Release 7 HSPA+ For Mobile Broadband Evolution

Qualcomm Incorporated
November 2007
 Release 7 HSPA+ For
Mobile Broadband Evolution

Table of Contents

[1] Executive Summary ......................................................................... 1

[2] Introduction and Overview ............................................................... 2

2.1 What is HSPA+?...................................................................... 3

[3] HSPA+ Doubles Data Capacity and Reduces Cost ........................ 4

3.1 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)..................................... 6

3.2 Higher Order Modulation (HOM) ............................................. 7

3.3 Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) and Discontinuous

Reception (DRX)..................................................................... 7

[4] HSPA+ Provides Three Times Increased Voice Capacity............... 8

[5] Higher Data Capacity through VoIP............................................... 10

[6] Enhanced User Experience Benefits ............................................. 11

[7] HSPA+ Offers an Entire Range of IP Services .............................. 12

7.1 VoIP Enables Rich Services.................................................. 13

7.2 VoIP Simplifies Fixed Mobile Convergence .......................... 14

[8] Backward Compatibility and Leverage in a Large 3G Ecosystem. 15

[9] The Optimal Solution in 5 MHz ...................................................... 16

[10] Conclusion ................................................................................... 18

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[1] Executive Summary

UMTS operators are rapidly launching High Speed Packet Access
(HSPA) services to capitalize on HSPA’s mobile broadband capabilities
and increased data capacity. As the natural evolution, HSPA+ further
enhances the performance and capabilities of HSPA. HSPA+ is expected
to be commercially available in 2008 through incremental investments
and backward and forward compatible handsets. HSPA+ doubles the
data capacity and increases voice capacity by three times enabling
operators to offer mobile broadband at even lower cost. Moving voice
traffic to VoIP over HSPA not only increases the voice capacity in itself, it
also significantly increases data capacity. While HSPA already supports
the full range of packet-based IP services with integrated Quality of
Service (QoS). HSPA+ further enhances the end-user experience
through higher peak rates, lower latency, extended talk time and a true
“always-on” experience. HSPA+ is the optimal solution for a 5 MHz
carrier and provides similar data and voice capacity as LTE in the 5 MHz
block for the same number of antennas.

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[2] Introduction and Overview

UMTS operators are rapidly launching HSPA services to capitalize on
its mobile broadband capabilities and increased data capacity. The
enhanced downlink (HSDPA) had been launched commercially by 128
UMTS operators as of mid-2007, and deployment of the enhanced uplink
(HSUPA) began during 2007.

HSPA+, expected to be commercially available by the end of 2008, is the

natural evolution of HSPA. It further enhances the performance and
capabilities of HSPA. This white paper discusses these key benefits of
HSPA+:

HSPA+ doubles the data capacity over HSPA, thus reducing the cost
of delivering data services and offering a better mobile broadband
experience.

HSPA+ provides three times more voice capacity through VoIP than
R99 circuit-switched voice with the same quality and codec.

HSPA+ VoIP frees up significant data capacity. The higher VoIP

efficiency can also be used to free up significant data capacity in a mixed
VoIP and data usage model. This helps to meet the increased demand
for data services.

HSPA+ enhances the end-user experience through higher peak rates,

lower latency, faster call set-up time, significantly longer talk time and a
true “always-on” experience. HSPA+ supports downlink peak rates up to
28 Mbps (42 Mbps in 3GPP Release 8) and up to 11 Mbps in the uplink.

HSPA+ is the most economical evolution of HSPA, allowing UMTS

operators to most efficiently use their existing assets and investments in
network, spectrum and devices. Like HSPA, HSPA+ is forward and
backward compatible, allowing for a phased introduction of devices and
a smooth upgrade to existing nodes.

HSPA+ is the optimal solution for a 5 MHz carrier, for existing, re-
farmed 900 MHz, and for new spectrum; it provides similar data and
voice performance as LTE in a 5 MHz block, using the same number of
antennas.

