LTE System Architecture

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Overview

LTE System Architecture

Urban residents, in most cases, have a choice between wired and wireless Internet access. In rural areas, the situation is dramatically different. Major operators are not focused on providing telephone and Internet communications to the rural communities – they are mainly focused on large sites and highly populated areas. That’s why providing high-speed Internet access to rural communities is still a very important task.

Standard LTE enables carriers and operators to provide high-speed access for mobile phones and data terminals as well as to optimize existing networks for additional vertical market applications such as smart grid or transportation. The use of mobile broadband services is accelerating at exceptional rates with increased applications such as gaming, social networking and video for mobile devices. 4G, namely WiMAX and LTE, enables users to carry the same user experience they have at home or in the office while they are on-the-go.

Simple Network

Simple LTE Network

Core Network

LTE Core Network

The Core Network (CN) or Evolved Packet Core (EPC) is responsible for the overall control of the User Equipment (called UE) and establishment of the bearers. It includes the following elements:

  • PDN Gateway (P-GW) – responsible for:
    • IP address allocation for the UEs
    • Filtering of user DL IP packets into the different QoS bearers
    • UL/DL service level charging, gating and rate enforcement according to PCRF rules
  • Serving Gateway (S-GW) responsible for:
    • Packet routing and forwarding
  • Mobility Management Entity (MME) – responsible for:
    • Processing the signaling between the UE and the CN (Non Access Stratum – NAS)
    • Bearer & Connection management
    • Security
  • Home Subscriber Server (HSS) which:
    • Holds users subscription data such as QoS profiles
    • Holds information about the PDNs to which the user can connect
    • Holds dynamic information such as the identity of the MME to which the user is attached
  • Policy Control and Charging Rules Function (PCRF):
    • Responsible for policy control decision making
    • Provides QoS authorization in accordance with user’s subscription profile

Access Network

LTE Access Network

  • Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)
  • A single eNodeB controls one or more cells
  • eNodeB
  • Radio Resource Management
    • Radio bearer control
    • Admission control
    • Link adaptation
    • Scheduling
  • IP header compression
  • Encryption
  • Routing of user plane data towards S-GW

Components

Network components

LTE Network – Microwave components

  • PTP – provides backhaul from tower site to tower site where eNodeB’s reside, and of which UEs connect to
  • eNodeB’s – are the serving nodes providing access to the UEs
  • UE – are the end-user equipment at their locations. Commonly referred as CPE’s

LTE Network – Microwave components manufacturers

  • PTP – BridgeWave, Cambium Networks, Ceragon, Exalt, Proxim Wireless, RADWIN, Redline, Siklu
  • eNodeB – Airspan, PureWave
  • EU – Airspan, GreenPacket, PureWave

LTE Network – Network components

  • At the Data Center, core routers and Layer 3 switch are used to connect and aggregate backhaul services (such as microwave and fiber optic) components together along with equipment that provides QoS and prioritization such as MPLS. These components provide the network connectivity from the MMEs to the S-Gateway and intra-network connectivity for multiple MMEs and S-Gateways.
  • At each tower location, carrier-grade switches are used to connect eNodeB’s together and deliver network connectivity to them to provide access to MMEs (for mobility) and S-Gateways for connectivity to the network and authentication services.
  • At the end-user location, switches, routers, and other network devices are used to bridge Local Area Network together for transport to the carrier’s network and internet via the UE.

Contact

Interested in more information on LTE System Architecture?

Can’t wait for an answer? Contact Winncom’s professional team today: call 1-888-WINNCOM, email sales@winncom.com.

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