A Comparative Study of 4G and VoLTE

Abstract

This research paper provides an insight into the comparison between VoLTE and 4G. 4G Wireless Systems or Fourth generation wireless system is a packet switched wireless system with wide area coverage and high throughput. It is designed to be cost effective and to provide high spectral efficiency. VoLTE (voice over LTE) supports voice calls over 4G LTE network. With advanced VoLTE technology, the 4G network now provides high-speed data services, high-quality voice and video calls at affordable price. This paper first presents the challenges and benefits of both 4G and VoLTE and then compares them with consideration of different points.

Introduction

I.  INTRODUCTION

LTE, an abbreviation for Long-Term Evolution, commonly marketed as 4G LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed using a different radio interface together with core network improvements. The standard is developed by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project). Providing much higher data speeds and greatly improved performance as well as lower operating costs, the scheme started to be deployed in its basic form around 2008.Initial deployments gave little improvement over 3G HSPA and were sometimes dubbed 3.5G or 3.99G, but soon the full capability of LTE was realised it provided a full 4G level of performance.

VoLTE stands for ‘Voice over Long Term Evolution‘. Utilising IMS technology, it is a digital packet voice service delivered over IP via an LTE access network. Voice calls over LTE are recognised as the industry-agreed progression of voice services across mobile networks, deploying LTE radio access technology. Since its standardization over a decade ago, VoLTE, or Voice over LTE, has been deployed by operators around the world. Compared to the traditional circuit-based 2G/3G voice solutions, VoLTE provides better voice experiences, enables rich multi-media communications features, and makes the network more efficient for operators.

II.  ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES FOR 4G/LTE

A. Advantages and Challenges of VoLTE

1. Advantages

a. Data as well as voice can be exchanged between participants. This is because LTE supports packet switching.

b. High amounts of data can be transferred between the sender and the receiver.

c. All data exchange occurs with very less power consumption. This leads to better life of the smartphone batteries.

d. It has high speed of the file upload and downloads.

e. It releases the network usage faster. This decreases the load on the network.

f. This decreases the traffic and moves towards lesser crashes in the service.

g. Live shows, matches and events can be easily watched using LTE.

2. Challenges

a. One of the main issues is the operating area which is a drawback to all communication networks like 2G, 3G also. As we know that many rural areas and many buildings in metropolitan cities where there with no network coverage in this technological world. This is due to our present communication standards and equipment which should be improved for this latest technology which is a promising one to deliver communication and many others advanced applications everywhere which can’t be possible unless our operating area is enhanced in an effective manner.

b. In this digital world security is an important aspect in communication networks. As 4G network is not used for just communication but also it provides different functions like internet which is to be much secured. So we should estimate and solve the different security threats of 4G networks like IP spoofing, User ID theft, Denial of service, Intrusion attacks which may cause loss of information or leakage of information which is considered as great threat for the users.

c. Quality of service is more important for 4G networks as we know that telecommunication is a real time communication like Voice over IP and video streaming .In real time traffics quality of service is very important as we should estimate some factors like bit rate, jitter, delay, packet drop probability to avoid network congestion in available bandwidth effectively.

B. Advantages and Challenges of VoLTE

1. Advantages

a. Innovate and secure add-on revenues with targeted offerings using new functionality like video calling, multi-device with call transfer between your own devices, several numbers on the same phone etc. Get great reach for these services over LTE and Wi-Fi

b. VoLTE enables simultaneous LTE data surfing and voice calls (i.e. do not fall back to 2G or 3G coverage while making a voice call)

c. Faster call set-up times than in 2G/3G networks (around 1.5 sec in LTE vs. around 3.5-5 seconds in 2G/3G) and also enables quicker availability to supplementary services

d. Improved voice quality with new codec for HD voice (AMR-WB) is default on LTE/VoLTE enabled smartphones

e. Use native dialler with high-quality voice calls building on VoLTE (Quality-of service), combined with business and enterprise collaboration capabilities also for enterprise users

f. Add on unified communication offerings with enterprise collaboration capabilities on top of the VoLTE network

2. Challenges

a. VoLTE issues within developed markets are related primarily to the EPC (Authentication failures, Gateway failures, Network failures, QoS handling failures) and IMS (SIP timeouts, Bearer control issues, diameter failures, service integration issues). Challenges can also arise between domains, where it can be difficult to pin point the root cause of issues – their location and whether it was the device, the RAN, the EPC, or the IMS.

b. In developed markets, any challenges inherent in VoLTE deployment are very different because networks have been established for longer, and there is a better overall understanding of LTE. The biggest difference is when the network is of a high quality. In this case any issues around VoLTE tend to be found in the core network, and on the user devices themselves, rather than the RAN.

c. One way calls or mute calls are also an issue for operators. This means that there are no packets flowing in one direction, and there is a loss of voice for a period of time. Detecting these types of calls requires the operator to identify when packets are not flowing from both sides of the call. This may indicate that one side of the call is muted. Operators can highlight this by correlating the UL and DL RTP streams and analysing the duration of the minimum PMOS.

III.  COMPARISON BETWEEN LTE AND VoLTE

Comparing LTE and VoLTE

IV.  PROPOSED IDEA FOR THE FUTURE

The 4G technology can be used in wildlife conservation. Signal towers can be erected at certain distances which assist the availability of the network. For example, using network for tracking the exact location of the animal that needs to tracked for the purpose of the study. It will be very helpful for the forest rangers to study the pattern in their behaviour and thus will contribute for the conservation.

V.  ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to express my gratitude to my professor Amit Hatekar and our parents for their immense support and guidance

Conclusion

We have undertaken an objective, comprehensive examination of 4G and VoLTE in this paper, with an emphasis on their benefits, problems, and performance analysis in real-world network implementation. We objectively distinguished the two recently developed wireless communication standards for mobile phones and data terminals, using a variety of parameters. In terms of calling, the 4G network is currently the better-suited option, while VoLTE is most favourable for streaming videos and accessing the internet. We may deduce that equipment with 4G as the network spent more power than equipment with VoLTE, based on the fact that 4G continuously switches to other networks, such as 2G or 3G, to deliver the best signal to the consumer; whereas 4G switches to the best signal, according to the requirement of the customer base.

References

[1] Wasi Ahmad, Laxmi Dir. (2016-17). Voice over LTE: New Voice Dynamics. [2] Krasniqi, Bujar & Bytyqi, Gentian & Statovci, Driton. (2018). VoLTE Performance Analysis and Evaluation in Real Networks. [3] Louvros, Spiros & Gkioni, Angelina. (2013). Voice Over LTE (VoLTE): Service Implementation and Cell Planning Perspective. 43-62. 10.1007/978-3-319-00663-5-3. [4] https://www.gsma.com/futurenetworks/technology/volte/ [5] https://www.4g.co.uk/what-is-volte/ [6] VoLTE vs 4G: The Performance Comparison and Causes , Sahil Kapoor, ISSN No:-2456-2165, IJISRT Journal [7] Ericsson: Volte deployment delays not surprising due to network complications, 2014. http://www.?ercewireless.com. [8] RFC3261: SIP: Session Initiation Protocol, June 2002. [9] RFC 3550: RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications,Jul 2003. [10] 3GPP. Operations, Administration, Maintenance (OAM). [11] 3GPP. TS 23.216: Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC),March 2011

Copyright

Copyright © 2022 Atharva Khandekar, Aditi Bhide, Prof. Amit Hatekar. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.