Customer Reviews

LTE, The UMTS Long Term Evolution: From Theory to Practice

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a newcomer to standardisation work, this book has proven invaluable and my only regret is that it wasn't available when I first started work on LTE about a year ago. The book has saved me hours of tedious scouring of standards text. In this respect it is valuable both for people who are in telcos management and need an overview of LTE, as well as standards engineers who are well acquainted with the topic as it will prepare them for a more in-depth look into LTE.

Some highlights include:
1. A great introductory overview of the evolution to 4G, impartial and technically sound.
2. An in-depth analysis of the physical layer of LTE. The details include state-of-the-art simulation results and highlight the technical achievements that make the promised transfer rates and quality of service possible. The results are preceded by background theory. I found the parts on OFDM and MIMO as key enablers particularly succinct and useful. Some abstract terms, such as the notion of control channels and antenna ports, are explained in a lucid and easy-to-follow way, showing you not just what LTE mandates, but also why it is designed the way it is and what the engineering drivers behind it are.
3. An overview of higher layers, more than enough to understand how the layered paradigm is implemented in LTE.
4. The consistency of the book throughout. In my opinion you rarely see books with so many contributing authors that flow as well as this one does. Clearly, a lot of effort went into maintaining a unified style and approach, and it was well worth it.

The editors-authors are active contributors to 3GPP standardisation, and so are most of the contributing authors (with some input from academia), representing many different companies. The book therefore has a unique quality of being impartial while coming straight from the source. While only a couple of pages long, the final chapter examines the future evolution of LTE: LTE-Advanced. Thoroughly recommended.

This is a comprehensive book that covers all essential issues of LTE that are necessary in order to master this fascinating field. Key technologies are presented such as OFDM/OFDMA, SC-FDMA, Radio resource management, MIMO, ......The structure of the book is coherent in the sequence as well as the type of topics it covers: in part 1, the book covers LTE network architecture and protocols for both the control plane as well as the user plan; Part II, III cover the physical layer aspects of the Uplink and the down link in details; part IV talks about the practical deployment aspects. I strongly recommend the book for graduate students and for professionals who are working in this field. The book is an excellent reference to have at your desk for LTE standards and related issues.

The only thing that has been an issue to me is that it was a bit short on TDD. However, I do consider the book a must have for those that want an answer to the why as much as more as to the how of the standard.

Great book. Theory is solid. Makes one think. The reverse link discussion by Bob Love is kinda gobbledegook but great book.