CENTRIA 5G FIELD TEST ENVIRONMENT

Transcription

1 CENTRIA 5G FIELD TEST ENVIRONMENT JANUARY 6, 2016 CENTRIA Vierimaantie 7, Ylivieska, Finland

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary... 2 Introduction... 3 Centria Field Test Environment... 3 Centria University of Applied Sciences... 3 Public Trials in Centria Field Test Environment... 4 Environment in Authorised Shared Access/Licensed Shared Access Trials... 4 Public LSA trials performed in Ylivieska Field Trial Environment:... 5 Interference measurements... 6 Smart traffic demonstration... 6 MIMO and Beamforming Trials and Evolution of the Field Test Environment... 6 AAS Trial 1: AAS for Cognitive Network Enhancement... 6 AAS Trial 2: AAS capabilities for 5G systems - A field study of performance... 7 Toward 5G with more evolved beam forming... 7 Conclusion... 8 References... 8 Abbreviations... 9

3 Executive Summary Data Traffic Forecast [1] predicts that global mobile data traffic will grow ten-fold from 2014 to 2019 with the highest need of capacity and spectrum being in dense urban areas. User-driven requirements for 5G systems are very low latencies, even virtually zero latency, and high data transmission speed, experience of transmitting data gigabit per second to users. In addition to cost efficiency the network-driven requirements are scalability, ability to handle increasing traffic amounts and flexibility [2][3]. These requirements will challenge network architecture and technologies in every network layer. Future mobile networks will work on different types of spectrum bands and broad bandwidth. Developed antenna technologies, massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) and beam forming, are seen one solutions to increase the spectral efficiency. Big changes are envisaged in complexity level of the networks. These changes will challenge the mobile technologies as well as in the measurement and testing methodologies. Operators, vendors, authorities, testing system developers, are lack of practical knowledge of coming technologies. Field test environments make it possible to test new technologies and trial novel concepts in fast and effective way. Centria field test environment is developed for needs of 5G testing purposies during Tekes funded national Cognitive Radio Trial Environment projects (CORE, CORE+ and CORE++). CORE++ consortium includes industry partners (Anite, Bittium, Nokia, PehuTec, Fairspectrum, Finnish Defence Forces), research organizations (Centria, VTT, CWC, TUAS) and FICORA (Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority). Centria field test environment is meant for companies, developers and researchers to test new products and innovations in mobile networks and allows to carry out experiments with large-scale tests. Centria team has a long experience deploying new technologies in this environment and it has been used for several technology, algorithm, testing tool, system, and application level demonstrations. Figure 1. Centria 5G Field Test Environment - Heterogeneous Live Mobile Network Several public trials have been performed in Centria field test environment. The environment has evolved according to the demands of each trial. The field test environment is a heterogenous network build with commercial hardware and software components. Network covers 4.4 km 2 area with macro cells. University campus area is covered with pico cell network. Cooperation with FICORA has enabled a unique opportunity for performing trials in mobile operation bands. Centria field test environment has been able to use several different frequency bands which have not been allocated for Wireless BroadBand (WBB) usage. The frequency band 800 MHz was in test use before spectrum auction in Currently frequency bands 2.3 GHz and 3.5 GHz are used in Centria test environment. The frequency band 2.1 GHz has also been available in research use in Centria test environment.

