Chapter 2

Literature Review

2.0 Introduction

A literature review is a comprehensive summary of scholarly sources that provides an

overview of a particular topic. The literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, and

other sources relevant to a particular area of research. The research is guided by various

literature based on different researchers described, analyzed, evaluated and explained 4G

LTE networks. This chapter starts by giving the conceptual literature review where by the

research gives basic concepts of 4G LTE. This chapter will cover empirical literature review

by analyzing other research papers focusing in the areas of interest of this research paper.

Also, this chapter will review theoretical literature by analyzing the capabilities, assumptions

and device compatibility and Quality of Service of 4G LTE networks.

2.1 4G LTE Architecture Overview

4G LTE has maximum downlink speed of about 65mbps(mega-bits-per-second) and

maximum uplink speeds up-to 30mbps. It has the approximate latency of about

100ms(millisecond), and the 3GPP release of 4G is release 8 with the access schemes which

are called OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) for downlink and SC-

FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) for uplink. Since Econet

Wireless uses 4G LTE, that is in the 3GPP category called 3GPP release 8/9, (Tobergte &

Curtis, 2013) described that the system efficiency and data rates are improved by providing:
• MIMO with 64 QAM modulation – It enables the combination of 64 QAM (Quadrature

amplitude modulation) and MIMO(Multiple-In-Multiple-Out), thus reaching a theoretical rate

of 42 Mbps, that is, 2 × 21.6Mbps. MIMO is a form of antenna technology that uses multiple

antennas to enable signals travelling via different paths as a result of reflections, etc., to be

separated and their capability used to improve the data throughput and / or the signal to noise

ratio, thereby improving system performance, (Incoporating Radio-electronics, n.d.).

• Dual cell operation – DC-HSDPA (dual cell high speed downlink packet access).

4G LTE also uses 16 QAM and QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) modulation

techniques to improve system efficiency as well.

QoS refers to the overall quality of the applications experienced by the network users

(Furqan, 2015). QoS of connections in the network can be measured in terms of several

parameters. In this thesis, throughput, queuing delay and packet loss are considered.

a) Throughput: It is the data rate (bits per second) of the successfully received traffic on

the network. (Forouzan, 2007) describes it as a measure of how fast we can actually send data

through a network.

b) Queuing Delay: It indicates delay of packets at the queue of a base station’s buffer. In

situations, when the packets departure rate from the buffer is less than the arrival rate to the

buffer, the queuing delay increases(Furqan, 2015). Queuing delay has a significant impact on

the performance of real time applications, such as voice, live streaming and online gaming.

c) Packet Loss: (Furqan, 2015) describes it as the packet loss at the output buffer due to an

overflow. Packet loss is when one or more packets fails to reach its intended destination.

Similar to queuing delay, packet loss has a significant impact on the QoS of real time

applications like video, gaming and audio.

2.2 The LTE network architecture

The LTE network structure is also the Evolved Packet System (EPS). The Evolved Packet

System (EPS) mobile network consists of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and an

Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) (Figure 2.1) (Perez, 2015).

Fig 2.1 EPS Network Architecture (Perez, 2015)

The E-UTRAN access network ensures the connection of the User Equipment (UE). The EPC

core network interconnects the access networks, provides the interface to the Packet Data

Network (PDN) and ensures the attachment of the mobiles and the establishment of the

bearers (Perez, 2015).

2.2.1 The eNode B entity

The E-UTRAN access network includes a particular type of entity, the evolved-Node Base

(eNB) radio station which connects to the mobiles (Figure 2.1).

The eNB entity transfers the traffic data from the mobile (respectively from the Serving

Gateway (SGW) entity) to the SGW entity (respectively to the mobile) as shown on the (Fig

2.1). When the eNB entity receives data from the mobile or the SGW entity, it refers to the
QoS Class Identifier (QCI) for the implementation of the data scheduling mechanism as

described by (Perez, 2015).

Base stations are referred to as Node-B and the controlling equipment for all Node-Bs is

called

as Radio Network Controller (RNC).

