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- 2007 /
- January-March 07 /
News Archive
Technology update: mobile core
Future mobile access networks will demand upgraded core networks. A standardization project is now developing a new, simplified and powerful architecture designed to meet that need.
February 12, 2007
The 3GPP study of the mobile core network that will match the upgraded Long-Term Evolution radio network is called SAE: System Architecture Evolution.
The mobile core network connects to the radio access network and enables connectivity to IMS, other IP-based services, and the internet. At present, a 2G/3G core network consists of a circuit-switched part with mobile switching centers and media gateways, and a packet-switched part with SGSNs, and GGSNs, enabling connections to the internet and other IP networks. SAE is an evolution of the packet core.
One of the main driving forces for the new SAE architecture is the growing bandwidth in radio networks, which in the future will carry more traffic and new services. This also calls for shorter latency and higher capacity in the core network. Another driving force is the industry's long-term goal of moving more services to the IP domain. A third driving force is operator demand for cost-efficient solutions that meet the needs of new business models and new services.
There will be only two node levels in the SAE/LTE mobile network: radio base stations in the access network and "mobile edge" nodes in the core network.
Lars Frid, strategic product manager at Ericsson and responsible for SAE, says that one focus for SAE is to make it possible for the user terminal to move seamlessly between different access networks: 2G, 3G/HSPA, LTE and non-3GPP access technologies (for example WLAN or fixed access).
The standardization work also includes deciding whether the mobile edge node should be a single node for both control and payload or divided into one control part (MME) and one gateway part (UPE) for the traffic.
"Ericsson would prefer the option of having two nodes with a clear interface," Frid says. "That would give superior scalability, better flexibility in terms of network topology, and also the freedom to combine MME with SGSN in the early phase, which would be beneficial for mobility between 2G/3G and LTE as well as network migration."
The goal is to finish the 3GPP technical specifications during 2007. Ericsson plans to have commercial products ready in 2009.
| 3GPP = Third-Generation Partnership Program, the standardization body for 2G, 3G and SAE/LTE LTE = Long-Term Evolution, the next generation radio access network, offering user data rates of more than 100Mbps SGSN = Serving GPRS Support Node GGSN = Gateway GPRS Support Node HSPA = High-Speed Packet Access, high-speed data services over 3G MME = Mobility Management Entity in SAE, controlling mobility and security UPE = User Plane Entity in SAE, handling end-user IP traffic |