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2.1 What is HSPA+?

HSPA+ is the name of the set of HSPA enhancements that are defined
in 3GPP Release 7 (R7) and beyond. The enhanced downlink (HSDPA)
was defined in 3GPP R5 and provides three times the data capacity of
WCDMA R99 (using a rake receiver and a single UE receive antenna).

Broadband Broadband Enhanced Voice

downloads uploads and data capacity
Rel-99 Rel-5 (HSDPA) Rel-6 (HSUPA) Rel-7 Rel-8
WCDMA HSPA HSPA+ (HSPA Evolved)
DL: 384 Kbps DL: 14.4 Mbps DL: 14.4 Mbps DL: 42 Mbps
UL: 384 Kbps UL: 384 Kbps UL: 5.72 Mbps UL: 11 Mbps

Figure 1: UMTS Evolution

The enhanced uplink (HSUPA) was defined in R6 and doubles the uplink
data capacity over WCDMA R99. This paper focuses on the first step of
the HSPA evolution and the enhancements that have been defined in
3GPP R7. HSPA will continue to evolve and 3GPP R8 and beyond will
introduce features that will further enhance the HSPA performance.

Table 1 presents the key HSPA+ R7 features and their benefits.

HSPA+ Features Key Benefits

DL 2x2 Multiple Input Multiple Doubles peak data rates
Output (MIMO) Increases downlink capacity

50% higher downlink peak data rate

Higher Order Modulation (HOM)
Doubles uplink data peak rate
64-QAM DL and 16-QAM UL
Increases uplink and downlink capacity

Improves VoIP capacity

Continuous Packet Connectivity
Extends talk time by up to 50%
(CPC): DTX/DRX, HS_SCCH Less
Better “always-on” experience

Enhanced CELL_FACH state Faster cell set up

operation Better “always-on” experience

MBSFN Increases broadcast capacity

(single frequency network) Better broadcast cell edge rate

Table 1: Key HSPA+ R7 Features

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In addition to the HSPA+ enhancements defined in the 3GPP standards,

we anticipate that interference cancellation (IC), both in the uplink (Node
B IC) and downlink (UE IC) will be introduced in the same timeframe as
HSPA+. Thus, the performance numbers discussed in this paper assume
implementation of Node B IC. While the use of 4-Branch receive diversity
could further double the uplink capacity, and the use of UE IC would
increase the downlink capacity and enhance user experience at the cell
edge through higher rates, those enhancements are not taken into
account for the performance projections in this paper.

Additional HSPA+ Features Key Benefits

(Expected to be available same timeframe as HSPA+ R7)

Uplink Interference Cancellation Increases uplink capacity and rates

(Node B IC) Beneficial for VoIP

Downlink Interference Cancellation Increases Downlink capacity

(UE IC) Higher Downlink cell edge data rate

Increases uplink capacity (>100%)

Node B four-way receive diversity
Higher uplink cell edge data rates

Table 2: Standard Independent HSPA+ Features

[3] HSPA+ Doubles Data Capacity and Reduces Cost

With the launch of HSPA, operators are seeing a significant uptake in
data demand, a result of new data applications and increased demand
for high-performance mobile broadband services. HSPA+ enhances the
performance of HSPA networks and enables wireless operators to
continue to fulfill these data needs in the most economical way, as
HSPA+ doubles the data capacity compared to HSPA R6 (assuming a
rake receiver and receive diversity at the HSPA R6 UE).

Figure 2 compares the downlink and uplink data capacity of HSPA and
HSPA+. The almost doubled downlink and uplink data capacity assumes
advanced receivers (UE equalizer, UE receive diversity and Node B IC)1
in addition to the HSPA+ features. These results do not take higher order
modulation (HOM) schemes into consideration (64-QAM on the downlink

1
Type 3 UE receiver: linear MMSE equalizer and receive diversity.

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and 16-QAM in the uplink). It is expected that HOM will provide further
performance boost in particular deployment scenarios.

