4G convergent architecture

SPECIAL TOPIC SEMINAR ON

SOLUTION TO CHARGING AND BILLING OF

CONVERGENT ARCHITECTURE IN 4G

NETWORK

PREPARED BY:-

VINITA BHANDWAD

READING ME(EXTC) SEM III(13113A0003)

VIT, WADALA

Solution to Charging and Billing in 4G Network VIT

CONTENTS:

Introduction to Generations.

Various Generations.

Limitations and Drawbacks of 3G Network.

Leap towards 4G.

4G Technology.

Features of 4G Technology.

Challenges in 4G.

Applications in 4G.

4G Architecture.

Advantages and Disadvantages of 4G.

Billing Issue in 4G.

Proposed Solution to Billing issue.

Simulation Results.

Literature Survey.

References.

Conclusion. Solution to Charging and Billing in 4G Network VIT

Introduction to Generations

G stands basically for Generation.

As we are progressing towards the Telecommunication and wireless

industry we are moving towards the future generations.

G basically defines about the data speeds used for Internet etc.


Various Generations.

1G

2G

2.5G

3G

4G

Future Generation 5G


Cont….

1G refers to the first generation of wireless telephone technology, mobile

telecommunications which was first introduced in 1980s and completed in

early 1990s.

It's Speed was upto 2.4kbps.

It allows the voice calls in 1 country.

1G network use Analog Signal.

AMPS was first launched in USA in 1G mobile systems

Key ideas:

Exclusively analog

Geographical area divided into cells (typically 10-25km)

Cells are small: Frequency reuse exploited in nearby (not adjacent) cells

As compared to IMTS, could use 5 to 10 times more users in same area

by using frequency re-use (divide area into cells)

Smaller cells also required less powerful, cheaper, smaller devices


Cont….

Drawbacks of 1G:

Poor Voice Quality

Poor Battery Life

Large Phone Size

No Security

Limited Capacity

Poor Handoff Reliability


Cont….

2G technology refers to the 2nd generation which is based on GSM.

It was launched in Finland in the year 1991.

2G network use digital signals.

It’s data speed was upto 64kbps.

Features Includes:

It enables services such as text messages, picture messages and

MMS (multi media message).

It provides better quality and capacity .


Cont….

Drawbacks of 2G:

2G requires strong digital signals to help mobile phones work. If

there is no network coverage in any specific area digital signals

would be weak.

These systems are unable to handle complex data such as Videos.

Angular decay curve


Differences Between First and Second Generation

Systems

Digital traffic channels – first-generation systems are almost purely analog; second-generation systems are digital.

Encryption – all second generation systems provide encryption to prevent eavesdropping.

Error detection and correction – second-generation digital traffic allows for detection and correction, giving clear voice reception.

Channel access – second-generation systems allow channels to be dynamically shared by a number of users.


Cont….

2.5G is a technology between the second (2G) and third (3G) generation of mobile

telephony.

2.5G is sometimes described as 2G Cellular Technology combined with GPRS.

Features Includes:

Phone Calls

Send/Receive E-mail Messages

Web Browsing

Speed : 64-144 kbps

Camera Phones

Take a time of 6-9 mins. to download a 3 mins Mp3 song.


Cont….

3G technology refer to third generation which was introduced in

year 2000s.

Data Transmission speed increased from 144kbps- 2Mbps.

Typically called Smart Phones and features increased its bandwidth

and data transfer rates to accommodate web-based applications and

audio and video files.


FEATURES OF 3G TECHNOLOGY

Providing Faster Communication

Send/Receive Large Email Messages

High Speed Web / More Security

Video Conferencing / 3D Gaming

TV Streaming/ Mobile TV/ Phone Calls

Large Capacities and Broadband Capabilities

11 sec – 1.5 min. time to download a 3 min Mp3 song.

Voice quality comparable to the public switched telephone network

144 Kbps- user in high-speed motor vehicles

384 Kbps- pedestrians standing or moving slowly over small areas

Up to 2 Mbps- fixed applications like office use

Symmetrical/asymmetrical data transmission rates

Support for both packet switched and circuit switched data services like Internet Protocol (IP) traffic and real time video


LIMITATIONS AND DRAWBACKS OF 3G

TECHNOLOGY

Expensive fees for 3G Licenses Services

It was challenge to build the infrastructure for 3G

High Bandwidth Requirement

Expensive 3G Phones.