2.2.2 The MME (Mobility Management Entity)

The Mobility Management Entity (MME) is the network control tower (Figure 2.1). It

authorizes mobile access and controls bearer establishment for the transmission of traffic data

(Perez, 2015).

The MME entity is responsible for attachment and detachment of the mobile.

 During attachment, the MME entity retrieves the subscriber’s profile and the

subscriber’s authentication data stored in the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) entity

and performs authentication of the mobile.

 During attachment, the MME entity registers the Tracking Area Identity (TAI) of the

mobile and allocates a Globally Unique Temporary Identity (GUTI) to the mobile

which replaces the private International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI).

 When attaching the mobile, the MME entity selects Serving Gateway (SGW) and

PDN Gateway (PGW) entities for the construction of the default bearer, e.g. for

access to Internet services.

2.2.3 SGW (Serving Gateway) entity

The SGW entity forwards incoming data from the PGW entity to the eNB entity and outgoing

data from the eNB entity to the PGW entity (Figure 2.1).
When the SGW entity receives data from the eNB or PGW entities, it refers to the QCI

identifier for the implementation of the data scheduling mechanism as described by (Perez,

2015).

2.3 QoS Architecture in LTE Networks

The QoS for 4G LTE is based on EPS Bearer and supports GBR (guaranteed flow bit rate,

guaranteed throughput) and Non-GBR (do not guaranteed flow bit rate, not guaranteed

throughput).

To guarantee service differentiation and provision of Quality of Service (QoS), LTE/ LTE

Advanced employ concept of bearer. A bearer identifies packet flows from one network

element to another. The most important bearer is an Evolved Packet system (EPS) bearer,

which carries data between UEs and a P-GW with predefined QoS characteristics. Each

bearer is identified with an EPS Bearer Identity (EBI) also known as Radio Bearer ID (RB-

ID).

Below is an EPS bearer architecture.

Figure 2.2 EPS Bearer Service Architecture (Furqan, 2015)

2.3.1 Bearer

A bearer works in the differentiation of packets based on type of service and subscriber by

categorizing incoming data into bearers. A ‘bearer’ identifies packet flows that receive a

common QoS treatment.

2.3.2 QoS Parameters of EPS bearers

The QoS profile of an EPS bearer mainly includes QoS Class Identifier (QCI) and Allocation

and Retention Priority (ARP), User Equipment number, service number and data.

2.3.3 QoS Profile

The illustration below Figure 2.3 illustrates the QoS profile or tag.

Service ID
ARP=j QCI #k To UE #n Data
#m

Fig 2.3 QoS Tag (Michelle, 2015)

2.3.3.1 ARP (Allocation and Retention Priority)

The ARP (allocation and retention priority) controls the priority in bearer establishment,

modification, or bearer release if resources are limited, (Tobergte & Curtis, 2013). In

addition, (Tobergte & Curtis, 2013) described that it may be used to indicate which bearers

are dropped when there is congestion in the network. This parameter can be used for GBR or

non-GBR QoS. The priority level of an ARP ranges from 0 to 15. The value 15 means “no

priority,” whereas the value 1 is the highest level of priority, with the value 0 being reserved

as is shown in the Table 1 in the priority column.

2.3.3.2 QoS Class Identifier (QCI)

The EPS QoS concept is class based, so each bearer is associated with only one QCI. A QCI

is a scalar value that classifies a QoS class to which a bearer belongs (Furqan, 2015). Each

QCI is a reference to a set of QoS attributes including resource type (GBR or non-GBR),

priority, packet delay budget and an acceptable packet error loss rate.

Furthermore, (Ferdosian et al., 2015) explains that every QCI has a particular packet

forwarding treatment according to their predefined specifics; therefore, all bearers assigned to

an especial QCI must follow a common rate and scheduling policy while fulfilling the QoS

class-based constraints.

The 3GPP has standardized the corresponding service characteristics of the bearers into 9

Quality Channel Indicators (QCI) to ensure that the bearers belong to the same class of

services, receive the same minimum level of service quality (Ferdosian et al., 2015). The

standardized QCI classes along with their corresponding performance characteristics has been

shown in Table 1.