4 Introduction Future networks in 2020 will have to support mobile traffic volumes many times larger than today. Data Traffic Forecast [1] predicts that data traffic will increase dramatically during the upcoming years. Globally, mobile data traffic will grow 10-fold from 2014 to 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 57%, reaching 24.3 Exabytes per month by 2019 (the equivalent of 6,079 million DVDs each month), up from 2.5 Exabytes per month in A higher number and sophistication of devices, increasing use of mobile video and the Internet of Things (IoT) -trend, are all likely contributors to boosting the use of mobile traffic and will require a higher capacity 5G mobile cellular systems. This will lead to 5G networks having to address a need for higher frequency rates and small cells (pico & femto cells) for hotspot traffic while providing a cost efficient service. These requirements will affect all of the network components, network planning, and network testing procedures. Centria Field Test Environment Centria 5G field test environment offers platform for developers and researchers to perform experiments of future communication systems, services and new innovations. The field test environment offers practical view tackling 5G challenges. Several trials have been carried out for technology, algorithm, testing tool, system and application level demonstrations to produce practical knowledge performance of the network or a tool. The heterogeneous network of 5G field test environment include mix cell sizes. Macro base stations to create coverage to the center of Ylivieska town. Small cells increase capacity and network performance. There are also different frequency bands and duplex methods. The part of the Field Test Environment used in the 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) Licensed Shared Access (LSA) demonstrations consists of four macro Time Division-LTE (TD-LTE) base stations at 2.3 GHz LSA band. Three base stations have a total of five sectors and one base station has an omni-antenna for a small cell scenario. There are five pico TD- LTE indoor base stations in the campus area. Network also consists of two macro Frequency Division Duplex -LTE (FDD-LTE) base stations at 2.1 GHz band with four sectors as operators own already allocated LTE network. It also has commercial terminals supporting TD-FDD handover, commercial LTE core network and LTE OSS. Network also contains Active antenna system part with four sites. 4G/LTE LSA Field Test Environment in Ylivieska offers a possibility for third parties to use its radio network. Possible applications include cognitive radio solution testing in TD-FDD dual mode, LTE network, technology concept, test equipment development (such as handover testing) and terminal testing. Centria University of Applied Sciences Centria University of Applied Sciences was established in It is a multi-disciplinary and dynamic international higher education & research institution, located in Western Finland. One of its core R&D activities are focused on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), also, creation of possibilities for the development of the region s enterprises and communities. Every year, Centria participates in around 100 different R&D projects. Some of the recent and relevant studies include research on wireless communication and development of embedded systems in conjunction with business partners and other renowned research organizations. Centria s strength lies in its expertise in ICT and experience in hands-on demonstration and pilot applications.

5 Field Test Environment is located Ylivieska town in Bothnia area, Finland (Figure 2). This is in a rural/suburban area. Field Test Environment covers 4.4 km 2 of town area. Figure 2. Location of Ylivieska and Field Test Environment Public Trials in Centria Field Test Environment Centria Field Test Environment have been developed according to needs of trials. Main public trials performed in Field Test Environment are for LSA concept, Active Antenna System (AAS) and interference measurements. Environment in Authorised Shared Access/Licensed Shared Access Trials LSA concept enables a mobile network operator to share frequency bands from other incumbent spectrum users with conditions that resemble exclusive licensing. LSA guarantees good Quality of Service (QoS) for both the incumbent and the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) by sharing rules and conditions agreed with the regulator. Spectrum sharing using the LSA concepts is currently under review in regulation and standardization in Europe. Especially LSA framework with making the GHz band available for LTE networks by sharing with incumbents depending on national conditions. LSA can be realised with existing user equipment and minimum modifications to the infrastructure requiring only two new components: LSA repository and LSA controller. [1] Public LSA trials have been started on First trials were performed with one macro cell and WiFi. The latest trial was performed with the network four macro cells and five pico cells at 2.3 GHz TD-LTE LSA band and base stations at 2.1 GHz FDD-LTE band. The next phase of trial environment evolution is 3.5 GHz LTE pico cell network installation. Trial evolution is depicted in Figure 3.

6 Figure 3. Trial Environment Evolution Public LSA trials performed in Ylivieska Field Trial Environment: World's first LSA Trial. CORE+ project demonstrated world s first live LSA trial with TD-LTE network operating in the 2.3 GHz band on 25th April 2013 at WWRF meeting in Oulu, Finland. The demonstration used CORE+ Field Test Environment with LSA controller, emulated LTE Evolved Packed Core (EPC) network and a live LTE/4G trial network operating on a shared basis in the 2.3 GHz band which in Finland is current used by Programme Making and Special Event (PMSE) wireless cameras. WiFi was used for the LSA band evacuation [4][1]. The second LSA trial was Live LSA trial demonstration. LSA Trial Workshop, Helsinki, Finland, 3 rd September The evaluation of environment consisted installation of multiple Base Stations (BSs) and sectors, commercial Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) and core network. In DySPAN conference at McLean, VA, USA, the LSA 1 st -4 th April Trial 3 presented two use cases within the LSA/ASA concept: LSA/ASA band evacuation requested by the incumbent in the area of TD-LTE network, and TD-LTE network activation by MNO when the band becomes available [5]. Live LSA trial demonstration. Trial workshop at CrownCom 2014, Oulu, Finland, 4 th June 2014 [6][6]. Live LSA trial demonstration. Mobile Asia Expo (MAE) and GTI workshop, Shanghai, China, 9 th -13 th June This trial consisted multiple incumbents, LTE protection and also emergency evacuation [7]. Live LSA trial demonstration. ETSI RRS Workshop, Sophia, Antipolis, France, 3 rd -4 th December Small cell installation was performed for this trial. LSA trial with mobile incumbent were performed with ECC meeting on July 2015 in Helsinki, Finland. Field trial of Licensed Shared Access (LSA) with enhanced LTE resource optimization and incumbent protection, DySPAN, Stockholm, Sweden, 29 th September nd October 2015 [8].