Large Cell Phones.


4G TECHNOLOGY


Leap Towards 4G

To provide user friendliness

To provide user personalization

High performance

Interoperability

Network convergence

Low power consumption

Low cost


4G Technology

4G technology refer to or short name of fourth Generation which was started from

late 2000s.

Capable of providing 100Mbps – 1Gbps speed.

The Necessicity of higher speed is required to fulfill the tremendous requirement for

some application s such as face book, YouTube etc.

Table 1Solution to Charging and Billing in 4G Network VIT

Cont…

One of the basic term used to describe 4G is MAGIC.

MAGIC:

Mobile Multimedia

Anytime Anywhere

Global Mobility Support

Integrated Wireless Solution

Customized Personal Services

Also known as Mobile Broadband Everywhere


Cont….

The next generation of wireless communication tech known as fourth generation(4G)

allows operators to use new and wider spectrum and supplements 3G & 3.5G wireless

technologies with higher user data rates & expanded multimedia services. .

Capable to provide speed 100Mbps-1Gbps.

Provide any kind of service at any time as per user requirements, anywhere.

The two wireless technologies that have been considered as aspirants to achieve

wireless performance are LONG TERM EVOLUTION & WIMAX.

The goal of 4G is to allow users to access internet anytime anywhere.


Cont…

4G networks or what it is rightly called today future networks could be treated as a

composition of complicated heterogeneous networks.

These heterogeneous networks on converged platform provide access to varied

services over an IPv6 core.

Charging, accounting and Billing are a few such major issues with such

networks. Currently the users are confined to utilize the services provided only

by their home network providers.

Convergence would provide freedom to use compounded services from varied

network operators.

Presently the charging schemes for mobiles are quite simple and are driven by the

network operators to lure new consumers and maintain their existing consumers.

Consumers are charged based on their usage and subscription.


Cont…

The rapid developments in terms of the user equipment like mobiles, smart

devices, hand-held terminals etc. have contributed greatly by accelerating the

realization of 4G networks.

The development of advance technologies like LTE and Wi-MAX will realize

high speed switching with high quality of service and greater functionality.

Billing in 4G has become much more complicated because of 4G networks.

This is mainly due to heterogeneity of 4G networks and the frequent

interaction of service providers.


Key features of 4G:

Network Detection and Network Selection — A mobile terminal that features

multiple radio technologies or possibly uses software-defined radios if economical,

allows participation in multiple networks simultaneously, thereby connecting to the

best network with the most appropriate service parameters (cost, QoS and capacity

among others) for the application.

Seamless Handover and Service Continuity — A “base station” that features

intra- and inter-technology handovers, assuring service continuity with zero or

minimal interruption, without a noticeable loss in service quality. Support for this

function requires continuous transparent maintenance of active service instances

and inclusion of various access technologies, from Wi-Fi to OFDMA.


Challenges in 4G:

Security: The first step in analyzing cellular wireless security is to identify the

security objectives. The goals that the security policy and corresponding technology

should achieve are to ensure that information generated by or relating to a user is

adequately protected against misuse or misappropriation. It is to be ensured that the

level of protection afforded to users and providers of services is considered to be

better than that provided in contemporary fixed and mobile networks. Further, it is to

be seen that the implementation of security features and mechanisms can be

extended and enhanced as required by new threats and services.


CONT…

Hand off Delay: Handoff delay poses another important QoS-related issue in

4G wireless networks. During the handoff process, the user may experience a

significant drop in QoS that will affect the performance of both upper-layer protocols

and applications. Deploying a priority-based algorithm and using location-aware

adaptive applications can reduce both handoff delay and QoS variability. When there

is a potential for considerable variation between senders’ and receivers’ device

capabilities, deploying a receiver-specific filter in part of the network close to the

source can effectively reduce the amount of traffic and processing, perhaps

satisfying other users’ QoS needs.

