed and cost is higher.
UL / DL asymmetry
It is possible to dynamically change the UL and DL capacity
ratio to match demand
UL / DL capacity determined by frequency allocation set out by the regulatory authorities. It
is therefore not possible to make dynamic changes to match capacity. Regulatory changes would normally be
required and capacity is normally allocated so that it is the same in either direction.
Guard period / guard band
Guard period required to ensure uplink and downlink transmissions do not clash. Large guard period will limit capacity. Larger guard period normally required if distances are increased to accommodate
larger propagation times.
Guard band required to provide sufficient isolation between uplink and downlink. Large guard band does not impact
capacity.
Discontinuous transmission
Discontinuous transmission is required to allow both uplink and downlink transmissions.
This can degrade the performance of the RF power amplifier in the transmitter.
Continuous transmission is required.
While it can be anticipated both TDD and FDD will be widely used, it is anticipated that FDD
will be the more widespread, Since LTE has become backward compatible with 3G and 2G
technologies which use paired spectrum, therefore it can be said that LTE FDD using the paired
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
27 | P a g e
spectrum can form the migration path for the current 3G/2G services. Although LTE TDD has a
number of significant advantages, especially in terms of higher spectrum efficiency that can be
used by many operators.
REGULATORY ISSUES IN IMT-ADVANCED SYSTEMS (INDIA)
It is required that there should be a well defined path for moving towards IMT-Advanced
services which include timely availability of sufficient spectrum, identification of frequency
band.
Spectrum being the basic resource for any wireless
technology, it is important to identify and make available
internationally harmonized bands for the use of IMT
services in India.
This will facilitate economies of scale, worldwide
roaming, wide availability of
handsets/terminals/devices, favorable investment climate
etc.
INDIAN SCENARIO
800 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum bands are presently being
used for 2G mobile services.
Though, the Authority (TRAI) has recommended that in
future when the spectrum in 800, 900 MHz is available (by allocating spectrum in 1800 and 1900
for the licensees at the time of renewal), it may be reframed and allocated for the IMT services.
At present spectrum in these bands is not available. In 1800 MHz band, out of 75 MHz of paired
spectrum, only 35 MHz is available for commercial services in a number of service areas. It is
expected that Defense will vacate 2x20 MHz of spectrum in 1800 MHz band which will be
required to compensate for the reframed 900 MHz spectrum.
Similarly, spectrum in PCS1900 MHz bands will be needed so that the service providers in 800
MHz can be relocated in 1900 MHz bands. [6]
In the current scenarios, following spectrum bands are only available for future technologies in
India :
- 700 MHz band (698-806 MHz).
- 2010-2025 MHz band.
- 2.3-2.4 GHz band.
- 2.5-2.69 GHz band.
- 3.4-3.6 GHz band.
Internationally, the following bands have been identified for
IMT and IMT-Advanced for public telecommunication
services: 450 MHz, 585–806 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800
MHz, 1900 MHz, 2,1 GHz, 2.3-2.4 GHz, 2.5-2.69
GHz, 3.3-3.4 GHz and 3.4–3.6 GHz.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
28 | P a g e
(Table1.5)
The Authority (Department of Telecommunication & TRAI) is aware of the rapid technological
advances that had been made in the preceding decade, especially in With respect of broadband
wireless access technologies.
There is two concerns:
First, that the demand for data, new wireless technologies and new services would increase and
this, in turn, would necessitate the availability of high quality “low frequency” spectrum for new
technologies.
Secondly, from a pure allocative efficiency perspective, it was vitally important to utilize the
scarce national resource, spectrum, in an optimal manner.
Since voice and other services provided through 2G technology could just as well be provided by
assigning spectrum in a higher frequency band, thereby vacating the low frequency and highly
efficient spectrum for new technologies, the outcome would be allocatively efficient as well as
capable of nurturing technical progress and paving the way for more satisfactorily meeting future
demand.
Since all the high-quality efficient spectrum in the 900 MHz band had been allocated to various
operators and the contract period for such allocation was coming up for renewal starting in 2014-
15, it is time to consider whether spectrum could be reassigned so as to meet future needs of the
country.
The Government authority noted that reviews conducted by the Governments in other countries
have resulted in creation of significant economic value by re-farming and
harmonizing international bands for mobile usage.
Accordingly, the Authority felt it necessary that the spectrum in the 800/900 MHz bands may
also be reframed in India for use for mobile broadband services based on the latest and most
spectrally-efficient technologies. [8]
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
29 | P a g e
REFRAMING OF SPECTRUM
Spectrum be freed up either for a similar use in a particular band or other uses thus clearing
frequencies from delivery of low-value services. This is called reframing.
The key motivation for re-farming is to use the re-farmed frequency bands for communication
services that yield greater economic or social benefits than the existing use.
REFRAMING CHALLENGES
When frequencies have been used for one purpose for long periods of time, it is very difficult to
reallocate these frequencies for a different use.
Many regulators are (DOT/TRAI), therefore, taking the expiration of existing 2G licences as an
opportunity to update licence terms to benefit from the developments in the mobile industry.
DIFFERENT APPROACHES OF REFRAMING: Few International cases International experience suggests that countries have used different approaches for
liberalization/reframing of spectrum in the 900 MHz band.
A. Amend technology specific licenses: An option for governments can be to amend existing
licenses to allow deployment of new technology (e.g. France and Finland: Amended the
technology specification of the 900 licenses for their
three existing licensees to allow them to use the 900
band for both GSM and UMTS/HSPA)
B. Abolish technology / service restrictions: An option
for governments can be to make existing licenses
technology/service neutral (e.g. Sweden: A combined
renewal and reframing process implemented by PTS;
new licenses allow licensees to choose technology)
C. Reshuffling/Redistribution of spectrum: GSM
channels are 200 kHz, UMTS/HSPA channels are 5
MHz, and LTE is standardized with different channel
width including 5, 10 and 20 MHz
D. Withdrawing and re-assigning spectrum: Some countries have considered withdrawal of GSM
licenses (partly/wholly) for re-planning the frequency bands and then issue licenses that make
deployment of UMTS/HSPA and/or LTE possible.
In most of these countries, because of the small number of incumbents having 900 MHz spectrum (2 to 4), it was feasible to redistribute the available 900 MHz spectrum amongst the operators. However, in India, on account of the fact that the number of operators is 6 to 9 in all the LSAs and the available spectrum in 900 MHz 11 band is only 18.6-22.2 MHz, the approach to be adopted has perforce to be different.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
30 | P a g e The Cabinet has approved the National Telecom Policy, 2012 which incorporates the following provisions:“3.5
To delink spectrum in respect of all future licences. Spectrum shall be made available at a price determined through market related processes”.
The Telecom Authority of India had analyzed the issue of reframing of spectrum in
800/900MHz band and concluded that spectrum in 900MHz may be reframed when the spectrum
for the first and second licensees come for renewal in 2014-15. [8]
In its recommendations on „Spectrum Management and Licensing Framework‟ dated 11th May
2010, the Authority of Telecommunication India recommended:
“Keeping in view the value of 900 MHz spectrum, the Authority recommends that on renewal of the licence, spectrum held by a licensee in the 900 MHz band shall be replaced by assignment of equal amount of spectrum in 1800 MHz…. Similar action would be taken in respect of the 800 MHz band spectrum which would be replaced by spectrum in 1900 MHz/450 MHz band. (Para 2.175)” TRAI Three different options for reframing of spectrum in
Indian:
Ⅰ 1st 900 MHz spectrum available with the
licensees whose licences are expiring during
2014-16, was proposed to be reframed at the
time of renewal of licence and in its place spectrum in the 1800 MHz was to be given to
them.
