Cellular networks - Evolution of the UMTS system towards HSPA+

The 3rd generation UMTS mobile radio network was launched in France at the end of 2004, before being extended to mobile broadband in 2006 with HSDPA, which increases radio speeds in the downlink direction (from the network to the mobile terminal). In 2008, the three operators (Bouygues Telecom, Orange France and SFR) completed their migration to HSUPA, which increases radio throughput in the uplink direction and, together with HSDPA, forms the HSPA concept belonging to the fourth version of the UMTS standard, Release 6. The latter is standardized by the 3GPP organization and described in the "Cellular networks" dossier – UMTS system evolutions [TE 7 369] .

In the first part of this dossier, we take a look at the first four versions of UMTS, from Release 99 to Release 6.

Since the introduction of UMTS in France, the audiovisual and telecommunications ecosystem has been turned upside down, not only from a regulatory point of view, with the award of the 4th UMTS license to Free Mobile and the freeing up of frequencies allocated to analog television, but also by the new uses of the mobile Internet brought about by smartphones. The second chapter provides an overview.

In Release 7, 3GPP upgraded the UMTS system, in particular the radio interface, with the evolution of HSPA (HSPA+), and the core network in terms of quality of service and charging, with PCC functionality. Release 8 introduces a simplified "flat" architecture in the access network and the direct tunnel option in the packet domain. These developments in the UMTS system are described in the third chapter, which concludes the first part of this dossier.

At the end of this first part, the reader will find a table of acronyms and abbreviations (table 6 ).

The second part [TE 7 371] covers Release 8 and introduces the new EPS system, which is based on a flat "all-IP" architecture and OFDMA radio interface, marking a turning point compared with the WCDMA radio interface and circuit domain specific to the UMTS system. The EPS...