4G supportive devices showing less Battery Backup: In 4G supportive Devices

due to presence of large number of Transmitters & Receivers, the battery of the

device runs off quite quickly. With technological developments the devices are

getting smaller in size due to Large Scale Integration and micro architecture. Hence

in 4G devices if we want to enhance the battery life by designing a much powerful Li-

on Battery ,then the backup would increase no doubt but also the size o the device

would increase i.e. not highly recommended.


Application of 4G:

Multimode Software Application: 4G technology has an unique application of accessing several wireless networks. It is capable of high level of customization at the user-level end. This feature integrates the infrastructure of all available networks and steadily it will be easier for users to access services and applications regardless of the environment. One can easily access different mobile and wireless networks simultaneously. Multimode software is a software that allows the user device to adapt itself to various wireless interfaces networks in order to provide constant net access with high data (packet based) rate. Figure 3 shows how multiple networks are accessed through multimode operation. All the networks will be compatible once the switch is completed, eliminating roaming and areas where only one type of phone is supported. Once the voice and data networks are superposed there will suddenly be millions of new devices on the network cloud. This will require either reconstruction of the address space for the entire Internet or using different address spaces for the existing wireless networks. The multimode device architecture may improve call completion and expand effective coverage area.

Video Network Coding for 4G Wireless networks: High Definition (HD) demand is increasing day by day more than that of the bandwidth support available. Network Coding allows to reduce the required number of packets to complete a transmission over noisy or unreliable networks compared non coded version, hence increasing throughput. Network coding offers exciting possibilities for the efficient transmission of video over wireless and bottleneck networks . By sending combinations of packets and considering traffic as algebraic information not just bits, 4G network is ideally suited to Network Coding i.e. they are resources, need to serve a variety of different devices and femto cells connected to WIFI. However, it is also noted that the complexities that Network Coding can face in decoding nodes can accelerate the capabilities of embedded systems. This problem can be discarded by use of codes defined on small Galois Fields (GF). Thus, it is inferred that Network Coding could be doing peer to peer high definition video streaming and also thereby can be incorporated into more consumer-oriented devices. In the next section, the proposed strategy for Video Centric Network Coding has been briefly portrayed.


4G NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

Figure 1


Cont…

Figure 1 shows the widely accepted 4G network structure with IP as the core

network used for communication; integrating the 2G, 3G and 4Gtechnologies

using a convergence layer.

This architecture fulfils the basic requirement of servicing the standalone and

mobile subscribers on an “anytime, anywhere, anyhow” basis in dynamic

network conditions.


SWOT ANALYSIS OF 4G

Strengths in 4G:

4G visions take into account installed base and past investments

Strong position of telecommunications vendors expected in the marketplace

Faster data transmission and higher bit rate and bandwidth, allow more

business applications and commercialization.

Has advantage for personalized multimedia communication tools

Weakness in 4G:

No large user community for advanced mobile data applications yet Growing

divergence between telecommunications vendors and operators

Not possible to offer full internet experience due to limited speed and

Bandwidth

Comparatively higher cost to use and deploy infrastructure compared fast

mobile generation


Opportunities in 4G:

Evolutionary approach may yield opportunities for the 4G.

Sophisticated and mature commercialization of 4G technology would encourage more applications of e-commerce and m-commerce.

Worldwide economy recover stimulates consumption and consumer confidence, therefore bring in opportunities for telecommunication sections

It is expected and predicted that consumers will continue to replace handsets with newer technology at a fast rate.

- Desirable higher data capacity rates, the growth opportunity for 4G is very bright and hopeful

Threats in 4G:

Faster rate of growth and developments in other region

Since 3G mobile is still in the market, it squeezes the market competition in the mobile industry

Conclusion:

As we come up with the SWOT analysis out of this 4G technology, it is inevitable that 4G would completely replace 3G in a long run. Nevertheless, 4G and 3Gtend to keep a co-competitive relationship in a short run. In order for 4G to grow in the future market, it is unavoidable to compete with 3G and acquire 3G’s customers.


