2G/3G Technology Quick Reference This document will identify some of the more common 2G and 3G terms and

explain them in common language. What are these new buzzwords and what should I know about these terms? UMTS WCDMA CDMA2000 1X 1XTREME Here are some other terms you might have heard about: 3X HDR 1X Enhanced

First, here are the quick answers: UMTS - Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems The goal of UMTS is to provide a higher capacity network primarily targeted at GSM operators with the intent on using their existing infrastructure as a starting point to this new technology. UMTS Release 99 is a specification that uses the MSC (Mobile switching center) in a hierarchical network. UMTS Release 2000 is a non-hierarchical Peer to Peer network that uses IP (Internet Protocol) and VoIP (Voice over IP) without a Mobile switching center. UMTS utilizes WCDMA technology. WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access Also known as Direct Spread CDMA. This is CDMA spread across 5 Mhz instead of the current 1.25 Mhz carrier. CDMA2000 A phased set of standards to migrate existing 2G technologies to 3G unified technology. The first phase migrates IS-95A/B to CDMA2000-1X. The second phase known as CDMA2000-3X includes the other 2G technologies (GSM and IS-136). 1X Short for CDMA2000-1X, the first phase of CDMA2000. 1X Enhanced - A Motorola proposal to concatenate channels to improve the data rates available for a CDMA2000-1X system. 3X Short for CDMA2000-3X, Three times the spectrum requirement of 1X. This is second phase of CDMA2000. 1XTREME A Motorola proposal also endorsed by Nokia, which allows a IS-95A/B backward compatible carrier in 1.25Mhz to support a peak data rate of 5.18 Mbps.
Network Operations Engineering 07/07/aa EJK

2G/3G Technology Quick Reference

Here is the more detailed information: Lets start with the original AMPS Analog Cellular, which was positioned in the 800Mhz band for domestic mobiles. This technology is referred to as 1G, or 1st Generation. Several digital cellular technologies were developed which are designated 2G. The two basic flavors of 2G systems are CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) based or TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access). The TDMA systems that were developed were IS-136, GSM and iDEN. The particulars of each are below:
1.

IS-136 uses 800Mhz cellular and 1.9Ghz PCS bands, has 30Khz-channel spacing and allows circuit switched data as well as digital voice. Equipment is vendor proprietary. GSM uses 900Mhz GSM band and 1.8Ghz GSM, has 200Khz channel spacing and allow circuit switched data 2.4Kbps 9.6Kbps, packet data 9.0Kbps -13Kbps per Timeslot (GPRS) and digital voice. Equipment can be vendor independent to a degree. Some 1.7Ghz equipment has been used domestically. iDEN uses 750Mhz band and has a 25Khz channel spacing. MSC is based on a GSM MSC implementation. Digital data, voice and dispatch capable. Vendor proprietary equipment.

2.

3.

The CDMA systems are IS-95A and IS-95B. IS-95 operates in the 800Mhz and 1.9Ghz (PCS) bands. Digital data capable up to 9.6Kbps, IS95B/ HSPD (High Speed Packet Data) increases this to 64Kbps as packet service. Equipment is vendor proprietary, but interfaces have been standardized. This technology requires 1.25Mhz of spectrum for each carrier, which has hindered its use in areas with limited available bandwidth. Multiple carriers can be deployed to improve capacity. Typically, 3 carriers will fit into a 5Mhz allocation.

Network Operations Engineering 07/07/aa EJK

2G/3G Technology Quick Reference

How does all of this TDMA and CDMA come together? CDMA2000 is an attempt to grow these divergent technologies together as a standard. As an ITU standard, this is called IMT2000. The GSM system operators have realized that that cell splitting can only postpone the inevitable and that they will need to migrate to a CDMA based technology in order to maximize use of available spectrum. Toward this end, CDMA2000 was broken into two phases. Phase 1 is known by several names, 1X, CDMA2000-1X, by the ITU designation MC-1X or by the TIA designation of IS-2000. This is a CDMA technology for migration, which improves upon IS-95. CDMA2000-1X has the following attributes: 1. Uses an existing 1.25Mhz channel 2. Introduces 144Kbps packet data for mobiles 3. A two fold increase in voice capacity and standby time. 4. Advanced packet data services 5. Improved sleep mode and extended battery life. CDMA2000-1X has been deployed in the 800Mhz band and can also be deployed in the 1.9Ghz bands as it does support IS95A/B mobiles CDMA2000-1X will have a peak data rate of 153.6Kbps. Further proposals to enhance this prior to 3X are CDMA2000-1X Phase A, which concatenates two supplemental channels together which can boost the peak data rate to 614.4Kbps. A Motorola proposed CDMA2000-1X Enhanced carries this further to concatenating 14 supplemental channels which then yield a 1.6Mbps peak data rates. A proposal for a HDR High Data Rate carrier that requires concatenating 15 channels has been proposed by Qualcomm, but this proposal would not support any voice traffic on this carrier and is proposed as a quick improvement for data traffic. The next phase of CDMA2000, phase two, is also known as CDMA2000-3X. The 3X designation refers to the 3 - 1X carriers of spectrum used to provide this service. It incorporates all channel sizes (5Mhz, 10Mhz, etc), and has the following attributes: 1. 2. 3. 4. Incorporates the capabilities of 1X Provides circuit and packet data rates up to 2Mbps. Incorporates advanced multimedia capabilities Builds upon a network of 3G voice services and vocoders including VoIP

