1. JUN 2010 . ISSUE 56
Huawei Communicate
802.16m: ready for 4G
o s a t i s f y t h e i n c re a s i n g
demand for high-speed data
transmission and mobility,
IEEE began the standardization
process for 16m in December 2006. 3G
was becoming mature when the 16m
project was initiated, yet the industry had
been expecting new technologies to meet
the requirements for higher bandwidth
services. Based on 3G-oriented 16e
technology, the goal of the IEEE 802.16
Task Group was to standardize 16m to
meet the future needs of ultra mobile
broadband services.
Using technologies like MIMO and
multi-carrier, 16m has enhanced air
interfaces. Compared with 16e, the data
rate can be enhanced from 100Mbps to
1Gbps, meeting the 4G requirements
proposed by ITU-R and there is the
possibility of handling even richer services
WiMAX broadband access meets the ever-growing
needs for mobility and higher bandwidth. IEEE
802.16e and 802.16m are the two major air interface
standards. 16e is included in the ITU-R IMT-2000
standard, while 16m is a candidate for IMT-Advanced
(4G) mobile communications technology.
and applications. 16m also works well at
350km/h without impacting the QoE of
ultra-broadband data services.
Abundant technical
advantages
2010 is the year of 16m. By the end
of 2010, all work related to 16m is set
to be finished and relevant amendments
will be released. In 2012, 16m wireless
broadband network is predicted to begin
commercialization.
16m has two key targets: First,
compatibility with 16e and second,
meeting the requirements of 4G.
Once initiated, 16m is required to
be backwardly compatible with 16e and
works well with other radio systems. 16e
terminals can work in 16m systems and
vice versa. In addition, 16m base station
supports 16e RF channels by legacy zone
and 16e&16m mobile terminals can hand
over freely between these two systems.
16m system can co-exist with non-radio
access technologies like 802.11 (WLAN)
and 802.15.1 (Bluetooth). 16m also
supports multi-mode terminals and the
handover with other radio systems (e.g.
3GPP and 3GPP2).
Many enhanced features have been
added to 16m to meet 4G requirements,
such as multi-carrier, self-organizing
network (SON), femtocell, wireless relay
and more. Some technologies are also
improved, such as enhanced MIMO,
security, multicast and broadcast service,
and location based service (LBS).
Multi-carrier capability can help
enhance data transmission efficiency. For
example, a single carrier can have up to
44
T
By Xiao Jiaxing & Fan Guanghui

2. Leading Edge
JUN 2010 . ISSUE 56
Editor: Xu Peng xupeng@huawei.com
45
20MHz channel bandwidth, yet 100MHz
bandwidth can be realized by aggregating
several 20MHz channels. Multi-carrier
capability can effectively enhance the data
rate when limited bandwidth is provided
by a single frequency channel to realize the
possibility of 1Gbps.
With features like self-configuration
and self-optimization, SON can help
automatically deploy 16m base stations
and update related parameters, simplifying
network deployment and reducing O&M
costs with enhanced efficiency.
Utilizing legacy 16e sites, 16m can
be more flexible in network deployment
by accommodating base stations like
macro, micro, relay stations and others.
Interconnected with SON, these base
stations can help to realize intelligent self-
configuration and self-optimization.
Femtocells can help extend coverage
to rooms with poor wireless reception to
enable enhanced broadband access and
user experience. The wireless relay allows
macro base stations extend coverage to
adapt to different geographical locations.
With enhanced MIMO, 16m can
support a maximum of 8T8R configuration
– eight transmitters and eight receivers.
16m also supports open-loop and closed-
loop MIMO for single or multiple users.
Also, 16m supports single base station
pre-coding and coherent base station
coordination, which further enhances the
capacity and reliability of 16m systems.
Rich commercial values
16m is more competitive than 3G in
terms of network construction costs and the
efficiency of operations management. With
SON functions, 16m can help operators
manage their network automatically, setting
configuration parameters, optimizing
network performance and troubleshooting
network problems with a corresponding
reduction in man hours.