Comparative study of various Generations

Table 2


SYSTEM KEY COMPONENTS OF 4G

a)System standards

LTE Advanced

WiMAX 2

b) Multiplexing and access schemes

OFDM+ MIMO

W–OFDM

MC-CDMA

c) IPv6 SUPPORT

d) Advanced antenna systems

Multiple antenna technologies are used to achieve high rate, high reliability and long

communication range.

e) Software-defined radio (SDR)

Standards constituted by a 4G device can be realized using SDR.


Cont…

System standards

LTE

Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a radio platform technology that will allow operators to

achieve even higher peak throughputs than HSPA+ in higher spectrum bandwidth.

LTE uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) on the downlink,

which is well suited to achieve high peak data rates in high spectrum bandwidth.

7TH MOBILE

COMM

STANDARDSolution to Charging and Billing in 4G Network VIT

http://www.4gamericas.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&sectionid=253

LTE capabilities include:

Downlink peak data rates up to 326 Mbps with 20 MHz bandwidth

Uplink peak data rates up to 86.4 Mbps with 20 MHz bandwidth

Operation in both TDD and FDD modes

Scalable bandwidth up to 20 MHz, covering 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz,

and 20 MHz in the study phase

Reduced latency, up to 10 milliseconds (ms) round-trip times between user equipment

and the base station, and to less than 100 ms transition times from inactive to active


System standards

WiMAX 2

WiMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. WiMAX 2

also called Wireless MAN-Advanced has become the first true 4G technology to be

approved by the IEEE and ITU.

The unique and excellent infrastructure of WiMAX is offering Ultra-Wideband and

providing range from 2 to 10 GHz and outstanding time response.

This technology supports MIMO, femto cells, self-organizing networks & relays,

and multicarrier operation. It supports both 120Mbps downlink and 60Mbps uplink

speeds.


Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) is a frequency division

multiplexing (FDM) scheme that uses a digital multi-carrier modulation method.

OFDM uses the spectrum more efficiently by making all the sub-carriers orthogonal to

one another, using fast Fourier transform (FFT) to prevent interference between the

closely spaced sub-carriers.

In OFDM, the guard band is reduced by the orthogonal packing of the subcarriers,

improving the spectral efficiency .

Since each carrier in an OFDM signal has a very narrow bandwidth (i.e. few kHz), the

resulting symbol rate is low.

Due to the orthogonal nature of the modulation, these multiple sub-carriers overlap in

the frequency domain, but do not cause Inter-Carrier Interference (ICI).

In OFDM, the guard band is reduced by the orthogonal packing of the subcarriers,

improving the spectral efficiency.


IPv6 SUPPORT

The IP address is based on IPv6

IPv4 X.X.X.X (32 bits)

Example: 216.37.129.9

IPv6 X.X.X.X.X.X (128 bits)

Example:

216.37.129.9 , 79.23.178.229 ,65.198.2.10 192.168.5.120

Home care of mobile Local network

Addres address IP address address


WIMAX

Need for the extension of the range of Wi-Fi

Key to Wi-Fi’s success:

1. Simple Time Division Duplex protocol and flat IP architecture.

2. Base station could be plugged into simple DSL line.

Goal of WiMAX- to extend Wi-Fi like services to an entire community by using

inexpensive components and licensed or unlicensed frequencies.

Roger Marks founded 802.16 (WiMAX) working group in 1998 and has chaired

the committee since then. WiMAX combines the cellular range with the Wi-Fi

speed. It plugs into Ethernet like Wi-Fi and provides roaming voice and data

like cellular.


WiMAX standards

First wireless MAN air interface standard in 2001 (use above 10GHz)- approved

WiMAX 802.16a original WiMAX specs in January 2003 Followed by 802.16d (fixed

WiMAX) in 2004 which added the MIMO.

Further came in 802.16e (mobile WiMAX) which added the mobility factor Current

version is 802.16j which added multihop relay

Future standards of 802.16m, 802.16n and 802.16p are in progress which will bring

in advanced air interface with higher data rates of 100mbps for mobile and 1Gbps for

fixed services along with higher reliability of network and FDD along with TDD.


