Book excerpt: The Definitive Guide to LTE Technology Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is the next step in the GSM evolutionary path beyond 3G technology, and it is strongly positioned to be the dominant global standard for 4G cellular networks. LTE also represents the first generation of cellular networks to be based on a flat IP architecture and is designed to seamlessly support a variety of different services, such as broadband data, voice, and multicast video. Its design incorporates many of the key innovations of digital communication, such as MIMO (multiple input multiple output) and OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access), that mandate new skills to plan, build, and deploy an LTE network. In Fundamentals of LTE, four leading experts from academia and industry explain the technical foundations of LTE in a tutorial style—providing a comprehensive overview of the standards. Following the same approach that made their recent Fundamentals of WiMAX successful, the authors offer a complete framework for understanding and evaluating LTE. Topics include Cellular wireless history and evolution: Technical advances, market drivers, and foundational networking and communications technologies Multicarrier modulation theory and practice: OFDM system design, peak-to-average power ratios, and SC-FDE solutions Frequency Domain Multiple Access: OFDMA downlinks, SC-FDMA uplinks, resource allocation, and LTE-specific implementation Multiple antenna techniques and tradeoffs: spatial diversity, interference cancellation, spatial multiplexing, and multiuser/networked MIMO LTE standard overview: air interface protocol, channel structure, and physical layers Downlink and uplink transport channel processing: channel encoding, modulation mapping, Hybrid ARQ, multi-antenna processing, and more Physical/MAC layer procedures and scheduling: channel-aware scheduling, closed/open-loop multi-antenna processing, and more Packet flow, radio resource, and mobility management: RLC, PDCP, RRM, and LTE radio access network mobility/handoff procedures