In order to develop and secure the functionality of its cellular communications systems, Ericsson deals with numerous R&D and I&V activities. One important aspect is interoperability with mobile terminals from different vendors on the world market. Therefore Ericsson co-operates with mobile platform and user equipment manufacturers. These companies visit the interoperability developmental testing (IoDT) laboratories in Linköping to test their developmental products and prototypes in order to certify compliance with Ericsson's products. The knowledge exchange is mutual, Ericsson as well as the user equipment manufacturers benefit from the co-operation. The goal of this master's thesis performed at Ericsson AB is to suggest areas in which the IoDT testing can be automated in order to minimize time consuming and tedious work tasks. Primarily the search should be aimed at replacing manual tasks in use today. The thesis suggests a number of IoDT tasks that might be subject for automation. Among these one is chosen for implementation. The thesis also includes an implementation part. The task that has been chosen for implementation is the network verification after base station controller software upgrade procedure. This is not a core IoDT function but it implies a lot of work, and is often performed. The automation project is also supposed to act as a springboard for future automation within IoDT. The forthcoming LTE standard will require a lot of IoDT testing, and therefore the automation capabilities should be investigated. The thesis shows that automation work is possible, and that the startup process is straightforward. Existing tools are easy to use, and well supported. The network verification automated test scope has been successful.

3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) is a project of the Third Generation Partnership Project to improve the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) mobile phone standard to cope with future technology evolutions. Two duplex schemes FDD and TDD are investigated in this thesis. Several computational intensive components of the baseband processing for LTE uplink such as synchronization, channel estimation, equalization, soft demapping, turbo decoding is analyzed. Cost analysis is hardware independent so that only computational complexity is considered in this thesis. Hardware dependent discussion for LTE baseband SDR platform is given according the analysis results.

With the steady increase in the use of mobile technologies, studying the energy consumption of mobile applications becomes more interesting. In this thesis, the energy consumption of such applications connected to Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular networks is studied. Using physical measurements on a mobile device, this thesis aims at characterizing the energy consumption due to communication of a mobile device connected to an LTE network in order to extend EnergyBox. EnergyBox is a tool that estimates the communication energy of mobile devices using packet traces as input.   We perform systematic experiments which exercise the LTE network interface of a mobile device while measuring the consumed power. Using the resulting data and a literature review of the operation of the LTE interface an energy model for LTE is developed. The model is then implemented in EnergyBox. The evaluation of the model is performed by comparing the accuracy of the energy model to physical measurements using five different packet traces from different mobile applications. The results show that the model integrated in EnergyBox provides an average accuracy of between 90% and 100%.

In the 3GPP LTE, different radio resource management (RRM) techniques have been proposed in order to improve the uplink performance. Frequency hopping is one of the techniques that can be used to improve the uplink performance by providing frequency diversity and interference averaging. The hopping can be between subframes (inter-subframe) or within a subframe (intra-subframe). 3GPP specifies two types of frequency hopping for the LTE uplink, hopping based on explicit hopping information in the scheduling grant and sub-band based hopping according to cell-specific hopping and mirroring patterns. In this master’s thesis, theoretical discussion on the frequency hopping schemes is carried out followed by dynamic simulations in order to evaluate the performance gain of frequency hopping. Based on the theoretical analysis, the second type of hopping is selected for detailed study. As a baseline for comparison, dynamic frequency domain scheduling with random frequency resource allocation has been used. Single cell and multi-cell scenarios have been simulated with VoIP traffic model using user satisfaction as a performance metric. The simulation results show that frequency hopping improves the uplink performance by providing frequency diversity in the single cell scenario and both frequency diversity and interference averaging in the multi-cell scenario. The gains in using the hopping schemes were reflected as VoIP capacity (the number of satisfied users) improvement. In this study, the performance of the selected hopping schemes under different hopping parameters is also evaluated. / ttma07@student.bth.se tariku.temesgen.mehari@ericsson.com

