Towards 4G: LTE or 

WiMAX?
Mahamod Ismail, UKM
16 March 2009, UNIMAS
 Abstract
There are various emerging wireless technologies and standards serving various 
environments such as Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN), Wireless 
Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and 
Wireless Personal Area network (WPAN). These technologies include WCDMA, 
HSDPA, WiMAX, ZigBee, IEEE families 802.20, 802.16, 802.15.4, 802.11n, Ultra 
Wideband (UWB), Cognitive Radio, Wireless Sensors Network (WSN), Bluetooth, 
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and others. The the basic features, 
advantages and disadvantages provided by those wireless infrastructures will be 
highlighted. Since specific technologies and spectrum allocations for the 4th
Generations (4G) is been identified, many researchers expected the Third 
Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolutions (3GPP‐LTE) and the 
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) will compete and 
complement each other. The 4G is expected to become true mobile broadband 
supporting 1 Gbps and 100 Mbps peak data rate for fixed and mobile services 
respectively based on flat All‐IP network architecture. However, during 
deployment, various issues such as network architectures compatibility, network 
security, user cost and killer applications need to be solved.
 KNT 4153
(Mobile & Wireless Communications)
• Advance Cellular Technology
– GPS
– Bluetooth
– UMTS
– Home RF
– 4G Cellular phone
– WiMax
– Wireless security
– Ultra Wideband
 Outline

• Introduction
• Technologies and Standards
• 4G Evolution
• 3GPP‐LTE
• WiMAX
• Challenges
• Conclusion
 INTRODUCTION
• Wireless refers to the electromagnetic waves or 
Radio Frequency (RF) without the use of electrical 
conductors or wires.
• Wireless communication is the transfer of 
information over a distance through wireless 
medium or channel.
• The frequency spectrum is a scarce resource and 
must be manage efficiently. 
.
 INTRODUCTION
ƒWireless
ƒ Radio
ƒ Mobility
ƒ User mobility
ƒ Device portability
Cellular
ƒ Types
ƒ Wireless
ƒ Mobile Mobile
ƒ Cellular/Personal
ƒ Private vs Public Wireless
 INTRODUCTION
• Advantages
– Cost independent of terrain and distance
– Suitable for incremental capacity enhancement,
i.e. flexible planning
– Reduced maintenance effort, i.e. better reliability
– Ease of installation and maintenance, i.e.
suitability for temporary or emergency services
– Dynamic use of medium, i.e. trunking capability
– Mobility
– Suitable for multiple operators, i.e. service
liberalisation
 INTRODUCTION
• Limitations
– Capacity limited by frequency allocation, i.e.
cellular design is expensive
– Margin has to be provided for multipath
propagation effect and interferences, i.e.
expensive for normal urban application
– Power source required at terminal end
– Generally very low transmission rates for higher
numbers of users
INTRODUCTION
 INTRODUCTION
• Multiplexing
– FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, OFDM
 INTRODUCTION
• Modulation
– AM, FM, PM, ASK, FSK, PSK, QPSK etc.
 INTRODUCTION
• 2G Cellular Operators
– Maxis (012, 017, 014 2xx xxxx)
– Celcom (013, 019, 014 8xx xxxx)
– Digi (016, 014 6xx xxxx)
• 3G Operators (March 2006)
– Maxis
– Celcom
– U Mobile/MiTV (018)
– TT Dotcom/TIME & Digi
 INTRODUCTION
• WiMAX Operators (March 2007)
– Packet One Networks (P1)
– REDtone‐ CNX Broadband
– Bizsurf
– Asiaspace Dotcom (Amax)
INTRODUCTION
 TECHNOLOGIES & STANDARDS
IEEE 802.15.4 Sensors RFID
(Zigbee Alliance) (AutoID Center)
IEEE 802.21, IEEE 802.18 802.19

RAN
IEEE 802.22
WAN
3GPP (GPRS/UMTS)
IEEE 802.20 3GPP2 (1X--/CDMA2000)
IEEE 802.16e GSMA, OMA

IEEE 802.16d MAN ETSI HiperMAN &

WiMAX HIPERACCESS

IEEE 802.11 LAN ETSI-BRAN

Wi-Fi Alliance HiperLAN2

IEEE 802.15.3 PAN ETSI

UWB, Bluetooth
HiperPAN
Wi-Media,
WUSB, BTSIG,
15
MBOA
 TECHNOLOGIES & STANDARDS
• WWAN
– Cellular (2G, 3G), LTE, IEEE802.20 (MBWA), IEEE802.22 (WRAN)
• WMAN 
– WiMAX, Zigbee, IEEE 802.16, 
• WLAN
– Bluetooth, WiFi, IEEE 802.11
• WPAN
– Ultra Wideband (UWB), IEEE 802.15 
TECHNOLOGIES & STANDARDS
TECHNOLOGIES & STANDARDS
TECHNOLOGIES & STANDARDS
 TECHNOLOGIES & STANDARDS

