The new 3GPP codec for Enhanced Voice Services (EVS) offers important new features and improvements for low-delay real-time communication systems. Based on a novel, switched low-delay speech/audio codec, the EVS codec contains various advancements for better compression efficiency and higher quality for clean/noisy speech, mixed content and music, including support for wideband, super-wideband and full-band content. The EVS codec operates in a broad range of bitrates, is highly robust against packet loss and provides an AMR-WB compatible mode for compatibility with existing systems.
This is presentation by Keysight technologies on 5G NR Dynamic Spectrum Sharing. Very well articulated presentation as always by Keysight. Details on the 3GPP support for NR DSS implementation in LTE bands in Rel 15 and Rel 16.
The new 3GPP codec for Enhanced Voice Services (EVS) offers important new features and improvements for low-delay real-time communication systems. Based on a novel, switched low-delay speech/audio codec, the EVS codec contains various advancements for better compression efficiency and higher quality for clean/noisy speech, mixed content and music, including support for wideband, super-wideband and full-band content. The EVS codec operates in a broad range of bitrates, is highly robust against packet loss and provides an AMR-WB compatible mode for compatibility with existing systems.
This is presentation by Keysight technologies on 5G NR Dynamic Spectrum Sharing. Very well articulated presentation as always by Keysight. Details on the 3GPP support for NR DSS implementation in LTE bands in Rel 15 and Rel 16.
This presentation discusses about the WCDMA air Interface used in 3G i.e. UMTS. This Radio Interface has great capability on which Third Generation of Mobile Communication is built, with backward compatibility.
In this paper, we discussed about LTE system throughput calculation for both TDD and FDD system.
3GPP LTE technology support both TDD and FDD multiplexing. The paper describes all the factors which affect the throughput like Bandwidth, Modulation, UE category and mulplexing. It also describes how we get throughput 300Mbps in DL and 75Mbps in UL and what are assumptions taken to calculate the same.
Paper describes the steps and formulae to calculate the throughput for FDD system for TDD Config 1 and Config 2.
The throughput calculations shown in this paper is theoretical and limited by the assumptions taken to calculate for calculations
RF Planning and Optimization in GSM and UMTS NetworksApurv Agrawal
The report covers various aspects involved in improving the network coverage as well as the parameters used in planning of new network sites for GSM and UMTS networks.
System aspects of the 3GPP evolution towards enhanced voice services Ericsson
The Enhanced Voice Services (EVS) codec was standardized by 3GPP in 2014. This codec offers significant gains in voice quality, efficiency, channel error robustness over any other existing speech codec and far better music quality.
Analysis of VoIP Traffic in WiMAX EnvironmentEditor IJMTER
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is currently one of the
hottest technologies in wireless communication. It is a standard based on the IEEE 802.16 wireless
technology that provides a very high throughput broadband connections over long distances. In
parallel, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a new technology which provides access to voice
communication over internet protocol and hence it is becomes an alternative to public switched
telephone networks (PSTN) due to its capability of transmission of voice as packets over IP
networks. A lot of research has been done in analyzing the performances of VoIP traffic over
WiMAX network. In this paper we review the analysis carried out by several authors for the most
common VoIP codec’s which are G.711, G.723.1 and G.729 over a WiMAX network using various
service classes. The objective is to compare the results for different types of service classes with
respect to the QoS parameters such as throughput, average delay and average jitter.
This presentation discusses about the WCDMA air Interface used in 3G i.e. UMTS. This Radio Interface has great capability on which Third Generation of Mobile Communication is built, with backward compatibility.
In this paper, we discussed about LTE system throughput calculation for both TDD and FDD system.
3GPP LTE technology support both TDD and FDD multiplexing. The paper describes all the factors which affect the throughput like Bandwidth, Modulation, UE category and mulplexing. It also describes how we get throughput 300Mbps in DL and 75Mbps in UL and what are assumptions taken to calculate the same.
Paper describes the steps and formulae to calculate the throughput for FDD system for TDD Config 1 and Config 2.
The throughput calculations shown in this paper is theoretical and limited by the assumptions taken to calculate for calculations
RF Planning and Optimization in GSM and UMTS NetworksApurv Agrawal
The report covers various aspects involved in improving the network coverage as well as the parameters used in planning of new network sites for GSM and UMTS networks.
System aspects of the 3GPP evolution towards enhanced voice services Ericsson
The Enhanced Voice Services (EVS) codec was standardized by 3GPP in 2014. This codec offers significant gains in voice quality, efficiency, channel error robustness over any other existing speech codec and far better music quality.
Analysis of VoIP Traffic in WiMAX EnvironmentEditor IJMTER
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is currently one of the
hottest technologies in wireless communication. It is a standard based on the IEEE 802.16 wireless
technology that provides a very high throughput broadband connections over long distances. In
parallel, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a new technology which provides access to voice
communication over internet protocol and hence it is becomes an alternative to public switched
telephone networks (PSTN) due to its capability of transmission of voice as packets over IP
networks. A lot of research has been done in analyzing the performances of VoIP traffic over
WiMAX network. In this paper we review the analysis carried out by several authors for the most
common VoIP codec’s which are G.711, G.723.1 and G.729 over a WiMAX network using various
service classes. The objective is to compare the results for different types of service classes with
respect to the QoS parameters such as throughput, average delay and average jitter.
Internet2: VoIP Phone Codec Testing White PaperJoshua Reola
An evaluation of various VoIP codecs and vendor implementations of these codecs from Cisco, Pingtel, Siemens, Grandstream.
Overview
In traditional telephony, quality of speech is an
important factor, but it is one that is not dependent on
the amount of traffic in the PSTN. Once a connection
is established by a telephone user, the quality of the
call will change very little on a regular basis.
On a VoIP network, the quality of a single telephone
conversation is dependent on the current status of the
network. If the network is congested and packets are
arriving late or being dropped, then speech quality
quickly begins to degrade. The project will test a
VoIP network under conditions such as these to
determine network condition thresholds for several
codecs implemented in different vendor phones.
Performance analysis of voip over wired and wireless networks network impleme...eSAT Journals
Abstract In this Paper, the objective of simulation models is presented to investigate the performance of VoIP codecs over WiMAX and
FDDI networks that specially design for Aden University. To assure if the University IP network is prepared and adequate for this
new type of traffic before adding any new components, Aden University IP network will be simulated by using OPNET simulation
software then the new VoIP service will be added to the University networks. Different parameters that represent the QoS like end
to end delay, jitter, traffic sends and traffic received, MOS are calculated and analyzed in both network scenarios.