HSPA greatly increased data capacity over R99 systems by adding the
high-speed shared channels with HOM (16-QAM), smaller transmission
interval, Hybrid ARQ and opportunistic scheduling. HSPA+ builds on this
solid foundation by adding support for 64-QAM, 2x2 MIMO, CPC and
other air interface improvements. Additional enhancements are being
planned for R8 and beyond, which will provide a clear evolution path for
current networks. Some of the HSPA+ enhancements that improve data
capacity are discussed below.

Data Capacity Per Sector Mbps (5MHz)

7.81

6.18 2.3X
Downlink

1.8X
3.44

1X

R6 HSPA baseline R6 HSPA R7 HSPA+

(RxDiv) (RxDiv+EQ) (2x2 MIMO)

2.61

1.7X
1.55
Uplink

1X

R6 HSPA R7 HSPA
Baseline (RxDiv+IC)
Source: Qualcomm Simulations, 500m ISD, 64-QAM in DL not considered,
16-QAM in UL not considered. Details in 3GPP R1-070674.

Figure 2: Data Capacity per Sector in Mbps (5 MHz)

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3.1 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)

HSPA+ supports 2x2 downlink MIMO that uses two transmit antennas at
the Node B to transmit orthogonal (parallel) data streams to the two
receive antennas at the UEs. Using two antennas and additional signal
processing at the receiver and the transmitter, MIMO can increase the
system capacity and double user data rates without using additional
Node B power or bandwidth.

Under certain channel conditions, data in a 2x2 MIMO system can be

transmitted using up to two orthogonal streams. To be most effective,
MIMO needs a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the UE and a rich
scattering environment. High SNR ensures that the UE will be able to
decode the incoming signal successfully despite distributing the transmit
power among the two antennas. A rich scattering environment ensures
that the two data streams remain orthogonal when they reach the UE.
Line-of-sight transmissions, on the other hand, cannot support
orthogonal streams and hence provide limited MIMO gain. The MIMO
benefit is therefore maximized in a dense urban (city) environment where
the MIMO gain is most needed, as there is enough scattering and cell
sizes are small (potentially high SNR at the UE). In rural environments
with large cell sizes and less scattering, the MIMO gains will be limited.

HSPA+ introduces the dual transmit adaptive array (D-TxAA) scheme

for 2x2 MIMO. Future releases (R8 and beyond) are considering
higher-order MIMO and UL MIMO.

HSPA+ Peak MIMO

(2x2 DL MIMO) Non - MIMO
Data Rates

28 Mbps (16-QAM) 14 Mbps (16-QAM)

Downlink
21 Mbps (64-QAM)

5.76 Mbps (QPSK) 5.76 Mbps (QPSK)

Uplink
11 Mbps (16-QAM) 11 Mbps (16-QAM)

Table 3: HSPA+ R7 Data Rates2

2
The combination of 64-QAM and MIMO operation is expected in R8 and will
provide DL rates up to 42 Mbps.

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3.2 Higher Order Modulation (HOM)

R6 HSPA supports 16-QAM modulation on the downlink and QPSK on
the uplink. As Figure 3 shows, the data capacity (bits/symbol) increases
as we move from QPSK to 16-QAM and then to 64-QAM. HSPA+
introduces 64-QAM on the downlink, which increases the data rates
by 50% for UEs that have a high SNR. On the uplink, 16-QAM doubles
data rates for UEs that are not power headroom limited.

Wireless signals transmitted with a higher modulation are more sensitive

to interference and require a higher SNR at the receiver for successful
demodulation. HOM significantly increases the data rates for those users
that are in good signal conditions (high SNR). Hence, the traffic for these
high SNR users can be serviced faster, leaving Node B with more time
and resources to service users in weaker signal areas, such as the cell
edge. Overall, this provides high data rates and improved user
experience for all users in the cell.

