Project
IEEE 802.16
Title
Liaison response to 3GPP from IEEE 802.16
Date
Submitted
May, 2007
Source(s)
Jose Puthenkulam,
Vivek Gupta
Voice:+1 503 264 6121
Fax: +1 503 264 4230
Mailto: jose.p.puthenkulam@intel.com
Intel Corporation
2111 NE 25th Avenue,
Hillsboro, OR 97124
Voice:+1 503 712 1754
Fax: +1 503 264 4230
Mailto: vivek.g.gupta@intel.com
Re:
Mobility inter-working between 3GPP and 802.16 systems
Abstract
This document is the response to letter from 3GPP to IEEE 802.16 regarding mobility interworking between 3GPP and 802.16 systems.
Purpose
To send the response to letter received from 3GPP
Release
This document has been prepared to assist the IEEE 802.21 Working Group. It is offered as a basis for
discussion and is not binding on the contributing individual(s) or organization(s). The material in this
document is subject to change in form and content after further study. The contributor(s) reserve(s) the right
to add, amend or withdraw material contained herein.
The contributor grants a free, irrevocable license to the IEEE to incorporate material contained in this
contribution, and any modifications thereof, in the creation of an IEEE Standards publication; to copyright in
the IEEE’s name any IEEE Standards publication even though it may include portions of this contribution;
and at the IEEE’s sole discretion to permit others to reproduce in whole or in part the resulting IEEE
Standards publication. The contributor also acknowledges and accepts that IEEE 802.2 may make this
contribution public.
Patent
Policy
The contributor is familiar with IEEE patent policy, as outlined in Section 6.3 of the IEEE-SA Standards
Board Operations Manual <http://standards.ieee.org/guides/opman/sect6.html#6.3> and in Understanding
Patent Issues During IEEE Standards Development <http://standards.ieee.org/board/pat/guide.html>.
Notice
Annex-1
Answers to the questions raised by 3GPP.
1) If known, with which of the 3GPP radio access systems (e.g. LTE, WCDMA, TDS-CDMA,
GSM/GPRS/EDGE) is mobility inter-working required?
IEEE 802.16 supports IP voice, data and real-time multimedia applications. 802.16 devices interwork with external networks and systems using the NCMS (Network Control and Management
system). The NCMS is defined as a “black box” which includes many of the services such as
mobility management, location management, paging etc. As such IEEE 802.16 is fairly agnostic
of all external networks and considers interworking with all external networks, including 3GPP
networks to be equally important.
2) If known, with which of the WiMAX radio access systems is mobility interworking with 3GPP
radio access systems required?
IEEE 802.16e supports mobile operation for broadband wireless systems. The evolving 802.16m
amendment will provide an advanced air interface to meet the requirements of next generation
mobile networks and is intended for incorporation into IMT Advanced standardization activity
being conducted by ITU-R. 3GPP systems should consider mobility inter-working with 802.16e
and 802.18m
3) Is there a preference for handover direction or is the requirement for equal performance in
both directions (i.e. bidirectional handover)?
IEEE 802.16 prefers to have bidirectional handovers with equal performance to the extent
possible. IEEE 802.16 plans to use 802.21 mechanisms for handovers with other external
networks.
4) If available, are you able to provide an expected timeline for completion of this activity from
IEEE 802.16 perspective?
IEEE 802.16e standard was completed in 2006. IEEE 802.16m is in initial stages of development
and the current expected completion timeline is towards the end of 2009.
5) Is tight coupling with 3GPP systems required (e.g. mobility based on approaches transparent
to the UE such as GTP or PMIP, because the multimode 3GPP/ WiMAX technology terminal to
be used in the intersystem operation is expected to be single radio), or is a loosely coupled
approach to intersystem mobility sufficient?
As mentioned above IEEE 802.16 devices inter-work with external networks and systems using
the NCMS (Network Control and Management system). The NCMS is defined as a “black box”
including many of the services required for intersystem operation with other external networks. As
such IEEE 802.16 does not have a preference for any particular type of coupling between 3GPP
and 802.16 networks. The mobility management at the NCMS, the 802.16 PHY/MAC layers and
the inter-working procedures should work equally well in either case.
6) What is the expected interruption time for handover between the technologies?
The intra-technology handovers in IEEE 802.16 should meet the performance requirements of
real time multimedia and VoIP applications. For intra-technology handovers IEEE 802.16
believes that the expected interruption time should not exceed [100 ms] for real time services.
It is desirable to minimize handover interruption time for inter-technology handovers as much as
possible to satisfy service continuity.