Keywords: VoIP, Codecs, QoS, WiMAX, FDDI
SPEECH QUALITY EVALUATION BASED CODEC FOR VOIP OVER 802.11P ijwmn
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) may provide good services through Vehicular ad hoc networks
(VANETs) platform by providing services to many application scenarios range from safety to comfort.
However, VANETs networks introduce many challenges for supporting voice with QoS requirements. In
this paper, our study is based on Inter-Vehicle voice streaming rely on multi-hop fashion. For this task, a
performance evaluation of various audio CODECs will be analyzed by mean of simulations.
Furthermore, we test the impact of network environment on QoS metrics. To achieve good results,
CODECs behaviour is tested by using mobility information obtained from vehicular traffic generator. The
mobility model is based on the real road maps of an urban environment. Focusing on inter-vehicular
voice traffic quality, we provide simulations results in terms of both user level (MOS) metrics and
network level (such as Losses). According to this performance evaluation, we show that G.723.1 CODEC
worked well in the urban VANET environment.
Analyzing Video Streaming Quality by Using Various Error Correction Methods o...IJERA Editor
Transmission video over ad hoc networks has become one of the most important and interesting subjects of study for researchers and programmers because of the strong relationship between video applications and frequent users of various mobile devices, such as laptops, PDAs, and mobile phones in all aspects of life. However, many challenges, such as packet loss, congestion (i.e., impairments at the network layer), multipath fading (i.e., impairments at the physical layer) [1], and link failure, exist in transferring video over ad hoc networks; these challenges negatively affect the quality of the perceived video [2].This study has investigated video transfer over ad hoc networks. The main challenges of transferring video over ad hoc networks as well as types of errors that may occur during video transmission, various types of video mechanisms, error correction methods, and different Quality of Service (QoS) parameters that affect the quality of the received video are also investigated.
Improved voice quality with the combination of transport layer & audio codec ...journalBEEI
Improving voice quality over wireless communication becomes a demanding feature for social media apps like facebook, whatsapp and other communication channels. Voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) helps us to make quick telephone calls over the internet. It includes various mechanism which are signaling, controlling and transport layer. Over wireless links, packet loss and high transmission delay damage voice quality. Here VoIP quality will be measured by three main elements which are signaling protocol, audio codec and transport layer. To improve the overall voice quality, we need to combine these three elements properly to get the best score. Otherwise perceptual speech quality will not be the right tool to measure the voice quality. Here we will use Mean Opinion Score (MOS) for calculated jitter values and end to end delay. At the end, best combination of audio codec & signaling protocol produced the quality speech.
Comparisons of QoS in VoIP over WIMAX by Varying the Voice codes and Buffer sizeEditor IJCATR
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is developed for voice communications system based on voice packets transmitted over
IP network with real-time communications of voice across networks using the Internet protocols. Quality of Service (QoS) mechanism
is applied to guarantee successful voice packets transmitted over IP network with reduced delay or drop according to assigned priority
of voice packets. In this paper, the goal of simulation models is present to investigate the performance of VoIP codecs and buffer size
for improving quality of service (QoS) with the simulation results by using OPNET modeler version 14.5. The performance of the
proposed algorithm is analyzed and compared the quality of service for VoIP. The final simulated result shows that the VoIP service
performance best under G.729 voice encoder scheme and buffer size 256 Kb over WiMAX network.
Comparative Study for Performance Analysis of VOIP Codecs Over WLAN in Nonmob...Zac Darcy
Voice over IP (VoIP) applications such as Skype, Google Talk, and FaceTime are promising technologies for providing cheaper voice calls to end users over extant networks. Wireless networks such as WiMAX and Wi-Fi focus on providing perfection of service for VoIP. However, there are numerous aspects that affect quality of voice connections over wireless networks [13]. The adoption of Voice over Wireless Local Area Network is on tremendous increase due its relief, non-invasive, economicexpansion, low maintenance cost, universal coverage and basic roaming capabilities.
COMPARATIVE STUDY FOR PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF VOIP CODECS OVER WLAN IN NONMOB...Zac Darcy
Voice over IP (VoIP) applications such as Skype, Google Talk, and FaceTime are promising technologies for providing cheaper voice calls to end users over extant networks. ireless networks such as WiMAX and Wi-Fi focus on providing perfection of service for VoIP. However, there are numerous aspects that affect quality of voice connections over wireless networks [13]. The adoption of Voice over Wireless Local Area
Network is on tremendous increase due its relief, non-invasive, economicexpansion, low maintenance cost, universal coverage and basic roaming capabilities. However, expansion Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) over Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a challenging task for many network specialist and engineers. Voice codec is one of the most critical components of a VoIP system. In this project, we evaluate
the performance analysis of various codecs such as G.711, G.723 and G.729 over Wi-Fi networks. NS2 WiFi
simulation models are designed. Performance metrics such as Mean Opinion Score (MOS), average
end-to-end latency, and disconcert are evaluated and discussed [13]. 1. In this paper, our area of interest is to compare and study the performance analysis of VoIP codecs in Non-mobility scenarios by changing some parameters and plotting the graphs throughput, End to end Delay, MOS, Packet delivery Ratio, and Jitter by using Network Simulator version.
2. In this paper we analyze the different performance parameters, Recent research has focused on simulation studies with non- mobility scenarios to analyze different VoIP codecs with nodes up to 5. We have simulated the different VoIP codecs in non-mobility scenario with nodes up to 300.
Comparative Study for Performance Analysis of VOIP Codecs Over WLAN in Nonmob...Zac Darcy
Voice over IP (VoIP) applications such as Skype, Google Talk, and FaceTime are promising technologies
for providing cheaper voice calls to end users over extant networks. Wireless networks such as WiMAX and
Wi-Fi focus on providing perfection of service for VoIP. However, there are numerous aspects that affect
quality of voice connections over wireless networks [13]. The adoption of Voice over Wireless Local Area
Network is on tremendous increase due its relief, non-invasive, economicexpansion, low maintenance cost,
universal coverage and basic roaming capabilities. However, expansion Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) over Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a challenging task for many network specialist and
engineers. Voice codec is one of the most critical components of a VoIP system. In this project, we evaluate
the performance analysis of various codecs such as G.711, G.723 and G.729 over Wi-Fi networks. NS2 WiFi simulation models are designed. Performance metrics such as Mean Opinion Score (MOS), average
end-to-end latency, and disconcert are evaluated and discussed [13].
1. In this paper, our area of interest is to compare and study the performance analysis of VoIP
codecs in Non-mobility scenarios by changing some parameters and plotting the graphs
throughput, End to end Delay, MOS, Packet delivery Ratio, and Jitter by using Network
Simulator version.