HOM complements MIMO by providing significant gains in line-of-sight

scenarios, where MIMO gains are limited. Table 3 shows the peak data
rates with HOM and MIMO.

3.3 Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) and Discontinuous

Reception (DRX)
The CPC DTX feature allows the UE to gate off the control channels
when there is no user data to send. DTX thereby increases the uplink
capacity by reducing the uplink interference at the Node B. DTX can
also reduce the battery consumption and thus extend the battery life
by limiting the time the UE transmitter needs to be active to send
information. In the same way, DRX allows the UE to turn off the receiver
at certain agreed intervals in which Node B does not transmit any
downlink information to the UE. This in turn saves UE battery power.

Figure 3: Higher Order Modulation

Synchronized DTX and DRX operation allows the UE to shut off its
transmitter and receiver blocks completely, which significantly improves
the UE battery life. DTX and DRX are, in particular, beneficial for low-rate
data applications like VoIP, or bursty applications like web browsing,
where it is possible to gate off transmission or turn off reception between
the data transmissions.

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[4] HSPA+ Provides Three Times Increased Voice

Capacity
High-quality voice is a key service that has traditionally been the core of
the wireless business. With packet-based data applications rapidly taking
off, it is natural also to move the voice service to VoIP for lower cost and
better integration with the other packet-based services. The underlying
voice technology, packet-based VoIP or circuit-based voice, does not
need to be known by the end-users, as long as the quality and user
experience remains the same. VoIP would, in fact, provide an even
richer user experience than circuit switched (CS) voice, through its
integration with other packet services.

Telco-quality VoIP over HSPA+ provides three times the voice capacity
of current R99/HSPA networks, which allows it to meet the increasing
voice demand cost efficiently, especially when moving from traditional
MOU (minutes of use) based plans to flat-rate unlimited minutes plans.

Telco-quality VoIP over HSPA provides several benefits to operators and

end users beyond reduced cost through higher capacity, including:

• Higher data capacity through VoIP – Mixing VoIP and data

services frees up significant data capacity compared with mixing
R99 CS voice and data services.

• VoIP enables rich services – The integration of voice with other

data services enables new end-user services and new revenue
sources for the operator.

• VoIP simplifies fixed mobile convergence – Moving all services

to the packet domain with a common packet network creates
synergies that reduce cost.

The operator can provide telco-quality VoIP in the same way as R99 CS
voice and fully control the service from end to end. VoIP also enables
the network operator to offer third-party VoIP clients with appropriate
QoS to ensure voice quality, and charge accordingly for this high-quality
VoIP flow.

To support telco-quality VoIP, the HSPA network requires standard

defined features such as QoS, header compression and IP multimedia
system (IMS) support. Furthermore, non-standard implementation-

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specific features such as QoS scheduling and admission control must

be supported.

In current UMTS networks, voice services are carried over dedicated

circuit-switched bearers, which are assigned to users for the duration
of the voice call. HSPA VoIP uses shared-packet channels with smaller
transmission intervals to transfer VoIP packets more efficiently. HSPA+
further improves VoIP capacity by introducing enhancements such as
CPC. This optimizes air-interface resource usage, providing a two times
voice capacity increase without Node B IC and a three times increase
with Node B IC for the same voice quality and codec (AMR 12.2kbps)
over R99 CS voice. Figure 4 compares the voice capacity of R99 CS,
HSPA R6 and HSPA+ R7 VoIP.

Voice Capacity Per Sector (5MHz) 182

2.6X

93

68 1.3X

1X

R99 R6 R7 HSPA+
CS VoIP VoIP
Source: QUALCOMM simulations, 500m ISD, 50ms delay, AMR 12.2 Codec.
Detailed assumptions in R1-070674.

Figure 4: Number of Voice Users Supported Per Sector (5 MHz)

The next-generation wireless systems like Long Term Evolution (LTE)

and Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) will rely on VoIP and an IMS network
for voice without supporting circuit-switched services. HSPA+ enables
operators to offer these same high-capacity VoIP services to the end
users without relying on the circuit-switched core network.