WiMAX specifications

Distances up to 50kms (30 miles) for point to point(line of sight) communication

and up to 8kms (5miles) for point to multipoint (non line of sight) communication

20MHz WiMAX channel - speeds of up to

75Mbps(theoretically) for users near the B.S. , practically only up to 45Mbps

Frequency reuse and B.W. range from 1.5MHz to 20MHz.

It uses licensed spectrum of : 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz as well as unlicensed

spectrum of 3.65GHz and 5.8GHz.


LTE explained

LTE is a standard for wireless data communications technology and a development of

the GSM/UMTS standards.

The goal of LTE was to increase the capacity and speed of wireless data networks

using new DSP (digital signal processing) techniques and modulations that were

developed around the turn of the millennium. A further goal was the redesign and

simplification of the network architecture to an IP-based system with significantly

reduced transfer latency compared to the 3G architecture.

The LTE wireless interface is incompatible with 2G and 3G networks, so that it must be

operated on a separate wireless spectrum.

Evolves form third generation technology based on WCDMA.

• Supports higher peak data rate through wider bandwidth.

• Provides Low Latency and Overhead (Radio Delay<5mSec)

• Implements Scheduling at Base station to maintain Channel Quality.

• All IP based network with reduction in cost per bit

• Flexibility in use of new and existing frequency bands (Spectrum Flexibility)

• Lower power consumption

• Supports mobility speeds up to 350km/hr with 500km/hr under considerationSolution to Charging and Billing in 4G Network VIT

LTE specifications:

Higher Peak data rates(20MHz operation):

downlink: 100Mbps

(150Mbps peak based on 2x2 MIMO)

(300Mbps peak based on 4x4 MIMO)

uplink: 50Mbps(75Mbps peak) (5Mbps individually)

Improved latency (UE-RNC-UE) below 10ms (round trip time)

Support of scalable B.W. – 1.4,3,5,10,15,20MHz

Support of paired and unpaired spectrum (FDD and TDD)

Uplink: QPSK, 16-QAM and 64-QAM (optional for handset)

Downlink: QPSK, 16-QAM and 64-QAM

Uplink- SC-FDMA and Downlink- OFDMA


LTE architecture

Provide open interface to support multi vendor deployments

Provide robustness – no single point of failure

Support Multi- RAT(Radio Access Technology) with resources controlled from the

network Support of seamless mobility to legacy systems as well as to other emerging

systems including Inter-RAT handover and service based RAT selection.

Maintain appropriate level of security.

LTE makes use of new e-NodeB’s and gets rid of the use of RNC.

Simple network architecture with open interfaces`


LTE Architecture

Figure 2Solution to Charging and Billing in 4G Network VIT

Needs for security and manageability

4G system uses the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) to locate devices.

There is room for approximately 3.40 * 1038 unique addresses.

There are enough addresses for every phone to have a unique address.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a methodology and group of technologies for

the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet

Protocol (IP) networks


Technical performance Practical advantages of LTE

Higher bandwidth (data speeds).

Low latency, lower idle-to-active times

(improved network responsiveness).

High spectrum efficiency means

higher

network capacity, improved cost

efficiency.

Backwards compatibility and future

proofing.

Velocity tolerance.

All IP network means easier

integration,

improved cost efficiency.

Enhancements to security and Quality

of

Service.

Better speed of data uploads

and downloads

– Enabling use of richer/more

numerous data streams:

larger files, more quickly

Improved responsiveness

allows real-time communication

Improved performance from

fast-moving vehicles

Better reliability of (fast)

connection

Increased mobility

Improved application

performance Table 2Solution to Charging and Billing in 4G Network VIT

Compared with 3G Compared with Wi-Fi

More applications to be

used on mobile devices,

out of the home or office

Faster or real-time sharing

of large files and streaming

media

Near-immediate delivery

of time-sensitive data,

such as for real-time interaction

or transactions

Fully-mobile use of applications

requiring true broadband speeds

Improved convenience

(‘ownership’ of the mobile

connection)

Security (no need authenticate

onto another, possibly public,

network)

Practical advantages of 4G LTE over other

wireless technologies

Table 3Solution to Charging and Billing in 4G Network VIT


Advantages and Disadvantages:

More affordable communication services.