2. In this paper we analyze the different performance parameters, Recent research has focused on
simulation studies with non- mobility scenarios to analyze different VoIP codecs with nodes up to
5. We have simulated the different VoIP codecs in non-mobility scenario with nodes up to 300.
COMPARATIVE STUDY FOR PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF VOIP CODECS OVER WLAN IN NONMOB...Zac Darcy
The recent Voice over IP (VOIP) applications such as Skype, Google Talk, and Face Time have
changed the way people communicate to each other. Due to the low cost, people find VOIP as an
alternative to the expensive traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). VOIP has
set of parameters that defined its Quality of Service (QoS) such as end to delay, jitter, packets
loss, Mean Opinion Score (MOS, and throughput[13]. The existing wireless networks such as WiFi offer flexibility to support such applications. At the time the IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology
showed great success as cheap wireless internet access. The Motive of this survey paper is to
analyse of Qos in VOIP [13].
COMPARATIVE STUDY FOR PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF VOIP CODECS OVER WLAN IN NONMOB...Zac Darcy
Voice over IP (VoIP) applications such as Skype, Google Talk, and FaceTime are promising technologies
for providing cheaper voice calls to end users over extant networks. Wireless networks such as WiMAX and
Wi-Fi focus on providing perfection of service for VoIP. However, there are numerous aspects that affect
quality of voice connections over wireless networks [13]. The adoption of Voice over Wireless Local Area
Network is on tremendous increase due its relief, non-invasive, economicexpansion, low maintenance cost,
universal coverage and basic roaming capabilities. However, expansion Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) over Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a challenging task for many network specialist and
engineers. Voice codec is one of the most critical components of a VoIP system. In this project, we evaluate
the performance analysis of various codecs such as G.711, G.723 and G.729 over Wi-Fi networks. NS2 WiFi simulation models are designed. Performance metrics such as Mean Opinion Score (MOS), average
end-to-end latency, and disconcert are evaluated and discussed [13]
Performance analysis of voip traffic over integrating wireless lan and wan us...ijwmn
A simulation model is presented to analyze and evaluate the performance of VoIP based integrated
wireless LAN/WAN with taking into account various voice encoding schemes. The network model was
simulated using OPNET Modeler software. Different parameters that indicate the QoS like MOS, jitter,
end to end delay, traffic send and traffic received are calculated and analyzed in Wireless LAN/WAN
scenarios. Depending on this evaluation, Selection codecs G.729A consider the best choice for VoIP.
This research work investigates and improves the performance of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) traffic using IPV4 and IPV6 over WiMAX networks and the impact of various voice codec schemes and statistical distribution for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) over WiMAX has been investigated in detail.
Ericsson Technology Review: Versatile Video Coding explained – the future of ...Ericsson
Continuous innovation in 5G networks is creating new opportunities for video-enabled services for both consumers and industries, particularly in areas such as the Internet of Things and the automotive sector. These new services are expected to rely on continued video evolution toward 8K resolutions and beyond, and on new strict requirements such as low end-to-end latency for video delivery.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explores recent developments in video compression technology and introduces Versatile Video Coding (VVC) – a significant improvement on existing video codecs that we think deserves to be widely deployed in the market. VVC has the potential both to enhance the user experience for existing video services and offer an appropriate performance level for new media services over 5G networks.
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL REALITIES
The key role that connectivity plays in our personal and professional lives has never been more obvious than it is today. Thankfully, despite the sudden, dramatic changes in our behavior earlier this year, networks all around the world have proven to be highly resilient. At Ericsson, we’re committed to ensuring that the network platform continues to improve its ability to meet the full range of societal needs as well as supporting enterprises to stay competitive in the long term. We know that greater agility and speed will be essential.
This issue of our magazine includes several articles that explain Ericsson’s approach to future network development, including my annual technology trends article. The seven trends on this year’s list serve as a critical cornerstone in the development of a common Ericsson vision of what future networks will provide, and what sort of technology evolution will be required to get there.
ERIK EKUDDEN
Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Group Function Technology
Ericsson Technology Review: Integrated access and backhaul – a new type of wi...Ericsson
Today millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum is valued mainly because it can be used to achieve high speeds and capacities when combined with spectrum assets below 6GHz. But it can provide other benefits as well. For example, mmWave spectrum makes it possible to use a promising new wireless backhaul solution for 5G New Radio – integrated access and backhaul (IAB) – to densify networks with multi-band radio sites at street level.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explains the IAB concept at a high level, presenting its architecture and key characteristics, as well as examining its advantages and disadvantages compared with other backhaul technologies. It concludes with a presentation of the promising results of several simulations that tested IAB as a backhaul option for street sites in both urban and suburban areas.
Ericsson Technology Review: Critical IoT connectivity: Ideal for time-critica...Ericsson
Critical Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity is an emerging concept in IoT development that enables more efficient and innovative services across a wide range of industries by reliably meeting time-critical communication needs. Mobile network operators (MNOs) are in the perfect position to enable these types of time-critical services due to their ability to leverage advanced 5G networks in a systematic and cost-effective way.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explores the benefits of Critical IoT connectivity in areas such as industrial control, mobility automation, remote control and real-time media. It also provides an overview of key network technologies and architectures. It concludes with several case studies based on two deployment scenarios – wide area and local area – that illustrate how well suited 5G spectrum assets are for Critical IoT use cases.
5G New Radio has already evolved in important ways since the 3GPP standardized Release 15 in late 2018. The significant enhancements in Releases 16 and 17 are certain to play a critical role in expanding both the availability and the applicability of 5G NR in both industry and public services in the near future.
This Ericsson Technology Review article summarizes the most notable new developments in releases 16 and 17, grouped into two categories: enhancements to existing features and features that address new verticals and deployment scenarios. This analysis and our insights about the future beyond Release 17 is an important component of our work to help mobile network operators and other stakeholders better understand and plan for the many new 5G NR opportunities that are on the horizon.
Ericsson Technology Review: The future of cloud computing: Highly distributed...Ericsson
The growing interest in cloud computing scenarios that incorporate both distributed computing capabilities and heterogeneous hardware presents a significant opportunity for network operators. With a vast distributed system (the telco network) already in place, the telecom industry has a significant advantage in the transition toward distributed cloud computing.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explores the future of cloud computing from the perspective of network operators, examining how they can best manage the complexity of future cloud deployments and overcome the technical challenges. Redefining cloud to expose and optimize the use of heterogeneous resources is not straightforward, but we are confident that our use cases and proof points validate our approach and will gain traction both in the telecommunications community and beyond.