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[5] Higher Data Capacity through VoIP

Because VoIP is more efficient and uses fewer resources than circuit-
switched (CS) voice, as exemplified by the three times capacity increase,
means that the remaining resources can be used to increase the data
capacity. Mixing VoIP and data on the same HSPA+ carrier
is significantly more efficient than mixing R99 CS voice and HSPA+
data. This means that at any given voice load level, the system has
significantly more data capacity if VoIP is used instead of R99 CS voice.

6000
Throughput (Kbps)

5000

4000
Almost 3X data capacity at typical voice
3000 load (50 users/sector) when using VoIP

2000
Data
HSPA+ VoIP and Data
Gain
R5 CS Voice and Data
1000

0 50 100 150 200 250

Voice Users
HSPA+ does not include MIMO and HOM; MIMO and HOM would further increase the HSPA+ capacity.
Assumptions: 20 BE Users vs Voice AMR 12.2 users, 1Km ISD

Figure 5: Sector Data Capacity when Mixing Voice/VoIP and Data

Figure 5 presents the remaining downlink data capacity for two cases,
one with R99 CS voice and HSPA data and one with VoIP and HSPA+
data mixed on the same carrier. At a typical voice load of 50 voice users,
mixing VoIP and data provides almost three times higher data capacity
compared to mixing R99 CS voice and data. Furthermore, VoIP is
typically uplink-limited, and there is additional capacity left over in the
downlink at the maximum uplink VoIP capacity.

This is a key driver in the adoption of VoIP, as it increases the data

capacity and offers data services at a lower cost.

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[6] Enhanced User Experience Benefits

HSPA+ not only improves data capacity, voice capacity and peak rates, it
also enhances the end-user experience in other ways:

• True “always-on” experience by allowing user to stay longer in

connected mode without compromising battery life (CPC). In
addition, faster state transition allows users to move more rapidly
between inactive and active states (enhanced Cell_FACH).

• Up to 50% extended talk time3 through VoIP as compared with

R99 CS voice, due to lower battery consumption (DRX and
DTX).

• 50% reduction in the over-the-air call set-up time compared with

HSPA R6, due to faster state transitions (enhanced Cell_FACH).

• Better broadband experience with up to 28 Mbps peak data rates

(42 Mbps in R8) on the downlink and 11 Mbps on the uplink.

• Reduced latency for data services due to higher peak rates,

faster state transition and true “always-on,” which enhances the
user experience across an entire range of IP services.

3
DTX and DRX will wake up every 8 TTI (T1=T2=8).

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CPC allows packet data users to stay in the connected mode longer
since the overhead channels can be gated off (DTX) and the reception
turned off (DRX). An inactive user will have to move to the inactive state
after some inactivity time, but CPC allows the user to stay longer in the
connected state without significantly compromising the battery life. In
addition to CPC, the enhanced Cell_FACH allows twice-as-fast
transitions between active and inactive states compared with R6.
Together, these features provide an enhanced user experience with a
true “always-on” experience for data services such as push-to-talk (PTT)
or for bursty HTTP traffic.

The enhanced Cell_FACH is achieved by moving the transmission of the

paging channel (PCH) and the intermediate Cell_FACH state to the high-
capacity HSPA channel. This allows for much higher performance and
thus reduced latency. The enhancements also reduce call set-up times
through twice-as-fast transition from inactive mode (Cell-PCH) to active
mode (Cell_FACH/DCH) for both data and voice services.

[7] HSPA+ Offers an Entire Range of IP Services

HSPA allows consumers and business users to rely on HSPA as their
main broadband connection, and offers similar user experience across
mobile and fixed networks. HSPA’s high-capacity broadband uplink and
downlink with integrated QoS and low latency support the entire range of
IP services, including delay-sensitive applications such as telco-quality
VoIP. HSPA+ further enhances the user’s experience and makes these
services more affordable by lowering the cost through doubled data and
voice capacity.