The evolved version of LTE is LTE-Advanced which is being developed by 3GPP. LTE-Advanced will meet or go beyond the requirements of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the fourth generation (4G) radio communication standard known as IMT-Advanced. LTEAdvanced is primarily considered as a part of Release 10 of 3GPP specifications. The LTE-Advanced specifications will continue to be developed in subsequent 3GPP releases. The complete physical layer structure has been employed by using the latest 3GPP standards. Furthermore, technologies such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) have also been implemented and integrated with LTEAdvanced. The Multiple Access Scheme in Advanced Mobile radio system has to meet the specific requirements such as: high throughput, robustness, efficient Bit Error Rate (BER), high spectral efficiency, minimum delays, low computational complexity, low Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR), low error probability etc. In order to investigate the LTE-Advanced transceiver a thorough study has been carried out using MATLAB Simulink using AWGN and Rayleigh fading channel. This report investigates the performance of OFDMA and various MIMO configurations of LTEAdvanced physical layer, along with diverse modulation techniques such 16QAM and QPSK,the results are then demonstrated on BER and signal to noise ratio graphs. AWGN and Rayleigh fading models are also used to determine the performance of LTE-Advanced in presence of noise and fading.

Cette thèse porte sur la conception d’amplificateurs de puissance reconfigurables en technologie CMOS avancée pour une application cellulaire de 4ème génération. Dans les systèmes de communication sans fil, le rendement énergétique est un critère primordial qui impacte la durée d’utilisation de la batterie. Principalement déterminé par la consommation d’énergie du transmetteur, il est plus particulièrement lié à celle de l’amplificateur de puissance (PA). Pour les terminaux mobiles de 4ème génération (4G), les techniques de transmission et les modulations utilisées pour atteindre les débits de données visés induisant une dynamique importante du signal à transmettre, l’implémentation de techniques d’amélioration du rendement autour du PA devient indispensable, afin de le reconfigurer en puissance.Nous avons mis au point dans ce travail de recherche des architectures innovantes utilisant les techniques d’amélioration du Power Cell Switching (PCS) et de l’Envelope Tracking (ET). Le double objectif visé étant d’améliorer significativement le rendement pour les faibles niveaux de puissance et d’apporter de la flexibilité par rapport à un PA utilisé seul. Une première architecture utilisant la technique du PCS totalement intégré en technologie CMOS 65nm de STMicroelectronics, mettant en œuvre des transformateurs comme combineurs de puissance, a été réalisée pour valider la fonctionnalité du concept proposé. Puis une deuxième architecture combinant les techniques du PCS et de l’ET a été conçue, afin d’évaluer les avantages qu’apporte la combinaison de ces deux techniques par rapport à un PA fonctionnant seul et à un PA développé utilisant la technique du PCS. / This thesis deals with the design of reconfigurable power amplifiers implemented in CMOS technology for 4G LTE application. For the next generation communication systems such as 4G LTE, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is employed for a wideband communication. Indeed, signal information is encoded both in amplitude and phase domains, which results in a higher peak to average power ratio than for 2G and 3G systems. Consequently, the overall power amplifier (PA) efficiency does not only depend on efficiency at maximum power, but also and mainly on efficiency at back-off level where the PA operates most of the time. Obviously, classical PA architectures do not address this problem, because it can only achieve maximum efficiency at a single power level, usually around the peak output power. Therefore, the overall efficiency of the PA is considerably low and efficiency improvement techniques are required to increase the battery life-time. This thesis exposes innovative architectures using Power Cell Switching (PCS) and Envelope Tracking (ET) techniques. The main objective of the proposed architectures is to significantly improve the average efficiency in comparison with a stand-alone power amplifier at power back-off. Consequently, a reconfigurable PA architecture using a 4-step PCS technique has been implemented in CMOS 65nm technology. A second architecture was designed to evaluate the improvement obtained with the combination of these two techniques.