Ericsson Technology Review: Optimizing UICC modules for IoT applicationsEricsson
Commonly referred to as SIM cards, the universal integrated circuit cards (UICCs) used in all cellular devices today are in fact complex and powerful minicomputers capable of much more than most Internet of Things (IoT) applications require. Until a simpler and less costly alternative becomes available, action must be taken to ensure that the relatively high price of UICC modules does not hamper IoT growth.
This Ericsson Technology Review article presents two mid-term approaches. The first is to make use of techniques that reduce the complexity of using UICCs in IoT applications, while the second is to use the UICCs’ excess capacity for additional value generation. Those who wish to exploit the potential of the UICCs to better support IoT applications have the opportunity to use them as cryptographic storage, to run higher-layer protocol stacks and/or as supervisory entities, for example.
Mobile data traffic volumes are expected to increase by a factor of four by 2025, and 45 percent of that traffic will be carried by 5G networks. To deliver on customer expectations in this rapidly changing environment, communication service providers must overcome challenges in three key areas: building sufficient capacity, resolving operational inefficiencies through automation and artificial intelligence, and improving service differentiation. This issue of ETR magazine provides insights about how to tackle all three.
Ericsson Technology Review: 5G BSS: Evolving BSS to fit the 5G economyEricsson
The 5G network evolution has opened up an abundance of new business opportunities for communication service providers (CSPs) in verticals such as industrial automation, security, health care and automotive. In order to successfully capitalize on them, CSPs must have business support systems (BSS) that are evolved to manage complex value chains and support new business models. Optimized information models and a high degree of automation are required to handle huge numbers of devices through open interfaces.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explains how 5G-evolved BSS can help CSPs transform themselves from traditional network developers to service enablers for 5G and the Internet of Things, and ultimately to service creators with the ability to collaborate beyond telecoms and establish lucrative digital value systems.
Ericsson Technology Review: 5G migration strategy from EPS to 5G systemEricsson
For many operators, the introduction of the 5G System (5GS) to provide wide-area services in existing Evolved Packet System (EPS) deployments is a necessary step toward creating a full-service, future-proof 5GS in the longer term. The creation of a combined 4G-5G network requires careful planning and a holistic strategy, as the introduction of 5GS has significant impacts across all network domains, including the RAN, packet core, user data and policies, and services, as well as affecting devices and backend systems.
This Ericsson Technology Review article provides an overview of all the aspects that operators need to consider when putting together a robust EPS-to-5GS migration strategy and provides guidance about how they can adapt the transition to address their particular needs per domain.
Ericsson Technology Review: Creating the next-generation edge-cloud ecosystemEricsson
The surge in data volume that will come from the massive number of devices enabled by 5G has made edge computing more important than ever before. Beyond its abilities to reduce network traffic and improve user experience, edge computing will also play a critical role in enabling use cases for ultra-reliable low-latency communication in industrial manufacturing and a variety of other sectors.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explores the topic of how to deliver distributed edge computing solutions that can host different kinds of platforms and applications and provide a high level of flexibility for application developers. Rather than building a new application ecosystem and platform, we strongly recommend reusing industrialized and proven capabilities, utilizing the momentum created with Cloud Native Computing Foundation, and ensuring backward compatibility.
The rise of the innovation platform
Society and industry are transforming at an unprecedented rate. At the same time, the network platform is emerging as an innovation platform with the potential to offer all the connectivity, processing, storage and security needed by current and future applications. In my 2019 trends article, featured in this issue of Ericsson Technology Review, I share my view of the future network platform in relation to six key technology trends.
This issue of the magazine also addresses critical topics such as trust enablement, the extension of computing resources all the way to the edge of the mobile network, the growing impact of the cloud in the telco domain, overcoming latency and battery consumption challenges, and the need for end-to-end connectivity. I hope it provides you with valuable insights about how to overcome the challenges ahead and take full advantage of new opportunities.
Ericsson Technology Review: Spotlight on the Internet of ThingsEricsson
The Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a fundamental cornerstone in the digitalization of both industry and society as a whole. It represents a huge opportunity not only in economic terms, but also from a global challenges perspective – making it easier for governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to address pressing food, energy, water and climate related issues.
5G and the IoT are closely intertwined. One of the biggest innovations within 5G is support for the IoT in all its forms, both by addressing mission criticality as well as making it possible to connect low-cost, long-battery-life sensors.
With this in mind, we decided to create a special issue of Ericsson Technology Review solely focused on IoT opportunities and challenges. I hope it provides you with valuable insights about the IoT-related opportunities available to your organization, along with ideas about how we can overcome the challenges ahead.
Ericsson Technology Review: Driving transformation in the automotive and road...Ericsson
A variety of automotive and transport services that require cellular connectivity are already in commercial operation today, and many more are yet to come. Among other things, these services will improve road safety and traffic efficiency, saving lives and helping to reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change. At Ericsson, we believe that the best way to address the growing connectivity needs of this industry sector is through a common network solution, as opposed to taking a single-segment silo approach.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explains how the ongoing rollout of 5G provides a cost-efficient and feature-rich foundation for a horizontal multiservice network that can meet the connectivity needs of the automotive and transport ecosystem. It also outlines the key challenges and presents potential solutions.
This presentation explains the importance of SD-WAN technology as part of the Enterprise digital transformation strategy. It goes over the first wave of SD-WAN in a single vendor deployment, with Do-it-yourself (DIY) as the preferred model. Then continues with the importance of orchestration in the second wave of SD-WAN deployments in a multi-vendor ecosystem, turning to SD-WAN Managed Services as the preferred model. It ends up with some examples of use cases and the Verizon customer case. More information on Ericsson Dynamic orchestration - http://m.eric.sn/6rsZ30psKLu
Ericsson Technology Review: 5G-TSN integration meets networking requirements ...Ericsson
Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is becoming the standard Ethernet-based technology for converged networks of Industry 4.0. Understanding the importance and relevance of TSN features, as well as the capabilities that allow 5G to achieve wireless deterministic and time-sensitive communication, is essential to industrial automation in the future.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explains how TSN is an enabler of Industry 4.0, and that together with 5G URLLC capabilities, the two key technologies can be combined and integrated to provide deterministic connectivity end to end. It also discusses TSN standards and the value of the TSN toolbox for next generation industrial automation networks.
