AIR INTERFACE COMPARISONS:

LTE, 802.16m AND WINNER

David Falconer
Carleton University, Ottawa
ddf@sce.carleton.ca
23.04.2008

WWRF20, Ottawa, April, 2008

 The IMT-Advanced Context:
Next Generation Wireless Systems

• High aggregate and user bit rates to support increased traffic

densities and multimedia reliably and with good coverage.

• Static to highly mobile scenarios in urban, suburban and rural

environments.

• Interworking and backward compatibility with legacy systems.

• Efficient and flexible bandwidth sharing among themselves and with
other systems – intelligent interference management.

• Support for multicast and broadcast.

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 2

 Caveats

• We consider only two evolving standards: 3GPP-LTE and IEEE

802.16m plus a recently completed EU 4G Project: WINNER *
• The material on LTE and 802.16m is based on downloaded
documents, not on direct participation. Corrections welcome! *
• 802.16m is at an early stage. Requirements are set, but air
*
interface is still under discussion. So less detail on it .

-* Springboards for the subsequent discussion period!

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 3
 Common Trends Among LTE and
802.16m Standards’ and WINNER
Systems’ Air Interfaces

• IP-based
• Based on frequency domain transmission and processing –
multicarrier and generalized multicarrier.
• Little or no use of CDMA, in contrast to 3G.
• Duplexing: both FDD and TDD options
• Include MIMO/smart antennas/beamforming
• Advanced coding schemes, including turbo and LDPC
• Link-adaptive modulation, bandwidth occupancy, and spatial
processing.
• Aggressive spatial reuse of frequencies, aided by TX and RX
spatial processing and inter-cell coordination. Freq. Reuse
factor~1.

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 3GPP-LTE (long term evolution) Air
Interface – General Characteristics
• Based on and extending the 3GPP 3d generation standard,
which was developed for wide- and metro-area cellular
voice/data systems.
• Targeting up to 100 Mb/s downlink and 50 Mb/s uplink in up to 20
MHz bandwidth.
• In contrast to present 3G systems, it is based on orthogonal
multicarrier transmission rather than on wideband CDMA.
• In contrast to 802.16j and WINNER concepts, it does not (yet)
support multihop relaying.
• The LTE standard is nearing completion, and seems to have
considerable commercial appeal to many cellular service
providers for use in existing 2G and 3G bands, especially those
now using GSM/WCDMA.
WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 5
 WINNER General Characteristics
Differences from LTE
• Aimed at always-best service for wide area, metropolitan area
and local area scenarios. Adapt to one of three modes.
• Total service bandwidth up to 100 MHz. Targetting up to 100
Mb/s downlink and 50 Mb/s uplink for wide area and up to 1 Gb/s
for local area.
• It does support multihop and cooperative relaying for enhanced
coverage and capacity.
• Sophisticated spectrum-sharing and inter-system coordination
features.
• WINNER is a system concept with innovations that are applicable
to LTE, 802.16m, and other IMT-advanced systems. Many
WINNER participants are active in these and other standards.

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 6

 802.16m General Characteristics
Differences from LTE
• Mainly aimed at mobile broadband wide- and metro- area
service, in frequency bands used now for fixed wireless access.
• Total service bandwidth up to 20 MHz. Targetting up to 100 Mb/s
downlink and 50 Mb/s uplink for wide area.
• It probably will support multihop relaying for enhanced coverage
and capacity (extending from 802.16j).
• 802.16m is still in a fluid state. Lower-speed 802.16e (WiMAX) is
entering service.
• 802.16m is attractive for broadband mobile wireless access for
service providers owning fixed wireless frequency bands, and to
service providers in developing countries.

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 7

 3GPP-LTE Air Interface - Frame
Structure(Figures from 3GPP TS36.211 v8.2.0)
• 10 ms. Frames, divided into 10 subframes (= 20 slots). 6 or 7 OFDM symbols/slot,
depending on CP lengths of 5.21 μs or 16.67 μs).
• Sampling clock a multiple of 3.84 MHz (UTRA chip rate)
Type 1: FDD

Type 2: TDD

Subframes #5 to #9:

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 8

 3GPP-LTE (long term evolution) Air
Interface - Multiplexing
(Figure adapted from 3GPP TS36.211 v8.2.0)
One uplink slot Tslot
• Generalized multicarrier (GMC)
with subcarrier spacing of 15 KHz
or 7.5 KHz. Several optional UL
N symb SC-FDMA symbols

(channel-dependent) cyclic prefix k = N RB N sc − 1

UL RB

lengths.
Resource block

• Frequency-time plane partitioned UL

N symb × N scRB resource elemen

into “resource blocks” (RBs) of 12 12 subcarriers

subcarriers X 1 slot of 6 or 7
Resource element (k , l )

× N scRB
multicarrier symbols.