Ⅱ 2nd it was proposed that such licensees may be allowed to retain 5 MHz of spectrum in
900 MHz band at the time of renewal of their licences and the rest of the spectrum in 900
MHz band is reframed by assigning spectrum in 1800 MHz.
Ⅲ 3rd that all the licensees holding spectrum in 900 MHz, irrespective of the expiry dates of
their licences, may be given an option to surrender spectrum in excess of 5 MHz
allocated to them in the 900 MHz band in lieu of equal amount of spectrum in 1800 MHz.
An operator providing services over 20 years would have invested extensively on network
planning and development including active infrastructure, planning of cell sites, MSCs,
deploying equipment for backhaul connectivity, setting up points of interconnection, marketing
and customer care centers, building up chains of dealers and distributors and other related
infrastructure. Surely, such investments have been made on the 22 reasonable expectation that, at
the time of renewal, the operator would
continue to have access to spectrum. If no such assurance was available, it would seriously and
adversely impact investment incentives. What is even more important is the associated
DOT/TRAI concluded that the entire spectrum in the 800/900 MHz band be reframed.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
31 | P a g e
impracticality; without some assurance of spectrum availability, there could be a serious
disruption to continuity of service to millions of subscribers and huge
Uncertainties for telecom operators.
VARIOUS APPROACHED ADOPTED BY COUNTRIES FOR REFRAMING OF
SPECTRUM
Sweden: 900 MHz Band
Prior to liberalization/reframing in Sweden, four operators (Swefour, Tele2, Telenor and
TeliaSonera_ held both 2G 900MHz licences and 3G 2100MHz licences; one operator (HI3G)
had 2100MHz licence only.
Reframing decision resulted in all 900MHz spectrum in Sweden being distributed among the
five operators. This process was carried out on a mutually agreed proposal submitted by all
five operators to the regulator PTS.
Subsequently, use of spectrum in the band has been liberalized and all licences are
technology and service neutral wef 01st May 2011.
Denmark: 900/1800 MHz
Prior to the reframing, almost all the spectrum in the two bands was licensed to Denmark's
three GSM operators: TDC, Telia and Telenor.
The reframing decision by NITA on 23rd Dec 2009 provided for the redistribution of
spectrum to accommodate new entry licensees in both bands and reshuffling of existing
licensees meaning all 32 operators had to spectrally move their current operations and
adjusting expiry dates of existing licenses.
Ireland: 900/1800 MHz
On 24.08.2011, the ComReg released the document “Multi-Band Spectrum Release: Release
of the 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz radio spectrum bands”, which contained
ComReg’s comprehensive proposals for making these spectrum bands available from 2013
on a competitive basis, based on a multiband spectrum auction.
Two of these three spectrum bands (900 MHz and 1800 MHz) are used for providing the 2G
mobile services); the third band (800 MHz) is currently used for broadcasting analogue
terrestrial signals. [8]
The Telecom Authority of India had analyzed the issue of reframing of spectrum in 800/900MHz band and concluded that spectrum in 900MHz may be reframed when the spectrum for the first and second licensees come for renewal in 2014-15. [8]
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
32 | P a g e
INTERNATIONAL PRACTICES ON IMT-ADVANCES
U.S.A.
The 700 MHz band was previously used for analog television broadcasting, specifically UHF
channels 52 through 69 (698 MHz-806 MHz). The FCC was of the view that the switch to digital
television has made these frequencies no longer necessary for broadcasters, due to the improved
spectral efficiency of digital broadcasts. Thus all broadcasters were moved to channels 2 through
51 (54 MHz-698 MHz) as part of the digital T.V transition. The last transmissions by the
incumbent television broadcasters using the channels 52 through 69 ceased on June 12, 2009
except for LPTV (Low Power T.V) stations, which were permitted to stay on the air with an
analog signal until the winning bidders start operations.
The United States 700 MHz FCC Wireless spectrum auction, officially known as Auction 73,
was started by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on January 24, 2008 for the
rights to operate the 700 MHz frequency band in the United States.
As per the FCC guidelines, 700 MHz Band licenses may be used for flexible fixed, mobile, and
broadcast uses, including fixed and mobile wireless commercial services (including FDD- and
TDD-based services); fixed and mobile wireless uses for private, internal radio needs; and
mobile and other digital new broadcast operations. These uses may include two-way interactive,
cellular, and mobile television broadcasting services. [9]
DENMARK
An auction of 190 MHz spectrum in 2500-2690 MHz (2.5 GHz band) and 15 MHz spectrum in
2010 MHz band was completed on May 10, 2010, with spectrum being awarded to Hi3G
Denmark ApS, TDC A/S, Telia Nattjanster Norden AB and Telenor. [10]
FINLAND
In the spectrum auction held by the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA),
the spectrum blocks to be auctioned were divided into blocks.
A. 2.5GHz paired: 2x5 MHz – 14 lots in 2500-2570MHz and 2620-2690MHz spectrum bands.
(blocks FDD1 to FDD14)
B. 2.5GHz unpaired: Spectrum block 2570-2620 MHz. (called TDD-block.) [11]
AUSTRIA
Austrian regulator Telekom Control Commission (TKK) divided the frequency range 2500 -
2690 MHz, which was to be auctioned, as given below :
A. 2.5GHz paired: 2x5 MHz – 14 blocks in 2500-2570MHz and 2620-2690MHz spectrum
bands. (Blocks A1 to A14).
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
33 | P a g e
B. 2.5GHz unpaired: The sub-band 2570-2620 MHz auctioned as ten blocks, each consisting of
one Block of 5MHz unpaired spectrum (Blocks B1-B10).
The frequencies were for assignment for use throughout the entire territory of Austria. It was
decided that the frequencies would be assigned in such a way that bidders can only acquire
contiguous frequency blocks in whole multiples of 2x5
MHz in the paired range and in whole multiples of 5
MHz in the unpaired range. [12]
IMT –ADVANCED SECURITY ISSUE
Security is an issue that is of paramount importance. It
is necessary to ensure that IMT- Advanced security
measures provides the level of security required
without impacting the user.
IMT- Advanced brings with it packet-based access up to the user terminal. A packet
infrastructure with a large number of IP addressed devices implies ease of proliferation of
malware attacks, and complex requirements for their detection, prevention and cure. A new
threat assessment framework and a security policy in line with this framework are necessary to
secure these networks and their users.
Packet based voice will be potentially prone to IP telephony attacks such as SPAM for VoIP
(SPIT), SIP registration hijacking, eavesdropping. SPITs can also consume bandwidth thereby
degrading quality of voice.
MAC layer security issues in both LTE-Advanced and WiMAX include bandwidth stealing,
location tracking, denial of service (DoS) attacks etc.
Pico and Femto base stations are likely to be more popular in IMT-Advanced and are likely to
pose more security threats due to high accessibility architecture.