7 Live End-to-End Ecosystem Trial of New Spectrum Sharing Concepts: European Licensed Shared Access (LSA) Evolution towards US Spectrum Access System, CLOBECOM, San Diego, CA, USA, 6 th -10 th December First implementation of SAS architecture using real LTE network. Most basic characteristics of citizen broadband radio service (CBRS) was demonstrated [9]. Interference measurements The introduction of WBB communications services in GHz band is currently under study in European regulation and standardization. The incumbents operating on the band in Finland and many other European countries are programme making and special events (PMSE) wireless cameras. If the band cannot be cleared, a potential implementation option is the LSA approach, which maintains the protection of the current incumbents while introducing WBB as an additional licensed system within the band. An interference measurement campaign was conducted in Ylivieska, Finland, where the aim was to study the interference from real LTE WBB system to a professional level wireless camera link on the 2.3 GHz band using the Finnish LSA trial environment [10]. The measurements were planned to reproduce the cordless camera link scenario as close as possible to the commercial TD-LTE 2,3 GHz network and User Equipment s (UE's), as in ECC report 172 [11], which provides compatibility studies with respect to the potential usage of the 2.3 GHz band for WBB systems. Smart traffic demonstration The smart traffic demonstrations results were published on Conference on Cognitive Infocommunications, 19th-21st October 2015, Győr, Hungary. Study concentrated to IEEE p and LTE as enablers of vehicleto-infrastructure communication. Comprehensive real-world measurements were performed to assess the ITS-G5 and LTE network performance measuring range, packet loss and throughput parameters in various scenarios in Centria 5G field test environment. The study revealed that LTE could be an interesting solution for vehicular networks, as the range and throughput is larger than with IEEE p. However, LTE needs a more detailed specification of vehicular communication, and for the most time-critical applications the delays can also be too high [12]. MIMO and Beamforming Trials and Evolution of the Field Test Environment Massive MIMO is a solution technology for gaining wireless data rates. MIMO technology used in CORE++ project is Active Antenna System (AAS). AASs are smart antennas that can enhance cellular network coverage and/or capacity with flexible radiation pattern control. This allows MNOs to deploy the same AAS hardware (HW) for the roll-out phase of a network since an AAS can provide very large macro-cells due to the high-gain antenna and multiple transceiver (TRX) structure [13]. There are two public AAS trials and several other AAS studies performed in Centria Field Test Environment. High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology were used in first AAS trials. Currently LTE technology and larger network are in use. AAS Trial 1: AAS for Cognitive Network Enhancement This study shows that the AAS can gain improvements in system performance in terms of achievable throughputs. The spatial cell isolation needs to be taken care of in order to maintain optimal system operation by avoiding inter-cell interference. In the AAS Trial 1 the AAS network was a macro-cellular network with two 2.1 GHz HSPA base stations with AA modules in the test environment. When Vertical Sectorization (VS) was used, there were four macro cells. The antenna heights are m. The distance between the two BSs is 3.4 km. Figure 4 shows the topology diagram of the AAS field test environment, the locations of the antenna masts and an approximation of the coverage areas without VS [13].

8 Figure 4. AAS Field Test Environment topology diagram, site locations and coverage area estimations AAS Trial 2: AAS capabilities for 5G systems - A field study of performance The field test results indicated that the AAS technology can offer 84.6% capacity gains in the downlink direction. Thus AAS technology was seen as a promising development for 5G mobile cellular systems that demand more capacity. Test environment were developed for the AAS trial 2 with new AAS installations. The field testing environment was expanded for this research from the AAS Trial 1, in which two sites with four sectors were used. In the enhanced setup, an additional site was deployed to the environment. There was a total of four AASs in use for the measurements. The environment can encompass four macro cells, or when VS was used, eight sectors. Figure 5 depicts the overall structure of the field test environment and the complete field trial network with VS [14]. Figure 5. AAS Trial 2 topology diagram, site locations and coverage area estimations Toward 5G with more evolved beam forming First two MIMO trials showed gain improvements in system performance. After AAS Trial 2 environment has been evolved towards 5G from UMTS to LTE and beyond system. Network consist now of four sites and when VS is used network consists eight sectors.