Some examples of the range of IP services supported by HSPA and

HSPA+ are: packet-based video telephony, video sharing, low-latency
gaming, push-to-media, PTT, place shifting of media, and social
networking. HSPA’s QoS support also enables service tiering, which
allows the network to assign users different levels of priority based on
their subscription levels, which are tailored to each user’s needs.

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VIDEO SHARING

VIDEO GAMES
HSPA+ Offers
Entire Range
of
IP Services
PTT MUSIC

VoIP

The following section set forth the benefits of VoIP, one of the IP
services that HSPA and HSPA+ supports. VoIP enables greater flexibility
in mixing voice and data traffic, and enables new, richer voice services.

7.1 VoIP Enables Rich Services

Voice will continue to be a key service, and VoIP enables the transition
to richer services and communication by simplifying the integration of
simultaneous voice, the vast number of Internet data applications, and
presence on a common packet data channel.

VoIP allows for personalization and greater service flexibility, as a user

can add and remove IP services and enrich the communication in real
time. During an ongoing voice call, the user may decide to share video
and thus share an experience instantaneously, or share music, video
clips and pictures. The presence status of friends and co-workers allows
the user to select from a variety of communication types such as instant
messaging (IM), PTT or a voice call.

Business users will also be more productive through richer

communication and improved collaborative applications that combine
voice and business applications.

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Rich voice enables cheaper and faster development of new services and
applications. It enables the expansion of connectivity to a wider range of
devices, consumer electronics and computing platforms with integrated
applications that have a familiar look and feel. Rich VoIP over HSPA
leverages converged applications that users are already accustomed
to in wireline and WLAN.

7.2 VoIP Simplifies Fixed Mobile Convergence

Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) is taking place in many different forms.
Moving voice to VoIP enables the key aspect of FMC: the opportunity to
move all services and traffic to the packet domain with a common all-IP
packet network. The gradual phase-out of the circuit-switched core
network will reduce PSTN interconnection fees and tariffs for long
distance. The converged all-IP core network for voice and data services
will support different access technologies, creating synergies in operation
and maintenance that reduce operational expenditure. Furthermore, it
leverages existing, standard and scalable IP network elements, thus
benefiting from the IP cost curve and reducing capital expenditure.

VoIP offers better end-user experience through seamless connectivity

at home, on the go, and at the office, with personalized, rich, always-on
services regardless of location. The common IMS network ensures that
the services are consistent across the different networks.

SW upgrade Mainly SW upgrade New backward compatible

to RNC to Node B HSPA+ devices

Figure 6: HSPA+ Network Upgrades

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[8] Backward Compatibility and Leverage in a Large

3G Ecosystem
There are currently 174 commercial UMTS networks, and 128 of these
have enabled HSPA (Figure 7) as of mid-2007. Operators have already
made considerable capital investments in spectrum and network
resources to enable UMTS and HSPA services. HSPA+ provides an
excellent technology evolution path for these networks, and enables
operators to maximize their return on investments. HSPA+ will ensure
that these networks continue to provide performance comparable to
that of next-generation technologies like LTE and UMB in a 5 MHz
spectrum block.

WCDMA
WCDMA + HSDPA

There Were More Than 137 Million UMTS Subscribers July ’07

WCDMA: 174 Commercial Operators HSDPA: 128 Commercial Operators

53 Commercial Operators @ 3.6Mbps

Figure 7: WCDMA and HSPA Deployments [Source: GSMA (Operators: July 2007), (Subscribers: June 2007)]

HSPA+ is designed to be compatible with existing R99, 5/6 devices and

networks, and uses the same spectrum and network resources to deliver
the enhanced performance. The existing radio and core network can
be upgraded to HSPA+ without the need for adding any new network
elements. Existing UMTS and new HSPA+ devices can roam seamlessly
between R99 UMTS, HSPA and HSPA+ networks. Backward

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compatibility will enable operators to roll out HSPA+ features in phases,

without concern about device/network incompatibility. Many of the
features being defined (e.g., DTX/DRX and other enhancements)
could be an easy software upgrade to the existing base stations.

