3GPP LTE Advanced: Technology and Test Challenges
Application Notes
LTE-Advanced is the evolved version of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard developed by 3GPP to meet or exceed the requirements of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for a true fourth generation (4G) radio communication standard known as IMT-Advanced. LTE-Advanced is defined in 3GPP Release 10 and in subsequent 3GPP releases. The LTE-Advanced specifications are focused mainly on achieving higher capacity with increased peak data rates, higher spectral efficiency, ability to handle a greater number of simultaneously active subscribers, and improved performance at cell edges.
This application note gives an overview of the following topics:
- LTE and LTE-Advanced, including summaries of LTE Release 8/9 features, ITU requirements for 4G, and 3GPP requirements for LTE evolution
- Release 10 and LTE-Advanced
- Release 11 LTE-Advanced enhancements
- Release 12 radio evolution
- Release 13 update
- LTE-Advanced product design and testing challenges
The focus here is on the LTE-Advanced air interface, although the 3GPP specifications also cover the core network standards and services.