QCI Bearer Priority Packet Packet Example services

Delay(ms) Error loss
rate(PERL)
1 GUARANTEED 2 100 10-2 Voice
2 4 150 10-3 Video calling
BIT RATE
3 3 50 10-3 Games
4 (GBR) 5 300 10-6 Video Streaming
5 NON- 1 100 10-6 SIP Signaling
6 6 300 10-6 Video Streaming, Internet
GUARANTEED
7 7 100 10-3 Voice, Video calling,
BIT RATE
Games
8 (NON-GBR) 8 300 10-6
Video streaming, Internet
9 9 300 10-6 Video streaming, Internet
Table 1. QCI parameter characteristics
2.3.3.3 Guaranteed Bit rate (GBR) bearers

A GBR bearer is established only as per requirement and reserves network resources

corresponding the GBR value associated with it. Each GBR bearer is associated with the

following bearer level QoS parameters.

Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR): It is the minimum guaranteed bit rate to be provided by a

GBR bearer to a UE. It is specified separately for uplink and downlink (Furqan, 2015).

Maximum Bit Rate (MBR): It indicates the maximum bit rate to be provided by a GBR

bearer. It limits the bit rate that can be provided by a GBR bearer to a UE (Furqan, 2015). It

is also specified separately for uplink and downlink.

Non-Guaranteed Bit Rate (non-GBR) bearers

A non-GBR bearer does not reserve network resources and can experience congestion related

packet losses. Each non-GBR bearer is associated with the following bearer level QoS

parameters.

APN-AMBR: Each Access Point Name (APN) is associated with Aggregate Maximum Bit

Rate (APN-AMBR). It limits the aggregate bit rate that can be provided to all Non-GBR

bearers of the same APN.

UE-AMBR: Each UE is associated with Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (UE-AMBR). It is the

maximum bit rate that is assigned to all non-GBR bearers of the same UE. Every QCI is

associated with a priority level. The priority levels differentiate among the flows of the same

UE and also among the flows from different UEs.

The illustration below Figure 1.4 shows how bearers, both GBR and Non-GBR, with their

parameters are set in the 4G LTE network.

 Figure 2.4 Bearer allocation in the LTE network (Fone, 2020)

Each bearer is associated with a set of unique QoS requirements defined by the QCI. Below

is an example (Fig 2.5) of the process of grouping packets into bearers and using the Table 1

of QCI values to identify the QCI value of each bearer, its user equipment (UE) and the

service ID (Fig. 2.3).

Figure 2.5 Grouping packets into bearers (Netmanias, 2013)

Packets are given the QCI number, user equipment, service ID and the data, then they are

assigned to the specified bearers with provided QCI number and UE number.

2.4 Benefits of 4G LTE network provided by Econet Wireless (Pvt) Ltd

The latest such technology, 4G LTE (‘Fourth Generation – Long Term Evolution’), provides

substantial performance improvements over previous mobile technologies, and offers the

promise that connectivity will no longer be a barrier to realizing the benefits of enterprise

mobility, (Place et al., 2012). Focusing on Econet Wireless subscribers such as companies

and individuals, there are benefits of what 4G LTE network can offer.

(Place et al., 2012) further explained that these improvements in application performance and

enterprise mobility can bring a range of benefits:

 Increased sales and improved customer

service

 Improvements in products and services

 Productivity gains

 Personal and team productivity

 Management effectiveness and innovation

 Direct cost reductions

2.4.1 Increases sales and improved customer services

Compared with previous mobile network technologies, 4G LTE offers much higher

bandwidth(speed of data transfer), lower latency(faster response times from the network) and
improved spectrum efficiency (increasing overall network capacity) as (Place et al., 2012)

explained. In practice, this allows:

 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

Sales are increased especially in a setup of a company with an online shopping website

whereby customers using 4G LTE network phones are encouraged to connect using a faster

network to buy more items conveniently online.

(Place et al., 2012) noted that in the UK, a certain retail is investing in Wi-Fi, to encourage

customers to browse the full range of stock on their smartphones or on tablets provided to

store staff. 4G LTE in Zimbabwe is also being used to browse stock items on online shops

such as https://ownai.co.zw, https://10ngah.com, etc., which is a crucial step towards

customer servicing.