These networks present significantly higher capacity challenges to legal-intercept systems
deployed today. A large, dynamic public IP pool places enormous demands on infrastructure
used by law enforcement agencies for call traces, and the capacity of current deployments seems
inadequate. [8]
Due to open architectures and IP based protocols, these networks will be prone to security attacks similar to those of Internet. As a result, IMT-Advanced networks will be more prone to Trojans, Malwares and Virus attacks than 3G wireless systems.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
34 | P a g e
CHALLENGES FAEC BY THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT IN IMPLEMENTING LTE/TD-
LTE.
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT: INDIA
Country Briefing | 18 Sep 2012 [13]
India ranked low in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business report due to excessive
bureaucracy, high corruption, and complex policies and procedures that restrict trade and
investment. According to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2012 report, India ranked
132nd out of 183 countries compared to regional peers like Thailand (16th), China (91st) and
Indonesia (126th). Liberalised economic policies since 1991 have opened the Indian economy
gradually.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in 2011 stood at Rs1.5 trillion (US$31.6 billion) or 1.7%
of total GDP, lower than China (US$124 billion) but higher than Indonesia (US$18.9 billion).
This was also significantly lower than the FDI inflows peak of Rs1.9 trillion (US$43.4 billion) or
3.4% of total GDP in 2008 owing to slowing global economic growth and the euro zone debt
crisis.
India has a complicated tax system, but on-going reforms are making it easier for businesses to
pay taxes. In 2012, the corporation tax stood at 30.0% unchanged from the previous year.
Infrastructural development remains one of the biggest weaknesses in doing business in India.
Nonetheless, the information, communications and technology (ICT) industry is expanding
rapidly across all domains and has tremendous potential for growth. There is a problem of “brain
drain” where skilled people leave the country to seek better job opportunities abroad resulting in
skills shortages, particularly in the ICT, infrastructure and power sectors.
With a 1.2 billion population in 2011, the consumer market is huge and continues to grow
strongly. By 2020, middle youth, aged 30-44, will account for 22.0% of the total population
making it the largest consumer segment in India. These young high-income earners have a huge
demand for discretionary items such as premium luxury goods, communications, tech-savvy
consumer products, hotels and recreation and more.
CORRUPTION IMPACTS INDIA’S BUSINESS AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
Corruption seriously affects India's business and political environment, posing a challenge to the
country's economic growth. An increasing number of corruption scandals since the late 2000s
have damaged the government's credibility, caused major loss in tax revenues, led to social
unrest and widened income inequality. Corruption has become more endemic since the late
2000s along with the country's strong economic growth and a surge in investment.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
35 | P a g e
India has been hit by a string of huge corruption scandals including a multi-billion dollar
telecom licenses scam in 2008, alleged financial malpractices associated with the
Commonwealth Games in 2010 and the illegal mining scandal in Karnataka state during 2006-
2010;
India ranked 87th place out of 178 countries in Transparency International's Corruption
Perceptions Index (CPI) in 2010, down from 84th place in 2009. The index refers to perceptions
of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts. With this ranking,
corruption in India is seen to be worse than in China and Brazil, but still less severe than in
Russia and Indonesia. [13]
Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for Selected Countries: 2010 Table(1.6)
CPI score 2011 CPI rank 2010 CPI rank 2009
New Zealand 9.3 1 1 Japan 7.8 17 17
Brazil 3.7 69 75
China 3.5 78 79
India 3.3 87 84 Indonesia 2.8 110 111
Russia 2.1 154 146
Source: Euro monitor International from Transparency International. [14]
Note: Score is based on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 10 (perceived to have low levels of corruption).
Corruption significantly impacts India's business environment and poses a threat to sustained
economic growth:
Pervasive corruption reduces competition and efficiency in the Indian economy. India ranked
134th out of 183 countries in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index in 2011, a ranking
lower than both China (79th) and Brazil (127th). Businesses face constraints in starting a
business, dealing with construction permits and enforcing contracts;
Corruption raises the cost of doing business and adds to the problem of regulatory uncertainty,
thus affecting foreign direct investment (FDI). Due to strict foreign investment regulations, FDI
inflows to India remain low compared to its peer economies and stood at US$24.6 billion in
2010, compared to US$106 billion for China and US$41.2 billion for Russia;
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
36 | P a g e
Significant tax revenues have been lost due to corruption. The sale of the 2G spectrum telecom
licences in 2008 alone caused an estimated US$40.0 billion revenue loss for the Indian
government. India has faced a rising budget deficit which stood at Rs7.0 trillion (US$153 billion)
in 2010 or 8.9% of total GDP;
Chart:1.1
India's efforts to reduce poverty will be hampered as public funds are embezzled and diverted
from social spending such as on healthcare and education. According to national statistics, more
than one third of the Indian population still live below the national poverty line as of 2010.
Income inequality has also worsened, with the Gini index rising from 37.8% in 2005 to 39.5% in
2010. The index measures the level of income equality where a zero value represents perfect
income equality while 100% indicates absolute income inequality;
Rising corruption has led to social discontent amongst the middle-class and a volatile political
environment. Since early 2011, a series of anti-corruption street protests and hunger strikes are
putting the government under pressure to pass a revised anti-corruption bill that has been
proposed by Anna Hazare, India's well-known anti-corruption activist.
PREVENTIVE ACTION TAKEN BY INDIAN GOVERNMENT
The Indian government has taken some action in fighting corruption. Since early 2011, some top
government officials including the former Telecoms Minister have been arrested for alleged
corruption. On August 4th, 2011, the government drafted a new bill to set up an anti-corruption
watchdog. The bill was criticised however, for exempting the prime minister and senior judges
from prosecution while they are in office;
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
37 | P a g e
On August 28th, the government accepted the first draft of the stronger anti-corruption bill
proposed by Anna Hazare, and as a result he has ended the hunger strike he began in mid-August
2011 to force the government to pass it. There are further stages in passing the bill however, and
it is possible that it could be weakened during them. If this happens, there could be socio-
political uncertainty in the near future;
Economic growth in India will continue to be boosted by a rising middle-class and strong
consumption. During 2005-2010, consumer expenditure in India grew at an average annual rate
of 5.8% in real terms. In order to sustain growth, however, India needs to address corruption to
improve investor confidence, consolidate government finance and reduce poverty. India's real
GDP growth is forecast to slow down to 8.2% in 2011 from 10.4% in 2010, mainly due to high
inflation and the government's austerity measures.
TECHNOLOGY, COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA: INDIA
Country Briefing | 17 Sep 2012
India’s technology, communications and media (TCM) sector represents one of the world`s
largest and fastest growing markets, driven by the country’s huge population, growing middle
class and rising income levels. The mobile phone sector continues to expand impressively as it
reaches India’s vast rural population. While broadband penetration remains rather low, Internet
usage has soared owing to network expansion, creating great opportunities for businesses in
Internet media and retailing.
India has been an early adopter of information technologies but growth of the TCM sector has
been restrained by a high adult illiteracy level, a lack of investment in rural infrastructure and
corruption. India ranked 69th out of 142 countries in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF)
Networked Readiness Index (NRI) in 2012, a drop of 25 positions compared to the 2007 ranking.
Household possession of a mobile phone increased rapidly from 21.9% of all households in 2006
to 41.1% in 2011. While the annual rate of mobile phone subscriptions has started to moderate,
India’s mobile market, especially in rural areas, is still far from saturation. India will overtake
China to become the world`s largest market in terms of mobile phone subscriptions by as early as
2013.