Ericsson Technology Review: Meeting 5G latency requirements with inactive stateEricsson
Low latency communication and minimal battery consumption are key requirements of many 5G and IoT use cases, including smart transport and critical control of remote devices. Thanks to Ericsson’s 4G/5G research activities and lessons learned from legacy networks, we have identified solutions that address both of these requirements by reducing the amount of signaling required during state transitions, and shared our discoveries with the 3GPP.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explains the why and how behind the new Radio Resource Control (RRC) state model in the standalone version of the 5G New Radio standard, which features a new, Ericsson-developed state called inactive. On top of overcoming latency and battery consumption challenges, the new state also increases overall system capacity by decreasing the processing effort in the network.
Ericsson Technology Review: Cloud-native application design in the telecom do...Ericsson
Cloud-native application design is set to become standard practice in the telecom industry in the near future due to the major efficiency gains it can provide, particularly in terms of speeding up software upgrades and releases. At Ericsson, we have been actively exploring the potential of cloud-native computing in the telecom industry since we joined the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) a few years ago.
This Ericsson Technology Review article explains the opportunities that CNCF technology has enabled, as well as unveiling key aspects of our application development framework, which is designed to help navigate the transition to a cloud-native approach. It also discusses the challenges that the large-scale reuse of open-source technology can raise, along with key strategies for how to mitigate them.
Ericsson Technology Review: Service exposure: a critical capability in a 5G w...Ericsson
To meet the requirements of use cases in areas such as the Internet of Things, AR/VR, Industry 4.0 and the automotive sector, operators need to be able to provide computing resources across the whole telco domain – all the way to the edge of the mobile network. Service exposure and APIs will play a key role in creating solutions that are both effective and cost efficient.
The latest Ericsson Technology Review article explores recent advances in the service exposure area that have resulted from the move toward 5G and the adoption of cloud-native principles, as well as the combination of Service-based Architecture, microservices and container technologies. It includes examples that illustrate how service exposure can be deployed in a multitude of locations, each with a different set of requirements that drive modularity and configurability needs.
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
During this webinar, we will cover the following topics while demonstrating the integrations of JMeter, InfluxDB and Grafana:
- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
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Standardization of the new 3GPP EVS codec
1. STANDARDIZATION OF THE NEW 3GPP EVS CODEC
S. Bruhn1
, H. Pobloth1
, M. Schnell2
, B. Grill2
, J. Gibbs3
, L. Miao3
, K. Järvinen4
, L. Laaksonen4
, N. Harada5
,
N. Naka6
, S. Ragot7
, S. Proust7
, T. Sanda8
, I. Varga9
, C. Greer10
, M. Jelínek11
, M. Xie12
, P. Usai13
1
Ericsson AB, 2
Fraunhofer IIS, 3
Huawei, 4
Nokia, 5
NTT, 6
NTT DOCOMO, 7
Orange, 8
Panasonic,
9
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., 10
Samsung, 11
VoiceAge, 12
ZTE Corporation, 13
ETSI
ABSTRACT
A new codec for Enhanced Voice Services, the successor of the
current mobile HD voice codec AMR-WB was standardized by the
3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) in September of 2014.
The EVS codec addresses 3GPP’s needs for cutting-edge
technology enabling operation of 3GPP mobile communication
systems in the most competitive means in terms of communication
quality and cost efficiency. This paper provides an in-depth insight
into 3GPP’s rigorous and transparent processes that made it
possible for the mobile industry, with its many competing players,
to successfully develop and standardize a codec in an open, fair
and constructive process. This paper also enables an understanding
of this achievement by providing an overview of the EVS codec
technology, the standard specifications, and the performance of the
codec that will propel evolved HD voice to an unprecedented
quality level.
Index Terms— EVS, HD voice, speech/audio coding
1. INTRODUCTION
In 2010, 3GPP finalized a study [1] that focused on how 3GPP
could maintain the high value and competitiveness of its voice
services and whether the new Evolved Packet System with LTE
(Long Term Evolution) access could open up new opportunities for
a major improvement in voice and audio enhancements using HD
voice. Mobile use cases pertinent to LTE access and that may
benefit from improved audio quality were studied. Part of the study
included examining any potential need for enhanced codecs
beyond AMR-WB (Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband), the codec
now used for HD voice in 3GPP mobile systems. An important
aspect of the study included how any such new evolved HD voice
service could interact with the existing HD voice service.
Envisioned evolved HD voice use cases include, beyond
classical telco-grade telephony (typically realized as IMS
Multimedia Telephony [2], [3]), high-quality multi-party
conferencing or audio-visual communication, offering a ‘being-
there’ quality of experience. Even streaming voice and audio as
well as offline voice and audio delivery were not considered too
far-fetched of an application scenario using the EVS codec.
Based on the conclusions of the study, 3GPP immediately
launched a work item (see work item description (WID) in [4])
targeting the standardization of a new voice codec for Enhanced
Voice Services, EVS. The goal of the work item with its WID
objectives was to provide clear benefit in terms of overall service
quality and service deployment costs in 3GPP LTE networks. As a
result, evolved HD voice based on the new EVS codec will become
the dominant voice service in 3GPP LTE networks. It is further
envisioned that evolved HD voice will extend beyond 3GPP LTE
system scope, ranging from deployments in circuit switched [5], to
other mobile and wireless (WiFi) networks, fixed networks and the
Internet including using WebRTC. In that context not only the
performance of the EVS codec in comparison to existing 3GPP and
ITU-T codecs is of interest but even to other state-of-the art codecs
like Opus [6].
This paper describes the process of the successful 3GPP
standardization of the EVS codec. It presents how, starting from
the goal defined in the EVS WID, over the formulation of clear
terms of reference the application of a rigorous standardization
process in the end resulted in a codec meeting and in many aspects
surpassing the expectations.
2. THE 3RD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT
The EVS codec was standardized in the 3rd Generation Partnership
Project (3GPP). 3GPP unites six telecommunications standard
development organizations (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TTA,
TTC) known as the 3GPP “Organizational Partners”.
3GPP has four Technical Specifications Groups (TSG): Radio
Access Networks (RAN), Service & Systems Aspects (SA), Core
Network & Terminals (CT) and GSM EDGE Radio Access
Networks (GERAN).
SA Working Group 4 “Codec” (SA4) deals with speech,
audio, video, and multimedia codecs, in both circuit-switched and
packet-switched environments. Other topics within the mandate of
SA4 are: quality evaluation, end-to-end performance, and
interoperability aspects with existing mobile and fixed networks
(from codec point of view). In conducting its work, SA4 strives to
specify the best possible technical solutions considering at the
same time the planned global use of the codecs with flexibility
needs imposed by different regional requirements and preferences,
including differences in end-to-end QoS/QoE/capacity trade-offs.