16m has unique advantages in
meeting customers’ needs in terms of
network mobility, service provisioning,
bandwidth, and charging. 16m supports
interconnections between IPv6 networks
and subscribers, high-speed wireless
communication and speeds up to 350km/
h. Providing up to 1Gbps data rates, 16m
also supports emergency service, VoIP,
LBS, broadcast & multicast services, SMS
and MMS.
16m supports the wireless relay and
femtocells for home users, allowing
flexible and lower-cost deployment for
operators, yet better network coverage for
users. A commercialized 16m network
brings personalized networks for home
and enterprise users with richer service
experience.
16m is an integrated communication
system that fits well with mobile
broadband and is more adaptable
for personal communications. More
enhanced features like high data rates, fine
compatibility, wide coverage, diversified
services and a SON structure are embodied
in the 16m systems.
16m provides higher bandwidth and
richer services with lower costs to meet the
increasingly diversified user requirements
and is set to be the evolutionary path of
16e. The evolution from 16e to 16m can
be direct or step-by-step, with the latter
being more prevalent in the industry. 16e
can directly and smoothly evolve to 16m
thanks to 16m’s backward compatibility.
Operators can upgrade their air interfaces
and networks to 16m while at the same
time accommodate 16e terminals.
When evolving 16e to 16m step-by-
step, operators can keep the legacy access
service network gateway (ASN GW) and
the interface between legacy base station
and legacy ASN GW, while deploying
some 16m base stations. Through these
base stations, 16m-based terminals can
connect to the legacy ASN, providing
subscribers with enhanced 16m services.
Continual evolution
There are currently six hot multimedia
services on Internet including email, search,
web browsing, instant messaging, forums/
BBS, and online music & video downloads.
These services and relevant applications
consume increasingly larger amount of
mobile bandwidth. As a result, mobile
broadband technologies need continual
evolution to meet the growing needs.
16m technology also needs continual
evolution to release its potential.
The WiMAX Forum has started the
WiMAX Release 2 project, while IEEE is
considering introducing enhanced QoS
to air interfaces and M2M applications.
Within the Network Working Group
( N W G ) o f t h e W i M A X Fo r u m ,
independent studies have been launched
on 16m network specifications.
IEEE is also discussing 16m evolution
and initiating relevant projects with a
target transmission rate of up to 5Gbps.
Other features would include two-fold
spectrum efficiency compared to 16m,
support for multi-layer architecture and
networks, inter-client collaboration, and
efficient energy usage. The 16m evolution
project is expected to be initiated by the
end of 2010 and completed in 2013.
IEEE has been actively promoting
the acceptance of 16m by ITU-R as an
alternative 4G standard. In February
2010, they submitted 16m for 4G
during the ITU-R conference held in
Turin, Italy. 16e had been accepted by
ITU-R as an alternative 3G technology,
while 16m is well on its way to 4G. 16m
networks are expected for commercial
use in 2012, giving operators a wealth of
new opportunities in the global mobile
broadband market.
The WiMAX market is poised for
huge growth in the upcoming two years.
Informa Telecoms & Media statistics show
that the number of WiMAX users has
exceeded 14.5 million by the end of 2009,
and is expected to increase by around
100% year-on-year, and top out at 100
million users by the end of 2013.
With its innovative spirit, Huawei has
contributed greatly to the development
of 16m. Since 16m launched in 2006,
Huawei has invested heavily in research
and holds highly ranked positions on the
project. In the physical and MAC layers,
Huawei has proposed solutions in areas
like multi-carriers, positioning, SON,
wireless relay, VoIP and MIMO. With
hundreds of patents, the submission of
over 200 valid contributions, and the
solid investment on related standard and
powerful innovation, Huawei is now
positioned as a globally leading player in
the WiMAX industry.
802.16m: ready for 4G