Context. The single blackboard architecture is widely used in the LTE application area. Despite its several benefits, this architecture limits synchronization possibilities of the developed systems and increases the signal operational latency. As a result the DSP (Digital Signal Processing) utilization is suboptimal. Objectives. In this thesis, we design a new architecture, which combines concepts of Multi-Blackboards and Pipes & Filters architectures, as a replacement for the current single blackboard architecture at Ericsson. The implementation of the new architecture makes the environment asynchronous. We evaluate the new architecture at simulated environment of Ericsson with 222225 connection items from 9000 base stations all over the world. Each connection item has a complete UE session and one of possible connection statuses, e.g. active, inactive, connected, DRX sleeping, postponed. These connection items can be from any country in the world. Methods. We design a new architecture for UPCUL component of LTE network based on analysis of real network data from Ericsson. We perform a case study to develop and evaluate the new architecture at Ericsson. Results. We evaluate the new architecture by performing a case study at Ericsson. The results of case study show that the new architecture not only increases DSP utilization by 35%, but also decreases signal operational latency by 53%, FO operation time by 20% and FO operation cycles by 20%. Also, the new architecture increases correctness performance. Conclusions.  We conclude that the new architecture increases DSP utilization and decreases the signal operational latency, therefore, improves performances of UPCUL component of LTE.  Due to time constraints, we only considered four LTE FOs (Function Objects) and relative signals. Future work should focus mainly on the other FOs and signals. We also analyze unconsidered FOs, and make an integration solution table which contains solutions to integrate these unconsidered FOs into the new architecture.  The second avenue for future work is to re-size the size of the two blackboard storages. We find out that the maximum memory size of needed UE sessions per sub-frame is only 1.305% of the memory size of all UE sessions (31650 bytes). So the memory size of blackboard storage should be adjusted on the basis of needed UE sessions instead of all UE sessions.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the latest mobile network technology published by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). It might become a dominant technology for the next generation and it is attract-ing a great deal of attention from the top global corporations. IxLoad is a real-world traffic emulator, designed by the test solution provider Ixia. Mobile Packet Gateway (MPG) has been developed by Ericsson and is a commercial network equipment to provide a smart interface between mobile network (Global System for Mobile Communi-cation (GSM), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), LTE) and internet for operators’ network. In this thesis, MPG is utilized to assess the capacity and LTE functionality of IxLoad. Capacity estima-tion will verify the maximum simulated users that can be supported by IxLoad and will test the maximum throughput IxLoad can achieve with a particular number of simulated users, under conditions involving a particular application scenario such as browsing HTTP. In addition to Session Management some other features such as Track Area Update and Handover, Busy Hour Functionality, Deep Packet Inspection, Mul-tiple Access Point Names (APNs) and Dynamic Quality of Service Enforcement are also covered in the functionality assessment. Moreover, this thesis gives a brief introduction to Evolved Packet Sys-tem (EPS), Evolved Packet Core (EPC), and to the functionality of MPG in addition to the role of MPG in EPS. Meanwhile the newest features of IxLoad are also presented in this document. Finally, as the outcome of this thesis, several suggestions are proposed in relation to improve-ments for IxLoad and MPG.