3. EVS CODEC STANDARDIZATION PROCESS
3.1. Reference codecs for standardization
To standardize an EVS codec with very high quality and evaluate
all features of EVS under the same or equivalent conditions in
subjective and objective testing, state-of-the-art codecs
standardized by 3GPP and ITU-T, including AMR, AMR-WB,
AMR-WB+, G.711, G.711.1, G.718, G.718B, G.719, G.722,
G.722.1, and G.722.1C, were identified as potential reference
codecs in the EVS-10 P-doc [7] for EVS standardization. These
reference codecs can provide good quality for speech and music,
and many of them have been standardized in recent years.
3.2. Terms of Reference
3.2.1. Design constraints
The design constraints specified in the EVS-4 P-doc [8] set
the framework for the EVS codec in terms of capability and
2. resource usage. As such they list functionalities that are divided
into mandatory, recommended and optional features to be provided
by EVS codec candidates. Mandatory features are: Support for
input-output sampling at 8, 16, 32, 48 kHz independent of coded
audio bandwidth; support of narrowband (NB), wideband (WB),
and superwideband (SWB) coded bandwidths; support for bit-rates
of 7.2, 8, 9.6, 13.2, 16.4, 24.4, 32, 48, 64, 96, and 128kbps for the
EVS primary modes; support of the 9 AMR-WB bit-rates for the
EVS AMR-WB interoperable modes; presence of a jitter buffer
management (JBM) solution conforming to TS 26.114 [3]; rate
switching at arbitrary frame boundaries; packet loss concealment;
and discontinuous transmission (DTX) operation for rates up to
24.4kbps.
EVS-4 also sets constraints on maximum algorithmic delay
(32ms); frame length (20ms); maximum computational complexity
(88WMOPS); memory limits; and limit of the output gain. As a
recommended feature, 5.9kbps operation with source controlled
variable bit-rate (VBR) is included. Further constraints are set for
optional features.
3.2.2. Performance requirements
The minimum performance of the EVS codec was defined across
relevant operating points in the EVS-3 P-doc [9]. This document
reflects the performance required for an enhanced voice service,
following the recommendations specified in TR 22.813 [1]. The
EVS-3 P-doc lists subjective performance requirements in the form
of statistical tests (e.g. not worse than, better than), as well as
objective performance requirements on VAD, background noise
attenuation, and JBM. The subjective requirements cover operating
points in clean speech, noisy speech (car, street, office noise),
music and mixed content, including clean and noisy channel (0%,
3%, 6% FER) and input levels (in dBov), for mandatory and
recommended features:
• EVS Primary mode in NB, WB and SWB (EVS-NB, EVS-
WB, EVS-WB) and in delay/loss conditions (JBM
performance)
• AMR-WB IO modes in 3 configurations including
interworking scenarios with legacy AMR-WB terminals:
o Case A: AMR-WB IO encoding-AMR-WB decoding
o Case B: AMR-WB encoding-AMR-WB IO decoding
o Case C: AMR-WB IO encoding/decoding
In addition, performance requirements were also defined for bit
rate switching and interworking, and for optional operation modes.
3.3. Phases of Standardization
Traditionally, 3GPP speech codec standardization is organized in
three phases: Qualification (Pre-selection of the candidates most
likely to meet the performance requirements), Selection (The best
codec(s) is chosen) and Characterization (Additional testing to
determine the new codec’s performance).
3.3.1. Qualification phase
Thirteen companies declared their intention to submit codecs to the
Qualification. Each codec was evaluated in 12 subjective
experiments, each conducted twice; once in the candidates’ own
laboratory and once in a laboratory selected at random from the
other 12. Tests were blinded with all of the processing being
conducted by a dedicated Host laboratory (Dynastat).
Each of the candidates was evaluated against the requirements
by an independent Global Analysis Laboratory (Dynastat).
In March 2013, the top five candidates were judged to have
qualified although all 13 codecs had passed more than 95% of the
296 requirements tested.
After Qualification it was announced that several of the
qualified candidates had been jointly developed and that there were
five consortia. It was at this stage that one organization (Motorola)
withdrew from the process.
3.3.2. Decision to submit single codec
As a result of examining the codec high level descriptions provided
by each candidate at the Qualification meeting, it became clear to
the various consortia that all of the qualified candidates were based
upon very similar coding principles.
In September 2013, the remaining 12 companies (Ericsson,
Fraunhofer IIS, Huawei, Nokia, NTT, NTT DOCOMO, Orange,
Panasonic, Qualcomm, Samsung, VoiceAge and ZTE Corporation)
that confirmed their intent to submit a codec in selection declared
their intention to work together and to develop a single jointly-
developed candidate for the Selection Phase by merging the best
elements of the codecs from each of the different consortia.
3.3.3. Selection phase
Even though only a single codec entered the Selection Phase the
strict 3GPP process for codec selection was maintained.
The subjective Selection testing comprised 24 experiments,
each conducted in two languages. Independent Host Lab
(Dynastat), Cross-check Lab (Delta-Sense Lab), Listening Labs
(Dynastat, Delta, Mesaqin) and Global Analysis Lab (Dynastat)
were used. This testing allowed the codec to be evaluated in 389
requirements. Remarkably the codec exhibited only two systematic
failures (in both languages) at the 95% confidence level. One of
these failures was subsequently addressed as it was found to be the
results of a software bug.
Objective testing was also performed and several
organizations volunteered to verify that the code supplied to 3GPP
conformed to the requirements in a verification phase.
3.3.4. Characterization phase
In order to evaluate the selected codec in the broadest possible way
a further set of 17 subjective experiments have been designed. Five
of these experiments have been conducted in two different
languages, for a total of 22 tests.
The aim of these additional experiments, and other objective
evaluations, was to evaluate features of the codec which remained
untested or to highlight areas of interest to 3GPP such as
tandeming cases, fullband cases, and multi-bandwith comparisons.
The same listening laboratories used for selection were again
employed in characterization.
3.4. Selection process
Codec selection in 3GPP follows pre-defined procedures:
Proponents are obliged to provide certain information about their
candidate to facilitate selection, and strict rules are set prior to
selection to provide guidance on selecting the candidate to be
standardized. Verification serves the purpose of cross-check and
provision of additional (technical) information.