One device can communicate with all vs. many devices communicating with some

devices.

TV, internet, phone, radio, home environment sensors all reachable through one device

and the cell phone`s Streaming video transfers.

InterNet Accessing techniques through broadband and GPRS activated mobile access.

Increase in social networking, invasion of privacy, security concerns

Increase in regulation likely (i.e. no driving and using a cell phone)

Supports for multimedia, voice, streaming video internet and other broadband services.

IP based mobile system.

Low cost, high capacity and low cost per bit.

Gloabal access and portability and scalable mobile services.

Seamless switching, and a variety of quality of service driven service.

Better scheduling and call admission control techniques.

Ad hoc and multi hop networks.

Better spectral efficiency etc. for int

Quickly download files over a wireless network.Solution to Charging and Billing in 4G Network VIT

CONT…..

Extremely high voice quality

Easily access Internet, IM, Social Networks, streaming media, video calling, etc.

Higher bandwidth

WiMAX, LTE, and HSPA+ are all versions of 4G, WiMAX is used by Sprint, LTE is

used by Verizon and AT&T, HSPA+ is used by AT&T and TMobile

4G is 10 times faster than 3G.e multimedia

Disadvantages:-

Expensive and hard to implement

Bettery usage is more

Needs complex hardware


Billing issue in 4G Network

Billing in 4G has become much more complicated because of 4G networks.This is

mainly due to heterogeneity of 4G networks and the frequent interaction of service

providers.

4G feature actually promises to provide a convergent architecture i.e wherever you

are the network will be available either of home service provider or different providers

but currently the 4G service providers are offering only 4G services to customers

because of the difficulty of billing between various providers.


CONT….

As shown in above figure 4G network is able to support various networks which

includes fixed line services, cellular services, personal area networks, local area

networks etc.

If such services are being provided then user must be able to use all these services

according to his requirement.

Complexity is an issue in such network as how the billing structure will be formed for

a customer.


Proposed solution to Billing issue:

According to papers studied regarding the billing issue in 4G network, the network operator

should be able to provide the convergent structure for the 4G customers.

User who have activated 4G network on their cell phone should be able to use Internet

always which is the main aim of 4G network.

Consider user is moving to a new destination where 4G service is unavailable to him in

such case the 4G phones must be able to scan different available network either his home

operator or different operator and the service should be provided to him.

In some cases for ex: In a Big mall Free open Wi-Fi is provided to users then the 4G cell

phones must be able to scan this free network and activate it to the user’s cell phone and

during this period no Internet charges should be applicable to user.

Therefore in this proposed solution initially the user is first activating 4G network on his cell

phone later if the user is travelling and there is no 4G network then the cell phone first

scans other available network i.e. it checks if there is 3G network available if not then it

checks if 2G network is available else it just provides the basic services to user i.e. call and

text.

All this will be updated in Home Network Database and a single bill will be provided to user.

The main part is all the above process will be done automatically no human intervention

will be required.

Therefore user can enjoy all services without his intervention at any point after activating

4G plan.


Simulation Result:



Literature Survey

Reference Paper Year Of Publishing

Unified Billing-Realization of

convergent architecture

for charging and billing in 4G

networks

December 2011

4G Wireless Networks:

Opportunities and Challenges AUGUST 2010

Trusted Convergence Operator – A

Conciliate Solution to Accounting,

Charging and Unified Billing in

4G Networks

October 2011


References :

1. 4G Wireless Video Communications By: Haohong Wang et al.

2. A Holistic Solution for Charging, Billing & Accounting in 4G Mobile Systems.

3. International Journal of Computer and Electrical Engineering, Vol. 3, No. 5,

October 2011.

4. http://google.co.in.

5. http://www.slideshare.net/CiscoSP360/comparison-of-lte-and-wimax

6. http://www.wimax.com/lte/why-the-wimax-vs-lte-battle-isnt-a-battle


http://google.co.in/

http://www.slideshare.net/CiscoSP360/comparison-of-lte-and-wimax