With increasing rate of e-learning in Zimbabwe, 4G LTE will play a vital role in connecting a

teacher and more students completely virtually and seamlessly.

2.4.2 Improvements in products and services

In a company setup of site security, 4G LTE can be used to monitor any triggered silent

alarms using remote CCTV camera access in order to assess the situation. Using Econet

Connected Lifestyle, Connected Home has been introduced which is a smart home and

business security system that allows users to remotely manage, monitor and control their

security system from anywhere, anytime, (Econet Wireless, n.d.). (Place et al., 2012)

concurred that 4G-connected video surveillance, using LTE cameras and cloud storage,
brings high-resolution video in real-time without needing to install a fixed line or store video

feeds on-site.

With an increasing number of website establishment and 4G LTE connectivity in Zimbabwe,

the local Web hosting companies in Zimbabwe now have impressive customer service and

good products- thanks to AWS and Azure we now have the same resources to rival

International companies, (Tremhost, 2020).

2.4.3 Productivity gains

Personal and team productivity

The high bandwidth of LTE allows multiple employees to connect their devices, either

directly or through a Wi-Fi hub connected by 4G LTE. This enables full use of all enterprise

applications without returning to a main office, while avoiding the cost of fitting temporary

fixed broadband to the site, (Place et al., 2012).

Management effectiveness and innovation

Due to the highly distributed nature of retail, businesses in the supply chain can benefit

significantly from the ability of 4G LTE to provide mobile sales support applications, (Place

et al., 2012). Using Supply Chain Management systems, management effectively improve

resource acquisition.

2.4.4 Direct cost reductions

In a Retail company setup, (Place et al., 2012) describes that 4G LTE provides smaller

stores, ‘pop-up shops’ and kiosks with point-of-sale systems and store-based internet access

(for customers or staff). 4G LTE can be used as a primary network connection for connecting
distributed retail to innovative cloud applications in order to cut storage and order follow-up

costs by just accessing stock level data remotely.

2.5 The extent of success of 4G LTE operation has solved the QoS problems faces in

2G/3G

There shortcomings in 2G or 3G networks in terms of QoS. In Zimbabwe, POTRAZ, a

Zimbabwean Communications Regulator, has deployed QoS software to monitor telecoms

performance standards to keep track of service delivery from different providers according to

(Gambanga, 2016).

2.5.1 Download and Upload Speeds i.e., Throughput of 3G vs 4G LTE

Below are results ,(Table 2, Table 3, Table 4), of the Econet Wireless throughput comparing

3G and 4G LTE of noted by (Chikadaya, 2016) from different places in the city of Harare

only:

Table 2

Location: (Harare Post Office) City Centre

Connection Type Downlink Uplink

3G 1.16Mbps 0.09Mbps
4G LTE 19.39Mbps 19.8Mbps

Table 3

Location: Warren Park

Connection Type Downlink Uplink

3G 1.84Mbps 0.12Mbps
4G LTE 25.87Mbps 19.75Mbps
Table 4

Location: Marlborough (Office)

Connection Type Downlink Uplink

3G 5.61Mbps 0.86Mbps
4G LTE 34.54Mbps 22.19Mbps

The tables above clearly show that 4G LTE deployed by Econet Wireless has solved the

problem of low bandwidth through at least 10 times.

Theoretically, using that downlink and uplink throughput rates in Table 2, it would be even

possible to both play an online game and streaming both voice and video at the same time

and seamlessly too.

2.4 Summary

This chapter looked at other opinions and findings available on 4G LTE networks and briefly

explained them. The chapter also gave a detailed architecture of the LTE network presenting

each entity and the mechanism for QoS of the 4g LTE cellular network presented in form of

diagrams showing the EPS bearer system. The QoS architecture was presented to be having

GBR and Non-GBR bearers which are used in setting up bearer for all packets flowing in a

network. The chapter also described the QCI (Quality Class Indicator) which is assigned on

each packet and presented a table (Table 1) provided by the 3GPP to categorize bearers in the

4G LTE network. The next chapter will discuss the research methodology, data collection

and analysis procedure necessary for the study.

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