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NokiaSiemensNetworks
LTE1800MHz
IntroducingLTE
withmaximumreuse
ofGSMassets
Whitepaper
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2011NokiaSiemensNetworks.Allrightsreserved.

Tableofcontents
1.
Overview....................................................................................3
2.
1800MHzspectrum...................................................................3
3.
TrafficMigration..........................................................................5
4.
DeployingLTEGSMin1800MHz.............................................6
4.1.Siteandantennasharingforinstalledassetsprotection.....6
4.2.RadioFrequencysharingforultimateenergyefficiency.....6
4.3.Minimumguardbandsforefficientspectrumusage...........6
4.4.Trafficmanagement
withmultipletechnologiesandfrequencybands.................7
4.5.GSMtrafficcompression.....................................................7
5.

CoreSolution.............................................................................8
6.
OSSandSONSolutions............................................................9
7.
Summary..................................................................................10
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2011NokiaSiemensNetworks.Allrightsreserved.

1.
Overview

TheintroductionofLTEisdrivenbytheneedtodeliverfastermobilebroadband
servicesthanGSMandWCDMAnetworks.Thiswhitepaperintroducestechnology
solutionsforLTE1800MHz,includinginformationon1800MHzspectrumdeployment
optionsandNokiaSiemensNetworkssolutionsfortrafficmigrationfromGSMtoLTE.
TheNokiaSiemensNetworkswhitepaperonLTE1800MHzprovidesguidanceonhow
operatorscanintroduceLTEandhowtosupportdualfunctionalityofGSMandLTEin
theirradionetworks.Furthermore,thiswhitepaperaddressesthecorenetworkimpacts
oftrafficmigrationfromGSMtoLTEandhowtointegrateLTEmanagementinto
operatorsnetworkmanagementsystemsinacostefficientway.

2.
1800MHzspectrum

Band3at1800MHzprovides2x75MHzwidespectrumforFDD(FrequencyDivision
Duplexing).Thusoperatorlicensesarequitelarge.
Table1:1800MHzspectrum

Licenseallocationsonthe1800MHzbandaregenerallylessfragmentedthanfor
exampleonthe900MHzband.Typicallythe1800MHzlicenseincludes
nonfragmented10to15MHzspectrum.ThankstotheflexiblecarrierbandwidthofLTE,
allorasuitableportionof1800MHzbandcanbereallocatedforLTEuse.EvenLTE5
MHzmayintroduceanimproveduserexperiencewhileloweringthecostofservice
deliverycomparedtoHSPARel6.

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Someportionofthelicensedspectrummayhavebeenfragmentedapartfromthemajor
portion.ThesesmallerfragmentsaremostsuitablyusedbycontinuingGSMandEDGE
operation(Figure1).
Figure1:Simpleexampleoffragmentedspectrumallocation

1800MHzashighmobilebandistypicallydeployedforurbanandsuburbancapacity
extensionofGSM,andpotentiallyasoverlayto900MHzcoveragelayer.Oneshould
alsonotethat1800MHzspectrumusedforLTEhassomecoveragebenefitoverthe
defaultLTE2600MHzbandandevenoverthe2100MHzUMTSband.
LTEat2600MHz,WCDMAat2100MHzandGSMat1800MHzprovidethesame
scaleofcoverage.Thuscositedmultitechnologydeploymentisavalidalternative.
WhenevaluatingLTE2600MHzandLTE1800MHzcases,LTE1800MHzprovides

roughly3dBbetterlinkbudgetincomparisontoLTE2600MHz.Thisleadstobenefits
likedevicebatterysavingsorenhancedindoorbitrates.
Downlink2x2MIMOistypicallydeployedinLTEnetworks,asdevicesmustsupport
2antennareceptionanyways.Thisspeaksformultitechnologymulticarrierpower
amplifierimplementationinthetransmitteroftheeNB.
LTEspectrumshouldberefarmednexttopowercontrolledGSMfrequencyhopping
carriers.ThedominatinginterferencemechanismduetothevicinityoftheGSMcarrier
toLTEisminimized,asshownwithoperator2inFigure1.

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3.
TrafficMigration

The1800MHzbandhasinitiallybeendeployedforextendingGSMandEDGEcapacity
beyondthe900MHzcoveragelayer.AsanextstepWCDMAandHSPAintroductionat
2100MHzmayhavecoveredfurthertrafficgrowthandthuspossiblyrelaxedpressure
ontheGSMlayers.
TodayWCDMA/HSPAcarriesthemajorshareofmobiledatavolume.The2100MHz
bandhasprovidedincreasedcapacitythroughnewspectrum.900MHzrefarmingto
WCDMAandHSPAcontributesthroughimprovedspectralefficiencyandextendedhigh
bitratecoverage.
Figure2:Favorablebandsandtechnologiesperenvironment

WCDMA2100MHzintroductionandWCDMA900MHzrefarmingaretypicallyfocused
ondifferentenvironments:thefirstonetourbanandthelatteronetoruralareas.When
moremobiledevicesbecomeWCDMAcapable,theloadofGSMlayerscanbe
offloaded,whilestartingLTE1800MHzrefarmingfromurbantowardssuburbanareas.
AtthesametimespectralefficiencyofGSMcanbeimprovedbyenhancedfeatures
suchasDynamicFrequencyandChannelAllocation(DFCA)orOrthogonalSub
Channel(OSC).
Where1800MHzspectrumisfreeorbecomesavailable,itcanbeusedforLTE.The
bandwidthalternativesof5,10and15MHzsupportprovidingenhanceduser
experiencebeyondtodaysHSPAnetworks.
Whenanoperatoracquiresanew1800MHzlicensethecaseissimplerandevenan
LTEonlyoperationat1800MHzbecomesafeasibleoption.
Asfurthermigrationstep,GSMandLTEdualmodeBTSmaybeupdatedtoLTEonly
BTS.Alternatively,WCDMAandLTEdualmodeisfeasibleasintermediateorlonger
termoption.

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4.
DeployingLTEGSMin1800MHz
4.1.Siteandantennasharingforinstalledassets
protection

Installedantennascoveringthe1800MHzband,feedersandothersiteassetscanbe
reusedthroughavarietyofknowninstallationpractices.Alternativesolutionscoverboth
partialrefarmingtoGSMLTEdualmodeortoLTEonly.ReuseofexistingGSMBTS
equipmentshouldbesupportedwhenmodernizationtoafullRFsharingsolutionisnt
feasible.
Obviously,transportsharingformultipletechnologiesshouldalsobesupported.LTE
1800MHzrefarmingtypicallyintroducesLTEtransportasanewfunctionalityonsite
basis.

4.2.RadioFrequencysharing
forultimateenergyefficiency

ThemostefficientsolutionismultitechnologyandmulticarrierPowerAmplifier(PA),
wherecombinationlossesareavoided.ThemulticarrierPA(MCPA)isevenmore
beneficialinasetupincludingLTE,whereLTEismorefrequentlyconf