Source: Fujitsu
www.mimos.my © 2008 MIMOS Berhad. All Rights Reserved.
TECHNOLOGIES & STANDARDS
TECHNOLOGIES & STANDARDS
TECHNOLOGIES & STANDARDS
 4G Evolution
• Historically wireless generations have been defined
in terms of air interface technology, focusing on raw
bandwidth
• As 3G demonstrates, good wireless access
technology and high raw bandwidth is no longer
sufficient for business success
• Thus for 4G, it seems more appropriate to use other 
criteria such as:
• Technology view
• Network operator view
• User view
 4G Evolution
– Fourth generation (4G) mobile communications
• high-speed data rates at 20 to 100 Mbps,
• suitable for high-resolution movies and television, and 
virtual 
• Initial deployments are anticipated in 2006‐2010.
– Killer applications
• Visualized virtual navigation Telegeoprocessing: GIS, 
GPS
• Life‐ saving:  Telemedicine
• Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for IPv6
 4G Evolution
– ITU – “IMT Advanced”
– Expected targets
• True Mobile Broadband
• 1Gbps peak data rate for fixed services
• 100Mbps data rate for mobile services
• High mobility to 500Km/H
• Flat All-IP network architecture
 4G Evolution
Always Best
Connected
Evolution from GSM/GPRS 2G to 3G
‘ABC’
AMPS TDMA

NMT WCDMA
GSM GSM
GSM
GPRS GPRS
ETACS EDGE
PDC
…

cdma cdma
cdmaOne 2000 1xEV
2000 1x

1G 2G 2.5 G 3G 3 G+
Analogue 9.6 - 14.4 kbps 64-144 kbps 384 - 2 Mbps
4G Evolution
4G Evolution
4G Evolution
 4G Evolution

www.mimos.my
 4G Evolution

Source: Nokia
www.mimos.my
 4G Evolution

Source: Fujitsu
www.mimos.my
3GPP‐LTE
3GPP‐LTE
3GPP‐LTE
3GPP‐LTE
3GPP‐LTE
3GPP‐LTE
3GPP‐LTE
3GPP‐LTE
3GPP‐LTE
3GPP‐LTE
 WiMAX
• WiMAX (IEEE 802.16)
– Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
– A standards‐based technology enabling the delivery of 
last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to 
cable
– To provide fixed, nomadic, portable and, eventually, 
mobile wireless broadband connectivity without the 
need for direct line‐of‐sight (LOS) with a base station.
– For fixed and portable access applications
• Up to 40 Mbps per channel, in a cell radius of 3 ~ 10 km
– For mobile network deployments 
• Up to 15 Mbps per channel, in a cell radius up to 3 km
WiMAX

45
WiMAX

Source: Intel
 WiMAX
• WiMAX (2.3/2.5 GHz, 3.5/3.7 GHz, 5.8 GHz)

Source: White Paper WiMAX Spectrum ‐ Fujitsu
 WiMAX

RUSSIA 3.5 & 5.8 GHz

CANADA EUROPE Possible: 2.3, 2.5 GHz
2.3, 2.5, 3.5 & 5.8 GHz 3.5 & 5.8 GHz
Possible: 2.5 GHz

USA ASIA PACIFIC

2.5 & 5.8 GHz Speaker Name 2.3, 2.5, 3.3, 3.5 & 5.8
MIDDLE EAST
Title of Speaker GHz
Central & So America AFRICA
2.5, 3.5 & 5.8 GHz 3.5 & 5.8 GHz
WiMAX
WiMAX
WMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX
 WiMAX
• Tradeoff between link robustness and capacity
• Adaptation on a burst by burst basis
• Modulation format QPSK/16QAM/64QAM
 WiMAX
• Aiming at developing relay mode based on IEEE 
802.16e, to gain:
– Coverage extension, and
– Throughput enhancement

www.mimos.my © 2008 MIMOS Berhad. All Rights Reserved.