N scRB
UL
N RB
• In downlink, user RBs scheduled
for max. SINR.
• In uplink, scheduling constrained 6 or 7 symbols
(1 slot)
to contiguous RBs. k =0

l=0 l= UL
N symb −1

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 9

 WINNER Multiplexing Differences
from LTE
• Frame duration=691.2 μs. 8 frames/superframe. 2 slots/frame
• OFDM symbol sizes:
- Wide and metro area: 1152 subcarriers with 39.0625 KHz spacing.
Cyclic prefix=3.2 μs.
- Local area: 1840 subcarriers with 48.828125 KHz spacing. Cyclic
prefix=2.0 μs.
• Resource blocks (“chunks”, whose duration is the slot duration):
- 8 subcarriersX12 OFDM symbols for FDD
- 8 subcarriers X15 OFDM symbols for TDD
• Frequency-adaptive operation: chunks scheduled for max. SINR.
• Frequency non-adaptive operation: chunks, or sub-chunks
(“blocks”) distributed at uniform frequency intervals, for diversity.

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 10

 802.16m Multiplexing Differences
from LTE
• Frame duration=5 ms. 4 frames/superframe. Time zones within a
frame can support legacy systems.
• Bandwidths: 5, 7, 8.75, 10, 20 MHz. Subcarrier spacing=10.94
KHz.
• 802.16e has subchannels – formed from non-adaptive or
frequency-adaptive “clusters” (resource blocks) of subcarriers.
• Resource blocks will probably be defined for frequency-adaptive
operation in 802.16m.

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 11

 Ideal Frequency-Adaptive Transmission For Users #1 and #2
User’s #1’s SNR as function of frequency

User’s #2’s SNR as function of frequency

Frequency
Schedule each user’s chunks at most favourable frequencies

User #1 terminal’s chunk or block

User #2 terminal’s chunk or block

Dedicated in-band pilot(s)

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 12

 LTE Uplink Frequency-Adaptive
Transmission for User #1(Scheduling
localized contiguous resource blocks)
User’s #1’s SNR as function of frequency

Frequency
Schedule each user’s chunks at favourable contiguous frequencies

User #1 terminal’s chunk or block

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 13

 Frequency-Non-Adaptive Transmission in
WINNER and 802.16e
User’s #1’s SNR as function of frequency

User #1 channel unknown

to scheduler in these
frequencies

Frequency

User #1 terminal’s chunk or block

User #2 terminal’s chunk or block

Dedicated in-band pilot(s)

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 14

 3GPP-LTE Air Interface - Modulation
and Multiple Access
• Constellations: QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM
• Codes: turbo, rate 1/3.
• Downlink multiple access: OFDMA
• Uplink multiple access: Single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA),
occupying a contiguous set of resource blocks: OFDM with DFT
precoding, allowing frequency domain equalization at receiver,
and maximizing user terminal’s HPA power efficiency.

Data Inverse
symbols Fast FFT
Fourier (OFDM Insert
Signal P/S cyclic
S/P Transform
Coder Generator) prefix
(FFT)

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 15

 WINNER Air Interface - Modulation
and Multiple Access Differences from LTE
• Codes: convolutional or quasi-cyclic LDPC, depending on
packet size. Duobinary turbo codes optional.
• Generalized multicarrier transmission:
- Downlink, and uplink TDD: OFDMA
- Uplink for wide area non frequency-adaptive FDD: SC-FDMA,
(called “DFT-precoded OFDM”), occupying a set of uniformly-
spaced sub-chunks, called “blocks”.
Block- Interleaved frequency division multiple access (B-IFDMA):

Time
(OFDM
Symbols)
Sleep portion Sleep portion Sleep portion Sleep p
of chunk of chunk of chunk of chun

Frequency (subcarriers)

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 16

 Example of GMC Matrix Frequency Mapping: Block-Interleaved
FDMA (B-IFDMA) Proposed in WINNER for Non-Frequency Adaptive Uplink
OFDMA transmitter

M M-
Data point
symbols
FFT

N-point
inverse
FFT
Freq.
DFT precoding
(for serial mdulation
or DFT-precoded
OFDM)

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Freq. Page 17

 Modulation and Multiple Access
Differences Between LTE and 802.16m
• Both (and also WINNER) use OFDMA in the downlink.
• 802.16e has similar adaptive and non-adaptive resource block
schemes as in WINNER.
• Some recent 802.16m contributions have proposed SC-FDMA (or
DFT-precoded OFDM) for the uplink for UT power efficiency. However
major vendors have proposed OFDMA for uplink, arguing that:
- “Keep uplink the same as downlink and same as 802.16e”. [fair enough]
- “OFDMA has superior performance to single carrier” [may be true for
linearly-equalized single carrier, but not for block-iterative or turbo-
equalized single carrier.]
- “The 1.5-2 dB backoff penalty of OFDMA is irrelevant, since maximum
power UTs can be assigned to mid-band frequencies. [Have they
considered the resulting massive scheduling problem?]

