LTE-Advanced and the evolution to Beyond 4G (B4G) systems

Cellular networks have been undergoing an extraordinarily fast evolution in the past years. With commercial deployments of Release 8 (Rel-8) Long Term Evolution (LTE) already being carried out worldwide, a significant effort is being put forth by the research and standardization communities on the development and specification of LTE-Advanced. The work started in Rel-10 by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) had the initial objective of meeting the International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced) requirements set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) which defined fourth generation (4G) systems. However, predictions based on the wireless traffic explosion in recent years indicate a need for more advanced technologies and higher performance. Hence, 3GPP’s efforts have continued through Rel-11 and now Rel-12. This paper provides a state-of-the-art comprehensive view on the key enabling technologies for LTE-Advanced systems. Already consolidated technologies developed for Rel-10 and Rel-11 are reviewed while novel approaches and enhancements currently under consideration for Rel-12 are also discussed. Technical challenges for each of the main areas of study are pointed out as an encouragement for the research community to participate in this collective effort.