LTE

This report presents a brief summary about Dolcera's capabilities in working with standards, with LTE as an example. The taxonomy covers most of the important aspects of LTE. Also presented are examples of mapping patents to standards going to the detail of graphical analysis. Analysis of IPR declarations made to ETSI, and documents uncovered by Dolcera search is also provided.

• LTE is the most suited mobile technology as it provides higher data rates required for the future and is an improvement over the established GSM/EDGE/HSPA systems
• LTE is promoted by major corporates as the technology enabling future communication
• The following advantages are expected to be obtained with the realization of LTE
  • Reduced cost per bit
  • Increased service provisioning - more services at lower cost with better user experience
  • Flexibility of use of existing and new frequency bands
  • Simplified architecture, Open interfaces
  • Allow for reasonable terminal power consumption

LTE (Long Term Evolution), is the latest standard in the mobile network technology that came into existence because of the growing needs of faster data rates. It is a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which realized this technology. LTE is an advancement to previously realized technologies such as GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSxPA etc. Although LTE is often marketed as 4G, first-release LTE is actually a 3.9G technology since it does not fully comply with the IMT Advanced 4G requirements.

LTE-Advanced has been granted 4G compliance given the significant improvement they provide over 3G technologies [1]

LTE Evolution

Voice traffic will be supported mainly as Voice over IP (VoIP) enabling better integration with other multimedia services. LTE is being designed to be a high data rate and low latency system. LTE is also aimed at minimizing cost and power consumption while ensuring backward-compatibility and a cost effective migration from UMTS systems. LTE tutorial

Performance requirements

LTE is expected to support different types of services including web browsing, FTP, video streaming, VoIP, online gaming, real time video, push-to-talk and push-to-view. Therefore, it is being designed to be a high data rate and low latency system as indicated by the key performance criteria shown below.

Fig.1 LTE Release 8 Major Parameters
Fig.2 LTE-Release 8 User Equipment Categories

LTE architecture

Protocol stack

Protocol stack of LTE

Data flow

The data flow through protocol stack can be shown as

Dataflow

LTE frame structure

In order to maintain synchronization and manage different types of information exchange that need to be carried between the base-station or eNodeB and the User Equipment (UE), LTE system has a defined LTE frame and sub frame structure for the E-UTRA or Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access

There are two types of LTE frame structure:

• Type 1: FDD systems
  • The basic type 1 LTE frame has an overall length of 10 ms. This is then divided into a total of 20 individual slots. LTE sub frames then consist of two slots - in other words there are ten LTE sub frames within a frame.

LTE frame structure

• Type 2: TDD systems
  • The frame structure for the type 2 frames used on LTE TDD is somewhat different. The 10 ms frame comprises two half frames, each 5 ms long. The LTE half-frames are further split into five sub frames, each 1ms long.

LTE frame structure

• The subframes may be divided into standard sub frames of special sub frames. The special sub frames consist of three fields
  • DwPTS - Downlink Pilot Time Slot
  • GP - Guard Period
  • UpPTS - Uplink Pilot Time Slot.

• OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access)
  • It is used in the downlink communication of LTE as it can support high data rates
• SC-FDMA (Single Carrier FDMA)
  • It is used in the uplink communication of LTE as it helps in reducing terminal power consumption
• MIMO (Multi-Input Multi-Output)
  • Helps in obtaining increased data rates with usage of many antennas.
• System Architecture Evolution(SAE)
  • New core network architecture to support the high-throughput / low latency LTE access system
  • Simplified network architecture
  • All IP network
  • All services are via PS domain only, No CS domain
  • Support mobility between multiple heterogeneous access system
• Fractional frequency reuse
  • Helps in reusing the frequency so that spectral efficiency can be improved

Disclaimer:

• Rating is given based on claims, no.of cited patents, expiry date and priority date
• Rating is done on a scale from 1 to 5

Click here to see full list of Ranking of ETSI patents

Disclaimer: Patent ranking has been done according to the following logic:

• Rank-1: Granted + LTE related (claims)
• Rank-2: Published + LTE related (claims)
• Rank-3: LTE related (Full spec )
• Rank-4: May be relevant and requires further analysis
• Rank-5: Abandoned or Expired

Note: Here a total of 44 patents from ETSI have been taken, out of which Qualcomm Incorporated has 6 patents, Alcatel-lucent has 8 patents, Ericsson AB, Nokia corporation, Nokia Siemens Networks have 10 each

Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technologies introduced in LTE such as spatial multiplexing, transmit diversity, and beamforming are key components for providing higher peak rate at a better system efficiency, which are essential for supporting future broadband data service over wireless links.In Long Term Evolution (LTE), MIMO technologies have been widely used to improve downlink peak rate, cell coverage, as well as average cell throughput.

