Heterogeneous Cellular Networks

15

Field Trial of LTE Technology

Bo Hagerman,1 Karl Werner,1 and Jin Yang2

1Ericsson Research, Sweden 2Verizon Communications Inc., USA

15.1 Introduction

Heterogeneous networks will expand the capacity of current deployed commercial wireless networks by fully exploring layered deployment structures. Macro-type nodes form the backbone of today's deployed networks, and this will remain so even when layered architectures are introduced. Hence, in order to understand the potential benefits of heterogeneous networks, it is essential to understand the basic characteristics of macro-type network deployments.

Advanced wireless networks are multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) enabled. Multiple antennas for reception and transmission at the radio base station (eNB) and the user equipment (UE) is a key enabler for the high performance offered by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) standard [1–8]. Understanding the performance characteristics of MIMO technology in practical environments is therefore critical to understanding the performance of the network as a whole. Field test results in a pre-commercial macro network deployment have demonstrated network performance gain by introducing MIMO. The trial results are also useful for the understanding of MIMO performance in a micro layer of a heterogonous network. The results of the trial are summarized in [9].

The LTE standard [3] supports multiple antenna technologies that improve both link- and system-level ...