India’s household broadband Internet possession rose from 0.6% of all households in 2006 to
5.9% in 2011, remaining very low in the world’s ranking of broadband penetration rates. While
broadband Internet enabled computers and services remain out of reach for many households,
network expansion and growing public Internet connectivity will continue to boost Internet
usage.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
38 | P a g e
Average Indian household expenditure on communications stood at Rs5,199 (US$111) in 2011,
up by 61.1% in real terms over 2006. Rising income levels and a growing number of middle
class households will continue to fuel consumer spending on TCM products and services. India’s
vast rural population provides a promising market segment for low-cost services and products,
including mobile phones and computers;
Internet retailing is set to grow in India, backed by consumers’ increasing enthusiasm for online
shopping and convenient payment mechanisms. In 2011, the total value of Internet retail sales in
India reached Rs46.4 billion (US$968 million), accounting for 39.1% of total non-store retailing
value in the year. [13]
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
39 | P a g e
DRIVERS FOR IMPLEMENTING LTE ADVANC SYSTEM: INDIA
Indian Telecom Sector Offering Brighter Prospects in 2013
Article | 01 Mar 2013
At one point one of the fastest expanding in the world, the Indian telecom sector has lost
momentum, with businesses hoping sound government policy and eager consumers can help the
industry recover its edge:
In February 2012, the Indian government cancelled 122 2G licences following a corruption
scandal over their under-priced auction in 2008. The ordeal underlined government inefficiencies
and the disorganized state of the telecom industry, where a large number of smaller, regional
mobile operators were not fulfilling their contractual duties.
The bad publicity India has gathered as a result has provided a toxic environment for potential
new telecom entrants to the market, while state-enforced changes to spectrum bidding, moved to
an auction-based system (meaning licence costs could be higher) as opposed to fixed bids, and
lowered competition as a result of cancelled licences will likely raise prices for consumers.
Nonetheless, India remains a highly prospective market, despite it lagging behind its fellow
BRIC nations in terms of telecom development, due to lower fibre-optic coverage, and mobile
broadband and Internet usage penetration. If the state can provide greater commercial incentives
to fixed and mobile operators in rural areas, a large section of the population can be unlocked for
the market. The country's mobile phone subscriptions numbered a massive 961 million in 2012,
behind only China.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
40 | P a g e
(Chart1.2)
Unusually, India has seen much larger telecom investments than total telecom revenues
throughout 2007-2012, suggesting that the sector is not fully monetising its potential but that the
country is building a strong infrastructural base for the future. The telecom sector is thus not as
saturated as in other more developed markets, including fellow BRIC nations, and businesses can
see potentially rapid growth opportunities;
As smaller telecom players are expected to be increasingly squeezed out in upcoming
spectrum auctions for 4G and other frequencies in 2013, sector-wide consolidation is set to
strengthen the position of the major wireless operators, including Bharti Airtel, IDEA Cellular,
Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications. Despite decreasing competition, market
convergence will provide greater stability and strategy in the sector, offering better services to
consumers.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
41 | P a g e
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE: INDIA
Country Briefing | 04 Oct 2012
Slower-than-expected real GDP growth and high inflation will impact disposable income and
consumer expenditure levels in 2012 and 2013. However, India’s youthful demographic and
growth from low middle-income levels provides opportunities for marketers of consumers goods
and services. Discretionary spending is rising across income levels with categories like
communications, clothing and footwear, hotels and catering and education seeing the fastest
growth in the 2013-2020 period.
India’s per capita annual disposable income witnessed a strong growth of 21.0% in real terms
between 2006 and 2011 to reach Rs58,261 (US$1,249) by the end of the period but is
categorized as a “low income” country by the World Bank. In 2012 and 2013, real growth in per
capita annual disposable income is expected to slow to 3.5% and 4.8% year-on-year respectively
in real terms, owing to the country’s low real GDP growth and high inflation.
However, India has a large and expanding middle class with a strong purchasing power that is
creating more demand for discretionary items like durable goods, automobiles, consumer finance
and more. In 2011, the country’s middle class – made up of households with between 75.0% and
125% of median income – comprised 65.9 million households or 28.9% of the total number of
households in the country.
MARKET OVERVIEW
Rapid expansion but many challenges remain:
India represents one of the largest and fastest growing TCM markets in the world thanks to
growing investments, a large domestic market with rising income levels as well as substantial
reforms and deregulation since the early 1990s. India’s TCM penetration rates, however, still lag
behind other emerging economies in the Asia Pacific region. Despite strong economic growth,
the country continues to face various challenges in increasing its TCM usage, including
corruption scandals, extensive red tape, poor infrastructure and a relatively low literacy rate. In
2011, India’s adult literacy rate stood at 63.4% of population aged 15+, lower than the Asia
Pacific average of 82.3%.
Overall capital investment in telecommunications reached Rs969 billion (US$20.8 billion) in
2011, representing a growth of 50.2% over 2006 in real terms. Large investments have been
made in India’s telecommunications sector, both by the government and the private sector, thus
helping to improve the country’s TCM infrastructure. This includes, for example, the National
Knowledge Network (NKN) launched in 2009, which aimed to connect 1,500 educational
institutes around the country through a high-speed data communication network.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
42 | P a g e
In 2011, total telecommunications revenues stood at Rs2.2 trillion (US$47.5 billion),
significantly up by 70.5% in real terms over 2006. While telecommunications revenues will
continue to expand in the medium term, the pace of the growth will moderate, alongside a
slowdown in the growth of mobile phone subscriptions.
(Chart1.3)
Source: Euromonitor International from national statistics/trade sources/OECD/Eurostat
PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Mobile infrastructure leads ICT development,
Fixed-line communications infrastructure such as DSL, cable networks and fibre optics are
available in India but their coverage remains low, especially in rural areas:
In 2011, the number of telephone lines in use stood at 32.1 million, a drop of 21.3% over 2006
due to the rising popularity of mobile phones. The number of telephone lines in use per 100
inhabitants also declined from 3.6 in 2006 to 2.7 in 2011. In 2011, 100% of telephone lines in
India were connected to digital exchanges, unchanged from 2006;
The landline telephone sector in India continues to be dominated by two companies, BSNL
and MTNL, which provide access via copper wire. Some other smaller companies also offer
international services and some have their own submarine fibre optic cables
Broadband networks continue to expand in India but serving the country’s huge population,
especially in rural areas, continues to be challenging. A lack of broadband infrastructure in rural
and remote areas has constrained the uptake of broadband Internet in India;
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
43 | P a g e
Efforts have been made to enhance the country’s fixed broadband connections. BSNL, the
state-run operator, has started to launch fibre-to-the home (FTTH) services in some cities since
2010, providing up to 100Mb/s speed connections. The government initiated a National
Broadband Network plan in 2011, which aims to provide an open access optical fibre network
connecting all dwellings with a population of 500 and above by 2013;
Improving fixed broadband infrastructure will provide faster Internet access for businesses and
consumers in India, thus offering opportunities for related services such as online entertainment.
(Chart: 1.4)
In an effort to boost rural mobile penetration and reduce the investment cost for mobile
operators, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has since 2005
supported a mobile infrastructure sharing policy. The initiative allows mobile operators to
cooperate with telecom tower companies in expanding their networks, thus making the rollout of
mobile networks faster and easier.
