Quality of service (QoS) and network capacity are being insisted as the two dominant factors for the utmost network satisfaction within any mobile network contracts. On the other hand, the heterogeneous network (HetNets), which are constructed based on sub-network layers' cooperation between macrocell and shorter-range applications like micro, femto and relay nodes, are also introduced as an open door to the recent researches towards the desired network satisfaction for the recently upgraded networks like LTE-Advanced (LTE-A). Nevertheless, since any network cooperation is expected to include a number of challenges; this cooperation is not excluded of dealing with degrading effects, such as interference, among the sub-network elements. This chapter presents a detailed discussion in self-organizing network (SON) methodology, as a novel solution to deal with network challenges, e.g. inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC), mobility, power control, etc. to improve the network quality and capacity.
TopIntroduction
Today’s mobile media and communications are being affected, more than any other period of time, by communal needs and requirements within the geographical areas. The huge number of clients demands for a smooth and reliable communications from one side, and the financial and technical strategies of the telecommunication companies and network operators from the other side, propose a new challenge to deal with mobile networks’ clients. Therefore, designing up to dated network solutions to alleviate the growing challenges of clients and network designers must be considered as a big step towards the public satisfactions, as well as an open door to the future networking plans.
Long Term Evolution (LTE) has been proposed by network operators to satisfy their commercial and domestic clients, who are permanently looking for more upgrades in mobile communication services. In continue with this strategy, and as a dominant enhancement to the existing LTE systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) is then known as real 4G evolution step, that has recently been standardized in 3GPP Rel-10 and approved by ITU and IMT-Advanced (Yang, Hu, Xu, & Mao, 2009). The decisive factors of data rate, delay and capacity, as well as energy consumption and implementation costs are the main evolving points on LTE-A, which have been targeted by network operators to fulfill their responsibilities and promises to their clients (Mahmoud, 2007).
As a supplementary step to the existing LTE systems, LTE-Advanced is recently presented to the network subscribers by its dominant characteristics, ubiquitous supports and quality-based evolutions, which could create the center of attentions to the anticipated 4G enhancements in various points of views, such as the social aspects.
Figure 1.
LTE-Advanced known as the real 4G evolution
In recent years, most of the technology followers initially look for the improvements of telecommunication technologies to upgrade their subscribed services, and therefore the heterogeneity of LTE-Advanced networks has been a superior motivation for them to receive more reliable coverage and supports.
This chapter argues the novel self-organizing paradigms, applications and solutions in upgrading towards real 4G mobile communications, based on LTE-Advanced networks. The self-organizing solutions in this part are mainly considered to face the foreseen challenges with the minimum of user responsibilities and costs for the end users. Most of the focuses in this work have been spent on the added values of the advanced versions of LTE, comparing to the existing conventional networks, proposed by its new self-organizing features and strategies. In addition, the effects of the proposed elucidations on ubiquity and quality of service in new releases of LTE-Advanced are discussed in details, and the real-work implementation capabilities are implied at the end.
TopCellular Networks Evolution Towards 4G
The LTE-Advanced network is already unified by adopting the transmission technologies such as multi-input multi-output (MIMO) and multiple access schemes to obtain maximum possible throughput in minimum possible time.
Figure 2.
Cellular network evolution towards the real 4G systems
The peak data rate of 1 Gbit/sec with 100 Mbit/sec data rate in downlink using orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and 50 Mbit/sec data rate in uplink using single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) highly motivate network users to employ this quality technology.
Furthermore, intra-cell interference is already avoided due to the use of OFDMA technique in downlink, but inter-cell interference needs to be considerably mitigated.