By deploying HSPA+, wireless operators will benefit tremendously

from the vast 3GPP device and vendor ecosystem that provides
economies-of-scale benefits to the 3GPP community. Operators have
greater flexibility in selecting vendors, and have a larger choice of
devices and terminals that they can potentially offer to their customers
at an affordable price.

This wide vendor support and backward compatibility also enables

operators to deploy HSPA+ in a timely manner and gives them a time-
to-market advantage compared with other competing technologies.
Initial HSPA+ device and network support will be available in late 2008.

[9] The Optimal Solution in 5 MHz

HSPA+ is an incremental upgrade of the existing HSPA networks,
using the same spectrum and network resources. HSPA+ performance
in 5 MHz is comparable to that of next-generation OFDMA technologies,
such as LTE or UMB, using same number of antennas. Figure 8 shows
the comparable capacity of HSPA+ and LTE in a 5 MHz system.

Given the advantages of backward compatibility and superior system

performance, HSPA+ presents as the optimal solution for upgrade of the
existing HSPA networks and for new or re-farmed 5 MHz spectrum
blocks.

3GPP is also working on LTE, which is the next-generation, OFDMA

based system supported by a new core network called EPC. Throughout
the design of LTE and EPC, emphasis is placed on ensuring
interoperability with existing 3GPP technologies like UMTS and GSM.
This will ensure that HSPA+ and LTE co-exist and that LTE will
complement HSPA+, providing a capacity boost in high-demand areas.
Initial deployments of LTE will be more suited for urban hot spots,
whereas HSPA+ will cover the existing vast HSPA footprint.

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HSPA+ will ensure a consistent user experience across the entire

network, and it allows the operator to roll out LTE in phases, such that
LTE is first deployed in dense urban areas and then gradually expanded.
The common IMS network enables users to experience the same
services across the entire network, irrespective of LTE coverage.

8.1
7.81

2.4X
6.18
2.3X

1.8X

3.44

1X

R6 HSPA baseline R6 HSPA R7 HSPA+ LTE

(RxDiv) (RxDiv+EQ) (2x2 MIMO) 2x2 MU-MIMO

Source: Qualcomm Simulations, 500m ISD, LTE results scaled down from
10MHz. HSPA+: 16/64QAM not considered. Details in 3GPP R1-070674.

Figure 8: Downlink Data Capacity per Sector Mbps (5 Mhz)

Given the early availability of HSPA+ in 2008, HSPA+ and its evolution
remains the most optimal solution for existing HSPA/WCDMA operators.
For new operators that are planning on launching 3G UMTS networks,
HSPA provides a proven technology with economies of scale in device
and network procurement.

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[10] Conclusion
HSPA+ is the natural and most economical evolution from HSPA,
allowing UMTS operators to make the most efficient use of their existing
assets and investments in network, spectrum and devices. HSPA+ is
backward compatible, allowing for a gradual introduction of devices and
a smooth, cost-efficient and simple network upgrade to existing HSPA
nodes. Thanks to three times the voice and two times the data capacity,
HSPA+ lowers the cost of delivering voice and data services enabling
operators to offer mobile broadband at an even lower cost. Moving voice
to VoIP over HSPA not only more than doubles the voice capacity; it also
significantly increases the data capacity. HSPA supports the entire range
of IP services; HSPA+ further enhances the end-user experience through
higher peak rates, lower latency, extended talk time through VoIP, and a
true “always-on” experience.

© 2007 Qualcomm Incorporated. All rights reserved. Qualcomm asserts that all information is correct through November 2007.

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