Storage infrastructure in India has developed significantly since the early 2000s, with many data
centres being established by telecommunications and information technology companies,
including leading ones such as IBM and NTT. With the rollouts of 3G and 4G networks and the
launch of data intensive services such as video calls and high speed online gaming, the demand
for storage infrastructure will continue to rise in India, creating opportunities for businesses in
this sector.
MOBILE CONNECTIVITY
Growing mobile connectivity as a chance for a technological “leapfrog”
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
44 | P a g e
India’s mobile communications market is highly competitive, with a large number of service
providers and rapidly growing revenues:
As of December 2011, Bharti was the largest mobile network provider in India, accounting for
19.7% of the mobile market share, according to TRAI’s statistics. Other major players include
Reliance and Vodafone, which enjoyed market share of 16.8% and 16.5%, respectively, at end-
2011;
The share of mobile telecommunication revenues to total telecom revenues in India rose from
60.8% in 2006 to 74.8% in 2011, driven by a 4.5 times increase in the number of mobile phone
subscriptions during the period;
India’s household possession of a mobile phone also increased from 21.9% of all households
in 2006 to 41.1% in 2011. Despite the strong growth, the low 2011 penetration rate suggests that
the mobile communications sector in India is still far from saturation.
(Chart 1.5)
The growing popularity of mobile technology in India could create a chance for a technological
leapfrog, where consumers will be provided with Internet services without computers:
2G networks have been available in India since 2007 but a corruption scandal over the awarding
of 2G licences in 2008 has resulted in uncertainty and disruption in the market. In 2012, the
Supreme Court of India decided to cancel all 122 2G licences awarded and required a re-auction.
Nevertheless, the rollout of 3G networks in India over 2010-2011 has been successful, with more
customers subscribing to the services. In early 2012, the first 4G network in India was launched
by Bharti in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata and in Bangalore;
Wireless-enabled handheld devices such as smartphones, netbooks, tablets and PDAs have
become more popular in India due to their convenience as well as declining prices. Smartphones
remain the most popular device but tablet PCs are likely to attract growing interest among
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
45 | P a g e
working professionals and students. Sales of tablet PCs are forecast to spike as many
manufacturers like Micromax Informatics and Olive Telecom have been introducing their own
low-priced tablet PCs. The introduction of the world`s cheapest tablet computer in 2011, the
Aakash, which is partly subsided by the Indian government, is expected to boost tablet and
Internet usage among the lower-income and student consumer segment;
Despite the large number of mobile phone subscribers, m-commerce is still in its infancy in India
due to a lack of knowledge and security concerns among consumers, as well as because most
merchants in India have not had the tools or the infrastructure to accommodate mobile payments.
The adoption of m-commerce is therefore still limited to young urban Indians who use the
service to buy cinema tickets, travelling tickets and transfer money.
Nevertheless, m-commerce can become an effective way for retailers to reach the bulk of Indian
rural markets. For instance, United Villages, a rural supply company in India, started in 2011 to
make use of mobile phone technology to wire orders from rural retailers to its central warehouse.
HOME CONNECTIVITY
Low broadband penetration rate
The take-up of Internet services has expanded quickly in India during 2006-2011, as a result of
rising demand and more affordable prices of equipment and services:
The number of Internet subscribers increased from 12.6 million in 2006 to 19.6 million in
2011. Broadband Internet subscriptions accounted for 73.6% of all subscriptions in 2011, up
from 18.2% in 2006;
Thanks to competition, Internet prices have declined in India. The country’s fixed broadband
Internet tariffs in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms ranked 6th out of 140 countries in the
WEF’s 2010 ranking, suggesting that the cost of fixed broadband services in India was among
the cheapest in the world.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
46 | P a g e
(Chart1.6)
India is a latecomer to VoIP technology as the services have been only fully allowed since
February 2012. VoIP is expected to benefit customers and businesses as it enables them to make
calls through the Internet at cheaper prices. On the other hand, IPTV services have been
available in India since 2006. Several leading telecom companies in India such as BSNL, Bharti
and Reliance have been offering the services, but a low coverage of broadband networks is
restraining the development of IPTV.
PUBLIC CONNECTIVITY
Public connectivity helps to boost Internet usage
Public connectivity has played an important role in fuelling Internet usage in India:
The number of Internet users per 100 inhabitants in India grew significantly from 2.8 in 2006
to 9.1 in 2011. While the number of Internet subscribers accounted for only 1.6% of India’s
population in 2011, the rapid increase in the number of Internet users has been attributed to the
growing popularity of mobile Internet and connections in public places such as the workplace,
universities, Internet cafés and kiosks;
According to TRAI, there were about 7,890 cyber cafés across India as of September 2011.
However, the figure has been declining, primarily due to the mobile broadband boom in India. In
addition, a large number of Internet kiosks, which were set up by the government and
development organisations in rural areas, have helped to boost rural Internet usage and narrow
the digital gap between rural and urban Indians.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
47 | P a g e
According to jiwire.com, there were about 3,249 Wi-Fi hotspots across India as of July 2012.
Urban centers such as Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai have an extensive number of Wi-Fi
locations. Internet users have Wi-Fi access not only in many public places such as stations and
airports but also in restaurants and shopping centers.
WiMAX technology was first launched in India by BSNL in early 2010, providing high speed
wireless broadband access to users. However, the service is facing tough competition from LTE
technology for mobile broadband services.
WEB 2.0 APPLICATIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Social networking sites such as Face book and LinkedIn are booming in India, partly thanks to
the rise of mobile Internet. According to Social bakers, there were 51.1 million Face book users
in India as of June 2012, representing the third largest group in the world after the USA and
Brazil.
(Chart1.7)
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
48 | P a g e
Ten Most Visited Internet Sites by Reach in India: June 2012. [13](Table 1.7)
Description Ranking (out of 100) Rank Google.in Indian-version search engine 1
Google.com Search engine 2
Facebook.com Social network 3
YouTube.com Video sharing 4
Yahoo.com Internet portal for news, e-mail, search
and chat
5
Wikipedia.org Free encyclopedia 6
Linkedin.com Professional network 7
Indiatimes.com Online news 8
Googleusercontent.com Search engine 9
Wordpress.com Blogging site 10
Source: World Economic Forum, Executive Opinion Survey 2010-2011
DIGITAL MEDIA
Digital media such as music and movie downloading, and photo and video sharing is popular
among Indian Internet users. According to Alexa, video sharing site YouTube was the fourth
most visited site in India as of June 2012. Music streaming portals such as Saavn and Dhingana
have been particularly successful in attracting Indian users. The development of digital media
content in India, however, faces a number of challenges, including slow Internet speeds and
digital piracy. According to the Motion Picture Association, India ranked fourth worldwide in
terms of illegal online movie downloads in 2011.
The consumer-to-consumer (C2C) sales trend is rising in India as a growing number of people
are looking for creative ways to increase their incomes during India’s economic slowdown.
Leading e-marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon have seen positive growth and are investing
more in the country’s soaring e-commerce sector. Secured payment mechanisms and affordable
pricing continue to be critical factors for the take-off of India’s C2C market segment.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
49 | P a g e
SOFTWARE AND STORAGE FACILITIES
The adoption of cloud computing technology has been growing among Indian businesses and
consumers. Many Indian small and medium-sized companies have embraced the technology due
to its cost-effectiveness and environment-friendliness. Apart from international companies such
as IBM and Microsoft, leading local IT firms like Infosys and TCS have cloud projects and offer
cloud computing solutions to customers.