3.4.1. Selection Deliverables
Proponents were required to provide the following information
about their candidate for selection (named selection deliverables):
• High-level description and draft codec specifications
• Report of compliance to Design Constraints
• Funding payment (proponents paid for selection testing)
• IPR declaration
• Objective evaluation results
• Candidate codec fixed-point source code
3. 3.4.2. Selection rules
The strict 3GPP selection process involved the following rules
(which were agreed before selection) to determine the candidate to
be standardized:
• Provision of a full set of selection phase deliverables
• Compliance with design constraints
• Fulfilment of objective performance requirements
• Codec performance analyzed in sets according to EVS WID:
o Enhanced quality and coding efficiency for NB and WB
speech services
o Enhanced quality by SWB speech
o Enhanced conversational music quality
o Robustness to packet loss and delay jitter
o Backward interoperability to AMR-WB
3.4.3. Verification
The selected codec was verified by independent entities in order to
cross-check important basic parameters, including
• Verification of bit-exactness of fixed-point C-code and
executable
• Cross-check of objective requirements
• Sample rate support and frequency responses
• Performance with DTMF tones
• Performance with special input signals
• Idle channel behavior
• Language dependency
• Special input voices and talker dependency
3.5. Evaluation methodology and plans
3.5.1. Test plan
The selection test plan defined 24 P.800 experiments consisting of
7 ACR and 17 DCR tests and containing 389 conditions for the
codec under test. A total of 6 talkers/language (3 male + 3 female)
and 6 categories (e.g. classical, modern, movie trailer, ...) were
used for the speech experiments and the music experiments,
respectively. Each experiment was conducted twice (i.e. by 2
different listening laboratories in different languages). In total, 48
listening tests were performed with 10 languages. Each test
involved the use 32 naïve listeners. The 778 ToR conditions were
tested against performance requirements by the dependent groups
Students T-test with 95 % confidence interval. Additional
evaluation against performance objectives were performed using
the independent groups t-test wherever available.
The selection test plan also defined numerous objective
evaluations, including gain, JBM compliance, active frame ratio,
attenuation in inactive region, bit rate and complexity.
3.5.2. Processing plan
To evaluate the EVS codec under well-defined and reproducible
conditions, SA4 developed a selection processing plan [12]
defining processing steps for subjective and objective tests. Most
methods are based on well-established procedures already used in
other standardization efforts such as AMR-WB. Additional
methods address novel features of the EVS codec, e.g. evaluation
of the jitter buffer manager.
The processing methods were implemented and crosschecked
by two independent entities, ensuring that the audio material was
processed error-free for the subjective evaluations.
4. HIGH LEVEL CODEC OVERVIEW
4.1. Technology
The EVS codec combines Linear Predictive (LP) coding
technology traditionally used for speech coding with modified
discrete cosine transform (MDCT)-based frequency-domain coding
from audio coding area. The input signal is first passed through a
common pre-processing comprising a filter-bank analysis and
sampling rate conversion. Subsequent spectral analysis, LP
analysis and pitch analysis are used in bandwidth detection, noise
estimation and signal classification. The signal classification first
decides about current frame activity. In DTX mode, inactive
frames are represented with comfort noise generation (CNG). If the
frame is active, it is further classified to be processed with the
Algebraic Code-Excited Linear Prediction (ACELP)-based coding
for speech dominated content or with the MDCT-based coding for
generic audio content. Both ACELP and MDCT coding use further
classification to optimize the coding for specific inputs and
different bandwidth extension technologies to complement the core
coding. At the decoder, post-processing techniques are applied
including comfort noise addition, formant enhancement and low
frequency postfiltering. Special care has been taken for frame
errors handling with transmitted side information at higher bitrates.
A comprehensive presentation of the architecture of the EVS codec
is provided in [13].
4.2. Features
The EVS codec enhances coding efficiency and quality for NB and
WB for a large bit rate range, starting from 5.9 kbps VBR. It
further provides a significant step in quality over these traditional
telephony bandwidths with SWB and FB operation starting from
9.6 and 16.4 kbps, respectively. Maximum bit rate is 128 kbps. The
ability to switch the bit rate at every 20-ms frame allows the codec
to easily adapt to changes in channel capacity.
The codec features discontinuous transmission (DTX) with
algorithms for voice/sound activity detection (VAD) and comfort
noise generation (CNG). An error concealment mechanism
mitigates the quality impact of channel errors resulting in lost
packets. The codec also contains a system for jitter buffer
management (JBM). Furthermore, it features a special channel-
aware mode achieving increased robustness in particularly adverse
channel conditions. Enhanced interoperation with AMR-WB is
provided over all nine bit rates between 6.6 kbps and 23.85 kbps.
5. SPECIFICATION OVERVIEW
5.1. EVS core specifications
5.1.1. Technical Specifications
The EVS codec overview is provided in TS 26.441 [14], the
detailed algorithmic description in TS 26.445 [10], ANSI C code in
fixed-point and floating-point representations are in TS 26.442 [15]
and TS 26.443 [16]. Test sequences are specified in TS 26.444
[17], AMR-WB backward compatible functions are in TS 26.446
[18], error concealment of lost packets is in TS 26.447 [19] and
Jitter Buffer Management is in TS 26.448 [20], Comfort Noise
Generation (CNG) is in TS 26.449 [21], Discontinuous
Transmission (DTX) is in TS 26.450 [22] and Voice Activity
Detection (VAD) is in TS 26.451 [23].
5.1.2. Maintenance of the specifications
The EVS core specifications are maintained by 3GPP through the
Change Request (CR) procedure [24]. As a result, any bugs or
4. ambiguity discovered in the standard specifications can be
corrected.
5.2. Service related specifications
The EVS RTP Payload Format is specified in an Annex of TS
26.445 [10]. The Media Type Parameters descriptions and
handlings are also specified in this Annex of TS 26.445 [10] and in
TS 26.114 [3]. The EVS RTP Payload Format includes a Compact
format and a Header-Full format to support flexible operation
under various network environments and also to fulfill the
requirements of the Design Constraints [8]. The payload format for
AMR-WB [11] is also supported for interoperability with UEs not
supporting EVS but supporting AMR-WB. The use of the Compact
and the Header-Full formats as well as general parameters such as
bitrates, bandwidths, DTX on/off, Codec Mode Request on/off and
etc., can be negotiated by using Media Type Parameters. In
addition to the RTP Payload Format and the Media Type
Parameters, other guidelines and operations necessary for the
handling of the EVS codec such as QoS handling, codec control,
and interworking with other networks are specified in TS 26.114
[3].
6. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION RESULTS
The fixed-point EVS codec was rigorously tested using the ITU-T
P.800 [25] methodology with naïve listeners, demonstrating
fulfillment of all testable EVS WID objectives. The extensive
Selection and Characterization testing required a budget exceeding
€1.1M. The first EVS WID objective was to provide improvements
for NB and WB services, and Figure 6.1 illustrates the NB
improvement over AMR at 12.2 kbps and the viability of the EVS
codec at even lower bit rates. Similarly, Figure 6.2 shows the WB
improvements over AMR-WB that EVS offers, including
equivalence to Direct at 24.4 kbps.