CDMA2000-3X is a concatenation of 3 separate 1.25Mhz carriers on the forward link and one 3.75 Mhz direct spread carrier on the reverse link. This allows an overlay possibility with IS95A/B and CDMA2000-1X carriers, but sacrifices some capacity.

Network Operations Engineering 07/07/aa EJK

2G/3G Technology Quick Reference

What about technologies under development but are not currently deployed? EDGE is a migration to UMTS by some, and a full 3G solution to others. This technology is targeted as an improvement to TDMA based systems.. By adding an 8PSK modulation to the GSM GMSK modulation, data rates of up to 59Kbps/timeslot can be achieved. EDGE is targeted for GSM as a GSM BTS replacement and for IS-136 as an overlay to add a packet network capability. Data rates will vary within the coverage range, but the switching of rates will be automatic. To take full advantage of this technology, new mobiles will need to support the EDGE modulation, but the existing IS136 or GSM mobiles will still be able to be used for circuit switched voice and GPRS data. UMTS is a Wide Band CDMA technology that uses 5Mhz spectrum for deployment. It has one direct spread carrier for the forward link and a direct spread carrier on the reverse link. This technology can not interoperate with IS95A/b or CDMA2000-1X carriers. The network topology follows from a GSM/GPRS and EDGE network, but with a different air interface. This technology is best deployed into clear spectrum where there are no compatibility issues. The current target frequency for UMTS is 2.1Ghz for the first deployments of this technology. 1Xtreme is proposal supported by Motorola and Nokia, which uses a 1.25Mhz carrier and is backward compatible with IS95A/B and CDMA2000-1X. It supports voice and data services on the same carrier and increases the peak data rate to 5.18Mbps. More detailed information about 1X is described in the Motorola goes beyond 1X 1XTREME (1Xtreme_Technical_March_2000_Version_1.pdf) document.

Network Operations Engineering 07/07/aa EJK

2G/3G Technology Quick Reference How do these various technology solutions compare for the end user? Here is a table describing the CDMA technology, peak and average data rates: Technology CDMA2000 1X CDMA2000 1X Phase A 1X Enhanced CDMA2000 3X-MC WCDMA-UMTS (5Mhz) HDR 1XTREME Peak Data Rate 153.6 kbps 614.4 kbps 1.6 Mbps 2.072 Mbps 2.048 Mbps 2.4 Mbps 5.184 Mbps Average Data Throughput 150 kbps 415 kbps 560 kbps 1117 kbps 1126 kbps 621 kbps 1200 kbps

As a comparison to TDMA technologies, here are some equivalent numbers: Technology GSM 9.6K GPRS CS2 GPRS CS4 EDGE MSC5 EDGE MCS6 EDGE MCS9 Peak Data Rate 76.8 kbps 107.2 kbps 171.2 kpbs 179.2 kbps 236 kbps 473.6 kbps Average data rate 9.6 kbps 26.8 kbps 42.8 kbps 67.2 kbps 88.8 kbps 177.6 kbps Timeslots used 1 2 2 3 3 3

Notes: 1. GSM mobiles are circuit switched and can only use one timeslot. 2. GPRS mobiles can use 2 timeslots, but only CS1 and CS2 have been implemented. 3. EDGE mobiles are estimated to use a maximum of 3-4 timeslots. 4. EDGE data rates vary across a cell radius based. MCS5 MCS9 use 8PSK modulation, MCS1-MCS4 use GMSK modulation.

Network Operations Engineering 07/07/aa EJK