CONSUMERS OF TCM SERVICES
Large growth potential among the middle class and rural population with a burgeoning middle
class and rapidly rising income levels, consumption of TCM products and services in India has
experienced impressive growth rates, thus creating huge opportunities for businesses in the
sector:
India’s average household expenditure on communications stood at Rs5,199 (US$111) in
2011, representing a real growth of 61.1% over 2006;
The growing trend will continue to be strong in the coming years, as household spending on
communications is forecast to expand at an annual average rate of 10.1% in real terms during
2012-2020 to reach Rs19,925 (US$310) per household by 2020
Cable TV penetration will continue growing in India, although at a slower pace. By 2020, 42.7%
of households will possess a cable TV. Cable TV remains more popular in urban areas than in
rural areas. In 2011, 76.8% of households in Uttar Pradesh – an Indian state with a large share of
the urban population – owned a cable TV, compared to merely 3.0% of households in the
remote, rural state of Tripura.
(Chart1.9)
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
50 | P a g e
BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY
Businesses in India have actively used social networking sites to disseminate news and promote
their products. For example, companies such as Tata Docomo (telecommunications) and
Fastrack (accessories) are reported by Social bakers to be the most popular brands on Facebook
in terms of the number of fans in June 2012. Meanwhile, crowd sourcing is still nascent in India,
partly due to a lack of knowledge about the model. However, initial crowd sourcing projects
have been implemented by the public sectors. For instance, the traffic police in some cities such
as Chennai and Delhi have partnered with Facebook and called on users to post information on
any traffic violations in their neighborhood.
Online advertising is widely accepted in India as it has proved to be more cost-effective than
printed advertising. In 2011, online adspend in India amounted to Rs7.6 billion (US$163
million), accounting for 2.8% of total adspend in the year. This is a significant increase
compared to 2006 when online adspend made up only 1.4% of total ad spend. (Chart1.9)
The government of India initiated a National e-Governance Programme in 2006, which aims to
provide access to all ranges of government services to all businesses and individuals in order to
reduce red tape and enhance transparency. The rollout of the programme, however, was delayed
through to 2012 until Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, approved its implementation. With
government services such as tax and custom declarations to be accessible through the Internet,
individuals and businesses will benefit from less bureaucracy and a significant saving in
transportation costs. The implementation of the e-Governance programme, however, faces some
challenges, including a low level of adult literacy and a low Internet penetration rate, especially
in rural areas.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
51 | P a g e
INDIAN MOBILE PHONE USERS TO REACH 250 MILLION IN 2007
India's mobile phone market has experienced strong growth in recent years thanks to the
relaxation of investment rules, rising income and consumer spending as well as intensifying
competition among telecom companies.
With 149.5 million mobile phone users in 2006 – a 96.8% rise from a year earlier, India has the
world's fastest growing mobile phone market. This has helped to transform local trade, alleviate
poverty, facilitate banking services, and generate employment. In light of rising disposable
incomes and accommodating government policies, telecom companies and mobile phone
manufacturers are competing to capitalise on the strong growth potential of the Indian market.
The number of mobile phone subscribers grew 96.8% from the end of December 2005 to
149.5 million subscribers at the end of December 2006.
India has a large and youthful population, with 1.1 billion people and a median age of 24.6 in
2006. Young people, especially in urban areas, tend to be technology-friendly and represent a
potential for strong market growth.
In 2005, the Indian government relaxed investment rules to allow foreign companies to hold
up to a 74% stake (from the previous 49%) in telecoms companies. This will help develop the
country's telecom sector but has also opened up the country's market to foreign investors.
Number of mobile phone users and per capita annual disposable income in India: 2000-2006 (Chart 1.10)
However, as more companies enter the market, competition intensifies. Due to the fierce
competition, charges per minute in India have dropped significantly in recent years and are
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
52 | P a g e
among the lowest in the world. As a result, even as the number of mobile users has risen, the
share of mobile phone revenues in telecom revenue has stayed relatively constant – around 18%
since 2001 (as compared to over 50% in China)
(Chart 1.11)
Thanks to downloads, the market for Bollywood movies and mobile games based on popular
Bollywood movies has expanded massively, especially to rural areas where entertainment venues
are few. On average, a movie sells 7,000 to 10,000 mobile downloads, but sales of more popular
movies can go up to 25,000 downloads
Financial services are also growing significantly - people in India can now use their mobile
phones to transfer funds, check balances, pay for goods, settle utility bills and buy mobile
airtime. At the same time, banks will be able to reduce their operating costs as people switch
from branches to mobile banking.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
53 | P a g e
FUTURE SCENARIOS
The Indian government is targeting 500 million telephone users, both landline and mobile
phones, by 2010. To achieve this, it will need at least US$20 billion in investment, and part of
this will come from foreign direct investment. Based on current trends, most of the demand for
new connections is likely to come for mobile services. By the end of 2007, the number of mobile
users in India is expected to rise to 250 million.
The Indian mobile market is still significantly smaller than the Chinese market with 464 million
mobile users in 2006. However, in catching up with China, the two most populous countries with
rising disposable incomes will jointly be the main driver of the world's mobile phone market. [13]
INDIA’S BROADBAND AMBITIONS WILL BOOST BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
The Indian government aims for 100 million broadband subscribers by 2014, an ambitious target
from the 13.1 million broadband subscribers in 2010. Increasing broadband Internet access will
improve the business environment and benefit consumers by raising productivity and narrowing
regional divides. However, significant challenges remain.
The use of mobile phones and Internet in India has increased dramatically. The proportion of
Indian households with a mobile phone grew from 17.6% in 2005 to 37.3% in 2010. There has
been an 869.0% increase in broadband subscribers over this time period, although household
possession of a broadband Internet enabled computer was just 4.7% in 2010.
This coincides with real GDP growth averaging 8.1% annually in 2005-2010. Disposable
incomes have also increased over 2005-2010 by 33.5% in real terms. There were 74.9 million
Internet users in India in 2010.
(Chart 1.12)
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
54 | P a g e
Better broadband infrastructure will contribute to extensive growth in the service and
manufacturing sectors. Services contributed 26.0% to GDP in 2009 (latest year available)
Fast broadband connections would mean higher productivity, lower operating costs and higher
profit margins for businesses. This would be very attractive to foreign investors seeking to use
India as a lower cost base. FDI inflows are expected to bounce back from a fall of 14.4% in US$
terms in 2009 as the global recovery takes hold Increased mobile and Internet access helps
reduce red tape, making it easier for consumers and governments to communicate. [13]
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
55 | P a g e
CONSUMERS AND BUSINESS CHOOSINGS LTE AHEAD of WIMAX IN WIRELESS
BROADBAND WAR
07 Mar 2013 As more markets across the globe complete commercial rollout of 4G high-speed mobile
broadband, businesses, consumers and governments are positioning themselves in favour of the
Long-Term Evolution (LTE) version of the technology, ensuring that WiMAX is increasingly
becoming an uncompetitive alternative. Both options provide high-speed connections to data via
wireless handheld handsets, but slow rollout and failed business partnerships for WiMAX across
the globe have narrowed its reach. By contrast, consumers are flocking to LTE, while telecom
businesses are tailoring their products to be used on the faster and more widespread LTE
platform.
