The road to successful Long-Term Evolution (LTE) deployment is fraught with pitfalls. For one thing, we have never experienced the simultaneous rollout of so many relatively new fundamental technologies. For another, we have learned from hard experience as technology introductions that were even less involved introduced hazards that were both unforeseen and costly.

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With this in mind, the early deployers of LTE have developed plans meant to mitigate the expensive risks of new-technology deployment, even while pushing the envelope of possibilities. These operators and device manufacturers generally agree that there are four significant “pain points” or areas requiring special attention during the design and deployment processes.

Why does LTE require specialized concentration in these areas? First, LTE uses advanced radio technologies on the link between the network and subscriber devices. Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA ) and single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) are conceptually proven ideas that have never been deployed on the scale projected for LTE deployment, but they will be rolled out along with an all-new, all-IP (Internet Protocol) network. Multiple- input multiple- output (MIMO) is not new, but it is both new to cellular providers and critical to the success of LTE.

Michael McKernan is a product marketing manager for Spirent Communications’ Wireless products, including LTE testing systems. Prior to joining Spirent in 2000, he spent many years in aerospace avionics, telecom, and communications engineering working with military communications, DSL, hybrid-fiber coax systems, and various wireless technologies. He has a BSEE from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and an MBA from Rutgers University.

This is quite unlike previous wireless rollouts, which were usually incremental steps based on proven fundamentals. For example, we developed wideband code-domain multiple access (WCDMA) while looking at CDMA2000 (CDMA-based third-generation technology) for examples of pitfalls and advantages. The pioneers of CDMA2000 had a baseline in cdmaOne, which was itself based on military spread spectrum. In contrast, the breadth and depth of changes deployed in LTE requires painstaking fundamental R&D and testing processes in many separate areas at once.

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