To achieve this diverse set of objectives, LTE adopted various MIMO technologies including transmit diversity, single user (SU)-MIMO, multiuser (MU)-MIMO, closed-loop rank-1 precoding, and dedicated beamforming. MIMO in LTE

MIMO working

• Control patents are mostly used
  • to prepare concepts
  • to search classes, and
  • to verify the search strategy
• Control patents are found by running a query with narrow keywords, and in this process litigation's and file wrappers are also looked at.

Click here to see full list of LTE control patents

Company wise distribution of IP

Note:

• The subsidiaries of Nokia includes : Nokia Telecommunication Oy and Nokia Siemens.
• The subsidiaries of Ericsson/LM Ericsson includes : Ericsson GE Mobile Communications Inc, ST-Ericsson, Sony Ericcson.
• The Subsidiaries of Alcatel includes : Alcatel-Lucent, Alcatel Shangai bell company, Alcatel Transmission, Lucent Technologies, CIT Alcatel.
• The Subsidiaries of NTT includes : Nippondenso Co, NTT Docomo.
• The subsidiaries of NEC Corp includes : NEC Access technica Ltd.,NEC Laboratories.
• The subsidiaries of Phlilps includes : Philips Electronics, Philips Intellectual property & standards.
• The subsidiaries of Fujistu includes : Fujistu ten Limited, Fujitsu Microelectronics Limited.
• The subsidiaries of AT&T includes : AT&T Mobility, AT & T BLS Intellectual Property, AT&T Bell Laboratories, AT&T Wireless Services Inc., BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation.

Disclaimer 1: Here primarily, companies with an average annual revenue less than 400 million USD are considered. In addition to these, some big companies whose primary interest is not LTE and those which provide IP licensing are also considered.

Disclaimer 2 :The above graph is based on raw data available with us. Some of the patents may not be relevant