Fig. 6.1: NB clean speech Fig. 6.2: WB clean speech
Fig. 6.3: SWB clean speech Fig. 6.4: SWB noise/FER
Fig. 6.5: WB Mixed/Music Fig. 6.6: SWB Mixed/Music
To fulfill the SWB EVS WID objective, the EVS codec provides
state-of-the-art SWB performance, both in benign conditions
(Figure 6.3) and in more realistic conditions of background noise
and frame erasures (Fig. 6.4). The WID objective for the
robustness of EVS demonstrated in SWB was also confirmed in
NB and WB testing. Addressing an objective for improved
performance in mixed content and music, the EVS codec provides
a significant improvement over legacy codecs, as shown by the
results in Fig. 6.5 (WB) and Fig. 6.6 (SWB).
Figures 6.7-6.9 present the results of additional testing using a
modified P.800 (ACR-9) test methodology [26]. The traditional
voting scale was extended from five to nine with verbal
descriptions given only for the extreme categories (1: “very bad”,
9: “excellent”). The experiments were multi-bandwidth, spanning a
range from NB through FB. The EVS codec was compared with
Opus [6]. With the exception of 9.6 kbps, VBR was compared
with VBR and CBR was compared with CBR. It was however
noted that requesting a 5.9 kbps bit rate from Opus resulted in
actual bit rate between 7 kbps and 8 kbps depending on the signal
type. For EVS, the best-performing bandwidth was selected at each
bandwidth for comparison. More extensive results are available in
[27].
Fig. 6.7: Clean Speech
Fig. 6.8: Noisy Speech Fig. 6.9: Mixed and Music
7. CONCLUSION
A new codec for Enhanced Voice Services (EVS) has been
standardized by 3GPP. EVS will be the successor to the present
mobile HD voice codec AMR-WB, while retaining full
interoperability. 3GPP’s rigorous and transparent standardization
process involved the definition of demanding terms of reference
(ToR’s). The EVS codec was tested against these ToR’s in three
test phases and with extensive independent evaluations using an
unprecedented budget exceeding €1.1M. The test campaign
included 70 subjective tests performed in 10 languages, several
input signal categories, and using independent test labs.
The standardization successfully delivered the EVS codec
standard with cutting-edge performance as compared current codec
standards from 3GPP, ITU-T and the IETF. EVS is currently the
best available codec for all mobile and VoIP applications. The
EVS codec excels, especially at low bit rates of up to 24 kbps, a
feature of utmost importance for the deployment of cost-effective
mobile services, a cornerstone of mobile operator businesses.
8. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors wish to thank Dynastat, Delta, Mesaqin.com, and ARL
for their tremendous efforts in conducting a campaign of subjective
testing and analysis of unprecedented size and in an extremely
challenging time frame. The authors further wish to thank the
many extremely skilled engineers among the 12 codec proponent
companies that were essential to the success of the EVS codec
standardization.
MOS
Test: ACR-9: Modified P.800
Multi-bandwidth
EVS: VBR: 5.9k
CBR: 9.6k - 24.4k
Opus: VBR: 5.9k - 9.6k
CBR: 16.4k - 24.4k
True Opus 5.9k rate is 7k - 8k
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
5.9k 9.6k 13.2k 16.4k 24.4k
MOS
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
5.9k 9.6k 13.2k 16.4k 24.4k
MOS
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
5.9k 9.6k 13.2k 16.4k 24.4k
MOS
5. 9. REFERENCES
[1] 3GPP TR 22.813: “Study of use cases and requirements for
enhanced voice codecs for the Evolved Packet
System (EPS)”.
[2] 3GPP TS 22.173: “IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem
(IMS) Multimedia Telephony Service and supplementary
services; Stage 1”.
[3] 3GPP TS 26.114: “IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS);
Multimedia telephony; Media handling and interaction”.
[4] SP-140151: 3GPP Work Item Description ”Codec for
Enhanced Voice Services”.
[5] S4-141034: 3GPP SA4 work item on EVS over Circuit
Switched networks.
[6] Opus 1.1, http://www.opus-codec.org/
[7] 3GPP Tdoc S4-100547: “EVS Permanent document (EVS-
10): List of potential reference codecs”, Version 0.0.2.
[8] 3GPP Tdoc S4-130778: “EVS Permanent Document (EVS-
4): EVS design constraints”, Version 1.2.
[9] 3GPP Tdoc S4-130522: “EVS Permanent Document (EVS-3):
EVS performance requirements”, Version 1.4.
[10] 3GPP TS 26.445: “EVS Codec Detailed Algorithmic
Description”.
[11] IETF RFC 4867 (2007): "RTP Payload Format and File
Storage Format for the Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) and
Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB) Audio Codecs",
J. Sjoberg, M. Westerlund, A. Lakaniemi and Q. Xie.
[12] 3GPP Tdoc S4-141026: “EVS Permanent Document EVS-7b:
Processing functions for selection phase”, Version 1.4.
[13] Martin Dietz et al., “Overview of the EVS Codec
Architecture”, submitted to IEEE ICASSP, Brisbane,
Australia, 2015.
[14] 3GPP TS 26.441: “EVS Codec General Overview”.
[15] 3GPP TS 26.442: “EVS Codec ANSI C code (fixed-point)”.
[16] 3GPP TS 26.443: “EVS Codec ANSI C code (floating-
point)”.
[17] 3GPP TS 26.444: “EVS Codec Test Sequences”.
[18] 3GPP TS 26.446: “EVS Codec AMR-WB Backward
Compatible Functions”.
[19] 3GPP TS 26.447: “EVS Codec Error Concealment of Lost
Packets”.
[20] 3GPP TS 26.448: “EVS Codec Jitter Buffer Management”.
[21] 3GPP TS 26.449: “EVS Codec Comfort Noise Generation
(CNG) Aspects”.
[22] 3GPP TS 26.450: “Discontinuous Transmission (DTX)”.
[23] 3GPP TS 26.451: “EVS Codec Voice Activity Detection
(VAD)”.
[24] 3GPP Change Requests.
[25] ITU-T Recommendation P.800: “Methods for subjective
determination of transmission quality”.
[26] A. Rämö, “Voice Quality Evaluation of Various Codecs”,
ICASSP, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., March 2010.
[27] Anssi Rämö, Henri Toukomaa, “Subjective Quality
Evaluation of the 3GPP EVS Codec”, submitted to IEEE
ICASSP, Brisbane, Australia, 2015.