9 Figure 8. Current AAS site locations and coverage area. Conclusion In this paper we highlighted possibilities to use field test trial environment for future beyond 4G cellular system research. Centria field test environment is developed for needs of future mobile network testing purposes. Centria 5G field test environment is meant to test new products and innovations in mobile networks and allows to carry out experiments with large-scale tests. The heterogeneous network of 5G field test environment include macro and small. There are available different frequency bands and TDD and FDD duplex methods. The network covers 4.4 km 2 area with macro cells. University campus area is covered with pico cell network. The environment offers a unique opportunity for performing trials in mobile operation bands in field test environment. The environment can be used for different kind of experiences like technology, algorithm, testing tool, system, and application level demonstrations. The field test environment offers practical view tackling 5G challenges. References [1] Cisco white paper Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, [Online]. [2] 4G Americas, Recommendations on 5G Requirements and Solutions, White paper, October [3] FP 7 Metis, Deliverable D1.5, Updated scenarios, requirements and KPIs for 5G mobile and wireless system with recommendations for future investigations, Available: [4] M. Matinmikko, M. Palola, H. Saarnisaari, M. Heikkilä, J. Prokkola, T. Kippola, T. Hänninen, M. Jokinen & S. Yrjölä, "Cognitive Radio Trial Environment: First Live Authorized Shared Access-Based Spectrum-Sharing Demonstration," IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, vol.8, no.3, pp.30-37, Sept [5] M. Palola, M. Matinmikko, J. Prokkola, M. Mustonen, M. Heikkilä, T. Kippola, S. Yrjölä, V. Hartikainen, L. Tudose, A. Kivinen, J. Paavola & K. Heiska, Live field trial of Licensed Shared Access (LSA) concept using LTE network in 2.3 GHz band, IEEE DySPAN, McLean, VA, 1-4 April [6] Palolo, M., Rautio, T., Matinmikko, M., Prokkola, J., Mustonen, M., Heikkila, M.,... & Kivinen, A. (2014, June). Licensed Shared Access (LSA) trial demonstration using real LTE network. In Cognitive Radio Oriented Wireless Networks and Communications (CROWNCOM), th International Conference on (pp ). IEEE. [7] CORE+ project web page [Online]. Available: [8] Matinmikko, M., Palola, M., Mustonen, M., Rautio, T., Heikkila, M., Kippola, T.,... & Kokkinen, H. (2015, September). Field trial of Licensed Shared Access (LSA) with enhanced LTE resource optimization and incumbent protection. In Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks (DySPAN), 2015 IEEE International Symposium on (pp ). IEEE. [9] Matinmikko, M. Palola, M. ; Mustonen, M. ; Rautio, T. ; Heikkila, M. ; Kippola, T. ; Yrjola, S. ; Hartikainen, V. ; Tudose, L. ; Kivinen, A. ; Kokkinen, H. ; Makelainen, M. Live End-to-End Ecosystem Trial of New Spectrum Sharing Concepts: European Licensed Shared Access (LSA) Evolution towards US Spectrum Access System, CLOBECOM, San Diego, CA, USA, 6-10 December 2015.

10 [10] Kalliovaara, J., Jokela, T., Ekman, R., Hallio, J., Jakobsson, M., Kippola, T., & Matinmikko, M. (2015, September). Interference measurements for Licensed Shared Access (LSA) between LTE and wireless cameras in 2.3 GHz band. In Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks (DySPAN), 2015 IEEE International Symposium on (pp ). IEEE. [11] ECC report 172, Broadband Wireless Systems Usage in MHz, March [12] Valta M., Jutila M., Joni Jämsä J., IEEE p and LTE as Enablers of Cognitive Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communication, Proceedings of 6th IEEE Conference on Cognitive Infocommunications (CogInfoCom 15), October 19-21, 2015, Győr, Hungary, pp [13] M. Heikkilä, T. Kippola, A. Nykänen, M. Matinmikko and J. Keskimaula, Active Antenna System (AAS) for Cognitive Network Enhancement, to appear in 5th IEEE Conference on Cognitive Infocommunication, [14] M. Heikkilä, T. Kippola, P. Kärsämä, A. Nykänen, P. Tuuttila and M. Matinmikko, Active antenna system (AAS) capabilities for 5G systems: A field study of performance, In 5G for Ubiquitous Connectivity (5GU), st International Conference on (pp ). IEEE. Abbreviations 5G AAS ASA BS EPC FDD HSPA ICT IoT LSA LTE MIMO MNO OAM OSS PMSE TD-LTE TRX UE QoS VS WBB 5th generation mobile networks Active Antenna System Authorised Shared Access Base Station Evolved Packet Core Frequency Division Duplex High Speed Packet Access Information and Communications Technology Internet of Things Licensed Shared Access Long Term Evolution Multiple-antenna (Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output) Mobile Network Operator Operations, Administration and Maintenance Operations Support Systems Programme Making and Special Event Time Division Long Term Evolution Transceiver User Equipment Quality of Service Vertical Sectorization Wireless Broadband