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 18

 MIMO Comparisons Between LTE and
WINNER
• LTE:
- 1, 2 or 4 antennas at base station and UT.
- Spatial multiplexing and space frequency coding defined for downlink.
- SDMA from single-antenna UTs and adaptive antenna selection
diversity from 2-antenna UTs defined for uplink.
• WINNER:
- Wide range of possible mappings of transmitted chunks to spatial,
frequency and time resources, with corresponding linear or nonlinear
MMSE space/frequency/time processing at receivers.
- Alamouti codes, fixed and adaptive beamforming, SDMA, multi-user MIMO,
linear dispersion codes, per-antenna rate control,..
• 802.16e:
- Supports adaptive switching between beamforming, STC and spatial
mux for both uplink and downlink.

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 19

 3GPP-LTE Air Interface - Training
Signals (Pilots) for Channel Estimation
Tslot
• Uplink training signals are Chu CAZAC
sequences, replacing data in one OFDM
symbol per slot; i.e. training is time- UL
N symb

multiplexed with data. k = N RB N sc

Uplink time-multiplexed training
UL RB
−1

signal
• For spatial multiplexing, several users’
training signals share same OFDM UL
N symb × N scRB

symbol, frequency-multiplexed with each12 subcarriers

other.
(k , l )

× N scRB
• Inter-frame frequency hopping of training

N scRB
UL
N RB
signals is an option.

6 or 7 symbols
(1 slot)
k =0

l=0 l= UL
N symb −1

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 20

 WINNER and 802.16e- Training Signals
for Channel Estimation
• Training signals (pilots) are Frequency (subcarriers)

pseudo-random sequences,
replacing data in selected
subcarriers of some OFDM Time
symbols ; i.e. training is (OFDM
blocks)
frequency-multiplexed with
data.
• Pilot spacing depends on
transmission mode, speed Pilot
subcarrier
and channel.
Data subcarrier
• For 802.16m, pilots are also
Frequency/time
likely to be frequency- slots reserved for
multiplexed with data (as they pilots of another
are in 802.16e). in-cell SDMA user.
WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 21
 Multihop Relaying

• 802.16m:
- 802.16j is currently developing relay concepts for 802.16 family.
- 802.16m has had a few multihop relay contributions.

• WINNER:
- Cooperative as well as single-path relaying is supported at link layer.

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 22

 Interference Mitigation
• WINNER, LTE and 802.16m envision frequency reuse 1 within
sectors and cells.
• Intracell interference in SDMA suppressed by spatial processing
and beamforming
• Intercell interference suppressed by
- Interference avoidance (inter-cell coordination and frequency reuse
partitioning.
- Interference rejection with smart antennas and linear and nonlinear
spatial processing.

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 23

 Summary
• LTE and 802.16m can both deliver 4G broadband mobile
communications with high efficiency.
• WINNER provides an advanced suite of techniques suitable for
all foreseen 4G standards.
• Winner techniques go beyond those of present LTE and 802.16:
- 100 MHz bandwidth
- “Always best” multimode adaptability to all scenarios.
- Sophisticated spectrum-sharing and inter-system coordination
• The ultimate choice of 4G standard or standards will likely be
determined mainly by non-technical considerations.

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 24

 Current Events

• “LTE-Advanced” is starting up in 2008

- Discussing wider bandwidth, relaying, More general link adaptation,
network MIMO,…

• 802.16m is turning into “WiMAX2”, spearheaded by EU 7th

Framework “WiMAGIC” Project.

• WINNER Is turning into “WINNER +”, in the EU Celtic Project

framework.

WWRF#20 · D. Falconer · 23.04.2008 · 'Air Interface Comparisons' Page 25

 Some References
• LTE [http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/html-info/36-series.htm]:
- E-UTRA LTE 36.201: Physical layer; General description, 2007-12-11

- E-UTRA 36.211 Physical channels and modulation, 2008-03-20

- REV-080059 Draft Report of 3GPP TSG RAN IMT-Advanced Workshop, Shenzhen, April 7-8, 2008

• 802.16m [http://www.ieee802.org/16/tgm/index.html]
- Mobile WIMAX-Part 1: A Technical Overview and Performance Evaluation, Aug. 2006

[http://www.wimaxforum.org/technology/downloads/]

• WINNER [https://www.ist-winner.org/deliverables.html]
- IST-4-027756 WINNER II D6.13.9 State of the art evaluation issue 2, 2007-06-30.

- IST-4-027756 WINNER II D6.13.10 Final CG “wide area” description for integration into overall system

concept and assessment of key technologies, 2007-11-30.

- IST-4-027756 WINNER II D6.13.14 WINNER II system concept description, 2007-11-30

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