Most consumers heard of WiMAX long before they did of LTE, with the high-speed wireless
broadband service offering superior speeds to 3G as early as 2006. The technology was in trend
despite remaining relatively non-mainstream, descending originally from Wi-Fi as opposed to
cellular networks. However, slow rollout times by operators, a lack of contracts with businesses
and a focus on urban centers as opposed to nation-wide coverage meant WiMAX never quite
achieved mass-market appeal. WiMAX’s wide-scale partnership with Nokia was also a failure,
as the Finnish company lost market share rapidly by the late 2000s and by 2012 had come close
to bankruptcy.
LTE has benefitted from its acceptance in the Western world, with support from mobile phone
brands such as Apple and Samsung taking the technology to the mainstream. Its faster service
(up to 100 Mb/s) and greater coverage, especially in Western Europe where some Scandinavian
nations boasted 80.0%+ geographical coverage by the technology in late 2012, has wooed more
consumers. With Western Europe being one of the world’s top regions for mobile phone
connections, holding household possession of a mobile phone at 89.9% and total retail value of
the smart phone market reaching US$28.8 billion in 2012, the region has had a major influence
on LTE take-up globally.
WiMAX has had some early success in major emerging markets, especially Pakistan and Russia,
which numbered 115 million and 269 million mobile phone subscribers in 2012, respectively.
However, this has largely been down to late launches of LTE (which remains unavailable in
Pakistan as of early 2013), and the declining technology may continue to serve underdeveloped
telecom markets where competition between rival technologies is low. Meanwhile, LTE is
expanding rapidly recording increasing deployments in major markets such as Brazil, India and
China, and is now almost the universal choice for operators and wireless handset manufacturers.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
56 | P a g e
This is certainly good news for businesses, as LTE’s faster speeds and greater market penetration
allows for improved usage of data-based services, such as m-commerce and multimedia, and
greater universality among consumers. [14]
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
57 | P a g e
THE FUTURE OF NEXT GENERATION WIRELESS COMMUNICATION
When there’s No Spectrum Left
Three words: free space optics (FSO). When we run out of radio spectrum, we can still resort to
the optical spectrum, including infrared (IR) light. There are no regulations or licensing either.
IR is already widely used in wireless transmissions. TV remote controls and some IR backhaul
equipment are readily available. And remember IrDA, the short-range standard popular for a
while in laptops and PDAs? It’s still a viable option for some applications.
FSO equipment has limited range affected mainly by rain, fog, dust, and other atmospheric
effects. Using high-power laser transmitters in the 785- to 1550-nm range, data rates from 10
Mbits/s to well over 1.5 Gbits/s are possible at a range to almost 10 km (6.2 miles). Also, 10-
Gbit/s Ethernet systems are available to reach several hundred meters.
FSO is ideal for short links between buildings to avoid cabling costs. It’s currently used to link or
extend networks using Ethernet, Sonet/SDH, T1/E1, ATM, or other common standards.
5G
We will be in the 4G era for a long time yet. Carriers are still rolling out their so-called 4G (ITU
3G) systems. Once IMT-Advanced is finally ratified, it will take years and a huge investment
before the first LTE-Advanced or WiMAX2 systems get into place. Only then will work begin
on the next generation.
But if we get full 4G with all its capabilities including the streaming of HD video, will we need
5G? According to Rambus director of logic design and verification Ely Tsern, 5G is probably
more of an evolution of 4G with minor improvements in coverage and reliability as opposed to
higher data rates.
With real 4G giving us from 100 Mbits/s to 1 Gbit/s in the years to come, we may not need much
more for most mobile applications. The OFDM technology has reached its peak spectral
efficiency (15 bits/Hz/Hz) with IMT-Advanced, and there isn’t much more to wring out of it.
5G will improve on coverage with more smaller cell sites like femtos and picocells and upgraded
backhaul to ensure we can get the most out of the whole system. Tsern also sees some
fixed/mobile convergence where multiple wireless services like 4G can be integrated with Wi-Fi
and perhaps other networks to provide even better coverage and more intelligent utilization of
existing resources.
Based on current trends, it’s possible to predict what 5G may be like. First, given the ongoing
spectrum shortage and crisis, higher-level modulation and coding schemes can help in the
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
58 | P a g e
interim with higher speeds. Adaptive beam forming antenna techniques will also help access and
speeds.
Wi-Fi will continue to serve as a more important offload mechanism to alleviate network
congestion and increase speed, but it’s inevitable that systems will move to the higher
frequencies. Millimeter-wave systems will emerge. Smaller, shorter-range base stations like
picocells and femtocells will become commonplace. Mesh networking and repeaters will also
play a role. A 5G standard is at least a decade away. [15]
Traditional FD operators could use TD-LTE as an opportunity create market segmentation.
Technology factors are driving the adoption of TD-LTE as WiMAX loses both momentum and
consumer device support. However, we expect 2013 to be a key year for TD-LTE deployments.
TD-LTE support is provided by all major equipment vendors, and device support is expected to
increase significantly in 2013 as networks are launched in China, India and the USA. China
Mobile, the world's largest operator by subscribers (approximately 703 million as of November
2012), carried out a large-scale TD-LTE trial in 2012 and is poised to launch a commercial
network in 2013.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
59 | P a g e
It also recommended reframing of spectrum held by the PSUs whose licences will be expiring during 2017-20. [8]
RECOMMENDATIONS/SUGGESTIONS:
I) It is more suitable to use regionally and internationally harmonized Spectrum for 4G,
preferably in 700 MHz band (Digital Dividend) and 2.6 GHz band.
II) Due to the lack of harmonization of LTE spectrum bands across different countries, it is
almost impossible within the near future to support LTE global roaming.
III) To use a LTE device for data roaming, based on the current worldwide spectrum usage, the
device needs to support at least 15 bands. From an engineering perspective, supporting so
many bands on a device is really tough. Therefore, for the next decade, 3G data roaming will
still be dominant.
IV) Government should decide and communicate the time frame for auctioning 700 MHz band at
the earliest, which will ensure that the precious financial and technical investments will not
be wasted on older generation technologies rather industry would focus on investing in
future.
V) Industry advocates spectrum at right price
VI) Ensure total availability of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band,
The reframing of spectrum in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands should be carried out
progressively at an early date but not later than the due date of renewal of the licences.
VII) In areas where the amount of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band is insufficient for fully
carrying out reframing, immediate steps must be taken to get Government agencies to vacate
1800 MHz spectrum so that the entire 900 MHz spectrum could be reframed.
VIII) When developing the IMT- Advanced security elements there were several main
requirements that were borne in mind:
It has to provide at least the same level of security that was provided by 3G services.
The security measures should not affect user convenience and QoS.
The security measures taken should provide defence from attacks from the Internet.
The security functions should not affect the transition from existing 3G services to IMT-
Advanced.