La llegada de redes de cuarta generación cambia el paradigma de creación y consumo de contenidos. Este cambio se sustenta principalmente en las mejoras en la velocidad de conexión que ofrecen estas redes y en el uso de arquitecturas de red de próxima generación (NGN). Ambos factores hacen posible el despliegue de servicios convergentes que se caracterizan por permitir la interacción de servicios tradicionales bajo una misma plataforma. El objetivo del presente trabajo de memoria es la utilización de la arquitectura de red IMS y la red de acceso LTE para el desarrollo de servicios de televisión de próxima generación de carácter convergente y que ofrezcan interfaces gráficas interactivas y amigables, logrando así sacar mayor provecho de las características que ofrecen estas tecnologías de red. Este trabajo es parte de un proyecto de desarrollo continuo del Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica de la Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas de la Universidad de Chile que busca la creación de ambientes docentes para el estudio de redes 4G que aún no existen comercialmente en el país. Tras una presentación del contexto y antecedentes respecto a las características principales de los conceptos involucrados, se presenta el diseño de dos servicios de televisión. En primer lugar, se muestra un servicio de IPTV básico que permite la elección flexible de contenido y la interacción con otros usuarios a través de video conferencias, llamadas de voz y mensajería de texto. En segundo lugar, en base al ambiente de creación de servicios Mobicents, se muestra la construcción de una plataforma web para la elección del contenido de video que permite el envío de trailers a dispositivos móviles y la posibilidad de compra de películas. Una vez terminados los diseños, se hace un especial énfasis en detallar la implementación de los servicios mencionados con el propósito de aportar en el proceso de construcción de herramientas para el estudio de redes y facilitar su posterior puesta en marcha. Finalmente, se muestran diversas capturas de tráfico para verificar el correcto funcionamiento de los servicios. En base a estas pruebas, se verifica que el trabajo cumple con los objetivos propuestos, en cuanto se logra la implementación de servicios de televisión convergentes sobre redes LTE en un ambiente de laboratorio controlado y replicable para futuras experiencias. Es relevante el hecho de haber logrado estos desarrollos en base a un ambiente de creación de servicios, pues entrega un punto de partida para continuar con la mejora de estos servicios o la elaboración de nuevas experiencias de laboratorio en trabajos futuros.

El objetivo general del presente trabajo de título es estudiar la tecnología LTE y el posible comportamiento que podría tener la incorporación de esta en Chile, específicamente en los sistemas de datos de alta velocidad como la banda ancha móvil (BAM). El trabajo de título se centra en dos tópicos relevantes, por un lado, el estudio técnico de la tecnología misma y las capacidades que puede entregar, lo que permite fundamentar las ventajas que entregará en comparación a los actuales sistemas de datos de alta velocidad. Y por otro lado, el estudio de tendencia del mercado mundial y nacional de los sistemas móviles, específicamente de la BAM, que permite realizar una proyección a nivel nacional sobre el futuro ingreso de las redes LTE en Chile. Los sistemas de comunicaciones móviles se han ido desarrollando acorde a los nuevos intereses de los usuarios. Las actuales tecnologías permiten conectarse a internet pero con ciertas limitaciones en velocidad, cobertura y movilidad. Lo que se espera con la llegada de LTE es mejorar la experiencia de usuario de tal forma de entregar un servicio de banda ancha similar a las redes de banda ancha fija, pero con la posibilidad de movilidad. En este trabajo se determinan y discuten factores que podrían influir en la entrada de LTE al mercado nacional, tomando en consideración el desarrollo en Chile de los sistemas de banda ancha móvil. Entre ellos se puede mencionar el desarrollo de nuevos dispositivos y servicios, el ingreso de nuevos operadores junto con la aplicación de la portabilidad numérica, el proceso de licitación de bandas de frecuencia, los cambios en la experiencia de usuario, las modificaciones en el modelo de negocio y evaluaciones comerciales de implementar LTE. De esta forma se concluye que los sistemas de banda ancha ofrecidos por LTE serán posibles en el territorio nacional, ya que las compañías locales tienen todas las posibilidades técnicas y regulatorias para incorporar LTE. Esto último se ve reflejado en los compromisos que han asumido EntelPCS y Movistar para desplegar sus redes LTE durante el 2012. Por otra parte, la incorporación de nuevas redes de banda ancha HSPA+ logrará fomentar el uso de la BAM, generando mayor interés por sistemas que siguen la línea de LTE. La llegada de LTE permitirá a las compañías operadores competir con la banda ancha fija ya que ofrecerá una experiencia de usuario similar, lo que permitirá un desarrollo del mercado móvil.