 WiMAX
RS
To overcome these problems:
1. Shadow of buildings Multihop Relay
2. Valley between buildings
3. Coverage extension at cell edge

Coverage hole Mobile Access RS

Coverage extension
Shadow of to isolated area
Penetration into RS buildings
inside room

BS RS
RS

Valley between
RS buildings

Coverage extension Underground

at cell edge

www.mimos.my © 2008 MIMOS Berhad. All Rights Reserved.

WiMAX
WiMAX
CHALLENGES
 CHALLENGES
• Interoperability
– Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) 
moving from emergency to commercial services
– Global System for Mobile Telecommunications 
(GSM) moving from commercial to emergency 
services
• Standards
– Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)
– Open Mobility Alliance
CHALLENGES
CHALLENGES
CHALLENGES
CHALLENGES
 CHALLENGES
channel
Bits DSP Radio Radio DSP Bits
TX RX

Conventional “Single Input Single Output” 
(SISO) systems were favored for simplicity and 
low‐cost but have some shortcomings:
– Outage occurs if antennas fall into null
• Switching between different antennas can help
– Energy is wasted by sending in all directions
• Can cause additional interference to others
– Sensitive to interference from all directions
– Output power limited by single power amplifier
 CHALLENGES

Radio Radio
D
channel D
Bits S S Bits
P Radio Radio P

TX RX

Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems with multiple 
parallel radios improve the following:
– Outages reduced by using information from multiple antennas
– Transmit power can be increased via multiple power amplifiers
– Higher throughputs possible
– Transmit and receive interference limited by some techniques
 CHALLENGES

• Security of mobile terminal
– Unauthorized user, virus and theft
• Privacy 
– data, communication and location
– Service provision e.g. DOS attack
CHALLENGES
 CHALLENGES
• User interfaces
– Multi‐lingual
– Cross‐cultural
– Simpler and more intuitive
• Less reliance on infrastructure
– Ad‐hoc and multi‐hop networks
– Better power usage and alternative power sources
• Better support for resource and device sharing
– Privacy and security
– Immediate and itemized charging, billing, and payment
– Personalization
 CHALLENGES
• Modular, streamlined products
– Remove the unnecessary bells and whistles
– Allow incremental upgrade and pay‐only‐for‐what‐
you‐use
– Better software and system design
• Biometric and non‐linguistic security
• Be open to Reverse Flow of Innovation
– Incorporate diverse feedback loops into the 
product process
– Examples: handcrank radios, MiniGSM
CONCLUSION
 CONCLUSION
• LTE & WIMAX are based on excellent technology 
and are variant of each other.
• It is phisible to develop multimode WiMAX‐LTE 
on the same chip
• Currently, WiMAX has the time‐to‐market 
advantage over LTE, but it is behind HSPA. If 
WiMAX vendors finalize the development of the 
add‐on networking approach soon enough, they 
may be able to take a larger market share from 
the LTE and HSPA. So it is “HSPA versus WiMAX” 
and not LTE
 CONCLUSION
• Options:
– Long Term Evolution ‐ LTE (3GPP)
– Mobile WiMAX – 802.16m (IEEE)
– Ultra Mobile Broadband – UMB (3GPP2)
 References
• Peter Rysavy, EDGE, HSPA, LTE – Broadband 
Innovation, Sept. 2008. (www.3gamericas.org)
• Ehud Reshef, LTE & WiMAX Evolution to 4G, Comsys 
Communication & Signal Processing Ltd., Oct. 2008
• Zion Hadad & Peretz Shekalim, WiMAX/16e/16m vs 
LTE : Technology and Performances comparison, 
Runcom Technologies Ltd., Oct. 2008.
• Ron Resnick, WiMAX™Connecting People Connecting 
The World, WiMAX Forum. 2008.
• Mohamad Yusoff Alias, Technical Overview of WiMAX 
Technology, NCTT‐MCP Special Session on WiMAX 
Technology, August 2008.
 References
• Borhanuddin Mohd Ali, WiMAX Research and the Way 
Forward, NCTT‐MCP Special Session on WiMAX 
Technology, August 2008.
• Borhanuddin Mohd Ali, WiMAX Research and the Way 
Forward, NCTT‐MCP Special Session on WiMAX 
Technology, August 2008.
• Borhanuddin Mohd Ali  & Hafizal Mohamed, Technical 
Overview of WiMAX Technology, Lecture Notes for 
KK5955: Special Topics on Emerging Wireless 
Communication Technologies, Universiti Putra 
Malaysia, 2009
• Robert Bestak, Towards 4G, Czech Technical University 
in Prague, 2008