The security infrastructure should be scalable and accounts for new usage patterns like social
networking and peer-to-peer applications.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
60 | P a g e
APPENDICES
The development of LTE Advanced / IMT Advanced has evolved from various 3GPP releases from Rel99/4 onwards as summarized in Table. [4]
(Table 1.8) WCDMA
(UMTS) HDPA HSPA+ LTE LTE
Advanced Max downlink speed( bps) 384 k 14 M 28 M 300M 1G
Max uplink speed (bps) 128 k 5.7 M 11 M 75 M 500 M Latency round trip time
(approx) 150 ms 100 ms 50ms
(max) ~10 ms less than 5
ms 3GPP releases Rel 99/4 Rel 5 / 6 Rel 7 Rel 8 Rel 10
Approx years of initial roll out
2003 / 4
2003 / 4
2005 / 6 HSDPA
2007 / 8 HSUPA
2008/ 9
2009/ 10
Access methodology
CDMA CDMA CDMA OFDMA /SC-FDMA
OFDMA / SC-FDMA
(Table 1.9) The development of LTE Advanced from various 3GPP releases from Rel99/4 onwards.
Requirement
IMT-Advanced
IEEE 802.16m
3GPP LTE-Advanced Antenna
Configuration
Not specified
DL:2x2 (baseline), 2x4,
4x2, 4x4, 8x8 UL:1x2 (baseline),
1x4,2x4,4x4
DL:2x2 (baseline), 2x4, 4x2,
4x4, 8x8 UL:1x2 (baseline), 1x4,2x4,4x4
Operating Bandwidth Up to 40MHz (with band
aggregation) 5-20MHz (up to 100
MHz through band
aggregation)
1.4-20 MHz (up to 100 MHz
through band aggregation)
Duplex Scheme Not specified TDD, FDD(support for
HDD terminals) TDD, FDD(support for HDD
terminals) Latency C-Plane: 100 msec (idle to
active) U-Plane: 10msec
C-Plane: 100 msec (idle
to active) U-Plane: 10msec
C-Plane: 50 msec (idle/camped
state to connected), 10 msec (dormant state to active
state) U-Plane: 10msec
Note on OFDM:
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) is a form of transmission that uses a large
number of close spaced carriers that are modulated with low rate data. Normally these signals
would be expected to interfere with each other, but by making the signals orthogonal to each
another there is no mutual interference. The data to be transmitted is split across all the carriers to
give resilience against selective fading from multi-path effects.
Note on MIMO:
Two major limitations in communications channels can be multipath interference, and the data
throughput limitations as a result of Shannon's Law. MIMO provides a way of utilising the
multiple signal paths that exist between a transmitter and receiver to significantly improve the
data throughput available on a given channel with its defined bandwidth. By using multiple
antennas at the transmitter and receiver along with some complex digital signal processing,
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
61 | P a g e
MIMO technology enables the system to set up multiple data streams on the same channel,
thereby increasing the data capacity of a channel.
Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)
These approaches can be used to
• Increase the system reliability (decrease the bit or packet error rate)
• Increase the achievable data rate and hence system capacity.
• Increase the coverage area.
• Decreases the required transmit power.
What is EE?
4G arrived in the UK on 30 October 2012 courtesy of a new joint venture between Orange and
T-Mobile named Everything Everywhere, or 'EE' for short.
EE was granted permission by Ofcom to use part of its existing 3G bandwidth for 4G, which is
why it got a head start on everybody else in October 2012. As you can imagine, rival networks
were somewhat unhappy about this decision, but part of the deal for EE to get this head start was
that it had to sell off a chunk of their 1800MHz spectrum.
Are the new 4G phones any good?
The 4G phones currently available in the UK are basically just LTE-equipped versions of current
top-end 3G phones, such as the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3, and HTC One X. One of the
advantages to being late to the 4G party is that we're spared the naff "first try" handsets that we
suffered back when 3G came out, so don't be shy to try the new 4G phones.
Will I be able to import a 4G phone and use it in the UK?
Perhaps. 4G is available in various different frequency bands, so you'd have to buy a phone that
could run on one of the bands being used in the UK.
For the time being that means getting a phone that runs on the 1800MHz frequency band that
Everything Everywhere are using. Next year you'll also have the option of 800MHz and 2.6GHz
bands, once those frequencies have been auctioned off to other carriers. To confuse you even
further, there are WiMAX networks like Sprint use in the US.
Phones made for a WiMAX network, such as the HTC Evo Sprint 4G, will not connect to UK
LTE networks. Then on top of this there are handsets labelled as 4G which aren't actually true
4G, such as HSPA+ devices like the US Motorola Atrix 4G. Our advice is to buy a UK handset
that you know will work, or possibly hold on 'til there's more competition in the 4G arena and
prices start to drop.
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
62 | P a g e
REFERENCES
1. What’s A G (2013), ‘What are the Standards of the G's’ as appeared in
http://www.whatsag.com/ Downloaded on Dt.15/05/13 Time : 23:15
2. Seemab (May 14, 2010), ‘An Introduction to 4G Wireless Mobile Technology’ as appeared in
http://www.productusp.com/an-introduction-to-4g-wireless-mobile-technology.html
3. Adrio Communications Ltd , ‘4G LTE Advanced Tutorial’ as appeared in
http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/cellulartelecomms/lte-long-term-evolution/3gpp-4g- imt-
lte-advanced-tutorial.php
4. Lou Frenzel | Electronic Design (2013), Penton Media, Inc, ‘Wireless Companies Follow The
Roadmap Past 4G And On to 5G’ as appeared in
http://electronicdesign.com/4g/wireless-companies-follow-roadmap-past-4g-and-5g
5. Ian Poole(2013), Adrio Communications Ltd , ‘4G LTE Advanced Tutorial’ as appeared in
http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/cellulartelecomms/lte-long-term-evolution/3gpp-4g-imt-
lte-advanced-tutorial.php
6. Consultation Paper No. 6/2011, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (2011), ‘Consultation
Paper on IMT–Advanced Mobile Wireless Broadband Services’ as appeared in
http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReaddata/ConsultationPaper/Document/IMT-Adv11.pdf
7. William D. Lewis (May 8, 2013), ‘4G in China: FDD LTE v. TD-LTE v 3G’ as appeared in
http://www.glbperspective.com/business/4g-in-china-fdd-lte-v-td-lte-v-3g/
8. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (25th October 2012)’ TRAI’s response to DoT’s letter
No. L-14001/18/2012-NTG’ as appeared in
http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/Miscelleneus/Document/201211010456564904825Respo
nse%20to%20DoT-30OCT-12.pdf
9. Federal communication commission (2008)’ Factsheet for Auction 73’ as appeared in
http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/default.htm?job=auction_factsheet&id=73
10. www.itst.dk
11. Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA), (2009), ‘2500-2690 MHz
spectrum auction’ appeared as in
http://www.ficora.fi/en/index/palvelut/palvelutaiheittain/radiotaajuudet/huutokauppa.html
12. Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs-GmbH (RTR-GmbH), Dutch (2010), ‘2600 MHz
(2010) Frequency Spectrum’as appeared in https://www.rtr.at/en/tk/FRQ_2600MHz_2010_FS
Ajit Kumar, PGDM Exec 2012-2013
63 | P a g e
13. Euromonitor International (2013), ‘Business Environment: India’ as appeared in
http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/Pages/Analysis/AnalysisPage.aspx
14. Euromonitor International (2013), ‘Indian Telecom Sector Offering Brighter Prospects in
2013’ as appeared in
http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/Pages/Search/SearchResultsList.aspx
15. Lou Frenzel | Electronic Design, Penton Media, Inc (2013), ‘Wireless Companies Follow The
Roadmap Past 4G And On to 5G’ as appeared in http://electronicdesign.com/4g/wireless-
companies-follow-roadmap-past-4g-and-5g