WCDMA for UMTS: Radio Access for Third Generation Mobile Communications, Revised Edition - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471486876 ISBN 13: 9780471486879

Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell, 2001

Synopsis

"WCDMA for UMTS" provides a complete picture of the Wideband CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) air interface of the 3rd generation cellular systems - UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems). "WCDMA" is designed for multimedia communications including high quality images and video, and access to services with high data rates. These capabilities will create new business opportunities for manufacturers, operators and for the providers of content and applications. The key features: explains the key parts of the WCDMA standard and provides guidelines for its efficient use; presents network dimensioning and coverage and capacity planning of WCDMA; introduces radio resource management algorithms in the WCDMA network; examines the coverage and capacity of WCDMA up to 2Mbps using numerous simulation results; introduces the TDD (Time Divisions Duplex) mode; and discusses the co-existence of TDD and FDD (Frequency Divisions Duplex) and highlights their main differences. Now includes the main modifications made to the 3GPP standard up until the end of 2000 and features the following new material: Reference terminal classes, current status of UMTS licensing, capacity upgrade paths and capacity per km2, inter-frequency handovers and inter-system handovers to GSM, and antenna diversity gain measurements in the WCDMA experimental system. Written by leading experts in the field, this practical approach to the key features in WCDMA will have wide-ranging appeal to Research and Development Engineers, Practising Engineers, Cellular Operators, Technical Managers and Students on Telecommunications courses.

About this title

Review:

As the mobile phone revolution brings video, photos and Web pages to our handsets, telecommunications experts from around the globe have been collaborating to develop standards to underpin third-generation phone systems. This book is an in-depth assessment of WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), the main third-generation air interface. WCDMA will be deployed in Europe and Asia at the same frequency band, (around 2GigaHerz) and it is expected to spawn a whole host of new gadgets. It will allow mobile phone companies to launch an array of new services. The authors all work for Nokia, one of the companies leading the move to wideband communications, and as might be expected, this is a comprehensive assessment of the technology.

It explains how WCDMA differs from today's digital interfaces, its main features, the background to it becoming a global standard, and gives valuable advice on getting the best performance from 3G networks. It also examines other technologies which could be used to provide multimedia phone services, such as EDGE, the evolution of GSM for high data rates.

WCDMA for UMTS: Radio Access for Third Generation Mobile Communications is aimed at technology and communications students, technical people working for device manufacturers and service providers and frequency regulators. It includes a comprehensive glossary and lots of diagrams which should make it an invaluable desk reference for anyone working in the rapidly evolving telecoms world. --Shan Ni Ceallaigh

Review:

Mobile wireless systems have become the ubiquitous means of mass telecommunications over the past 15 years. The early 'first generation', analogue systems were optimised for voice communications only but the proliferation of differing standards, particularly within Europe led to the development of a common digital based approach. The resulting 'second generation' system, GSM, now dominates the world mobile market; however this system, too, was designed and optimised primarily for voice services, albeit with the option for low speed data over the voice channel. Over recent years, the growth in demand for access to Internet based multi-media enabled mobile telecommunications system.

What is now emerging, globally, is a range of proposals under the generic title IMT2000 for a terrestrial system based on five radio interfaces standards and three core network technologies - all of which should provide for full inter-working of services and applications in all continents!

Next generation mobile wireless clearly embrace a wide range of technical disciplines and are influenced in no small part by the underlying commercial and political aspirations of the many parties world-wide committed to its successful implementation. Indeed it so difficult for any individual to remain expert in all the necessary areas.

Within Europe the adopted approach is know as UMTS. A new radio interface based on WCDMA (Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access) is currently in the final stages of standardisation for a first release (r'99) and the initial UMTS system will be based on a GSM core network as enhanced to support the soon to be publicly launched GPRS packet data system.

The standardisation work for UMTS is being carried out under the auspices of 3GPP, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project and the editors and chapter contributors of this new book, all of whom are with Nokia, are to be congratulated on providing a detailed description of the WCDMA air interface and its utilisation and in providing a set of references to the appropriate 3GPP Technical Specifications.

Chapter 1 introduces the third generation air interfaces, the spectrum allocation, the time schedule, and the main differences from second-generation air interfaces. Chapter 2 presents example UMTS applications, concept phones, and the quality of service classes. Chapter 3 introduces the principles of the WCDMA air interface, including spreading, the Rake receiver, power control, and handover. Chapter 4 presents the background to WCDMA, the global harmonisation process, and the standardisation. Chapters 5-7 give a detailed presentation of the WCDMA standard, while chapters 8-11 cover the utilisation of the standard and its performance.

Chapter 5 describes the architecture of the radio access network, interfaces within the radio access network between base stations and radio network controllers and the interface between the radio access network and the core network. Chapter 6 covers the physical layer (layer 1), including spreading, modulation, user data and signalling transmission diversity and handover measurements.

Chapter 7 introduces the radio interface protocols, comprising the data link layer (layer 2), and the network layer (layer 3). Chapter 8 presents the guidelines for radio network dimensioning, gives an example of detailed capacity and coverage planning and addresses GSM co-planning. Chapter 9 covers the radio resource management algorithms that guarantee the efficient utilisation of the air interface resources and the quality of service; these algorithms are for power control, handover, admission and load control.

Chapter 10 presents packet access in WCDMA and includes the results of dynamic system simulations. Chapter 11 analyses the capacity and coverage of the WCDMA interface at rates up to 2 Mbps. Chapter 12 introduces the time division duplex (TDD) mode of the WCDMA air interface and its differences from the frequency division mode (FDD). A brief overview of the characteristics of multi-carrier CDMA, one of the alternative air interfaces proposed IMT2000 is given in chapter 13.

Whilst not a book for the novice, the WCDMA for UMTS does achieve its objective in presenting a detailed description of the FDD operating mode. The TDD mode, which in the opinion of this review will have a very significant part to play in the future of UMTS, particularly given the asymmetric nature of multi-media traffic and the unpaired spectrum allocations available both now and likely as extension bands for UMTS, does not receive all the attention it deserves and, inevitably, the standardisation activities have moved on in both this area and that for packet access since the book was published. And for those seeking an overview of the complete UMTS system, the text does not address the core network for UMTS.

That said, this is the first book published to describe the UMTS air interface and I would certainly recommend it as the starting point for anyone seeking a way in to the 3GPP Technical Publications. -- IEEE Vehicular Technology Society News

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0471486876
• ISBN 13: 9780471486879
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 338
• Editor: Holma Harri, Toskala Antti