Capabilities of 3GPP Release 8

The following capabilities were introduced within the release 8 version of the 3GPP specifications: LTE itself was introduced, including the specification of its physical layers, layers 2 and 3 and its

various interfaces both RF and conformance testing requirement were specified. LTE was specified with a maximum downlink capability based upon a 20 MHz channel bandwidth with 4×4 MIMO and 64QAM. The uplink did not support multi antenna transmission but supported 64QAM.

LTE Repeaters were introduced for FDD using the same set of operating bands and channel bandwidths as an eNode B. Repeaters were specified within 3GPP TS 36.106 while their conformance testing was specified within TS 36.143

Home eNode B (also known as Femto cells) were first introduced. Home eNode B are small cells typically used in domestic or small office environment. They connect to the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) via a Home eNode B gateway. The connection between the Home eNode B and gateway is typically a fixed broadband connection, e.g. DSL or cable. Closed Subscriber Groups (CSG) were specified to control access to Home eNode B.

Support for Inter Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC) was introduced. ICIC allows neighboring eNode B to exchange load information to help co-ordinate the use of both uplink and downlink resources, e.g. one eNode B uses resources at the top of the channel bandwidth while a second eNode B uses resources at the bottom of the channel bandwidth. This creates a trade-off between improving the signal to noise ratio and reducing the quantity of resources available to each eNode B.

The Self-Establishment of eNode B component of Self Organising Network (SON) was introduced. This capability allows the eNode B to have plug-and-play functionality. After physically connecting the eNode B and switching on, it is able to automatically connect to the element manager and download software, as well as radio and transport configuration data. It may also be capable of establishing X2 and S1 interfaces.

The Automatic Neighbour Relations (ANR) component of SON was introduced. This capability allows the eNode B to automatically update its neighbour database upon the mobility of UE within its cells, i.e. neighbour relations are added as they are used for the first time. Support is included for intra-frequency, inter-frequency and inter-sysem neighbour relations.

Up to 300Mbit/s downlink and 75Mbit/s uplink

Latency down to 10ms

Implementation in bandwidths of 1.4, 3 ,5 , 10, 15 or 20MHz, to allow for different deployment scenarios

Orthogonal frequency domain multiple access (OFDMA) downlink

Single-carrier frequency domain multiple access (SC-FDMA) uplink

Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antennas

Flat radio network architecture, with no equivalent to the GSM BSC or UMTS RNC, and functionality distributed among the base stations (eNodeBs)

All IP core network, the System Architecture Evolution (SAE)