Process Flow

Sample claim charting

S.No.	Patent/Publication No.	Claim Language	Relevant Section in LTE release 8	Technical Comments
1	US20090318127	Claim1	4.2.1 PDCP structure 3GPP TS 36.323 V8.6.0 (2009-06) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification (Release 8)	The PDCP layer receives data from the lower layer i.e RLC layer
		A data communication method in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a lower layer,
		a data unit having a sequence number; storing the received data unit in a buffer;	4.3.2 Services expected from lower layers 3GPP TS 36.323 V8.6.0 (2009-06) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification (Release 8)	The data from the MAC buffer is delivered to the PDCP layer in sequence (based on sequence number) through the RLC layer
			in-sequence delivery, except at re-establishment of lower layers;
		determining whether the sequence number of the received data unit is equal to a sequence number +1 from a sequence number of a last delivered data unit;	5.1.2 DL Data Transfer Procedures 3GPP TS 36.323 V8.6.0 (2009-06) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification (Release 8)	The next PDCP sequence no. is always set as previous PDCP sequence no. + 1
			set Next_PDCP_RX_SN to the received PDCP SN + 1;
		and delivering, in ascending order, all stored data units with consecutively associated sequence numbers greater than or equal to the sequence number of the received data unit based on the determining step.	5.1.2 DL Data Transfer Procedures 3GPP TS 36.323 V8.6.0 (2009-06) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification (Release 8)	The data unit delivered to the upper layers in an ascending order based on the count value
			deliver to upper layers in ascending order of the associated COUNT value
		Claim2	4.2.1 PDCP structure 3GPP TS 36.323 V8.6.0 (2009-06) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification (Release 8)	The layer below the PDCP layer is RLC layer
		The method of claim 1, wherein the lower layer is a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer.
		Claim3	4.2.2 PDCP entities 3GPP TS 36.323 V8.6.0 (2009-06) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification (Release 8)	Steps of determining and delivering PDCP data units are performed in a PDCP entity
		The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of determining and delivering are performed in a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity.
		Claim4	4.2.2 PDCP entities 3GPP TS 36.323 V8.6.0 (2009-06) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification (Release 8)	On the PDCP SDU, numbering sequence is checked, header compression is done and send to the upper layers
		The method of claim 1, wherein the data unit is a PDCP Service Data Unit (SDU).
		Claim5	4.4 Functions 3GPP TS 36.323 V8.6.0 (2009-06) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification (Release 8)	SDU is received through a re-establishment of lower layer i.e RLC layer
		The method of claim 1, wherein the data unit is received through a RLC re-establishment.	duplicate elimination of lower layer SDUs at re-establishment of lower layers for radio bearers mapped on RLC AM
		Claim6	5.1.2 DL Data Transfer Procedures 3GPP TS 36.323 V8.6.0 (2009-06) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification (Release 8)	Header decompression or deciphering is done between the stages of receiving and storing the PDCP data units
		The method of claim 1, wherein a header decompression or a deciphering is performed between the receiving step and the storing step.	if received PDCP SN > Next_PDCP_RX_SN: - decipher the PDCP PDU as specified in the subclause 5.6, using COUNT based on RX_HFN - 1 and the received PDCP SN; -- -- if the PDCP PDU has not been discarded in the above: - perform deciphering and header decompression (if configured) for the PDCP PDU as specified in the subclauses 5.6 and 5.5.5, respectively; - if a PDCP SDU with the same PDCP SN is stored: - discard this PDCP SDU; - else: - store the PDCP SDU; --- ---
		Claim7	5.1.2 DL Data Transfer Procedures 3GPP TS 36.323 V8.6.0 (2009-06) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification (Release 8)	The next PDCP sequence no. is always set as previous PDCP sequence no. + 1
		The method of claim 1, wherein the sequence number +1 indicates a sequence number that is immediately subsequent to the sequence number of the last delivered data unit.	set Next_PDCP_RX_SN to the received PDCP SN + 1;
		Claim8
		The method of claim 1, wherein the sequence number +1 indicates a next sequence number from the sequence number of the last delivered data unit.
		Claim9	5.1.2 DL Data Transfer Procedures 3GPP TS 36.323 V8.6.0 (2009-06) Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) specification (Release 8)	The last delivered data unit to an upper layer is named as Last_Submitted_PDCP_RX_SN
		The method of claim 1, further comprising: setting a sequence number of a last data unit delivered to an upper layer as a `LAST`.	set Last_Submitted_PDCP_RX_SN to the PDCP SN of the last PDCP SDU delivered to upper layers

Click here to download the sheet.

Disclaimer: Patent ranking has been done according to the following logic:

• Rank-1: Granted + LTE related (claims)
• Rank-2: Published + LTE related (claims)
• Rank-3: LTE related (Full spec )
• Rank-4: May be relevant and requires further analysis
• Rank-5: Abandoned or Expired

Note:This interactive taxonomy consists of 131 sample documents.

Dashboard Link

The Dashboard is Dolcera's visualization platform to present the organized patent landscape

• Best viewed in Internet explorer 6 and higher versions
• To view dashboard you would require a flash player. Kindly install a flash player if its not installed in your system

LTE - Dashboard

• Note1: Use the following credentials to view the dashboard 1.1
  • Username: demo@dolcera.com
  • Password: demo123

• Note2: A total of 131 patents were considered for the creation of the sample dashboard

LTE Release 8

Click here for the meeting minutes.

This is only a sample report with brief analysis
Dolcera can provide a comprehensive report customized to your needs

• Stefania Sesia, Issam Toufik, and Matthew Baker, "LTE - The UMTS Long Term Evolution - From Theory to Practice", John Wiley & Sons, 2009,
• Martin Sauter, "From GSM to LTE - An Introduction to Mobile Networks and Mobile Broadband", John Wiley & Sons, 2010,
• Erik Dahlman, Stefan Parkvall, Johan Sköld, Per Beming, "3G Evolution - HSPA and LTE for Mobile Broadband", 2nd edition, Academic Press, 2008,
• Mustafa Ergen, "Mobile Broadband - Including WiMAX and LTE", Springer, NY, 2009
• Borko Furht, Syed A. Ahson, "Long Term Evolution: 3GPP LTE Radio And Cellular Technology", CRC Press, 2009,
• Ezio Biglieri, Robert calderbank, Anthony Constantinides et.al ,"MIMO Wireless Communications" Cambridge University Press, 2007